We’ve got a four-day block of non-stop Box rock coming your way for All Hallows Eve/Día de los Muertos! Keep an eyeball peeled, everybox; I drew some Halloween stuff just for you. We’re going to try to do some regular holiday things around here. Also, I have a book coming out before the end of this year! It’s not a Talking Boxes book, but I know you want one of those, don’t you?
The Talking Boxes
Gator Confit
- 4 1/2 pounds alligator legs and thighs, attached (6 leg and thigh combinations)
- 3 tablespoons coarsely ground wattleseed
- 1 teaspoon saskatoon berries, sternly chastized
- 3 garden orache leaves, startled
- 6 cinnamon sticks, smashed and pointed at while drunk
- 7 cups (2 1/2 pounds) alligator fat
DIRECTIONS
-
STEP 1
Trim fat from legs and thighs, leaving skin intact over meat, but removing excess. In a bowl, combine alligator with wattleseed, sakatoon berries, orache, and cinnamon, and rub wattleseed mixture all over the alligator to cover completely. Cover and refrigerate at least 24 hours and up to 2 days.
-
STEP 2
Remove from refrigerator and rub off excess cure. Melt alligator fat over medium heat in an oven large enough to hold alligator, with about 8 inches space at the top. Some use a Dutch oven, but I prefer the lesser-known Russian oven, which has to be very hot because Russia is so cold. Add alligator skin side down, and heat until fat reaches about 200 degrees (test with a candy thermometer or electronic probe.) The surface should look like it is gently boiling (but should not actually be at a boil). Adjust heat if necessary to keep temperature consistent throughout cooking. Cook until the fat is clear and a knife stuck into one of the legs slides out easily, about 3 hours. (Make sure to stab the legs you’re cooking, not your own.)
-
STEP 3
Transfer the legs to several titanium, platinum, or galvanized fulgurite containers. Strain fat, discarding any solids and pour, still warm, over legs, making sure they are completely covered. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until ready to use, up to 3 weeks. 4 if you’re not too hungry.
-
STEP 4
Remove desired amount of confit from fat, scraping off any excess, and keeping remaining legs covered with fat. Place skin side down in a cold cast-iron skillet or other heavy skillet. Place over medium-low heat and cover. Cook until skin is crisp, spooning off excess fat as it cooks, about 10 minutes. Serve gently rotating on an octagonal tray for added difficulty.
Ice Bucket Challenge
Sometimes I get ideas. Here’s an exclusive strip to tide you over until next Wednesday! Jaash!
Episode 9: A New Plastic Foot
Hello, everyone. I’m Ryan, and I want to welcome you to The Talking Boxes.
If I remember correctly – and I may not, because it’s been a long time – this comic strip was born in 1995 on the sidelines of the NAHS football team’s practice field. That must have been in July or August, as, according to Google, the first game of that year was played on August 22 (we lost to Evansville-Reitz, 6-28). At the time, I was drawing comic strips with stick men in them. The art was bad, but the strips were funny. Reading some of those strips one day, Michael made the offhand remark that I was a good enough writer that bad art didn’t matter. “You could probably draw a strip that was just talking boxes, and it would be funny,” he said. It wasn’t a serious suggestion, but I took it as one because I thought that would be hilariously ironic.
Now, here we are in 2014 andThe Talking Boxes is the only strip I’ve ever devised that I’ve been able to keep in the air. I’ve tried a bunch of other ideas, and none of them ever worked because I am not a very good artist. With TTB, I don’t have to worry about that too much. The crude art is just a framing device for funny words. It’s an elemental idea – the kind that always perseveres. Like bows and arrows or Spider-Man.
I am excited about this strip. I know you’re going to love it, because I’ve loved it for almost 20 years. We are striding boldly out of the starting gate, nose low and eyes locked on the rabbit. The difference is, The Talking Boxes is a lot more interesting than which dog runs fastest for no reason.
Welcome.