Product Review: Ekogrips Silicone BBQ Gloves

When you barbecue there are many times when you have to handle hot cuts of meat during the process, such as;

• refueling certain types of cookers,
• taking ribs, brisket, or butts off to foil them, or
• removing your cooked meats from the smoker.

These cuts are large, oddly shaped, covered in rendering fat, and too hot to handle bare handed.  They are typically too big to handle with typical grilling utensils.  Oven mitts aren't a good option because they will be soiled and they don't provide protection against hot liquids that can spill.

In the past, I used silicone gloves that are lined with cloth like these.  They cost about $14 online.

Removing hot spare ribs from the foil pack.

They were good at handling the meat safely but the cloth lining made sanitation and maintenance a bit difficult because if the insides got wet, they take forever to air dry.  If you put them away with them not fully dry, you end up with mildew and other contamination in the gloves. 

Ekogrips Silicone BBQ Gloves

Then I saw these bright orange silicone gloves and thought that they might be the answer.  Ekogrips are available for $26.27 a pair via Amazon, which is where Alexis bought ours.  I have used them for one year now so thought I'd do a review.

 

I have used this pair for a full year now and they have held up well to the use and washing.

 

Pros

• Make it very easy to handle the large cuts of meat on the grill.  
• Heat resistant to 425°F so they are rated way more than any food you will be handling.
• The outer surface texture makes it easy to handle the greasiest cuts of food without slipping.
• They are super easy to clean, just wash your hands with soap and hot water while wearing them.  The insides are silicone too so even if they get wet, they will dry more quickly and don't give pathogens a place to hide and grow. They are also dishwasher safe if you want to go that route.
• They are resistant to grease, heat, and hot liquids.
• They hold up well to repeated use.  The ones pictured are the actual ones I have used for 1 year.

Cons

• They aren't great for handling hot grill parts, which can easily exceed their 425°F limit.  I moved a standard BGE grate while wearing a pair of these at the Taste of Atlanta and got a 2nd degree burn on my right middle finger without even damaging the glove.  The heat just passed right on through.  Best bet is still a pair of leather welding gloves for handling hot grill parts.
• They aren't the best when it comes to dexterity, the fingers can be awkwardly stiff.  You won't have fine manipulation ability while wearing them but they are good for handling the big cuts.
• Greasy silicone is slippery.  They can be quite difficult to get them off once they get greasy, you don't want to wear a tight fitting pair when you are home alone.  Not too big of a deal, I just lightly bite the tip of the middle finger and pull the glove off with my teeth.  

Handling a hot beef brisket on the Big Green Egg.

Handling smoked pork butts this past weekend.

When they get greasy....

Just wash with soap and hot water like you are washing your hands or use a dish brush.

Summary
Ekogrip Silicone BBQ Gloves are the best option that I have found for handling hot turkeys, ribs, briskets, butts, and roasts.  They handle the heat and grease without batting an eye.  Gator Gloves and a few manufacturers make similar gloves for a bit less but I have not tested those.

These would also perform great in the kitchen for handling hot liquids and things like large roasts or turkeys.  But you would not want to use these as pot holders for temps above 425°F.  

[Standard FTC Disclaimer]  I receive no compensation for this post and paid full price for my Ekogrip Silicone BBQ Gloves.  I do have an Amazon Affiliate Seller account; however, links in this post are NOT linked to my account and I do not get a percentage of any sales.

10 Tips For Grilling Away From Home

Spring is finally here.  Trees are blooming with color, you can feel the warm kiss of the sun, and the wildlife is abuzz with activity.  People get more active in Spring too.   We want to get away from the homes that we have hibernated in over winter and explore the parks, lakes, and scenery around us.  

Grilling should be a part of that fun, it makes recreation better!  I am sure you can easily think of a time when you were enjoying yourself at a park or near the water.  Things were fine, you have had a lively day so far but then someone nears you fires up a grill and starts cooking out.  The aroma of the charcoal and the sizzle of the grill made you wish that YOU were also grilling.

We had a "going away party" at the office yesterday for one of our Team Leaders and I was cooking the meat.  I smoked a pair of 7lb pork butts on my Big Green Egg overnight for pulled pork sandwiches. (Pic is from about 3 hours into the 13 hours they spent in the Egg.)

