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***Official Cooking Discussion Thread*** (1 Viewer)

skycriesmary said:
This is why I bought mine, and haven't went back to the grill since. Evenly cooked, seared to perfection, and all the juices locked inside. It's just about idiot proof. Top it off with some blue cheese butter, and your  golden. 
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This is a misnomer.  Searing has nothing to do with locking juices inside.

 
bryhamm said:
This is a misnomer.  Searing has nothing to do with locking juices inside.
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I find this discussion interesting. I know most of the debunking comes from weighing cuts of meat with searing and no searing, but this isn't really a valid test.

A seared steak in theory could weigh less as well as seal in juices. How? Well the crust is clearly getting all of the moisture removed. So obviously a certain % of the steak will weigh much less. Science would be better utilized by testing the permeability of meat crust vs. just meat as well as testing the moisture content of the center of the steaks. I can't seem to find tests that deal with this. Anybody know of any?  

 
I would think that any steak sitting in, say, a 350 degree oven until 130 would have all the moisture evaporated off the surface of the meat, even with no sear.  

I do think that the major benefit of searing is simply the maillard reaction.  Meat cooked sous vide loses some moisture (though is still plenty moist in texture when served).  The final sear isn't doing anything to seal in juices, because the cooking is done.  It's just to give you that yummy caramelization (and to improve appearance).  

 
skycriesmary said:
This is why I bought mine, and haven't went back to the grill since. Evenly cooked, seared to perfection, and all the juices locked inside. It's just about idiot proof. Top it off with some blue cheese butter, and your  golden. 
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I still prefer the grill. There's no substitute for the taste and char you get with fire.

 
I had some chuck steaks that I had vacuum sealed and tossed in the freezer for future fresh ground hamburger a few months ago.  Decided to throw them in the sous vide @130 degrees on Friday night instead.  Had one of them for lunch today and it was phenomenal!  As tender as a filet, maybe even more so, but with the fat-flavor profile of a ribeye. Who knew 60 hours of hot water could do that!  Only thing I might do differently next time is a little lower temp.  These were closer to medium at 130. Perfect crust though on the 1500 degree infrared after about 30 seconds.

 
bought a bone-in, spiral-cut ham on sale. The kind that has the glaze packet with it.  

99 cents a pound.  9.5 lbs - got 6lbs of ham out of it.  Tastes awesome.  

Going to take some of it to make some delicious ham balls.  

 
Ok, as part of a silent auction for a charity I am involved with I bid on and won to have dinner with a group of people and Jonathan Waxman (owner of Barbuto and prior head chef at Chez Panisse and Michaels in Cali and of course owner/head chef at Jams in NYC which was the king of 1980s dinning in NYC).  He was also contestant of Top Chef Masters a few times.  

First off the dinner was catered at someones apt so he was not cooking for us :kicksrock:  but I did know that signing up for it. 

It was a fascinating discussion and he was a bit full of himself (but I expected that of a celebrity chef).  We covered many topics including restaurants economics, his life history (real focus on his career) and current trends in food, etc.  It was really enjoyable but he didn't give away the details on how he makes such a great roast chicken (which is worth the trip to Barbuto if no one has been) other than the key was that he had cooked well over 100k chickens in his life and much of it was driven by experience and ingredient quality.  Also, thought it fascinating that his grand parents owned a chicken farm and he spent his childhood weekends working on that farm so his experience with Chickens was even greater than your normal chef.

One topic that came up that I thought would raise in this thread was Sous Vide.  His hate for the style was a bit of a surprise to me.  His view was anything done that style can be done in a more traditional way and cooking in plastic was downright disgusting and likely bad for ones long-term health. To be honest, I have never cooked in this style but was always a bit put off about cooking in plastic bags even if in low hit.  Any of the big supports of Sous Vide have thoughts on this as I know there are many in this thread.

P.S. If anyone is interested in other topics that were discussed I am happy to post about them.   

 
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Drunken knight said:
curious about his thoughts on cooking trends aside from sous vide.... past, current, and predictions
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Big focus was on the trend to local and seasonal will just continue to get larger.  Top restaurants are just going to try to stop serving things that aren't local and in season so for example no Asparagus off season.  The key in his mind to improving food is freshness and getting food local and in season is something that just improves quality of the food they can prepare.  I was not surprised by this at all but he thought it might start trickling down to shopping as well as he described the average food American by we bought as just plan old.  

