Backyard Gator said:

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Lemme guess: salt, crushed black pepper, garlic, fennel seeds, maybe some crushed red pepper if you like spice?

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That's all you need. I like to toast my fennel and bust it up a little in a mortar before adding it to my meat mixture. A little white wine helps with the mixing and adds a nice flavor as well

I like fennel flavor, I hate fennel seeds.

Backyard Gator said:

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Lemme guess: salt, crushed black pepper, garlic, fennel seeds, maybe some crushed red pepper if you like spice?

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Close. From 2 Guys & a Cooler
2270 g ground pork meat 70/30
36 g kosher salt
2.25 g black pepper
5.75 g garlic powder
5.75 g onion powder
15 g paprika
8 g anise
29.50 g fennel seed
1/2 cup ice cold water

I also toast and crush the fennel seeds.

GAC06 said:

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I like fennel flavor, I hate fennel seeds.

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Same. That's why I bust them up in the mortar. I hate caraway seeds in rye and kraut as well so I do the same

Next yall'll be hating beans in chili......

I just grind them in the spice grinder, a long with the black pepper and anything else I'm adding in.

I'm intrigued. What's your meat mix and seasoning. When I do Gyros at home I'll typically use Groun Lamb + 80/20 Beef mixed with grated onion, pressed garlic, oregano, mint, rosemary, marjoram, S&P. That goes into the food processor for texture and spread it out on a sheet pan lined with parchment and then throw it under the broiler. If I don't want to deal with the mess, I'll roll it into meatballs (no food processor) and cook on the grill. I've never thought about stuffing it into a casing

I am also curious about your meat mix.

I have a chicken carcass in the slow cooker with celery, carrots, onion, garlic, and various seasonings to make a chicken stock. I'll remove the solids from it later, add the shredded chicken back in, and make chicken soup and chicken salad sandwiches.

It isn't really cold here yet, but at night time, it gets down into soup weather, and I'm taking advantage of it.

Backyard Gator said:

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I am also curious about your meat mix.

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Here's the recipe from 2 Guys & a Cooler. https://twoguysandacooler.com/gyro-sausage/
It's about 85% there to being great.

• 250 g lean beef
• 250 g lean pork
• 200 g lamb
• 300 g pork back fat
• 100 g grated red onion drained
• 20 g minced garlic
• 15 g salt
• 7 g savorye (yeast extract)
• 2 g Aleppo pepper
• 2 g cumin powder
• 2 g black pepper
• 2 g sumac powder
• 2.5 g dried parsley If you plan on using fresh herbs use double the amount called for in fresh
• 1 g dried oregano If you plan on using fresh herbs use double the amount called for in fresh
• .5 g dried marjoram If you plan on using fresh herbs use double the amount called for in fresh
• .5 g dried thyme If you plan on using fresh herbs use double the amount called for in fresh
• .5 g dried rosemary If you plan on using fresh herbs use double the amount called for in fresh
• 20 g milk powder high heat
• 100 g water
• hog casing 29mm-32mm

Next time I make it, I'm going to make a couple of changes. One is to replace the lean pork with lamb, and I think I'm going to use fresh herbs instead of dried (though I'm not sure where I'm going to find fresh marjoram).

This looks amazing! I will have to give this a try!

I'm guessing this is what you're looking for? https://www.seriouseats.com/thick-creamy-tomato-soup-recipe

I really like this tomato soup with saffron, with or without the orzo and croutons

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/easy-tomato-soup-grilled-cheese-croutons-recipe-2109038.amp

That steak looks badass. Prime HEB?

HEB but actually the grass fed option which I think was choice. They had better marbling than the prime and cheaper and the sizes I wanted.

Also I forgot how much I love bearnaise. I think Christmas dinner will include it, whether it's chateaubriand or rib roast

Pizza looks great but paper plates should be verboten here my dude

Hmmmm, I feel like you've been posting pizza pics for a long time on the Pizza Thread on paper plates.

My invite was "stuck in the mail?" Looks amazing though!

I made ciabatta, and used that to make turkey sandwiches. My only complaint is I was going to no-knead route, and forgot to put the salt in at 20 minutes, and put it in at an hour instead. The crumb wasn't as open as I'd like, but it tasted delicious.

Really good. As is to be expected with a restaurant like that, their stock was probably a lot better than mine so mine weren't as lacquered as theirs. I added a couple glugs of balsamic to make up for it and it's definitely something I'll make again.