Does this grill make my butts look big?

But I also wanted to grill a little something on site just to make it a little more festive.   I made it "take your grill to work day"!

I grilled some simple chicken kabobs on my portable grills at that office.
 

 The foil is to help keep the skewers from burning.

It took a little planning, but it was fun and worth it.  Fresh off of that experience, here are...

10 Tips for Grilling Away From Home

1. Keep It Simple - Keep It Fun!  That's the whole point, isn't it?   While it might be tempting to "wow" the crowd with your grilled beef wellington, you will have more fun if you plan a simple menu with items that don't require a lot of on site prep and that have short cook times.  I like things like burgers, dogs, sausages, pork chops, fish fillets (for guests, not me), and chicken pieces.
2. Prep Ahead.  Anything that can be done ahead of time at home will mean less utensils to take, less trash to deal with, and more time to spend socializing at the cookout.  For example, I cut my veggies, chicken, made my marinade, and assembled the kabobs at home.  I put them in a plastic container and poured the marinade over them, so all I had to do at work was grill them.
3. BYOG - Bring Your Own Grill.  The installed grills at most parks are a last resort.  They are designed to withstand abuse and the elements.  Generally they are inefficient, ornery, and not well maintained.  You are better off bringing your own portable grill.  I like ones like the Weber Smoky Joe because it's inexpensive ($30), fits easily in a car trunk without disassembling it, and it has good airflow control.  I have had self contained units like this one and they are easy to use and transport.  There are some interesting folding notebook style grills like the one Adam Perry Lang uses in this video.  Generally I avoid the prepackaged all-in-one disposable grills because the three I have tried were not very effective and the "coal" was poor quality.

   

   Front is a Bodum.  Back is a Smoky Joe w/ Craycort 14.5" grates.

4. Know The Rules.   Many parks and recreation areas have grilling rules including specified areas, ash disposal, and seasonal bans.  Find out the rules before you go so you aren't surprised with getting shut down mid-cook and/or getting a citation.  That's probably not much fun.
5. Sanitation.  You most likely won't have a hand wash station with hot water available.  My first line of defense is taking and using nitrile gloves, lots of them.  Take as many as you THINK you'll need and double that.  I also put 1 Tbsp of Clorox bleach in 1 gallon of water as a sanitizing solution (200 ppm)  and leave that in the car.  Then when I need it, it's warm from the heat in the car.
6. A Tale of Two Coolers.  Speaking of sanitation, you will probably have cold raw ingredients (your meat, veggies, etc) and cold ready to eat ingredients (condiments, side dishes).  I like to take two separate coolers to avoid any possibility of cross contamination.  
7. Gimme Shelter.   Some parks have covered eating areas.  Check ahead, some around here are reservation only, others are first come first serve.  Pop up canopies like the EZ-Up are great for providing instant shade and cover.  If none of these are available, look for natural shade.
8. Get It In Gear.   Think through WHAT and HOW you are going to cook and serve on site and take note of all the gear you will need.  The basics include an instant read thermometer, tongs, spatula, heat resistant gloves, charcoal starter and serving utensils.  But think about what you plan to do and make a list. 
9. KEEP IT CLEAN ! !  Nothing is more selfish than to go to a park or recreation area to enjoy the scenery and atmosphere and then tarnish that area for others by leaving your trash behind when you leave.  Double and triple check your area when leaving to make sure that you have left no sign that you've been there. 
10. ...

What about Tip #10?   I thought I'd let YOU fill that one in.  What is your best trick/tip for grilling or cooking away from your home?  

Hot Tubbed Steaks & Cast Iron Grates

Happy Blogiversary!
Today is the one year anniversary of Nibble Me This.

To celebrate I'm going to do a "Cast Iron Chef" theme this week focusing on cooking with cast iron. Grates, dutch ovens, bread molds, and skillets. Today, I'm looking at cast iron grill grates.

Hot Tubbed Ribeyes with Gorgonzola Butter
Gorgonzola butter
Source: Southern Living

2 heads of garlic, top 3/4 inch cut off to expose cloves (we used just one head)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese (about 2 ounces)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (we used about 1 T of dried basil)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place garlic on piece of foil; drizzle with olive oil. Enclose garlic in foil. Bake until garlic is very soft, about 1 hour. Cool. Squeeze garlic cloves out from papery skins into medium bowl; mash garlic with fork. Mix in butter, cheese, and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer Gorgonzola butter to sheet of plastic wrap. Using plastic wrap as aid, form butter into 1 1/4-inch-diameter log, wrapping plastic tightly around butter. Chill until firm. (Can be made 2 days ahead; keep chilled.) Cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds.