 
Redwes25 said:
Ok, as part of a silent auction for a charity I am involved with I bid on and won to have dinner with a group of people and Jonathan Waxman (owner of Barbuto and prior head chef at Chez Panisse and Michaels in Cali and of course owner/head chef at Jams in NYC which was the king of 1980s dinning in NYC).  He was also contestant of Top Chef Masters a few times.  

First off the dinner was catered at someones apt so he was not cooking for us :kicksrock:  but I did know that signing up for it. 

It was a fascinating discussion and he was a bit full of himself (but I expected that of a celebrity chef).  We covered many topics including restaurants economics, his life history (real focus on his career) and current trends in food, etc.  It was really enjoyable but he didn't give away the details on how he makes such a great roast chicken (which is worth the trip to Barbuto if no one has been) other than the key was that he had cooked well over 100k chickens in his life and much of it was driven by experience and ingredient quality.  Also, thought it fascinating that his grand parents owned a chicken farm and he spent his childhood weekends working on that farm so his experience with Chickens was even greater than your normal chef.

One topic that came up that I thought would raise in this thread was Sous Vide.  His hate for the style was a bit of a surprise to me.  His view was anything done that style can be done in a more traditional way and cooking in plastic was downright disgusting and likely bad for ones long-term health. To be honest, I have never cooked in this style but was always a bit put off about cooking in plastic bags even if in low hit.  Any of the big supports of Sous Vide have thoughts on this as I know there are many in this thread.

P.S. If anyone is interested in other topics that were discussed I am happy to post about them.   
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hell yah

 
Redwes25 said:
Ok, as part of a silent auction for a charity I am involved with I bid on and won to have dinner with a group of people and Jonathan Waxman (owner of Barbuto and prior head chef at Chez Panisse and Michaels in Cali and of course owner/head chef at Jams in NYC which was the king of 1980s dinning in NYC).  He was also contestant of Top Chef Masters a few times.  

First off the dinner was catered at someones apt so he was not cooking for us :kicksrock:  but I did know that signing up for it. 

It was a fascinating discussion and he was a bit full of himself (but I expected that of a celebrity chef).  We covered many topics including restaurants economics, his life history (real focus on his career) and current trends in food, etc.  It was really enjoyable but he didn't give away the details on how he makes such a great roast chicken (which is worth the trip to Barbuto if no one has been) other than the key was that he had cooked well over 100k chickens in his life and much of it was driven by experience and ingredient quality.  Also, thought it fascinating that his grand parents owned a chicken farm and he spent his childhood weekends working on that farm so his experience with Chickens was even greater than your normal chef.

One topic that came up that I thought would raise in this thread was Sous Vide.  His hate for the style was a bit of a surprise to me.  His view was anything done that style can be done in a more traditional way and cooking in plastic was downright disgusting and likely bad for ones long-term health. To be honest, I have never cooked in this style but was always a bit put off about cooking in plastic bags even if in low hit.  Any of the big supports of Sous Vide have thoughts on this as I know there are many in this thread.

P.S. If anyone is interested in other topics that were discussed I am happy to post about them.   
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Thanks for the post.  Very interesting. Did anyone ask him if he has tried Sous Vide?  I honestly get his reaction but it strikes me as a "get off my lawn" type comment. The same type of plastic used in Sous Vide is used all over commercial kitchens.

 
Ron Swanson said:
Thanks for the post.  Very interesting. Did anyone ask him if he has tried Sous Vide?  I honestly get his reaction but it strikes me as a "get off my lawn" type comment. The same type of plastic used in Sous Vide is used all over commercial kitchens.
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Not specifically but pretty clear that he had since he discussed first using them in the 70s in France.  He was also clear in his hatred for plastics in general and said he kept it out of his kitchen as much as possible and he believed he could taste the difference of things stored in plastic, etc.  Clearly there are a lot of top chefs that use the method and use plastic all the time so might be a bit of the get off my lawn comment.   

 
I’ve been following Salt and Lavender on Instagram.  She’s got a blog with some pretty good simple recipes if anyone’s interested.  Here’s the link

 
If you sign up for the free e-mail newsletter from America's Test Kitchen, a couple of times a week it'll have links to some of their recipes (ATK, Cooks Illustrated, Cooks Country).  The ones that look good, I copy off to a Google doc - the links are good for 2-3 days.

 
heckmanm said:
If you sign up for the free e-mail newsletter from America's Test Kitchen, a couple of times a week it'll have links to some of their recipes (ATK, Cooks Illustrated, Cooks Country).  The ones that look good, I copy off to a Google doc - the links are good for 2-3 days.
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I used to subscribe to Cooks Illustrated by these guys - best magazine ever (if you could call it a magazine ...)

 
proninja said:
I could ask the other question, which is what about the maillard reaction do you think would waterproof the surface of beef? (it doesn't)

Also, meat expels water when cooked. The more it's cooked, the more water it expels. It does not cease to expel water because the surface has been seared. And if the sear did render the surface of the meat waterproof, when you cut into it the water that had been expelled from the cooked meat would rush out. It doesn't. 

