The Cooking Thread
- Thread starter ColdBlooded
- Start date
So you put that on before/after/during cooking?
I never really understood people putting sauce on their steak, beyond basic spices & salt; the cut and the style of cooking should be enough for a exceedingly tender, tasty, & juicy meal . . . at least it is the way i do it.
Break it down for me, why use sauce?
I never really understood people putting sauce on their steak, beyond basic spices & salt; the cut and the style of cooking should be enough for a exceedingly tender, tasty, & juicy meal . . . at least it is the way i do it.
Break it down for me, why use sauce?
X-mas usually isn't any different than Thanksgiving for my family other than the tree and the gifts, food is usually the same. My mother usually does Ham for X-mas though.
X-mas eve and especially new years is where it's at!
Oysters, shrimp, crab (lobster if lucky), herring, bree and high quality french bread.
X-mas eve and especially new years is where it's at!
Oysters, shrimp, crab (lobster if lucky), herring, bree and high quality french bread.
The mineral salt has a cubic crystal shape. This grain of kosher salt is composed of many cubes stuck together. With its large surface area, it can absorb more moisture than a similar sized cubic salt crystal. This makes it ideal for curing meats, which involves absorbing blood from the raw meat.
Kosher salt contains no additives and is certified as Kosher by one of many rabbinical inspection institutions that carry out food plant inspections.
Looks like flakes instead of sand. For the cook's purposes, the main difference between salts is in their texture. Table salt's fine granules dissolve quickly, making it the preferred salt of bakers. Sea salt and kosher salt possess larger, irregular grains that add a delightful crunch and hit of briny flavor when sprinkled on food at the last minute. Generally, savvy cooks prefer kosher salt when cooking, since its coarse texture is easier to take a pinch of when seasoning savory dishes.
Kosher salt contains no additives and is certified as Kosher by one of many rabbinical inspection institutions that carry out food plant inspections.
Looks like flakes instead of sand. For the cook's purposes, the main difference between salts is in their texture. Table salt's fine granules dissolve quickly, making it the preferred salt of bakers. Sea salt and kosher salt possess larger, irregular grains that add a delightful crunch and hit of briny flavor when sprinkled on food at the last minute. Generally, savvy cooks prefer kosher salt when cooking, since its coarse texture is easier to take a pinch of when seasoning savory dishes.
Candied cranberry peanut ham delight with sweet picante scrambled eggs...
Take cuts of your ham and throw it in a pan on medium. Add a handfull of dry sweetened cranberries. lightly coat the ham with cinnamon, add two or three table spoons of brown sugar, and a pat of buttah. then put some vanilla extract on top of that pile. mix that around and then add the peanuts and continue to mix everything up, flipping the ham of course. set the stove to low.
while thats simmering into a golden sweet goodness...
get out three eggs, sweet hot mustard, and some pepper. mix it all up in a bowl and get ready....
take out the ham and cranberries and nuts and then put the egg mix directly into the now covered in brown sweet goodness still hot pan. turn back up to medium. add salsa of your choice, and i opted to use parmesan cheese with my eggs. add a tablespoon of raspberry or apricot jelly. the pan should be buttery from the sweet sauce left in it and it will bring out the natural sweetness of tha tomatos in the salsa. scramble them eggsssss on up and then toss them on top of the sweet ham and cran berries and peanuts.
Take cuts of your ham and throw it in a pan on medium. Add a handfull of dry sweetened cranberries. lightly coat the ham with cinnamon, add two or three table spoons of brown sugar, and a pat of buttah. then put some vanilla extract on top of that pile. mix that around and then add the peanuts and continue to mix everything up, flipping the ham of course. set the stove to low.
while thats simmering into a golden sweet goodness...
get out three eggs, sweet hot mustard, and some pepper. mix it all up in a bowl and get ready....
take out the ham and cranberries and nuts and then put the egg mix directly into the now covered in brown sweet goodness still hot pan. turn back up to medium. add salsa of your choice, and i opted to use parmesan cheese with my eggs. add a tablespoon of raspberry or apricot jelly. the pan should be buttery from the sweet sauce left in it and it will bring out the natural sweetness of tha tomatos in the salsa. scramble them eggsssss on up and then toss them on top of the sweet ham and cran berries and peanuts.
