madtowner

I imagine it would depend on the conditions of the bone itself, that being the thickness of the bone versus marrow if it is a cross cut, or the length of the bone, or even if it is cut lengthwise. Bone is a surprisingly good insulator, as is my experience from plating from a 400 degree oven bare handed. Perhaps I was in the weeds and too quick in the moment to notice, however. As I've had them at Alembic in SF, and we do at the Coopers in Madison, they are cut lengthwise and I would imagine take much less time in the oven. For us, its 10 - 12 minutes in the 400 degree convection from raw. This has inspired me to do some experiments in par-cooking, however. Tim

Not quite along these same lines, but the one that I distinctly remember from a brunch last fall, the bartender asked me, after just setting down the food, "what can I do to make everything perfect?" Well, for one, I hadn't tasted anything. And two, she hadn't noticed I was buried nose deep in the newspaper, head down and by myself. To make it perfect, perhaps don't bother me. I guess I'm not much of a morning person, however.

Thanks all for the input. I want to, and eventually will, contact the local health department, but I wanted to run these ideas by some experienced people so I didn't ask the wrong questions and raise any red flags. I just had a particularly detailed health inspection where I work (our inspector was training another), perhaps I'm a bit gun-shy!... The inspection went very well, btw...

This is my first post in a long time, but I have had a concern that is burning my conscience as I work on a business plan for a restaurant I want to someday run. I suddenly realized this may be the perfect place I should look for more information. The local laws for the restaurants I have worked in recently go by a 7-day shelf life for potentially hazardous foods (this is probably almost universal…?) I have done pancetta, bacon, and corned beef at a small restaurant recently under these laws, either cooking, or freezing, then cooking the product within these terms before serving. But…as I do more research on cured meats, I am curious to learn as to how laws affect these meats that are hung to dry in fixed environments (or dedicated, humidified refrigerators above 41 degrees) and how restaurants are able to serve products that fall beyond the “7-day” rule. Hanging pancetta for three weeks? Duck proscuitto? Ham proscuitto? 12 hour cold-smoked bacon? Reading our laws online, it sounds like these are special cases that need to be reviewed by the health department. Can these only come from commercial operations? Can these things be made in a commercial kitchen? What's it like in your kitchen? thanks for the help...tim edited to clarify the: cooking; or freezing, then cooking the product within 7 days, etc...

As far as maintaining oil quality, I talked to a sales guy about this at a recent foodshow since I also had these concerns. First, he said, start with a high quality oil. Manufacturers have different grades at different costs, and the life of the oil is directly affected by this. I asked him about the cloth (manual) filter we use here at the restaurant I work at versus an electric pump with a paper filter. He said it really didn't make a difference, but I don't know if I'm convinced about that one. The paper filter just seems to trap more debris. Regarding oil lifespan, the two things that break down oil are heat and oxygen. To combat thermal breakdown, he suggested turning the fryers down during slow periods. If you're running at 350, say, during mid-afternoon turn them down to 180 or lower for a few hours. If a bus pulls up in front of your place, the oil won't take but a few minutes to return to 350. Dealing with oxygen is a little more difficult (its just everywhere!). Covering your fryers with a sheet pan overnight is a good start to minimize oxidation.

So I rinsed, dried and smoked the brandy cured bacon, and aside from a boozy aroma, the flavor didn't really come through as strong as I had hoped. In fact, I would gander that unless you knew it was there, you would either not notice it or consider the flavor a bit "off". So, at this point I'm considering simmering a bottle of brandy to cook off the alcohol and concentrate the flavors and use that in the cure. Upon further consideration, I have also thought about using the wood from a bourbon barrel to smoke the bacon. I have a brewer friend that can get me a Jim Beam barrel for cheap (he assures me...), however, this presents several other issues. THe wood is oak, from what I understand, this would be too strong a flavor to use for smoke. However, perhaps I could shave off the quarter inch or so of wood that actually soaks up some of the booze and use that to augment another wood for smoking. or...I could baste the bacon with brandy as it is smoking. hmmm...thoughts? Tim

Hi everyone, I've perused all 87 pages of the topic, and this is my first post here. I've been using the bacon and corned beef recipes here at the restaurant I work at, and have upped the quality of our product to the nth degree. I just put a few bellies in the pancetta cure today as well. Thanks, Charcuterie! So, this has gotten my imagination running, and I have a few ideas and questions I want to post, but I'll just start with the one that has me really curious...Cognac Bacon. I'm wondering if during the cure I can throw a cup or so of brandy in the Ziploc with the belly to impart more flavor, but I'm wondering if this will either dilute the brine, or if the alcohol will have any strange effects on the process. The idea hit me when I was looking at the pork confit recipe (which I will probably try next week!) which calls for white wine to be added to cover the belly pieces, and I thought, why not some other liquor? Any thoughts on this? Thanks again for the tons of info and beautiful products! tim

Both are good ideas I'll have to try. thanks!!

