Isn't tuna rather oily? My understanding has always been the more oily the fish, tuna or salmon, the stronger taste. Tilapia is a step away from chicken breast, especially if it's fresh. I'm afraid to try the frozen filets.
From my understanding, the fishy taste come from two things: 1) The kind of fish (Catfish, for example, is just naturally going to be gamier than snapper. Basically, I would stick to saltwater fish) 2) The freshness of the fish Tuna is one of those where if you eat fresh and rare, there is no gaminess at all. It is hands-down my favorite fish (followed by grouper, actually- listen to dewercs). The oiliness of the meat just means that it is more suited for grilling than for other preparations. Salmon is actually the same way- it is really supposed to be eaten at about medium to medium rare. This is one of my favorites for red snapper: Pecan Crusted Snapper w/ Meuniere Sauce (For fish) 4 snapper fillets - (5 to 6 oz ea) 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup ground pecans 2 eggs 1 cup milk Half cup olive oil Tony's seasoning (For sauce) Half cup white wine 2 lemons, peeled and chopped 1 tbsp minced garlic 1 tbsp chopped shallots 1 tspn kosher salt Half cup cream Half cup butter 1 tbsp chopped parsley 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce Tabasco sauce For the sauce, combine the wine, lemons, garlic, shallots, salt and pepper in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and heat just to boiling. Add the Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce and cream and simmer for 3 minutes. Take off the heat and slowly whisk in the butter until incorporated. Strain the sauce and stir in the chopped parsley. For the fish, Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Season each fish fillet with Tony's and pat it in with your hands. Combine 1 cup of the flour with 1 tablespoon Tony's in a bowl and stir to mix. In another bowl, combine the ground pecans, remaining 1 cup flour and remaining 1 tablespoon Tony's; stir to mix. In a third bowl, beat the eggs with the milk. Dredge the seasoned fillets first in the seasoned flour, then in the egg mixture and finally in the pecan/flour mixture. Gently shake off the excess. Heat the oil in a large ovenproof skillet (I use cast iron) over high heat. When the oil is hot and almost smoking, add the fish and sauté until golden, about 1 ½ to 2 minutes on each side. Turn the fish back onto the first side and place the skillet in the oven until the fish is brown and crisp, about 4 minutes.
Blue-dog is right on the money. Ever hear of the smell test when you were in high school, well it is not to far off. Fresh fish that is properly taken care off does not smell, if you get smelly fish you should give it to your inlaws and tell them to deep fry it. If you get a fresh tuna filet, you should be able to hold it up to your nose and it should smell similar to fresh beef, yellowfin especially has a deep red color and a pleasant smell to it. The fatty or oily part of salmon and especially tuna is the belly. If you live in an area of the country that is used to cooking freshwater fish, and you use the same method to cook saltwater fish you will be disappointed, if it swims in the ocean you can eat it raw, say it with me class, if it swims in the ocean you can eat it raw. This is the proper way to eat tuna, this is albacore and yellowfin tuna caught in august of 2009, fileted and frozen, then thawed and consumed raw.
Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie 2 large sweet potatoes Butter Kosher salt/black pepper 1/2 cup chicken stock 1.25lbs ground beef/lamb/turkey/whatever 1 onion, diced 1 carrot, diced 1/2 cup frozen green peas (do not thaw) 1/2 cup dried currants (or raisins) Spices - up to you, but I used: Curry powder Paprika Cumin Chili Powder Garlic Powder 1) Bring a big pot of water to a boil, salt it HEAVILY, and add peeled and cubed sweet potatoes. Boil for 20 minutes or until you can stick a fork through them easily and they feel very tender. Drain and return to pot. Add chicken stock and a tablespoon of butter, and the curry and paprika if you're using them. Mash it all up (should be the consistency of however you like your mashed potatoes). 2) About ten minutes before the sweet potatoes are done, melt a tablespoon of butter in a well-heated (on medium) cast iron skillet, and add the diced onion and carrots. Preheat your broiler. Saute for 7-8 minutes or so, or until browned. Add the ground beef (or whatever you're using) and spices/salt/pepper to your liking, and brown it for a few minutes (there should be no pink left). Add the frozen peas and currants, stir and let it warm for 1-2 minutes. 3) Spread the mixture in the cast iron skillet so that it's evenly distributed, and then spread the mashed sweet potatoes over the top of it in one even layer. Put the pan under the broiler for 3-5 minutes until the sweet potatoes turn a little brown on top. Serve.
