ronnie_suburban

I love cooking but there are plenty of times when I don't feel like doing it. Still, in those moments, I have to say that Perkins doesn't really come to mind. I remember years ago, they had some slogan like "Perkins, we're gonna grandmother you" which always cracked me up. My only personal experience eating at Perkins was a bad one. Hours after our meal, all 3 of us who'd dined there got pretty ill. But, since the meal followed a day-long Dead show, I'm not exactly certain it was Perkins which did us in... =R=

Is this true? I remember reading somewhere (can't remember where, of course ) that this was just a myth. Can anyone elaborate? That asked, I like seared because it caramelizes the exterior of the meat and adds flavor. But I have a convection oven and can always create some crispiness to the roast's exterior without directly searing it. =R=

I don't think I've ever made a batch that lived longer than 30 minutes Seriously though...I offload to the smallest glass storage container I can find that will accommodate the amount I want to store--excess head space in the container is something you should avoid, if possible. Cover the surface of the product with plastic wrap and then use the dedicated cover for the container. =R=

Willie, I completely agree about the onions. I generally use 1 medium onion for every two thighs because they do shrink down quite a bit. When I saw that exquisite grade stuff at TSH I was blown away by it since I had never before seen paprika even approaching that color. Last time out (I have made chickeny chicken once since completing the individual thighs) I ended up making a blend of 1/3 Exquisite from TSH and 2/3 Hungarian Sweet from Penzey's. For me, that was a very nice combination in that it had the strong (but not fiery) pepper note of the Exq. and also the sweet richness of the Penzey's stuff. =R=

Thanks for the recipes Soba. I cannot wait to try them out =R=

Thanks mnebergall. I can taste it already =R=

Thanks Soba, much appreciated =R=

Yes, yes & yes I also agree with you about the onions...the amount of liquid they render seems completely random to me =R=

Here are a few pics of the beautiful cans in which some of the paprika is packaged. The cans are just another wonderful element of paprika-ing In fact, the only negative aspect of buying these products at Penzey's and The Spice House is that the product is generally sold in plain jars and bags and you don't get the cool can when you make a purchase... Szeged, sweet ===== El Angel, sweet and smoked ===== La Odalisca, sweet and unsmoked ===== =R=

Very nice Jason (and Rachel) Did you guys enjoy it? =R=

Very cool Fifi. I like your description of the paprika quantity. That's essentially what I did the first time out when paprika was all I had to work with. Who knew at the time what a crazy obsession it would become for me. =R=

I don't really have this written down; I have some notes from my Mom but I usually wing it... Not trying to be coy at all, but I'd feel better trying it out again and next time keeping track of what I actually do before I post! Cool, I know how that goes...it's hard for me to get most of my recipes out of my head and into writing =R=

Yes, Pimenton signifies Spanish Paprika. =R=

Ludja, Thanks for the recipe. As I posted above, I never got my grandmother's version on paper and it's way better to start with a food lover's tried and true recipe than it is to take a blind stab into an unfamiliar cookbook. Regarding the braised chicken, when you make the paprika-sour cream sauce, what proportions do you typically use? =R=

This sounds delicious and I can't wait to hear how it turned out. =R=

Soba, Considering how fast the onions under the chicken (and brisket) disappear, I cannot wait to try this and build upon it. My grandmother made a great goulash but I never got the recipe from her. Edited to ask...do you have a recipe you like for either of the stew dishes? =R=

Nice brisket woodburner! =R=

Thanks for the tip Jinmyo...think I'll try this in both smoked and non-smoked versions very soon. =R=

Toliver, The brisket is a "jewish style" braised rendition for which the method was taught to me by my friend Josh about a decade ago. It's basically a generous sprinkling (on boths sides) of kosher salt, a lighter dose of good garlic powder (I use Penzey's) and then a complete covering with hungarian sweet paprika. It sits on a bed of onions, carrots and half a dark beer and braises for several hours. Josh taught me to add some ketchup and brown sugar to the meat's surface about halfway throught the braise. I was skeptical but when I made the brisket without doing so, it tasted pretty flat (pun semi-intended ). PM me if you want the full recipe. =R=

Squeat, I didn't use any Covered and with very low heat, the onions rendered their own liquid. =R=

Thanks for the excellent information woodburner. I'd never seen the exquisite grade before my last trip to The Spice House but when I saw it--and its bright orange color--I knew I had to buy some. I looked up Paprika in the Oxford Companion to Food and in it, Davidson quotes famous Hungarian restauranteur George Lang as his source of information. I too, use a high proportion of paprika in my rubs. On that front, I've been experimenting with the smoked products because it's a way to inject some smokeyness into the final product during the months when using my smoker isn't really feasible. =R=