The "hot tub" part isn't as much of a recipe as it is a process that I have read about on the Big Green Egg forum, a wonderful source of live fire cooking information. There are basically 4 methods of grilling steaks that I'm familiar with:

• straight grilling - what most folks do, cooking a steak over a high heat (500-600f) from start to finish
• TREX Method - searing steak over high temps (750f) for 90 seconds a side, rest 20 minutes, finish roasting at 400f.
• Finney Reverse sear method - roasting steak over a lower temp (200f) until it hits close to your desired internal temp for doneness, rest and then searing at a high temp (750f)
• Hot Tub Method

This is the first time I tried the Hot Tub method. The basic process is to kind of "sous vide" your steak to an internal temp of about 100f and the finishing it with a high temp sear. The theoretic reasons behind doing it this way are:

1. Food Safety - You hear people say "let your steak come to room temperature" but to actually do that requires keeping your meet in the danger zone for bacterial growth (40f-140f) for a significant period of time. Water conducts heat way faster than air so this cuts the opportunity for food borne pathogens.
2. Even cooking - Since this bringing the temperature of the whole steak to about 100f when you start grilling, you are starting with a smaller difference between external and internal temps and should end up with a more evenly cooked steak.

The original version actually has you placing your steaks (vacuum sealed or in a ziploc bag) in an actual hot tub for 1 hour.

I don't have a hot tub and the neighbors would think I was weird if I used theirs, so I used a large stock pot over the lowest heat, carefully monitoring the water temperature keeping it between 100-105f. I put the steaks in for 1 hour.
The sticks were a rig I made to keep the steaks off of the bottom of the pot suspended in hot water. I thought I was going to have to keep the water hot by using the burners. Not necessary, I only had to fire them up once or twice to keep the temp up.

I like to add a little bit of oak chips just before grilling my steaks. I know they won't take much smoke flavor but they'll get some.

Season them with a rub (I used my Cajun Beef Rub), throw them on a hot cast iron grill grate over a searing hot fire (600f) for 90 seconds a side for rare/medium rare.

For pretty grill marks, I break that time up into four 45 second periods, turning to get the crisscross pattern.

Let them rest on a plate for 10 minutes, top with gorgonzola butter and serve. Tonight we served with black eyed peas and collard greens since it is New Years Day, a tradition in the south.

Our thoughts? The gorgonzola compound butter was a mouthful of flavor. It would be good not only on grilled steaks but also on bread, potatoes, or just about anything. We loved it.

The steaks were as good as any other methods we've done. They were very evenly cooked through and tender. But they weren't any better than the other methods we use, so it wasn't worth babysitting the steaks in the pot trying to keep the temp at 105f. If I had a real hot tub, then I'd definitely do it again for the novelty & not having to fuss with the stove top.

Craycourt Cast Iron Grill Grates
A lot of folks here and on the Egg forum have noticed my cast iron grate.

It was sent to me to try out from the great folks at Craycourt and I have to say I am very impressed with the design, quality, and performance of these modular cast iron grates. Yes, I got it for free but I would feel the same way if I had paid the full $70 for it. It's worth more than that.

They can be used on the large Big Green Egg or any 18.5" or 22.5" round grills like a Weber. Someone on the Egg forum mentioned that it was too bad that they weren't available in the XL Big Green Egg size but my source tells me that Craycourt is looking into producing that.

The grate thing (pun intended) about any cast iron grate for grilling is the even heat distribution, durability, and ability to provide gorgeous sear marks. In the "Tender Is The Loin" episode of Good Eats, Alton Brown notes that no other cooking utensil can soak up and redistribute heat like cast iron. Why do you think Grandma used that trusted cast iron skillet everyday?

But there are several advantages that I have found the Craycourt grates have over standard cast iron grates. The first and least important is, damn.....it just looks so cool, doesn't it? It looks like art.

