Main Discussion Zone > General Religious Discussion
OLD: Basic Islam : how to become a muslim
AFadly:
--- Quote from: Airyaman on July 28, 2008, 07:20:45 AM ---Pakistan court rules conversion of kidnapped Christian girls is legal
Will you come out and publicly state that what these kidnappers did was against Islam and evil?
--- End quote ---
Actually it depends on the true story, if they were married and converted to Islam before or not
john:
--- Quote from: spider on July 28, 2008, 12:55:57 AM ---Funny, I've tasted bacon and I've not renounced vegetarianism. In fact, I chose vegetarianism after enjoying bacon, and I don't have Allah breathing down my neck, keeping me in line.
--- End quote ---
That is because vegetarianism is not a religion, or so I am told. There is a difference between choosing not to eat bacon, and choosing to believe it is unclean.
--- Quote ---Is this really the best we can do with a discussion on Islam? Jokes about bacon
--- End quote ---
Hey now, I don't joke about bacon. While my cooking expertise is not broad, those things in which I specialize are taken very, very seriously and prepared very, very well. Bacon is one of my specialties.
Unlike most meats, bacon does not benefit from using high temperature during cooking. The primary goal of cooking bacon is to get the ends done at the same time as the middle, and high temperature just makes this harder. High temperature also causes trapped water inside the fat to explode violently, which can burn you. I therefore recommend that a temperature of 3-4 to be used (if the temperature dials go from 1 to 10.) Bacon is properly prepared in a cast iron skillet with about 3 millimeters of oil (preferrably from other bacon) in the pan. In the Southern U.S., we keep a supply of bacon grease on hand for just this purpose, among others.
The exact cooking process is dictated by the texture and composition of the bacon. As the bacon cooks, it curls, which raises parts of the meat above the oil. To counter this, the bacon must be turned frequently. The biggest challenge is to get the ends done at the same moment as the middle. This takes planning. Certain pieces of bacon will have fatty protrusions on the ends which must be helped if they are to cook in time with the rest of the piece. In order to accomplish this, use a fork to press the ends against the pan. This will accelerate their cooking.
Judging when bacon is done is more art the science. There are several factors to consider. Bacon that is done in the pan will not be crispy at pan temperature. Therefore, if you cook until the bacon is crispy in the pan, it will be burned by the time it gets to the plate. If you can still see through parts of the fat, the bacon is not done. Special care should also be taken with cuts of bacon that have lots of connective tissue in it (web-like structure that draws up significantly during cooking. The bacon must be cooked enough to break down this connective tissue, or the bacon will be stringy with sinew. To accomplish this, use the fork pressing technique described previously.
An often overlooked fact of bacon is that it must be cooled and drained properly. If it is placed directly on a plate from the pan, it will be a nasty, greasy mess. Traditionally, bacon is placed on several napkins or paper towels laid over a plate to soak up the excess grease, but this doesn't ultimately do a good job of draining it off. The best solution is to set up a cooling rack. Sandwich several paper towels between a sheet pan and a steel screen cooling rack. The paper towels will wick away the oil as it drains onto the screen, but the screen will be unable to wick the oil back up to the bacon.
Allow to cool for one minute before serving. Bacon that is served hot has not had enough time to drain.
Bacon is serious business.
jetson:
Dude, thanks for the post on bacon! Seriously - thanks! Can you possibly do one on fried/scrambled eggs. And what about boiled eggs - It's hit or miss on the perfect timing!
You rock - seriously! :)
spider:
Thank you to afadly for answering my questions so that I have actually learnt something about a religion I know little about.
Thanks also for the superfluous off-topic but amusing information on bacon, john. No, really, it's... great...
spider:
Just one last question to clarify so I know I understand this concept correctly, if you'll oblige me, afadly.
So, my understanding is that the things that are haraam do not have an inherent evil quality to them, it's just that Allah has worked out boundaries by which he can test the faith and dedication of his followers...
...and to make it logical to everyone, those things are also unhealthy or risky in some way, but it's not like Satan lives in the bacon or anything like that...
Have I got it roughly correct?
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