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infernooo

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Posts posted by infernooo

  1. Is there any comercially prepared BBQ sauce that's made without a lot of sugar or high fructose corn syrup, or even sugar free, and preferably one that's medium hot to hot? ...Shel

    Well, today I found a new-to-me sauce, "Bone Suckin' Sauce."

    http://www.buybonesuckin.com/products/Bone-Suckin%27-Sauce-16-oz..html#

    It seems like just what we've been looking for. Toots will be very happy!

    You do realise that Bone Suckin' Sauce is almost 1/3 sugar right?

    bss_16_2008__45786.jpg

  2. 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!

    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. 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

  5. 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!

  6. Yesterday our dinner was "Miang of pomelo with prawns, page 484" and "Fish cakes, page 494".

    Miang of pomelo with prawns

    * Really wonderful combination of flavors. Very similar to the "Pomelo salad, page 514", my favorite dish from this book.

    * I was happy that I was able to find all the ingredients, including the young ginger. So I didn't have to make any substitutions.

    * I used spinach leaves to serve it. David Thompson says we can use bai tong lang, betel or spinach leaves. What the hell is "bai tong lang"? He doesn't describe that in the ingredients list, and a quick search on the internet reveals pretty much nothing (aside from a few links to this same recipe in other sites). Or is it just another name for betel?

    * I'm wondering if any of you has been able to find betel leaves outside of Thailand.

    * I added less than half the sauce to the salad, and still thought it was a bit too much. The recipe just says to "dress with the sauce". Am I missing something?

    Fish cakes

    * They turned out a lot better than the first time I made them, because I added only 1 tbsp of fish sauce (the recipe calls for 3). As much as I'm trying to "cook by adjusting the flavors", this is a hard one because tasting a raw fish paste is simply not very appealing. The funny thing is that even with 1 tbsp of fish sauce, they were still very salty.

    * I used kaffir lime leaves from my just purchased kaffir lime tree... oh boy, what a difference! I used to buy leaves at the supermarket and freeze them, and never understood the point of adding them to food. They were tought and not that flavorful. The ones from my tree are softer than spinach leaves and so flavorful. I love the smell too.

    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!

  7. 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

  8. Thanks for the replies so far - keep them coming! ;)

    Interesting that your cheeks have been fatty and full of connective tissue, the ones I've managed to source so far have been about the best cuts I've found for low and slow cooking (up there with the short ribs I've managed to get hold of). Might be worth trying again from a different butcher?

    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...

    While on this subject.... Is there any cut of lamb with similar properties? I find that lamb shoulder, for example, is generally too lean for that fall-apart braise effect, and lamb shanks, while grand, are not really the right ballpark.

    I'm thinking of something like corned lamb.....

    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!

    Another vote here for chuck. I believe that the point of the brisket is the supraspinatus muscle. It is a rotator cuff muscle which should be most similar to other rotator cuff muscles. I am no expert in beef anatomy, but it should be similar to human anatomy. So the other rotator cuff muscles are included in the chuck. That should be the infraspinatus, subscapularis and teres minor, mostly attached to the blade.

    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...

  9. 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!

  10. I almost forgot! Some photos from the preparation... one showing the pre-bought ribs:

    http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i36/infernooo/smoking/IMG_0286.jpg

    The second of them straight out of the packet... I cut one rib off to show that they have been pre-cooked:

    http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i36/infernooo/smoking/IMG_0287.jpg

    The final showing them sealed and ready for the water bath and one for the refrigerator:

    http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i36/infernooo/smoking/IMG_0288.jpg

  11. So here is what I have planned for the experiment... I want to lay it out before I do it to avoid being crucified for improper procedures ;)

    1.) Purchase 2 packs of the pre-cooked ribs (vacuum sealed in plastic with barbecue sauce).

    2.) Open each pack, cut off 1 rib from each and taste to ensure they are indeed fully cooked and TOUGH (as they always are straight out of the pack)

    3.) Vacuum seal both, put one in the refrigerator and one in a 56c water bath.

    4.) Cook the ribs SV for 72 hours, and for the last 1 hour, put the package that was in the refrigerator in the bath to bring it up to the same temp as the SV cooked pack.

    5.) Taste and see if SVing a tough precooked piece or meat does or does not tenderise it.

    ?

    Experiment complete.

    What did I find out?

    That the 72 hour SV ribs were indeed MORE TENDER, so much so that a blind test between the 2 was obvious in terms of texture.

    I am not sure about the mechanism behind why this occurred, but it certainly did. I thought perhaps the water bath temperature had creeped up in certain areas, causing higher-heat induced tenderising (rather than lower-heat enzymatic) but after checking my dual temperature loggers, the temperature stayed between 55.7 and 56.8 in both areas of the water bath for the entire 72 hours.

    For a little bit of fun, here are the 2 racks of ribs being dissected before being devoured for "scientific testing" :cool:

    p.s. yes, that is House M.D. playing on the TV in the background ;)

  12. Thanks Pedro!

    So here is what I have planned for the experiment... I want to lay it out before I do it to avoid being crucified for improper procedures ;)

    1.) Purchase 2 packs of the pre-cooked ribs (vacuum sealed in plastic with barbecue sauce).

