I have one of those and it's awesome. To start with, don't worry about any of that shit. Grab your favourite thick steak cut, pick your temp (I like 122F), let it cook for 3 hours, then sear it in a high-temp cast iron skillet. It'll probably be the best steak you've ever made. Now that you have a sous vide, you can get thicker steaks and be sure that they're all cooked exactly perfectly throughout... then sear the fuck out of the surface to get that nice, crunchy, exterior without worrying about making sure the rest is cooked properly. And there's no need to rest the steak afterwords. The really good stuff comes when you learn to sous vide your veggies. Asparagus at about 185 for about 15 minutes, with some butter, salt, and pepper in the pouch, is unbelievably tasty. I did a couple of sous vide lobster tails last week that came out so fucking tender yet cooked it was amazing... usually I always overcook shellfish like that (prawns, lobster). Sous vide makes it so much easier. Right now I have a pork tenderloin chunk in the sous vide at 165. I'll leave it in there for about 6 hours, it'll cook and tenderize perfectly, then I'll flash-grill it when it's time to eat. Again, damn tasty.
Got a stainless meat grinder/sausage maker for xmas. Ordered a pack of casings and food grade twine off amazon to get me started. I have a general idea of how to do it but figured there are people on here a lot better than me at it. Anyone have a preferred recipe? The wife likes chicken sausages, I prefer pork or beef. What cuts of meat do you use for sausage making? I figure I'll try some pork butt and brisket (cold smoke the brisket first maybe), but obviously I'd love to hear better ideas.
God I love my cast iron pans. I made pan pizzas last night. They are easier to make than full sized pizza because I don't have to worry about sliding a giant disc of floppy dough covered in wet ingredients onto my pizza stone. Even with my pizza peel I ended up with total fails and lopsided monstrosities.I can also cook these all at once instead of in batches. Every time I find a new use for my cast iron I think to myself "THANK YOU MOM!" I mentioned in passing that I was looking for a cast iron pan or two and she immediately took out and gave me a whole set, seasoned and ready to go.
So I finally just did this, taking my orbital sander to a pan with 120 grit, and even without turning it into a mirror wow did that make a difference. Lesson learned. Also we just picked up a plunger style measuring cup like this for gooey sticky stuff like peanut butter, honey, yogurt, whatever after going nuts whenever Alton Brown pulled his out and am wondering why it didn't happen sooner.
FYI: I have a few Le Cruset items on my Amazon wish list, and just got notified that a few of them went on HUGE discount today... as in normally $350 on for $80. I just pulled the trigger on a couple of great deals. Not sure if it'll last for long, or available in the US, but if you are looking to increase your Le Cruset arsenal, you may want to check it out.
I couldn't find anything that looked that heavily discounted on the US side, but if you have some specific links, I wouldn't be opposed to checking it out.
I just bought this for $87. https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0076NOQ9K/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 The price seems to have gone up, so I'm not sure if it was just a few for that price or what.
Has anyone here ever tried making homemade charcuterie before? It's something I've been thinking about experimenting with now that it's colder and just wanted to bounce some ideas off people.
I have, some are difficult and some are easy. I got the confidence to try it after reading the two sites below and Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing. My advice, start with pate, then try a pancetta. Feel free to ask me any questions http://menuinprogress.com/2008/07/charcuterie-at-home.html http://honest-food.net/cured-meat/ https://www.amazon.com/Charcuterie-...d=1485794764&sr=8-1&keywords=charcuterie+book
So, I was gifted the Charcuterie book for Christmas. Reading through that now. I'll check out the sites you posted as well. I was thinking about doing pancetta and/or capicolla for my first go around since they seem like the easiest from a prep standpoint being that they're whole muscle applications.
Finally got around to giving some pancetta a go. Cured in the fridge for 10 days and now it'll hang in there basement for about 3-4 weeks.
Looks good, keep us posted on the progress. Only one question, did you take that picture with a potato?
I originally took the picture from Whatsapp which already has a shitty resolution. I'll make sure to get better looking pictures as it progresses.
Black Magic Cupcakes Yield: 24 cupcakes Ingredients: For Black Magic Cupcakes: 2 cups sugar 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 2 eggs 1 cup buttermilk 1 cup strong black coffee (just brewed and still warm) 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Butter Cream Frosting: 3 cups confectioners' sugar 1 cup butter, room temperature 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 to 2 tablespoons whipping cream Directions: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line muffin pan with baking cup liners. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add eggs, buttermilk, coffee, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Batter will be thin. Transfer batter to a glass measuring cup with a pour spout and pour batter evenly into prepared pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from pan. Cool the cupcakes in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and let cool completely on a cooling rack. To make butter cream frosting, In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix together sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes. Add vanilla and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more. *The only thing I would change is with the frosting. It was just too much. I'd cut the recipe in half but stick with 2 TBSP of the cream. On the advice of the person that gave me the recipe I used whole milk rather than whipping cream. **The bolded part is very important.
I catered a friends annual Kentucky Derby party yesterday. This was the 5th or 6th year that we've done it now and it's kind of become our kickoff to the barbecuing season. I tried to snap a few pictures along the way; nothing too outside of the usual fair; a brisket, pastrami and 18 racks of ribs. http://imgur.com/a/FYvQD The one new thing we tried this year and were immediately told that it has to become a regular item now was Mint Julep Millionaires bacon. Basically, we cured a whole pork belly with salt, brown & white sugar, bourbon and a fuck-ton of fresh mint for 7 days. Then smoked it for 6 hours over cherry wood, let it rest and chill overnight, then sliced it about one quarter inch thick, brushed it with mint infused simple syrup and lightly dusted it with cayenne. Then baked it off for about 25 minutes at 350. I had to apologize to the house owner for giving myself a food induced erection in his kitchen.
My god. Oh my GOD. All I can do is go Uhnnggg when I think about that. I bought a cut of pork belly on a whim and stuck it in the freezer. I have a stovetop smoker and I may attempt a version of that. I know yours will be better, but I have to try. I must.
So I found some "chicken of the woods" mushrooms growing while on my lunch break yesterday and got permission to harvest it. Never tried this stuff before but I have heard good things. A recipe I've found that sounds pretty good involves pan frying with garlic and onions and white wine, I mean how can I go wrong with that? Anyone have experience with this? Since I have it and a few morel mushrooms, plus a rainbow trout and venison in the freezer, I'm going to have a 'lil wild surf and turf soon.