I'd like to see any sort of evidence from the people who claim that searing locks in the juices, because they're the ones making the actual claim.

 
Click to expand...
Is the maillard reaction the only process that can occur? 

Perhaps it is more akin to cauterization? 

Perhaps it is similar to how when you burn the surface of wood you can waterproof it, meat Pyrolysis if you will.

 
proninja said:
I would want more than a perhaps before I made the claim. Show me some good reason to believe that browned meat is waterproof, and I'm all ears. 

I'm assuming you've seen fluid pooling on the seared top of a steak while the other side cooks too, right? 
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You are making the mistake of thinking I claimed it sealed in the juices. I am not really saying one way or the other. 

What I know for certain though is the "science" being used to disprove it is flawed. 

The maillard reaction also occurs in bread crusts. Studies have shown that the permeability of the crust can be modified a great deal which can alter how a bread stays moist on the inside and crispy on the outside. 

I just would like to see those same studies for steak. (perhaps they already exist, but I cant find them)

 
I am making a ton of home made pasta today.  I would like to freeze it.

Should I let it dry completely at room temp before the freezing process or can it go into the freezer right after making it?

 
Anybody ever make kimchi? Just made a huge batch in my fermenter. Seemed like nothing was happening, then after day 5 it started bubbling like crazy. 

 
Binky The Doormat said:
I used to subscribe to Cooks Illustrated by these guys - best magazine ever (if you could call it a magazine ...)
Click to expand...
These are my go-to cookbooks. The magazine doesn't work for me, and I've never seen the TV show, but the cookbooks are what I use almost 100% of the time. I've probably got a dozen, but the main books I use are the "Family Cookbook" (3 ring binder version), the grilling one, and the slow-cooker one (I'm on the second edition now). I just got two more, including the "100 Recipes" book that came out a couple years ago.  For whatever reason, their style appeals to me and its pretty much all I use anymore for whatever I'm cooking/baking/grilling.

 
Instinctive said:
Recipe?
Click to expand...


Drunken knight said:
i'll post tomorrow.  conceptually it is a lot like traditional lasagna where you are layering with herbed ricotta, seared seafood, shredded cheese, and basil bechamel.
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my apologies... just as it was at blackwater, destiny was thrust upon me but father did not need to come to the rescue. brave men were knocking on the door, and we killed them. been busy.

simple method.  i use an 8x8 or 9x9 pan.  i cook my lasagna noodles first.

make a ricotta mixture with oregano, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper (about 3 cups)

make about 3-4 cups of bechamel (adding about 1c chopped basil- you can leave it in or strain it out).  can use some store bought pesto if you prefer.

peel, devain, and half 1lb of shrimp (20ct)..cut lengthwise.  saute with butter and garlic about 70% (very quick)

saute about 1 1/2c of bay scallops (small ones- 20-30/lb) with butter and garlic.  makes no sense to use the nice U10 for this dish. i do this separately from the shrimp because you get a better sear on each.

about 2-3c of an italian cheese blend

i use 1 can of jumbo lump crab.  strain well.... no need to cook

create three layers (4 of noodles- start and end with noodles). i lie.  lay a little bechamel down first for a base. noodles, ricotta mix, seafood, bechamel, cheese.  repeat.

cheers!

 
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Here is a recipe I made tonite. It was delicious. They weren't all that crispy, not my go with fingerlings next time, although now rereading the recipe, I didn't leave them in the colander to drain, I put them on the sheet and waited about 5 minutes, that may have kept some of the liquid. I added a bunch of herbs to the water (I had leftover oregano and rosemary from the marinade that I made for the balsamic flank steak that was the main course.) I also put in a bit of garlic powder to the melted butter. Figured that would give flavor without the potential burning the recipe mentions.

Ultra Crispy Smashed Potatoes


Extra crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside. They taste like French fries except they're buttery (and look more rustic! ? ) These will be your new favorite way with potatoes! Makes 12, depending on size of potatoes. Make as many as can fit on the tray once smashed, as long as they aren't touching.