There's a restaurant near me with a wood fired oven that does Braeburn apple, brie and caramelized onion pizza. I've also done a smoked salmon, red onion, roasted red pepper and spinach with a Marsala white sauce that turned out pretty good. I like the egg idea several people have brought up, I'll have to try it next time...tim

Hi all - I didn't want to hijack the recent cornbread thread, but I'm looking for a recipe for a cornbread bun. Its got to be a little sturdier, less crumbly, but still have the good corn flavor. Perhaps cut the cornmeal with flour and use a yeast bread recipe? My idea was for pulled pork sandwiches on cornbread buns. thanks for the insights...

Wow, that sounds like a great environment to work in. About a year and a half ago I started educating myself on food because I didn't feel like I was getting it where I was. I read McGee's On Food, Culinary Artistry, and a bunch of other top cookbooks, Art Culinare and magazines, etc, etc because I felt that if I was going to try to get to the top, it was all essential knowledge...well, maybe not all the minutiae in On Food..there's a lot of info packed in there. It seems to me that a Chef would have difficulty innovating without knowing a bit of what's going on, but if it is more traditional food I can't see why learning by example wouldn't be ok. As far as asking questions, I think as long as the Chefs are receptive, they can be a great resource for you. I wouldn't be asking what au poivre means when the chef has three food orders running in his head, has to set up four specials for the evening and the lead line cook is MIA, however, but that's just common sense.

I've been trying to do something similar to all this over the past year and a half to help further my career and cooking skills. I second the Pepin idea; although I haven't seen the video series, I just got his "Complete Techniques" book. It holds more than 1000 techniques and classic French dishes with step by step photographs and a few recipes. Some of the things are a bit...um, well I probably won't be making brains anytime soon myself, but it holds a wealth of information.

How about FNG? i.e. "effenG" for "effen New Guy" in the kitchen??

I think this is related, but when I've gotten live crayfish before, I think they said to feed them cornmeal for a day to "clean them out". I don't think I've seen live shrimp for sale before, however. Of course, I have a shellfish allergy and don't often look to buy live shrimp. (the crayfish were for the restaurant I work at) tim

I just got some blossoms last Saturday at the Farmer's Market; I had never had them before. I stuffed them with a garlic herb cream cheese and used a pilsner batter to deep fry. They were great, but perhaps I lost the delicate flavor of them as mentioned with the strongly flavored cream cheese. Interestingly, they still had the 2-3" zucchini attached, which, while the smooth skin lost most of the batter, turned out nice. One of my Mexican friends/employees said that his Mom used to make quesadillas with the blossoms, to which he waxed nostalgically. I assume the blossoms are just a springtime thing? tim

My gf and I were able to make it to the Murimoto friends and family night last weekend. I'm not much of a sushi person, so I won't report on it, but suffice it to say it was very good. Service was a little lacking, but its very early in the game for them. Other things to look forward to, Across the street from Murimoto the new Sundance theater is set to open the first weekend of May, with its restaurant doing the (now-cliche?) small plate/local/artisnal menu. Cool rooftop bar as well, though part of it looks over, well, a pebbled roof. tim

I was lucky enough to be able to make wings for the Barenaked Ladies. About 20#, bagged up per tour bus (perhaps they travelled seperately?). Definitely a shining moment for me Others include: David Copperfield Lyle Lovett Zach Braff (whose gf later that night was sitting on the curb about to puke she was so hammered...)

That all makes sense. One thing I didn't admit, even though the apple juice was unsweetened, the sauce came out very sweet and overpowering of any subtlety. If I do it again, I think infusing the mint and adding it at the end would make for more control over concentration and flavor. thanks for the input! tim

Hi everyone, as a longtime lurker, I have a question I haven't found an answer for in the archives. Last night I made a lamb blade braise (no, not another braising question!), replacing fennel for celery in the mirepoix and using mint as the aromatic with apple juice for a liquid. I thought mint and apple would be great together, with a little anise in the background. During the first half hour of cooking, the kitchen filled with the wonderful smell of mint, but then it...went away. Is mint, like cilantro, one of those herbs that don't take well to cooking? The sauce lost most of the flavor of it. Thanks for the collective knowledge of eGullet! tim