bucktown_boffo
-
Posts
73 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Store
Help Articles
Posts posted by bucktown_boffo
-
-
Hey, thanks for all the feedback!
I didn't measure how much liquid was produced, but remember being a little freaked out by the amount.
Just to be safe. is there any way to dry out a piece of pork for next time? Would salting it in advance and letting it sit for a few hours get out most of the moisture?
Or, maybe next time I should just go to a better place to buy my meat. Chicago has many options better than Jewel.
-
I recently slow-cooked a 4 lb pork shoulder overnight, first dry rubbing the meat and adding four teaspoons of liquid smoke to the crockpot. The next morning, after about 8 hours cooking time on the low setting, there was so much liquid in the crockpot that the meat was mostly submerged. (the crockpot was barely bigger than the shoulder so very little room around it).
Is this normal, or could it mean I got a piece of meat that was artificially pumped with liquid by the purveyer to plump up the selling weight? It was dirt cheap meat - $1.50 per pound at Jewel.
After pouring out the liquid, the pork seemed fine, bone fell off efortlessly and meat shredded easily. It made a ton of pulled pork sandwiches and tacos for like the next two weeks. Some (maybe much?) of the liquid was fat, as the remnants in the crockpot solidified afterwards. I'm just curious if all that liquid is normal.
-
Cool! Thanks for the tips! I used to live in Bucktown and am still in Chicago, so your recommendation for Peoria Packing works great.
-
Say you want to have a pig roast for 30-40 people. How? I assume you can rent the hardware and accessories, and you probably buy the pig from a farm, but does anyone here know of any good online resources to tell you what to do next? I tried looking but didn't find anything that seemed comprehensive and yet basic, like "an idiot's guide to" spit roasting.
Also, any ideas on the biggest baddest pig I could get for this number of people without have like 80 pounds of meat left over?
Thanks.
-
Cool. Thanks for the heads up on that store.
-
restaurant supply stores have stainless steel cooling/roasting racks. normally they don't have any sort of coating on them, so they should be fine for roasting on. we roast on them in restaurants all the time. my mom even used on on top of open flame to do some meat skewers. didn't survive as well, but should be fine for indirect high heat roasting.
Got any sources for these, either online or in the Chicago area? Thanks.
-
I guess I could try the cooling racks, but if the finish does flake off, it'll ruin the food. I'd rather just find the real thing, which I still assume is out there. I've seen these used on cooking shows, a bunch of times, and I doubt they're using cooling racks, so true roasting racks like the ones I've seen on TV must be available somewhere.
-
Well, I think I understand what you're looking for, and yes, a cheap cake cooling rack will work. Here's how I use it...
To cook a steak, I render some of its fat in a pan over very high heat, and char the hell out of both sides of the steak, at which point it just needs a few minutes in a warm place to cook through. So what I do is place the cheap cake-cooling rack in a hot oven to get it hot while I'm charring the steak, then using tongs, I lift the steak off the bottom of the pan, and using tongs on the hot rack, slide it under the steak. The pan provides enough residual heat from below to finish cooking, and resting the steak.
If this is what you meant, then you got it. A cheap, tight gridded cake cooling rack will indeed work.
Thanks for the reply. My main concern with cooling racks is whether they could withstand temperatures of 375 or above for extended periods of time, as I would be using it to roast pieces of meat like boneless (or even bone-in) chicken thighs and things like that, not merely to "finish" a piece of meat I've already started in a blazing hot pan. The cooling racks I've seen at my local Target or Bed Bath and Beyond simply don't look sturdy enough and frankly I worry that whatever paint/glaze/finish is on them will flake off the first time in the oven.
-
Hope no one minds, I'm giving this a one-time bump in the hopes that someone might be able to help.
-
I've seen them used on TV to roast small pieces of meat - a flat gridlike or narrowly slotted rack that lays barely elevated over a ridged sheet pan. Could someone direct me to an online source for these? I've seen "cooling racks" that look like what I want but am unsure whether they could withstand the high temperatures. Thanks.
-
Since starting this thread I've found a myriad of promo codes and coupons that largely subsidize the delivery fee. A simple google search will bring them to you.
And my first delivery from them this morning went ok. Didn't order any produce, and a box of cheerios is a box of cheerios, but everything arrived intact. Only thing I didn't like is that they arrived ten minutes after my delivery window ended, but no big deal.
All in all, the convenience definitely was worth it (with the coupon that is!)
