You have questions, Keith has opinions.

This website represents a compilation of Keith's product opinions and reviews. Enjoy! Let one of us know in person or via WhatsApp if you have questions or things you would like to see on the website.

May 17, 2022

Keith recommends the Matador Pocket Blanket for all of you sitting around outdoors not in your yard needs. It folds up very tiny (and there's a sewn-on pattern that shows you how to re-fold), is water resistant, and has stakes in the corners.

Cost: $29.99

May 16, 2022

Keith strongly believes in protecting his skin from the sun. He first bought this hat before visiting Ecuador. Amy thought that this hat was overkill. Until our guide was wearing the same hat. Anyway, Keith strongly recommends this hat and so did Pepo. It is very versatile and provides lots of coverage while not being too warm (the fabrics are very light).

Cost: $38

May 13, 2022

There is a lab at Virginia Tech that does phenomenal and realistic testing to gauge helmets. Keith recommends following their guidance. In general, based on current technology in 2022, he looks for WaveCel/MIPS for particularly good helmets (subject to change as technology evolves).

May 11, 2022

General notes: TLDR: buy an evaporative humidifier.

Avoid the hot humidifiers. They suck down ~500W all the time and the heater gets coated in all the hard water deposits and gets even less efficient.

If you buy an ultrasonic humidifier, be very diligent about cleaning it. They grow mold very easily, and will then spread that mold throughout your house.

Evaporative humidifiers tend to be the most energy efficient and the quietest of the types. Here's a couple recommendations:

Expensive pick:

This expensive humidifier puts out plenty of water, requires only minimal cleaning and periodic water treatment (once per month). It is very well built, really quiet, and in stock.

https://www.venta-air.com/en_us/product/lw25-comfort-plus-airwasher/

Cost: $399.99

Medium price pick:

The Honeywell evaporative humidifiers work well and are quiet. They are a little cheap feeling, but I've had some for a bunch of years and they've kept working. You'll need to soak the wick in vinegar every once in a while depending on how hard your water is, but you can also just replace the wicking filters. Be aware that once they are out of stock for the season, they tend not to be available again until the Summer.

https://www.target.com/p/honeywell-removable-top-fill-tower-humidifier/-/A-52303398#lnk=sametab

Cost: 79.99

May 10, 2022

It's not exactly turkey season, but bookmark this for all of your holiday meals.

I've done so many turkeys now (2/Thanksgiving for the last 10ish years) so I've been through a lot of turkey recipes and advice articles. Here's the order of decisions I tend to go in:

1) How to cook the carcass (smoke, fry, bake) I'm going to skip this one and go just with the baking method suggestions.

2) How to prep the carcass

3) How to flavor the turkey

Prepping the carcass:

I really recommend that you spatchcock the bird. Unsurprisingly, J. Kenji Lopez-Alt has a great how-to. (Editor's note: This recommendation was written in 2018 before this household learned about JKLA's gross behavior, weird refusal to not believe the science around MSG not being a problem, etc. He still has some good recipes we use, but not entusiastically. Here's a IG story giving more JKLA context.) Prepping the carcass this way helps the whole thing heat more evenly, and shortens your cooking time to <2 hours (at a higher temp). This also has the bonus result of giving you phenomenal cracklin' skin. If you do butterfly the turkey, you'll need a strong set of kitchen shears to get through the ribs. I'd also get a pair of needlenose plyers out to remove the remaining ribs after you've cut out the backbone, but that's just my preference. It sits a little cleaner and this guarantees that no little bone parts make it onto a plate.

Make sure that you bake on a raised rack. If you don't, the underside will get gooey from all the fat/juice runoff.

Flavoring the turkey:

There's a big debate on wet vs. dry vs. no brining. TBH, I'm in the no brining camp. I've done all of them, and wet brining is a huge PITA, and dry brining causes the skin and drippings to be inedibly salty. The primary reason to brine is to force more water to stay in the meat during a long cooking cycle, and with the spatchcocking method, the high heat seals the outside of the meat fairly quickly and the meat doesn't leak nearly as much of that delicious juice. If you do decide to brine though, I'd recommend adding more salt with your rub (see below). I recommend against going the caked on salt route.

I am of the opinion that turkey is not inherently particularly tasty, so you need to spice it up (some people vehemently disagree with this). Regardless of what you choose to flavor the bird with, I'd recommend making a compound butter to deliver it onto the bird. Making the compound butter just guarantees that the flavor is well distributed throughout the large bird. When it's ready, you'll take that compound butter at room temperature and rub it all over the dried bird (Top, bottom, under the skin on the breasts and on the dark meat.). This will take more than you think, and within reason, you can't put too much on. For a 10-12lb bird, I'd make 2 sticks of butter. With the bird up on a rack, any excess will just flow onto the pan.

Here's an example recipe (assuming one fresh 12 lb turkey. If frozen, make sure you leave sufficient time for it to defrost before the spatchcocking step). If there is a different flavor profile that you'd like to try, this can work as a really good platform, as you can switch/tweak the herbs quite easily. To be honest, I don't really use recipes when I cook. I read so many and end up combining/using my judgement. The recipe/instruction set I've written below is a pretty good approximation of what I've done successfully with turkeys in years past.

2-3 days ahead:

1) Prep compound butter ahead of time (I'm told this kind of this is stable for a week or two, but I normally do it 2-3 days ahead):

************************Compound butter recipe************************************

Ingredients:

* 1/2 pound unsalted butter

* 2 tbsp sage, washed and chopped

* 2 tbsp thyme, washed and chopped

* 2 tbsp rosemary, washed and chopped

Directions:

a) Heat 1/2 pound of butter in saucepan over very low heat. You just want enough heat to melt the butter.

b) Add sage, thyme, and rosemary to the butter.

c) Continue to heat the butter mixture for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The heat should be low enough that the herbs are not cooking in the butter. This step is just to ensure transfer of flavor from the herbs to the oil.

d) Let cool, and transfer to the fridge to solidify. When you intend to use this, let it come up to room temperature before rubbing it on the turkey.