I've got a question for anyone with some baking knowledge. The recipe I use for making brownies, and have for a while, is this one from the Best of Bridge series. It is ridiculously easy and tastes amazing. The thing I've been wondering is is there any way to easily modify this to make the brownies denser? I'm thinking more along the lines of the store-bought two bite brownies. This recipe is fantastic and I've loved using it for a while. However I've been wanting to make some brownies using mini muffin tins, and these ones didn't, I guess 'set' is the right word here, properly. They're rather light, which is actually pretty nice in most cases. Adding butter, using less flour, maybe using some oil, would any of these have the desired effect or would I simply need to use a different recipe to get what I'm looking for.
Dinner from last night: amberjack (my brother and his girlfriend got seared tuna- it was a small piece I had thawed out and I'm a nice guy like that), mango salsa, smoked gouda cheese smashed potatoes, and smothered squash and zucchini.
I'm back. Here's a recipe that I tested for the FN that came out very nicely. It's not super difficult to make, so don't be scared by the look of the dish. It's essentially grilled shrimp and scallops with a margarita marinade served with a faux mango salsa in a margarita glass. Margarita Shrimp and Scallops Ingredients Marinade: 4 limes, juiced 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 4 tablespoons gold tequilla 1 tablespoon orange flavored liqueur (recommended: Triple Sec) 2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro leaves Pinch salt and freshly ground black pepper 12 (U-15) shrimp and 6 very large sea scallops, cut in 1/2 or 12 smaller sea scallops 12 bamboo skewers, soaked in water for 30 minutes Salsa: 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds 1 medium mango, peeled and flesh diced 1 tomato, seeded and diced 2 scallions, green part only, diced 1 jalapeno, seeded and diced 1 tablespoon freshly chopped cilantro leaves 1 tablespoon diced Vidalia onion 10 mint leaves, chopped 2 limes, juiced 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for garnish 1 tablespoon mirin Pinch salt and freshly ground black pepper Directions: Pink sea salt around rim, for garnish First preheat the grill to medium. Add all the marinade ingredients to a large bowl and stir to combine. Add the shrimp and scallops and set the bowl aside. Next, add all the salsa ingredients to a serving bowl and mix well. Remove the shrimp and scallops from the marinade. Put a scallop in the "U" (curved part of the shrimp) of the shrimp and skewer, first through the scallop and then through the shrimp. Arrange the skewers on the hot grill and cook approximately 2 1/2 to 3 minutes on 1 side, then turn and grill for 2 1/2 minutes on the other side. When done, remove the skewers from the grill to a serving dish. Drizzle with some extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle with pink salt. Serve with the salsa and enjoy! I'd recommend a nice sipping tequila to go along with the dish.
Despite living on the ranch for about 8 years, we recently found an old walk-in 6 x 10 smokehouse roughly 150 yards from my house (makes me wonder what else is out there we haven't run into). It's in surprisingly good condition: fire pit in the center, rocks surrounding it in a half-circle with 3 tiered drying racks off-center above the pit, and more toward the door is a series of removable overhead planks with nails sticking out for hanging meat. A bit of lumber to patch the holes (from animals over the years I'm sure), clean it all out, and I'm ready to go. Here's the thing though: I have no clue how to smoke meat. Anyone know what cuts of meat (or chicken, pork, whatever) smoke well? Any good recipes/rubs? How long should I smoke it all for? Anything that I should avoid doing? The research that I've done has all come up with instructions for small, personal smokers. Nothing for something of the walk-in scale.