To Perge, or anyone else who uses them - how much do you tip? I gave $6 on a $105 order and the guy looked like he'd be ready to give me his firstborn child. Too much? If anything I thought I was being a little cheap!
-
I recently returned to Chicago after a few years in NY, and took a look at Peapod. I had used that service quite a bit when I lived here last, and while I don't remember specifics, I am pretty sure it was a LOT cheaper than it is now. Anyone here use them these days? How's their service and quality? Is it worth paying $10 delivery fee for a $50 order? (that seems outrageous to me). Their prices on individual items doesn't look that competitive either. I haven't taken a hard look at Jewel or Dominicks, so maybe the prices aren't as bad as I think, but having just come from NY, I was surprised to find items on peapod costing MORE here than there.
-
I'm going to Costco this weekend for other stuff anyway, so will try that first. Thanks for all the great suggestions!
-
This may sound strange, but for a relative's therapy I need to fill a 60 quart rubbermaid container (it is about 13"x16"x20") with dry beans of any sort -- something to do with tactile sensation. At the local A&P the largest bag of beans I could find was only 16oz for 87 cents, and I would have needed MANY bags to fill this this container. Does anybody know where I could get much larger quantities at a lower price per pound?
-
This place is amazing! It's a sandwich shop that seems to specialize in catering (or maybe the other way around, I don't know) with the tiniest little storefront but an expansive array of sandwich and salad choices. I've ordered from them about 4 times now and each time the food was top notch -- no gaps in quality that I could see or taste. Has anyone else tried them?
-
Thanks for the tip. I will definitely try poaching.
If you are worried about the texture then you could try poaching and finishing it off with a quick sear in a very hot pan with some fat to get some crunch.Will chicken sear properly after poaching? I'm worried that even if I towel-dry the chicken after poaching, it will still have retained liquid and just steam instead of brown in the pan.
-
Meant to say wary, not weary. Just fixed my earlier post.
-
Yeah, carry-over cooking is probably a big part of the problem. Wouldn't cooking the chicken in the oven at a low temperature for a longer time reduce the potential of this happening?
As for poaching, it's something I've never tried, and am a little wary of. I really like the crunch and appearance of a nicely browned exterior, which you don't get with poaching. Also, while I'm sure the poaching liquid adds flavor, won't the chicken also lose some natural juices as well?
-
Thanks for the posts. Marie-Louise, I usually follow, almost to a T, the recipe you laid out, but with inconsistent results. Perhaps I don't pay enough attention to time, which seems to be of critical importance.
I like JAZ's quote about a 30 second window between salmonella and chicken dust. Wouldn't a quick hot sear in oil and butter, followed by an extended stay in the oven at a low temperature (say between 200 and 300) mitigate against this?
-
I like thighs, but boneless skinless thighs are less readily available and I don't want to deal with trimming myself.
Scallopini's great, but for lots of dishes, I like having a thicker cut of chicken breast.
-
I mostly saute chicken in oil and butter, sometimes in flour, and the results are hit and miss. The biggest problem is overcooking the chicken -- it seems like there is an incredibly narrow zone of tenderness that high-temperature cooking is ill-suited to reach accurately. I've tried brining and that helps, but am not in love with what it does to the texture of the meat.
Would I be better off doing some version of sous-vide or other low-temperature cooking? I read through that thread and would love to try it, but have only my gas stove to depend on (not gonna buy new appliances or laboratory equipment). I do have a food saver.
What about a hot sear on top of the stove followed by very low temperature baking? Again, I have to depend on gas oven so it'll be hard to maintain consistent low temperature.
Any other ideas?
-
awesome replies! lots of great ideas which i appreciate.
-
the house i'm staying at is going through a kitchen remodel and a temporary kitchen wasn't workable, so for now there's no running water on the 1st floor and nothing but a hot plate, microwave and a toaster to get by on for meals (old fridge is still here). luckily there's family in the neighborhood, so many nights of the week will be eating dinner at their house. any ideas for the rest?
there's gotta be a huge thread on this that i just haven't found, right?
-
I actually read about John's Market in another thread -- looks great but 22 miles away from where I live in Montclair relegates it to holiday/special dinner purchases only.
Slow-Cooking a Pork Shoulder - Moist Heat
in Cooking
Posted
I don't want to brine it. I want to get rid of liquid, not add more.
But as I indicated in my first post, the final product tasted fine and behaved like it was supposed to, so I guess this isn't a very big deal.