The second and very functional advantage is the ability to remove individual portions instead of the entire grate. This facilitates adding coal or wood to your grill during a cook. It also makes it easier to clean since you're only cleaning only the parts that you used.

The third and most unique feature of these grates is the modular components. You can remove the grate and insert other units like cast iron griddles, pizza stones, and chicken holders. I haven't seen ANY other grill grate like that, cast iron or otherwise.

I love that option. I can grill steaks at the same time I am cooking scallops on a griddle section for surf and turf. Or ham and eggs. Or....you get the point.

After using it dozens of times for a month, I am adding the Craycourt cast iron grate to my "Endorsed" page and would personally recommend it for any serious grilling enthusiasts. It is one of the best accessories I have ever gotten for my Big Green Egg or any grill for that matter.

So tell me:
1) How old is your blog?
2) What's your favorite steak?'
3) What's the oddest thing you've done in a hot tub other than cooking?

(yeah, maybe we should all plead the fifth on #3 )

Fun With Cold Smoking MacGyver Style

It's that time of year where the temperature is dropping and you can start cold smoking foods. Cold smoking is not the same as "low and slow", it's "lower than low, but not as slow as slow". The point is you aren't using the smoke to cook the food, only to cure it.

Some people who have much more ambition than I (or you, or you, and yeah, you over there, more than you too) like J over at Cowgirls Country Life build their own cold smoking shacks. Then again she raises her own cattle, pork, and even shrimp.

Yes, shrimp. I can't even raise Sea Monkeys without getting the Humane Society and PETA called on me.

But anyway lot of folks over at the BBQ Brethren Forum have been having fun making cold smoke generators with cheap soldering irons so I thought I'd entertain myself today making one. All you need is a drill, a can, and a soldering iron. (Well, technically, some drill bits too.)
TIP:  It is getting harder and harder to find food cans without a BPA or other lining.  I burn mine in a hot fire to burn out the lining thoroughly. 

Drill a hole at one end of the can big enough for the soldering iron to fit into. Then drill about a dozen or so smaller holes along the side that will be the top.

Then fill the can with the wood chips of your choice. Then simply cap the end with aluminum foil several pieces thick.
TIP: Assuming this is a used soldering iron, REMOVE THE TIP. A lot of soldering wire contains lead and you don't want to be adding that to your food. Also, make sure there is no solder on the base itself. If in doubt, use a new, clean soldering iron.

Next, clean out your cooker. Remove the coals and ashes that might have residual flavors from your last meal in there. Besides, when's the last time you cleaned that puppy?

Put your rigged cold smoke generator....errrr, I mean your "thermally neutralized, precision controlled combustion device" at the bottom of your cooker.
I plugged the contraption in and in about 5 minutes, had a nice wispy smoke. Holy shiat! It works! It's ALIVE!!!

Now, smoke something. Cheese is easy.

TIP: When I worked in the Risk Management Department of a large grocery chain, the head of the test laboratory once mentioned to me that the biggest enemy to the lifespan of cheeses was bacteria from handling after it was opened. So wash your hands very well before opening the cheese, cutting the cheese, or handling the cheese. Also, scrub the living hell out of your grate or smoke the cheese on a sanitary surface. This will extend the useful life of your cheese.

Since this was an experiment, I used cheap block cheeses including swiss, mild chedder, colby jack, sharp cheddar, pepper jack, edam, and muenster cut into 1" x 1" pieces. Cheenga anyone?

I did the first half with hickory chips, which can be a strong smoke. I didn't want to waste the whole batch if it turned out badly.

Here's the weird thing. There's no internal temp you're shooting for. It's just a matter of dose and exposure, how much smoke for how long. The only general rules are to keep the cooker temp under 80 degrees (f) and smoke the cheese for 1 to 2 hours. I let the hickory batch go 1 hour 15 minutes. The temp shown is the temp of the air inside the cooker, not the temp of the cheese.

The MacSmoker 3000 raised the temp of the Egg about 10 degrees in one hour on a cool day with an ambient temperature of 55f.


With the second batch, I used cherry wood (stacked in the picture above), a much milder smoke. It was a very quick changeover. I unplugged the unit, waited about 10 minutes, dumped the hickory and added the cherry. This time, I also added some raw almonds that I had tossed in some butter, honey, raw sugar, and salt.