Ingredients
1.4 lb small potatoes (Note 1)
3 tbsp unsalted butter , melted
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
Finely chopped parsley, optional garnish

Instructions
Bring a pot of water to the boil. Cook potatoes until soft - small ones should take around 20 to 25 minutes, large ones might take 30 minutes. It's OK if the skin splits. Alternatively, steam or microwave them.
Preheat oven to 350F (standard) or 320F (fan / convection).
Drain the potatoes and let them dry in the colander for 5 minutes or so.
Place on the tray then use a large fork or potato masher to squish them, keeping them in one piece. Thin = crisper. More nubbly surface = better crunch!
Leave on the tray to steam dry for 5 minutes or so - makes them crispier!
Drizzle with butter, then just a bit of olive oil (about 1/4 tsp on each). Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Bake for 40 minutes or until deep golden and crispy. Do not flip!
Serve hot, sprinkled with parsley if desired.

1. I've used a variety of potatoes over the years and this works great with all types, including baby potatoes. High starch potatoes will yield a fluffier inside, whereas waxy potatoes are a bit less fluffy but are sort of creamy. You'll love both!

You can make these with smaller or medium potatoes. Small ones - size of a golf ball or smaller - will come out crisper (like finger food, you can pick them up), whereas larger ones have the same crispiness on the surface but you get more fluffy potato on the inside because they don't get squished as thinly. I like them both ways!

2. Flavorings: If you add garlic or dried herbs into the butter, it has a tendency to burn so you end up with black bits and they can be bitter. If you're really keen for garlic flavor, use the side of your knife to smash 2 cloves so they burst open. Place in small saucepan with butter and melt, then leave to infuse with garlic flavor. Discard cloves and proceed with recipe.

For herbs, add a generous amount (dried or fresh) into the pot of boiling water so the potatoes get infused with herb flavor. Discard herbs and proceed with recipe.
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My wife made some brownies the other day.  She normally does from scratch but hasn't done a lot of baking lately and was in a hurry so she picked up a couple box mixes - it was Ghiradelli Dark Chocolate.  We both like spicy chocolate so I looked up a couple of recipes to get an idea of how much to put in.  We picked on a mixture of chipotle powder and cayenne along with some cinnamon.  

I like caramel swirl in my brownies so she also picked up a bag of ready-to-melt caramel balls (never had seen these before, they are softer than the regular brachs brand squares. 

These are the best damn brownies I have ever eaten - great kick.  

Spicy Dark Chocolate Brownies

- 2 boxes of Ghiradelli Dark Chocolate brownie mix (or whatev)

- ADD to mix - 1 tbsp chipotle powder/1.5 tsp cayenne/1 tbsp cinnamon and 1 bag caramel morsels 

- slightly underbake to ensure chewiness, brownies should never crunch.

 
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One of my favorite cuts of meat has been the Prime ribeye caps at Costco.

Ribeye Caps

They have been infuriating to cook to the right temp for me on grill as they are loose due to being tied up and the readings on my thermapen doesn't give me consistent readings.

Decided to sous vide at 135 for 2 hours with fresh thyme and seared in cast iron pan with butter added at the end.

Excellent!

 
Been digging my Cameron stove top smoker.

Baby Back Ribs - probably the best dish I've made in the past three months. Served with cole slaw (made with yogurt in lieu of mayo), homemade mac and cheese, and cheap brown and serve rolls.

Also, Rosemary Smoked Garlic Chickpeas. Used this recipe as an input for a super-fine hummus. I'll never, ever buy store bought hummus again.

 
baymen said:
One of my favorite cuts of meat has been the Prime ribeye caps at Costco.

Ribeye Caps

They have been infuriating to cook to the right temp for me on grill as they are loose due to being tied up and the readings on my thermapen doesn't give me consistent readings.

Decided to sous vide at 135 for 2 hours with fresh thyme and seared in cast iron pan with butter added at the end.

Excellent!
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We don't have Costcos near us but that you can buy just the caps is fantastic.  That cap is my favorite cut of meat.  

 
baymen said:
One of my favorite cuts of meat has been the Prime ribeye caps at Costco.

Ribeye Caps

They have been infuriating to cook to the right temp for me on grill as they are loose due to being tied up and the readings on my thermapen doesn't give me consistent readings.

Decided to sous vide at 135 for 2 hours with fresh thyme and seared in cast iron pan with butter added at the end.

