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infernooo

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  1. You do realise that Bone Suckin' Sauce is almost 1/3 sugar right?
  2. First, I'll agree that this cut is flavorless and seems to have limited potential. But to write it off completely based on your past experience discounts values that many cooks hold dear in themselves. Is there any cut of beef that could not be improved by using a better cut? Only one, I would suggest, and it would probably be the full-on Kobe foodporn-steak at $120 per ounce. If you have one of those, your biggest challenge is to 'do no harm'. But if you have a normal cut of beef, the ingenuity in you must come out. We can add flavor and do things to reduce toughness. To stop at "This is not good enough" is not a chefly trait, IMHO. There're salts and spices, herbs and acids, and meat glues, sous vide, etc. The possibilities are nearly infinite. I don't mean to seem insulting, but if you say that a certain cut of beef is 'pointless to cook' then, I think, you've run out of ideas. Fair call, and well said. I suppose it does come down to my views... sous vide? Chuck or short ribs. Grilled? Ribeye or hanger or sirloin or strip. Grilled and thinly sliced? Skirt/Flank/rump. Braised? Chuck, blade, oxtail. Traditionally roasted? Fillet Smoked? Brisket Corned? Brisket. Soup? Tail. Lean? Tenderloin/flank/rump. My view is that we are often looking for meat with more flavour (you see more and more complaints nowadays about beef "not having as much flavour as it used to"). Part of this is fat, part is the inherent flavour of the meat from muscle type, blood supply etc. To me at least, round lacks in both of these areas.
  3. I know some will disagree with me (the beauty of the subjectiveness of taste), but I personally find round beef flavourless and almost a pointless cut of beef to cook. This is not for a lack of good supplier/meat quality either... I have simply yet to try round cooked any way that has impressed me that could not be achieved with a more flavourful cut!
  4. Possibly, but that takes it closer to the realm of SV (tightly controlling temperature and not allowing evaporation)
  5. Chris: I have tried hestons method and to be honest, wasn't _blown away_ by it. To some extent, it does provide a "tastier" (subjective) alternative to SV for cuts that don't need extensive cooking such as beef tenderloin / rib rack / rib eye as the meat is almost turbo-dry-aged, though it does tend to lose a bit more moisture than SV. There is also a difference in the final taste, with the oven method producing the typical roast beef flavour, unlike SV which even with a seared outside, still has that very subtle (in some peoples opinion, bordering on bland) flavour. As for chicken, I have done both and prefer the roast/oven technique. The skin does allow retention of moisture and you also get the roasted chicken flavour. Whilst I love the moistness and tenderness of SV chicken, I do find it can be lacking in flavour, which is why I prefer the oven method. The only real downside for the oven method may be energy costs, smells, and possibly more baby sitting
  6. Also be careful with the sugar - it can go from well balanced to cloyingly sweet very easily (especially when the recipe states "2 tablespoons - 1 cup palm sugar"
  7. I may be wrong, but I believe another possibility is to enhance the Maillard reaction by providing a more alkaline environment
  8. Hi seabream, You won't be disappointed - whether you enjoy the flavour of the betel leaves or not (they have a VERY distinct taste, and whilst I can see it as a love/hate flavour, I have yet to find a single person not blown away by the combination). I definitely did not use all of the sauce/paste (as they are combined)... it is VERY rich, thick and sticky and would probably make enough for 25 heaped tablespoons/leaves!
  9. Oh I wish I had of known you weren't able to get Betel leaves... they really make that dish. They have such a unique flavour that is impossible to replicate. Also, they are certainly are available outside Thailand, you just have to find a thai community who grow them. Apologies, but at least next time you try it and are able to get Betel leaves, you will see how amazing it is!
  10. Sorry folks, that is chuck - guaranteed. It is exactly how it is cut for supermarkets here in Australia.
  11. miang som - Miang of Pomelo with Prawns, page 484-486 Sublime. A flavour explosion. One mouthful, so many flavours. I couldn't believe my palate could take such a flavour bomb... this was my "eye opening" dish when it came to the versatility of Thai food and the balance of sweet, hot, sour and salty.
  12. New Zealand / King Salmon sashimi style. Fatty. Tasty. Unctuous. http://aquaculture.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/salmon-block-thumb-465x330.jpg If I feel like explosive toilet action, sashimi butterfish/escolar: http://www.osakasushilafayette.com/08.%20Escolar%20Sashimi.JPG For mercury poisoning, it has to be swordfish belly sashimi: http://www.foodex.hk/upload/product/2009103014161216002.jpg
  13. Old school... fast forward to 0:30: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4op2Zrq6ddM
  14. Thanks for the replies so far - keep them coming! Tried a few different butchers, but I believe many of them may be getting them from the same processor (with most exporting or mincing them, few selling them). I bought another pack today to give another chance... Shoulder, leg, and neck are the only real possibilities, but for a noticeably open texture, neck is a bit too bony to be able to appreciate the texture and leg can be quite dense/stringy too... so it's a hard one! Before posting the initial thread, I did quite a bit of research, and it is actually the superficial pectoral (http://bovine.unl.edu/bovine3D/eng/ShowSubPrimal.jsp?primal_id=966277958&subprimal_id=5 and http://bovine.unl.edu/bovine3D/eng/showMuscle.jsp?musID=86&muscle=null), this is where I started to overanalyse the muscles function and tried to think of alternatives based on its position/action as a muscle...
  15. Hi folks, I have a quick question for those who are well versed with various beef cuts. Basically, the point on a brisket is my #1 cut of meat. Something about the combination of connective tissue, open/loose texture and marbling of fat. I was wondering if anyone knows of similar cuts from somewhere else in the beast as the point is quite small and reasonably hard to get a hold of here in Australia... I have tried the following: Tongue: Fatty, dense, nice but not what I'm looking for Cheeks: Fatty, lots of connective tissue, not as much flavour, not the right texture Flank: Fibres too long, often too lean Skirt: Hard to get a hold of, possibility? Hanger: VERY hard to get a hold of, possibility? Round: No flavour Rump: Possible, but often not enough fat or connective tissue Blade: No, too stringy upon cooking. Oyster blade (/ flat iron) is a favourite of mine, but still a bit too dense Fillet: No Sirloin/New York/T bone: No Chuck: One part of the chuck seems to be similar, the part that resembles that of the fatty strip part of a rib-eye (the yellow-highlighted part: of a chuck steak: http://img838.imageshack.us/img838/967/chucksteaksection.jpg and http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/5695/chucksteaksection2.jpg and of a rib-eye steak: http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/9743/ribeyesection.jpg) Beef short ribs: This is probably my answer! To give a better idea of the texture, here are some photos of the point when cooked (notice the loose texture): http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/images/2011/11/20111115MustardBraisedBeef.jpg http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a84/phrasty/56d0c63f.jpg http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6048/6299426388_485ab5bb02_z.jpg http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o64/Sly-one/BrisketSliced10-13-11a-1.jpg http://img847.imageshack.us/edit_preview.php?l=img847/4930/imgp1454h.jpg&action=rotate http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p236/mredman62/BBQ35/IMG_0032.jpg http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc150/bigabyte/Brisket/2011_07_14/r_IMG_0732.jpg http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af172/R2Egg2Q/IMG_6615.jpg http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu311/SouthPawBBQ/High%20Heat%20Brisket/HighHeatBrisket015.jpg http://www.pigtrip.net/photos/Chesters/Chesters-brisket-big.jpg http://myyearwithchris.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/bbq-brisket.jpg Any ideas? Thanks!
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