Hi-Tech Nostalgia Part II is still in the works. You folks should be happy I’m putting so much effort into it. I also downloaded the Polaroid Picture plug-in for Windows Live Writer so my captions can be a bit better. I was limited by space before but, with the new version, I can now have multiple line captions.
I need to send a couple of suggestions off to the WordPress people.
When I got into work the other day, my friend at the front desk mentioned that he had gotten a pack of the frozen White Castle hamburgers. Here in Austin, there are no White Castle’s. For some reason people think this is a good thing.
Anyway, thinking of White Castle hamburgers made me think of Rutt’s Hut hot dogs. There is only one Rutt’s Hut in the whole of the universe, so I knew I wouldn’t find one here. But, I thought, what if I could make my own?
So, of course, I did a lot of research on Rutt’s Hut and found out, essentially, how they make their dogs and what kind of dog they use.
This meant sending an email off to two butcher shops and Thumann’s. I’ve heard from Thumann’s, but I think their information is incorrect. What I was looking for from the butcher’s was the ability to buy beef tallow. Thumann’s makes a hot dog specifically, and scientifically, designed for deep frying. Rutt’s Hut, in case you haven’t figured it out yet, fries their hot dogs in beef tallow.
Anyway, no word back on buying tallow, and I can’t find the proper hot dog. Not yet.
Going back a couple of steps, I found a reference to Steak Delmonico. I wondered what that was and decided to look it up. It turns out, it’s not a simple thing either. I don’t have time to get into that, but it was a couple of days searching around.
The upshot is that I found a cool web site that has scans of turn of the century cookbooks. I find this stuff endlessly fascinating and I hope to be able to make something, anything, from one of these books. One of the difficulties is the difference in terminology. And it may be hard to get some ingredients. And some stuff just might kill you, like making a roast covered in lard.
Garden of Entropy 