Excellent!
Click to expand...
Try searing it with bacon fat instead of butter.  Drool...

I pan fry it in bacon fat (don't have a sous vide) and it's awesome.

 
has anyone made kimchi?

If so I have a question.  During the fermentation process in my mason jar, should I "burp" the jars every so often to release the gases or leave them bottled up for the 3-5 days?

 
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I found this recipe and think it looks interesting.  I'm going to give it a try sometime:

Pastrami spring rolls with mustard sweet chili sauce.

INGREDIENTS (8 Spring rolls)

  • 1 cup of Bamboo shoots (cooked)
  • 1 cup of Cabbage (cooked)
  • ½ cup of Red banana pepper
  • 1 pound of Pastrami
  • ½ a tablespoon of Salt
  • 2 cloves of minced Garlic
  • ¼ cup of Oyster sauce
  • ¼ cup of Potato powder
  • Water
  • Egg wash
  • Pre-made spring roll shells
PREPARATION

Step 1

  • Mix in a bowl the cooked bamboo shoots, cooked cabbage, banana pepper
Step 2

  • Add minced garlic, salt and oyster sauce.
Step 3

  • Add the potato powder and ¼ cup of water to the mixture.
  • Allow mixture to set 2-3 hours.
Step 4

  • Lay out the pre-made spring roll shell, put a spoonful of pastrami and vegetable mixture in the middle and fold sides of shell inward, then fold ends neatly tucked in. Egg wash ends to bind.
  • Pan fry for about three (3) minutes on each sides till golden brown.
  • Set on plate and garnish with cabbage and banana peppers.
SAUCE

  • 2 ounces of yellow mustard
  • 1 ounce of sweet chili sauce
  • Small cubes of cucumber
  • Mix together with 1 tablespoon of water.
 
Tried a couple new things tonight...Tuna poke nachos on fried wonton chips with pineapple salsa, avocado, cilantro, scallions, sriracha mayo, a soy/oyster sauce/ginger reduction and sesame seeds. Wow, turned out better than I thought it would. Just amazing.

https://i.imgur.com/hpXm1B4.jpg

Then skewered some royal red shrimp marinated in butter, Cajun spice, garlic and lime, and added pineapple chunks and then grilled em and served em with cilantro lime rice. Another winner. This is the best way to cook royal Reds, they melt in your mouth like buttah. Much better than steamed or boiled IMO.

 https://i.imgur.com/z3FuuIf.jpg

 
Wingnut said:
Tried a couple new things tonight...Tuna poke nachos on fried wonton chips with pineapple salsa, avocado, cilantro, scallions, sriracha mayo, a soy/oyster sauce/ginger reduction and sesame seeds. Wow, turned out better than I thought it would. Just amazing.

https://i.imgur.com/hpXm1B4.jpg

Then skewered some royal red shrimp marinated in butter, Cajun spice, garlic and lime, and added pineapple chunks and then grilled em and served em with cilantro lime rice. Another winner. This is the best way to cook royal Reds, they melt in your mouth like buttah. Much better than steamed or boiled IMO.

 https://i.imgur.com/z3FuuIf.jpg
Click to expand...
Those look delicious.

 
Got a taste for seafood quesadillas tonight.  Made shrimp with crab, red bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, garlic, cheddar, jack and cotija cheeses.  

Homemade salsa and sour cream.  I kept making them until I ran out of seafood - about 10 ...now we have 4 ready for the weekend, they heat up great in the oven.  

ETA: cilantro was in there too, gotta have cilantro.

 
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Got a sous vide and container for our wedding! looking to break it out tomorrow after picking up something today. Was thinking tri-tip. ANy suggestions for different meat, and/or any tips on usage? Plan is to google a time and temp, and finish with cast iron to sear.

 
Does anyone have a vegetable spiralizer? 

I've been thinking about buying one for a while and would like a recommendation if anyone has one

 
My wife made a sauce last night that is amazing. I think it is peruvian.

1/2 cup of mayo, half a red onion, two jalapenos, two cups of cilantro, 1.5 teaspoons minced garlic. Blend it. Enjoy. 

 
Mr. Ected said:
I don't know why, I love Grilled Cheese, love Mayo, but I can't seem to make this jump.
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Just try it. The mayo taste pretty much disappears. It just gives the bread the perfect crisp on the outside and it is so easy to spread on. I dont keep butter on the counter so it eliminates having to soften or melt it. 

 
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