When you pull the cheese off, vacuum seal or tightly wrap and let it mellow out in the fridge for 1-2 weeks. It will be very strong at first and needs time to balance out.

Postmortem:

• This works WAY better than what we did last year using 3 or 4 pieces of lump and a handful of wood chips.
• The cherry smoke was predictably milder than the hickory batch, based on the samples. Time will tell.
• The almonds? They had the perfect smoky taste but not the texture so I popped them in a 400f oven for 10-15 minutes to crystallize the honey/sugar coating. FREAKING AWESOME.
• The great thing about this is you don't have to have a smoker to use this. You could put the cold smoker in a grill or any container that will maintain a low, cool temp.

Probing Questions About Thermometers

One of the most important pieces of equipment in the kitchen is an instant read thermometer. Having an accurate, fast thermometer helps you cook perfectly done meat. Well, sure, that and it helps keep you from killing all of your family and guests with an e-coli infused chicken served with a salmonella reduction sauce.

But there are so many options out there, what one is the right one for you? I can't tell you that. But I currently own 9 different ones and several different types, so I can give you my feedback on them. This isn't a comprehensive review, rather just some general info and my thoughts about the different types.

Analog Instant Read Thermometers
These are what most people think of when they think of instant read thermometers. It's the standard dial type thermometer that you see stuffed in a chef's sleeve. Temp range from 0-220f.

Pros: Inexpensive ($5), easily available, no batteries needed. Can be calibrated.
Cons: Slow to come to temp, instant is relative.

Digital Instant Read Thermometers
As of today, the government has NOT phased out analog thermometers for digital and you do not need a special coupon for a converter box.
Pros: Generally easier to read and faster.
Cons: More expensive than analog ($15 up to $90) Batteries can die at inopportune times and finding replacement batteries can be a PITA. Cheap ones can't be calibrated, so if they lose calibration, you have to buy a new one.
Some examples include:

Big Green Egg (~$30)
It's no secret that I absolutely LOVE the Big Green Egg smoker/grill. But their thermometer? No so much. It looks like a Porsche (Thermapen) but accelerates like a city bus (see comparison below).

Thermapen ($90, temp range -58 to 572f)
The benchmark in thermometers. These babies are fast, accurate, and have the best reputation out there. These use a thermocouple instead of a thermistor to register temperatures. You can calibrate a Thermapen.

Taylor Weekend Warrior ($18, temp range -45 to 450f)
Not as fast as a thermapen, but based on the price and performance? Hard to beat this one for value.

Remote Probe Thermometers ($16 - $50)
These use separate probe and reading unit that lets you keep a constant eye on the temp of your dish without opening and closing the smoker/grill/oven door. The ones below are Taylor ($16 at Wallyworld), but I also like Accurite and Maverick brands. Read the directions carefully because ones with rubber coated sheaths are limited to oven/grill temps below 400f. The plain braided metal ones can go into higher temps.

Pros: Great for longer cooks, you can see how the dish is coming to temperature. You can set temperature alarms so you get notified when you hit a target internal temp.
Cons: Bulky, tangles up drawer space. The probe wires can go bad and getting replacements can be a pain. TIP: Covering the wire with a bit of foil protects it and extends the life of the probe.

I.....eerrrrrrr, the Labs at NMT did a quick little test to see how fast and accurate these meters read. I tried them all in a pot of rapidly boiling water, which given elevation and barometric pressure that day was a standard temp of 209f. (Boiling point calculator)

All of the thermometers were within 1 degree, so let's just call it even for accuracy.

But how long it took each thermometer to correctly register the boiling point varied greatly.
BGE - 19 seconds
Analog dial - 14 seconds
Taylor remote - 9 seconds
Taylor Weekend Warrior - 6 seconds
Thermapen - 3 seconds

Sixteen seconds of difference might not sound like a big deal. But consider fillet mignon for an example. I normally cook those at 600f for only 6 minutes. If I am cooking six fillets and using the slowest of these thermometers, it would take me almost two extra minutes of cooking time to temp check all six steaks. The steaks I wanted medium rare would now be cooked medium to medium well. So seconds can make a big difference.

So what are your thoughts? Do you use a thermometer or just go by times/cooking temps? Do you have any thermometer tips? Do you have a favorite thermometer brand or style?