****************************************************************************************

1-2 days ahead:

1) Spatchcock the turkey, save everything that you cut off for the gravy.

2) Pat the turkey dry with paper towels. Take 3 TBSP salt and 2 TBSP pepper and rub this throughout the turkey (top, bottom, and inside skin).

3) Zest 1-2 lemons for 2 tbsp lemon zest. Mix this into the softened compound butter. (Don't skip this; turkey needs acid for balance)

4) Rub the butter all over/in the turkey.

5) Cover the turkey and return to the fridge.

6) Make your stock: Good gravy needs homemade stock, so I'd recommend taking the backbone and neck (if provided) and anything else you cut off to make a turkey stock. I don't use the giblets because they can sometimes add a weird minerality to the stock depending on what the turkey was fed.

************************ Turkey stock recipe ************************************

Ingredients:

* 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

* Turkey backbone, neck chopped into 3-4inch segments

* 2 stalks celery, cleaned and cut into 2 inch segments

* 2 carrots, cleaned and cut into 2 inch segments

* 1 large yellow onion, remove outermost layer, cut into quarters

* 5-6 sprigs of parsley washed (no need to chop)

* 1 teaspoon of whole black peppercorns

* 2 quarts of water

Directions:

a) Heat a decent sized pot (5-6 qt) to medium/medium-high, add 1.5 tbsp olive oil.

b) Brown the turkey meat/bone, turning occasionally. Should take 5-7 minutes. It's ok if there are browned sections sticking to the pan, but be careful not to burn onto the pan at this point. Lower, slower browning is better than fast with burning.

c) Once the turkey is browned, add the celery, carrots, and onion. Cook for 1-2 minutes.

d) Add water, peppercorns and parsley and bring to a boil over high heat. This is also your opportunity to deglaze the pot to get any of the stuck on browned bits off.

e) Once boiling, reduce heat to maintain a simmer for the next ~3 hours. Skim the surface occasionally to remove fat floating on the top. This should reduce down to 1-1.5 quarts of stock.

f) Strain through a colander, them through a fine meshed sieve, discarding the solids.

g) Food safety note: you need to cool this down quickly, so don't let it sit out on the counter. I would recommend putting the stock into a tupperware and then putting that in an ice bath. Once below ~60F, put the stock in the fridge.

h) This stock may be gelatinous when it comes out of the fridge. That is a good sign. You'll need to skim some fat off of the top, but the rest is golden jello for your gravy.

****************************************************************************************

Day of: (My day of recommendations mostly follow this recipe.)

1) Take turkey and turkey stock out of fridge 30 minutes before starting to bake.

2) At the same time, preheat your oven to 450F.

3) Transfer turkey to oven and roast, rotating occasionally, until an instant read thermometer inserted into the deepest part of the breast registers 150°F, and the thighs register at least 165°F, about 80 minutes.

4) Make the gravy while the turkey is cooking:

************************ Gravy recipe ************************************

a) Start by making a roux: Heat 3 tbsp butter in a pan over medium heat.

b) Slowly add 4 tbsp flour while whisking.

c) Continue whisking over heat until the mixture is milk chocolatey brown. This is the most labor intensive and important step. Make sure your heat isn't too high or else it can burn. If it burns, throw it out and restart. Trust me. This can take anywhere from 2-3 minutes to 10 minutes depending on heat. Just keep stirring and watching the color.

d) Once the roux is browned, add 1 1/2 quarts stock, whisking until incorporated. Even if it is still gelatinous, it will liquefy in the hot pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.

e) Simmer uncovered until reduced to about a quart, about 20 minutes longer.

f) Season with salt and pepper, cover, and keep gravy warm.

****************************************************************************************

5) When the turkey is cooked, remove from the oven and let rest at room temperature for 10 minutes before carving. (I'd recommend skipping adding the juices from the pan to the gravy.) You've already covered that with the great stock from the day before.

6) Carve and enjoy.

May 7, 2022

Keith thinks that Bacardi Reserva Ocho is delicious. If you are backpacking, he recommends mixing this with apple cider mix for a delicious and space-efficient cocktail.

Cost: $25.99 for 750 mL at Total Wine's website

May 6, 2022

It's a great backyard stove! Options include a bonfire shield, which is great for warming up Bonchon on top of and a stand so you can have the stove on heat sensitive surfaces. Keith recommends, and the bros that live behind us also have one and they seem happy with theirs, too.

Link

Cost: $239.99

May 5, 2022

We have an Aranet4 Home wireless indoor air quality monitor. Amy bought it when she had to teach in person in Fall 2021 and it was recommended by an engineer on Twitter. It measures temperature, relative humidity, and carbon dioxide levels. Carbon dioxide levels are a good proxy for how much fresh vs. recycled air is provided by an HVAC system. Fresh air exchange is important for COVID since the primary transmission route is via aerosols. Additionally, high levels of carbon dioxide can lead to headaches and fatigue, so it's more generally useful. Keith built his own carbon dioxide monitor as a hobby project and there is satisfactory agreement between the two monitors. The monitor is powered by two AA batteries and the screen is e-ink that has a ~1/min refresh rate, so the battery life is good. If you're looking to get a carbon dioxide monitor, Keith recommends this one.

Cost: $249