    2.) Open each pack, cut off 1 rib from each and taste to ensure they are indeed fully cooked and TOUGH (as they always are straight out of the pack)

    3.) Vacuum seal both, put one in the refrigerator and one in a 56c water bath.

    4.) Cook the ribs SV for 72 hours, and for the last 1 hour, put the package that was in the refrigerator in the bath to bring it up to the same temp as the SV cooked pack.

    5.) Taste and see if SVing a tough precooked piece or meat does or does not tenderise it.

    ?

    That sound very reasonable. Maybe it would be sufficient to buy 1 pack and do the experiment with two one-rib-cuts? Looking forward to your results.

    But this way I get to eat 2 packets of ribs... :cool:

    I will purchase them and start it today, thanks again Pedro!

  13. Whilst this is a bit of a general cooking question rather than sous vide specific, I thought it would be best to ask in here as so many knowledgeable people frequent this thread!

    So the thought process is that cooking low and slow (~56c) will turn a tough piece of meat into a tender one over time due to enzymatic action, whereas cooking at a higher temperature will cause collagen to turn into gelatin due to the heat.

    So my question is this - is the heat method for the conversion/tenderising only applicable for higher heats? For example, let's say I have a fully cooked but tough piece of beef that has been taken from room temp to 190f internal VERY quickly. If I then SV it at 56c for 48 hours, will it be tender? Or would the enzymes have been denatured and the heat too low for the collagen-gelatin conversion thus it would just end up dry AND tough?

    I suppose I can just test this myself, and I probably will... I just thought it would be an interesting discussion ;)

    At 190oF (88oC) all enzymes have been denatured and inactivated, the meat dry and and the muscle proteins densely compacted. -> irrecoverable.

    So (for the sake of discussion) if I were to purchase a pre-cooked packet of beef/pork ribs that is vacuum packed in a "BBQ Sauce" that I KNOW are tough straight out of the packet (and definitely has already been cooked to well done temperatures), sous videing them for 48-72 hours at ~56c would not yield a more tender product?

    No. (Try it, then you will know and have something to report).

    Thanks Pedro!

    So here is what I have planned for the experiment... I want to lay it out before I do it to avoid being crucified for improper procedures ;)

    1.) Purchase 2 packs of the pre-cooked ribs (vacuum sealed in plastic with barbecue sauce).

    2.) Open each pack, cut off 1 rib from each and taste to ensure they are indeed fully cooked and TOUGH (as they always are straight out of the pack)

    3.) Vacuum seal both, put one in the refrigerator and one in a 56c water bath.

    4.) Cook the ribs SV for 72 hours, and for the last 1 hour, put the package that was in the refrigerator in the bath to bring it up to the same temp as the SV cooked pack.

    5.) Taste and see if SVing a tough precooked piece or meat does or does not tenderise it.

    ?

  14. Whilst this is a bit of a general cooking question rather than sous vide specific, I thought it would be best to ask in here as so many knowledgeable people frequent this thread!

    So the thought process is that cooking low and slow (~56c) will turn a tough piece of meat into a tender one over time due to enzymatic action, whereas cooking at a higher temperature will cause collagen to turn into gelatin due to the heat.

    So my question is this - is the heat method for the conversion/tenderising only applicable for higher heats? For example, let's say I have a fully cooked but tough piece of beef that has been taken from room temp to 190f internal VERY quickly. If I then SV it at 56c for 48 hours, will it be tender? Or would the enzymes have been denatured and the heat too low for the collagen-gelatin conversion thus it would just end up dry AND tough?

    I suppose I can just test this myself, and I probably will... I just thought it would be an interesting discussion ;)

    At 190oF (88oC) all enzymes have been denatured and inactivated, the meat dry and and the muscle proteins densely compacted. -> irrecoverable.

    So (for the sake of discussion) if I were to purchase a pre-cooked packet of beef/pork ribs that is vacuum packed in a "BBQ Sauce" that I KNOW are tough straight out of the packet (and definitely has already been cooked to well done temperatures), sous videing them for 48-72 hours at ~56c would not yield a more tender product?

  15. Whilst this is a bit of a general cooking question rather than sous vide specific, I thought it would be best to ask in here as so many knowledgeable people frequent this thread!

    So the thought process is that cooking low and slow (~56c) will turn a tough piece of meat into a tender one over time due to enzymatic action, whereas cooking at a higher temperature will cause collagen to turn into gelatin due to the heat.

    So my question is this - is the heat method for the conversion/tenderising only applicable for higher heats? For example, let's say I have a fully cooked but tough piece of beef that has been taken from room temp to 190f internal VERY quickly. If I then SV it at 56c for 48 hours, will it be tender? Or would the enzymes have been denatured and the heat too low for the collagen-gelatin conversion thus it would just end up dry AND tough?

    I suppose I can just test this myself, and I probably will... I just thought it would be an interesting discussion ;)

  16. My first attempt at char siu tonight. Marinated the pork belly for 12 hours, then 62C for 40 hours and chilled. Skinned, glazed then charred with a torch which also reheated the belly.

    Last LTLT dish for a while. This was when the FMM died about 30 hours in, fortunately I was in the kitchen, the last 10 hours were stove top, but I was able to maintain +/-2 degrees C

    You left out the most important part.... how was it!? ;)

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