I haven't made goulash since before I became paprika-aware but when I did make it I used a blend of 75% sweet and 25% hot. "Hot?" you ask. Yes...I actually have used the Szeged brand "hot" variety in the past. In fact, I have a can of it in my cabinet now but I thought it might be a bit too old to include in this particular comparison. I honestly don't know if "hot" is yet another variety of paprika or if it's simply half-sharp called by another name. I wish I could be of more direct help regarding goulash. I am relatively certain that I will be in the future =R=

Several years ago I learned the glories of paprika. I think it's in my blood to begin with. My father's mother hailed from the region of Hungary where Paprika is king--Szeged. 'Marooned' in a kitchen with not much more than some chicken thighs, a few onions and a can of Szeged brand Paprika, I set out (or was forced ) to determine what paprika actually tasted like. I covered the thighs completely with the paprika (and a little salt), browned them in a skillet and then braised them for several hours over the onions, sliced into thin rings. The result amazed me. Was it the best chicken I'd ever eaten? Damn close. It certainly was the best chicken I'd ever made. It was rich, sweet and peppery but without much heat. The meat, from having cooked so long, was beyond fork tender and almost confit-like. The onions were so good that we fought over them before we finished them. They resulting "gravy" was like nectar. I named the dish 'chickeny chicken' and so began my addiction to paprika. I've gone back to chickeny chicken over and over again; amazing friends who cannot believe the synergistic result of such a limited ingredient list. "CC" led to an even more astounding brisket recipe and then to several spice rubs in which paprika figures prominently. Needless to say, I've found ways to make paprika the lead seasoning in many dishes since my initial discovery. I am not a scientist (isn't this already obvious? ) but it occured to me last week that some documentation would be fun. My collection of paprika 'varietals' had grown to the point where I decided to put them up against each other for sake of comparing and contrasting. Paprika, 7 ways Big differences in color, texture and aroma ===== The following close-ups provide detail for the above 7-shot, in order from left to right... #1, Hungarian, Sweet, Exquisite Grade...purchased from The Spice House in Evanston, IL ===== #2, Hungarian, Sweet...purchased from Penzey's.com ===== #3, Spanish, Sweet, La Odalisca brand, purchased from PCD.com ===== #4, Hungarian, Sweet, Szeged brand...purchased at Produce World in Morton Grove, IL ===== #5, Hungarian, Half-Sharp....purchased from Penzey's in Oak Park, IL ===== #6, Spanish, Sweet, Smoked...purchased from The Spice House in Evanston, IL ===== #7, Spanish, Sweet, Smoked, Pimenton El Angel brand, purchased from PCD.com ===== I decided to make 1 chicken thigh using each of the 7 paprikas (again the paprikas appear in the same order and individual close-ups are available upon request ). My primary finding is that paprika is delicious. In all seriousness (if there can be such a thing when reporting on paprikas), I noticed a lot of similarities between the Hungarian sweet exquisite (#1) and the Spanish sweet (#3). Both were very rich and floral with a stong pepper note. Again, neither was particularly hot. While they were not interchangeable, I don't know if I could tell the difference between them in a blind tasting. The only real discernable difference worth noting was the color. There are probably paprika afficionados in both Hungary and Spain getting enraged over this. The other 2 versions of unsmoked, sweet paprika, Penzey's (#2) and Szeged (#4) were both sweet and rich. That said, the Penzey's was the better of the two. It had a fuller flavor, a more distinctive aroma and better color. I don't know where Penzey's sources their product but my guess (and it's only a guess) is that the quality differences I noticed between these 2 products has to do primarily with how long they sat on the shelves of their respective stores before I bought them. Penzey's, I would bet, does a much faster turn on their inventory. I would also bet that it's sourced in the Szeged region. The hungarian half-sharp (#5) reminded me of something...Popeyes chicken. I would be shocked to learn that Popeyes doesn't use this product on their chicken. It had the richness and full flavor of #1 and #3 but also a very noticeable kick. I loved this one although it is not precisely the flavor I most often associate with paprika. The smoked products really should be categorized by themselves. While there were some baseline similarities between the smoked products and the non-smoked, they were more different than similar when applied to the finished chicken. FWIW, I enjoyed the material from The Spice House (#6) more than the el Angel (#7). It had a smoother, rounder flavor than the el angel and was much less bitter. I thought the el angel tasted a bit flat. I look forward to continuing my "research" in the coming months. It's just warming up here in the Chicago area, and it won't be long before my grills and smokers are available for me to use full time and that will allow me to test many other recipes and combinations. Anyone else out there love paprika? If so, please take it from here. =R=

Don't mess with Mags! =R=

I tried this using the 'convection' feature of my oven last night and I was very pleased with the slightly more crispy and quicker results =R=