Curried Chicken a-la CB
1 whole chicken – quartered (I used 6 thighs and 6 legs found a good deal on thigh/leg quarters)
In lager stew pot or very large frying pan heat some olive oil
Good amount of hot sauce and some wistesher sauce on the chicken with some kosher salt
Lightly fry the chicken browning the pieces
Don’t worry about it sticking those brow pieces stuck to the pan will come off
Remove the chicken and set to the side
Toss into the pan
1 lager chopped onion
2 carrots peeled and chopped
2 bell peppers chopped
As the onions sweat they will help to loosen up the browned stuck on chicken bits on the pan, use your wooden spoon to scrape them off
Once the onions are cooked through (don’t over cook) toss in some garlic a hefty amount about 1-2 cloves minced
Return chicken to the pot
Add 1 table spoon of all spice (1 tbsp before it is ground, make sure to grind it)
1 & ½ table spoon of Cumin
2 table spoons of curry powder
1 can of chicken stock
bring to a boil, cover, turn to low and simmer
once chicken is done
add 1 ½ table spoons of curry powder
½ small can of sweetened condensed milk
season with salt and pepper to taste
stir
serve with rice & beans and vegetables
1 whole chicken – quartered (I used 6 thighs and 6 legs found a good deal on thigh/leg quarters)
In lager stew pot or very large frying pan heat some olive oil
Good amount of hot sauce and some wistesher sauce on the chicken with some kosher salt
Lightly fry the chicken browning the pieces
Don’t worry about it sticking those brow pieces stuck to the pan will come off
Remove the chicken and set to the side
Toss into the pan
1 lager chopped onion
2 carrots peeled and chopped
2 bell peppers chopped
As the onions sweat they will help to loosen up the browned stuck on chicken bits on the pan, use your wooden spoon to scrape them off
Once the onions are cooked through (don’t over cook) toss in some garlic a hefty amount about 1-2 cloves minced
Return chicken to the pot
Add 1 table spoon of all spice (1 tbsp before it is ground, make sure to grind it)
1 & ½ table spoon of Cumin
2 table spoons of curry powder
1 can of chicken stock
bring to a boil, cover, turn to low and simmer
once chicken is done
add 1 ½ table spoons of curry powder
½ small can of sweetened condensed milk
season with salt and pepper to taste
stir
serve with rice & beans and vegetables
Steak
Ordering/Cooking a Steak
Rare usually = Hot outside cool red middle
Medium Rare usually = Hot outside warm red middle
Medium usually = Hot outside warm little pink and some gray
Medium Well usually = Hot outside nearly no pink and all gray
Well = gray all the way
I say "usually" because if you're not eatting something done by a pro when you order it one way, it can come out different than you expect it. Also the meat keeps cooking after they take it off direct fire so it will be more done by the time you get it than when they took it off the grill.
If you're going to cook the shit out of your meat(beyond medium) then you shouldn't be buying quality cuts because you're cooking away the reason you spend that extra money.
Medium and beyond = tastes like all the shit you put on your steak. I'm willing to bet 90% or more of you are thinking some A-1 sauce is bomb on your steaks. If you buy a lower quality cut of meat (we can't all afford rib eyes, me especially, these cuts often have a good amount of flavor dispite costing less) it's ok to marinate it or something to help tender it up, but again cooking it too much will make it even worse. Make tough meat tougher.
If you're eatting something like Prime Rib (the ultimate) it should look "bloody" in the middle. Same goes for a Rib Eye (which is the center cut of the rib roast - which is what prime rib is) that shouldn't be served beyoned medium-rare.
I mean it's your money throw it away how you like. If you want it tough, gray, and tastless then by all means.
This is like going to an up scale wine tasting and asking if they have any Gallow White Zinfandel around.