That is a huge fucking smokehouse and you are going to need a good supply of seasoned hickory, mesquite, or fruit tree wood (cherry, apple, peach) to fill it up and keep it going for hours. Most smokehouses use a single propane burner for efficiency, that either sits under a cast iron container filled with soaked wood chips or is exposed directly to a soaked log. Whatever you do don't use softwood like pine or fir. It has too much resin and will make your food taste nasty. As far as what foods you can smoke: ribs, ham, bacon, beef brisket, salmon, trout, sausages...even cheeses. It used to be the main way that rural people preserved meat so there are a lot of old recipes available and whatnot. You could make some fucking tasty beef jerky too. The trick is to cook low and slow. That means 225 or less and for 5-6 and sometimes as long 12 hours. In practice, it is going to be hard to maintain a temp even that low in that huge smokehouse so you will probably be seeing temps around 160-170. Smoking is hard work and the question is do you love smoked food enough to go through all that trouble. If you find out you can't keep the temps up in a big smokehouse maybe look into getting a small propane one which are so much easier to maintain and can still fit a whole ham or 6 racks of ribs on rib racks.
MisterMiracle was on Ultimate Recipe Showdown!??!?!?!?!eleventy!!! I agreed with the judges that it was more of an appetizer/first course sort of dish than party food, but I was glad you won because you rocked. Congratulations!!!
No, I wasn't on the show, I test the recipes from the show for the network to make sure it can be done in any home kitchen. It is more of an appetizer, and it does have some problems, mostly that the salsa is almost completely disconnected to the scallop/shrimp. However, it is tasty and an impressive dish if you're looking to do something out of the ordinary.
Okay, I'll distract away from my embarrassing assumption by asking a question related to another food network show. We were watching Iron Chef America, where the secret ingredient was basil. One of the chefs made a pesto using a mortar and pestle, and Alton was saying that it apparently gives it a more intense flavor when you hand mash it like that. I was thinking of trying it - what would you say are the best ingredients and proportions for a pesto? I've seen variations.
So tomorrow is Easter. I have been tasked with finding a horseradish sauce to be served with a delicious cut of prime rib. I can remember on Food Network, I think the older lady had a really good sauce. It was vanilla frosting like, in looks. But also absolutely delicious. Can anyone help me out? Any type of horseradish sauce that goes well with prime rib would be great, but preferably the one above.
I'm a little drunk, so don't quote me on this, but If I remember correctly, Paula Dean just mixed some horseradish with some sour cream for hers. She might have put butter in it too, but I'm just saying that because she's Paula Dean- she puts btter in everything. I'm more of a fan of au jus than horseradish, but here is one that my brother did before from Alton Brown that was really good: 1 cup sour cream 1/4 cup grated fresh horseradish 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Just mix everything together well with a whisk the night before you are cooking, and let it sit in the fridge overnight to let the flavors meld together. It doesn't get much simpler.
Mine is similar, but less ingredients, but everyone loves it (I cook prime rib for my SO family 3-4 times a year). 1/4 to 1/2 cup prepared horseradish (according to your taste, I use 1/2 cup) 1 pint (2 cups) sour cream 2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice (can use the bottled stuff if lazy) 1 teaspoon salt In a medium-sized bowl, combine horseradish, sour cream, lemon juice, and salt; thoroughly mix. Refrigerate until ready to serve. NOTE: Can be made 2 days in advance. Cover and refrigerate. To serve, pass the horseradish sauce on the side.
My current favorite recipe site is smittenkitchen.com. I made the caramelized onion and goat cheese corn bread last week and it was fantastic. I'm a huge fan of goat cheese though, so I added a little extra than the amount the recipe called for. Question: I made tiramisu the other day and the recipe called for whipping the cream until it held its shape. I must have worked on it for a half an hour and the texture just wasn't changing. I eventually gave up and used it as it was. Any tips for the future?
Heavy whipping cream. To be fair, I have never tried to hand whip cream, so I may have been "whipping" it incorrectly.