Where my fellow cooks at???

[tifosi77]

The point of cooking sous vide is to precisely control the temperature at which your food is cooked. Seriously, I mean 0.1 of a degree precision. It's not about hardcore, it's about consistency. You will use a lot of Ziplock freezer bags (always use freezer bags, double ply) and olive oil/butter, but the food comes out perfect every single time. You just have to budget the extra time it takes to cook, since you're at such low temps. But it's passive time, so it just means you start earlier in the day, drop the bags in the bath, and go do whatever you want for the next hour or whatever. It also opens up the door to some pretty awesome preparations that would ordinarily be really difficult to pull off for a home cook; the 72-hour pastrami that's coming out of the bath tonight is a good example, as is the 48-hour pork belly I shared earlier. Those aren't easy thing to get consistently right with conventional cookery.

ChefSteps.com the go-to resource. They are the development chefs behind Modernist Cuisine, but their goal is to create an online cooking school where everyone from novices to professional cooks can learn. It's a daily visit for me, and I'm one of the community 'leaders' on the forum. And they've recently begun publishing really basic 'weeknight dinner' recipes using sous vide cooking that are start to finish in 45 minutes. It really is an exceptional place, and a huge amount of the content is available for free. My only regrets are 1) waiting so long to actually buy the circulators, and 2) not negotiating a royalty for any people I refer to ChefSteps or Anova.

[BigMcK]

To make Spanish or Cuban Empenadas, can I use large WonTon wrappers or what kind of store bought dough should be used? Empanadas have a crunchy crust when fried, so that makes me think they are not WonTon wrappers.

Any help? Thanks

[shmenguin]

It's more like a pie crust, I think.

[tifosi77]

I would not recommend won ton wrappers for that particular application. They won't cook up the same way. I mean, you certainly can use them if you want (keep the filling relatively dry), but they won't be very empenada like. They will cook up very, very crunchy, not flaky.

[tifosi77]

So I tackled what I consider to be the poster child of modernist cooking: The 72-hour sous vide beef short rib 'pastrami'.



I am not one to talk myself up, in fact, the opposite is usually the case. But these ribs are probably the best thing I've ever made in my life. No joke.

Didn't use a proper pastrami rub to flavor these ribs, and I did not smoke them prior to cooking them sous vide (as per the Modernist Cuisine recipe). Instead, I used an 'apartment rib' rub that makes use of charred onion and garlic to give a smokey flavor. The texture and mouthfeel alone of these ribs justifies the hassle, never mind how delicious they were. I didn't even plate up, I just stood at my cutting board, slicing and eating for like 20 minutes. It was like 15 hours ago and I still feel like I'm high on gelatin. I want to eat these things every day.

[shmenguin]

did you use the "pink salt" or go all natural?

[tifosi77]

No pink salt on this run, but I will definitely do the real deal next time. Which will likely be this weekend.

[shmenguin]

No pink salt on this run, but I will definitely do the real deal next time. Which will likely be this weekend.

booooo...say no to nitrites

[tifosi77]

[OutofFoil]

That looks amaze balls Tif, it inspires me to get BadHands the needed equipment for Christmas.

[shmenguin]

is that a thin layer of fat on the bottom of those ribs? how'd that go down?

[tifosi77]

Actually, good sir, that is what gelatinized collagen looks like. That's the connective tissue that actually attached the muscle to the rib. It was real, and it was spectacular.

And btw, the rib bones..... when I went to take the ribs out of the bag, the bone literally pulled right off in my hand with a token amount of effort. Like, it takes more energy to break a leaf of lettuce off a head.

[mac5155]

http://damndelicious.net/2014/04/30/slo ... meatballs/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I am making these for the foozball game on Sunday. HO LY COW they look good.

[columbia]

Sugar snap peas sauteed at high heat in butter, mushroom soy and touch of sesame oil, then throw a tuna steak in the pan and sear it for 70 seconds a side. The peas were still crisp and delicious.

I should eat more meals like this.

[mac5155]

Tell my wife to send me some new recipes because what i've been making is going stale...


she sends me 3 recipes. Olive Garden alfredo, olive garden spaghetti sauce, and 3-item mac n cheese (bacon, velveeta, pasta)

[count2infinity]

Turducken??? please.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turducken#Variations" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In his 1807 Almanach des Gourmands, gastronomist Grimod de La Reynière presents his rôti sans pareil ("incomparable roast")—a bustard stuffed with a turkey, a goose, a pheasant, a chicken, a duck, a guinea fowl, a teal, a woodcock, a partridge, a plover, a lapwing, a quail, a thrush, a lark, an ortolan bunting and a garden warbler—although he states that, since similar roasts were produced by ancient Romans, the rôti sans pareil was not entirely novel. The final bird is very small but large enough to just hold an olive; it also suggests that, unlike modern multi-bird roasts, there was no stuffing or other packing placed in between the birds.

[tifosi77]

This is how I'm doing my turkey this year: Turkey Roulade

[youtube][/youtube]

Yes - I'll be using meat glue. Haven't decided if I'll do a similar thing with a breast to have a white meat option. I'm only cooking for Mrs Tif and her dad and stepmom, so I don't want to have like 37 pounds of leftover turkey.

[count2infinity]

seems to me like more work than it's worth, but more power to ya.

[BigMcK]

http://www.edwardsvaham.com/category/turducken-turkey

This place specializes in Country Ham. They also had an amazing deal on a Turduken that I was ready to purchase until reading the fine print. The stuffing used between birds is Boudin. Thanks, but no.

I did a dry run on a 10lb. roasted turkey over the weekend in preparation for Thanksgiving. This is the third time using the dry salt brine method, and even though this was a frozen bird, the brine made a world of difference in tenderness. One mistake that I made was not having Kosher salt on hand, so table salt was used.

Thanks for the advice to use pie crust for empenadas. Making turkey, smoked gouda, cranberry sauce 'little pockets' tomorrow for dinner.

[Shyster]

So I tackled what I consider to be the poster child of modernist cooking: The 72-hour sous vide beef short rib 'pastrami'.

Cabelas is now selling multiple sous vide cookers, for example, this and this. If Cabela's sells it, your "modernist" cookers have just become redneck. Enjoy yer redneck pastrami.

[columbia]

You've just been rednecked.

[tifosi77]

Talk to me when they start selling sodium hexametaphosphate and kappa and lambda carrageenan.

[Shyster]

Sure. I bet it'll go right next to the doe-in-heat urine.

[columbia]

The great thing about Alton Brown is that you always refer to him for the most fundamental way to properly cook something. I had gotten sloppy about cooking burgers and he (via video) just set me back on the right trail.

[columbia]

Dressing vs Stuffing.

Discuss.

Spoiler:

About three years ago, I mentioned something to my mom about making cornbread dressing. Her reply was, "Honey, I've never made anything but cornbread dressing." So that's what I've been eating my whole life, for any holiday meal with my parents.