If you are grilling a steak at home it might take you a while to learn how to tell when youre meat reaches a level of done-ness that you like. God help us all please do not cut into it on the grill to see if it is there. You can learn by the strength of your fire, the amount of time it's been on the grill, color, size, and touch (touch the meant you won't burn yourself), soft & sponge like = closer to rare and the tighter and tougher and more resistance you feel the closer it is to being over done.
When you're eatting beef cuts like steak there isn't a health reason to cook your meat beyond medium either. Something like hamburger is ok to cook so it's gray because it has been ground and handled. But the part of the steak that is red hasn't been touched by human hands or exposed to anything. The only parts that have get cooked at a high temp. Over cooking beef will not kill mad cow. Cook your poultry through and your pork as well.
**Quality steak houses will get very fresh meat and then age it between 21-28 days to enhanse the flavor. Good places will advertise that they age their meat. Great places don't need to. The best places have the meat out for show so you can see the difference in appearance of the aging meat.**
***If you are buying meat off the rack at a chain grocery store you don't need to age your meat yourself, it has probably been sitting around plenty long enough. If you buy direct from a butcher you should be talking to them about your meat. Do they age it? Should you age it? What kind of cut he/she likes? How they recomend cooking it? Etc You start doing that and you'll get better meat, better deals, and you'll impress your tastebuds***
Ordering/Cooking a Steak
Rare usually = Hot outside cool red middle
Medium Rare usually = Hot outside warm red middle
Medium usually = Hot outside warm little pink and some gray
Medium Well usually = Hot outside nearly no pink and all gray
Well = gray all the way
I say "usually" because if you're not eatting something done by a pro when you order it one way, it can come out different than you expect it. Also the meat keeps cooking after they take it off direct fire so it will be more done by the time you get it than when they took it off the grill.
If you're going to cook the shit out of your meat(beyond medium) then you shouldn't be buying quality cuts because you're cooking away the reason you spend that extra money.
Medium and beyond = tastes like all the shit you put on your steak. I'm willing to bet 90% or more of you are thinking some A-1 sauce is bomb on your steaks. If you buy a lower quality cut of meat (we can't all afford rib eyes, me especially, these cuts often have a good amount of flavor dispite costing less) it's ok to marinate it or something to help tender it up, but again cooking it too much will make it even worse. Make tough meat tougher.
If you're eatting something like Prime Rib (the ultimate) it should look "bloody" in the middle. Same goes for a Rib Eye (which is the center cut of the rib roast - which is what prime rib is) that shouldn't be served beyoned medium-rare.
I mean it's your money throw it away how you like. If you want it tough, gray, and tastless then by all means.
This is like going to an up scale wine tasting and asking if they have any Gallow White Zinfandel around.
If you are grilling a steak at home it might take you a while to learn how to tell when youre meat reaches a level of done-ness that you like. God help us all please do not cut into it on the grill to see if it is there. You can learn by the strength of your fire, the amount of time it's been on the grill, color, size, and touch (touch the meant you won't burn yourself), soft & sponge like = closer to rare and the tighter and tougher and more resistance you feel the closer it is to being over done.
When you're eatting beef cuts like steak there isn't a health reason to cook your meat beyond medium either. Something like hamburger is ok to cook so it's gray because it has been ground and handled. But the part of the steak that is red hasn't been touched by human hands or exposed to anything. The only parts that have get cooked at a high temp. Over cooking beef will not kill mad cow. Cook your poultry through and your pork as well.
**Quality steak houses will get very fresh meat and then age it between 21-28 days to enhanse the flavor. Good places will advertise that they age their meat. Great places don't need to. The best places have the meat out for show so you can see the difference in appearance of the aging meat.**
***If you are buying meat off the rack at a chain grocery store you don't need to age your meat yourself, it has probably been sitting around plenty long enough. If you buy direct from a butcher you should be talking to them about your meat. Do they age it? Should you age it? What kind of cut he/she likes? How they recomend cooking it? Etc You start doing that and you'll get better meat, better deals, and you'll impress your tastebuds***