Don't Do What Donnie Don't Does- Hot Grease

Sometimes, I think that I should not have the 'Donnie Don't' label for my posts. Am I subconsciously encouraged to do dumb-ass things, just so I can post them? God, I hope not, but I'm not ruling that possibility out completely.

Having said that, I doubt that I need to post this, but I will anyway. Here is a list of don'ts when it comes to browning a piece of meat for pot roast.

• Don't add too much oil to the pan (a nice thin coating will do fine- a quarter of an inch is both unnecessary and dangerous).
• Don't use meat that is still partially frozen.
• Don't wear a tank top when cooking with hot oil.
• Don't use tongs to fight with a big piece of beef that is thoroughly stuck to the bottom of the pan (because you didn't follow the 2nd bit of advice from above).
  

Or you'll end up with this.



Both Jeff and I saw the large amount of oil (approximately 1/4 cup is my estimate) that jumped out of the pan onto the inside of my arm. Did you notice not only the circular-ish spots, but the nicely elongated splatters, as well?

I soaked this puppy in ice water (to which I'd added both lavender and tea tree oil) for at least half an hour. When I would take it out of the ice water to check on it, the burned spots were actually still warm. The ice cold water, lavender and tea tree oils have really helped with the burn, I think. I used to work in a professional kitchen and can't tell you how many times Melaleuca (the only way to get tea tree in the 90's) saved my arms.

It was starting to blister up last night, but looks much better today, no broken skin or anything. It just hurts when I bend my elbow, which considering it's my right arm, only occurs once every five minutes or so. I'm practicing being ambidextrous. You should have seen me trying to eat soup at lunchtime. And as I type this, I'm sitting about two feet back from the keyboard with my arms outstretched. I look like Frankenstein in typing class.