Beef Tenderloin with Creole Brandy Sauce

Let's just cut to the chase and get the food porn out of the way.

Tonight's menu was

Beef Tenderloin with Creole Sauce
Smoky Mountain Cafe's Summer Corn**
Roasted Potatoes with Garlic & Rosemary
Grilled Garlic Bread

**(One of the easiest, best side dishes ever. Katherine is a fellow food blogger who is awesome! Check her blog out.)

Start with a whole beef tenderloin. We got this one for a steal at because it was close dated. Yeah, we paid $45 (basically the cost of 3 people eating at Applebee's) for fillet mignon for 6-7 people. Not to mention I'll get at least a couple of incredible burgers by grinding up the scraps in an 80/20 mix.
So instead of "beef from the discount rack" we were having hand trimmed steaks. Say it out loud. Hand trimmed steaks. It just sounds fancy doesn't it? Like "rich Corinthian leather".

Anyway, I cut the steaks, tied them, and hit them with my Cajun beef rub***. This is my standard batch, you don't have to use it all, just enough to coat the steaks well.

Grove's Cajun Beef Rub

2 T smoked paprika

2 t kosher salt, coarse ground

2 t granulated onion, coarse ground (substitute onion powder but grinding your own rocks)

2 t granulated garlic, coarse ground (same)

2 t cayenne pepper

1.5 t white pepper

1/2 t black pepper

1 t thyme

1 t oregano

Let them sit for about 30-45 minutes to absorb the goodness:)

I couldn't do mine on the Egg tonight since it has a pork butt cooking in it so I did them on the Brinkmann's Professional Charcoal Grill filled with a chimney of Kingsford Briquettes with Hickory. The temp was around 450f. I seared them close to the coals with the grill lid CLOSED for four minutes flipping and rotating every 1 minute to get even cooking and nice grid marks.

Than I moved them to the indirect heat said and when they hit 130 internal, I pulled them to rest.

Creole Brandy Sauce

One of the VERY FEW PERHAPS ONLY ONE DOWNSIDE to grilling versus pan searing steaks is that you miss out one the foundation (the seared beef drippings in the pan) to many great sauces. With beef tenderloin, I found a way around that by using some of the trimmed scraps.

1 T olive oil

2 T beef tenderloin fatty trimmings, diced VERY finely

1/4 c mushrooms, diced very fine (measurement is after dicing)

1/4 c beef broth

1 oz brandy

1 T green onion diced on a bias

2 T Dijon mustard, coarse ground

6 oz heavy cream
1 t smoked paprika
S & P to taste

In a heated saute pan, add olive oil and allow to become warm. Saute beef trimmings and mushrooms stirring frequently until the 1) beef is browned and 2) the mushrooms have given off their liquid. The pan should start to look like it is going to burn. The following action shots are courtesy of my wife.

Deglaze the pan with beef broth and simmer for a minute or two letting the liquid reduce.

MEGA HUGE SAFETY TIP: Take the pan OFF of heat and open flame to add the brandy.

To be safe, ignite the brandy away from the range top with a long stem lighter. Me? Instead, I return the pan to the burner, tilt and ignite the flambe.

Call the salon and cancel the eyebrow waxing appointment you had for tomorrow!Just kidding, the whole flambe part lasts all of 1 second, just keep back:)

Add the cream, green onion, mustard, paprika, salt and pepper and let it thicken.

To serve, ladle one spoonful of the brandy sauce on a plate and place the steak on top of the sauce.

IMHO, the flavor of the brandy sauce and the texture of the mushrooms & mustard seeds ROCKS!

***Yes I KNOW Cajun and Creole are TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THINGS. But my cajun beef rub IS my basic beef rub whether I'm cooking creole or otherwise.

For printable recipe, click here:

When pigs fly.....

uh oh, too late, swine flu!

For the record, the Centers for Disease Control assures you that:

"Swine influenza viruses are not spread by food. You cannot get swine influenza from eating pork or pork products. Eating properly handled and cooked pork products is safe."

I want to further assure you that despite my affinity for all things pork (ribs, chops, tenderloins, shoulder), you can not contract swine influenza A (H1N1) from reading this blog.That is unless you happen to be using a computer that was previously used by an infected hog that sneezed on his/her pig feet without washing or pickling them before using the computer. If that's the case, you're on your own.