Prawncrackers

I've been drooling whilst reading over this entire thread, thanks for reviving this for me. If i'm not mistaken however there's one glaring omission, so here's a nice big Wild Sea Bass: ...and here's a fat turbot - this mother was the size of my sink!!

Summery Duck leg (and a bit of wing) confit tonight with Fries and Peas! OK the only thing summery about it is the time of year... I have a confession to make, a guilty food pleasure i must admit to. Whenever i render duck fat i can't help but to snack on the crispy crackling, am i alone or does anyone else think this stuff is delicious?

This has been a fascinating thread to read and it’s clear that many of us here are passionate about keeping traditional butchers alive. Sadly the case in the UK, as discussed earlier, reflects that in the US. The advent of supermarkets has meant the decline in the number of traditional butchers. The economies of scale that supermarkets operate in will always lead to cheaper and by my reasoning lower quality meats. If you give the majority of people the choice between ordinary beef and top-quality beef, the majority would naturally choose the better beef even if they couldn’t tell the difference between the two! However, this is not the choice most people have to make in a supermarket. It’s all about price. Folks just want their meat as cheaply and as conveniently as possible. I think there must be some truth with this price issue as the only locales with good traditional butchers are the middle-class or more affluent ones. I believe there is a whole generation of people in the UK that have never stepped into a traditional butcher’s shop. There must be such an ignorance to them now that it must seem like a niche business to them, something to rank alongside pet grooming! So, to get back to the point of the topic – yes, I think there is a huge difference between the quality of the beef in a UK supermarket and that of a good butchers. I’m lucky, there are two butchers near to me and beefwise one sells Angus, the other Hereford. I prefer the Angus, here is a pic I’ve posted before of some Angus rib-eye (more beef porn please ): However, recently there has been a monthly farmers market that although there’s not as much choice in the cuts of meat, the Welsh Black Beef that one stall sells trumps both the Angus and Hereford in taste. Just one final point: supermarkets will only have the cuts of meat that they know will sell. Although this maybe true for most businesses you can at least persuade your butchers to save you some of the good stuff like tripe and sweetbreads – try asking for those next time you’re in the supermarket!

Thanks guys, Crab Linguine is such a satisfying dish to eat.. and cook in fact! The most important thing is plenty of sweet crab meat – I use one medium sized brown crab (1-1.5lb?) for 200g of linguine to feed the two of us. I’m not sure how many grams of white meat this equates to but it is plenty. I like boiling a fresh live crab for this recipe as it’s best to use slightly undercooked white meat. You could add the brown meat too but it makes the final dish very heavy. Of course, pre-prepared crab meat is fine also. Here is a quick recipe: - Start cooking linguine! - Gently heat half a cup of good extra virgin olive oil with two anchovy fillets, a good pinch of dried chilli flakes, a teaspoon of sweet smoked paprika (not Italian but hey neither am I) and two cloves of finely sliced garlic (think Paul Sorvino in Goodfellas; razor blade fine so the garlic seems to melt away). - When all the aromatics have melded and infused the oil, tip in your crabmeat and add the juice of half a lemon. Let it simmer for a minute then add your cooked linguine and chopped parsley – turn off the heat. Mix well, season and let it stand a minute for the pasta to soak up the goodness then serve. This is one of those dishes that should from start to finish take as long to cook as it takes the pasta to cook, I think this is what makes it so satisfying.

The Beetroot Potatoe Pie and Peach Tart both look fantastic - mouthwateringly so!! Made Crab Linguine today:

Yup, i second that, if you're not licking egg and ketchup off your fingers then there's no point!! What's is so special about Keller's sandwich btw? For me just bacon and egg can't be beat.

Yup, and that's call me!!!

Hmmm, don't know why there’s such a slow response to your question Norman. Maybe it's the thick Geordie accent that you write in? Or maybe it's been discussed to death before; i'm fairly new to the forum so that might be the case. If it is then forgive my indulgence.... There must be loads of ways to make crackling: boiling water to tighten skin, coarse salt, fine salt, spirits to draw the moisture out - all before you even put the swine in the oven! In fact there must be as many methods as there are types of crackling – big fat deep-fried ones, thin refined ones, nuggetty pork scratchings you get down the pub etc… at least one type for every cuisine that uses pig. The only requirement is that it has to be, just has to be krispy! So before I continue, what joint of pork are you roasting and what type of crackling are you looking for? I only really ever roast pork belly so can happily give you some tips on how to get a really crisp thin light crackling like you get with Chinese style roast belly pork. I’d like to add at this point that removal of the skin from the joint to roast separately is definitely cheating in my book. You cook your pork normally at one temperature but just remember these two techniques, scoring & charring: Scoring - the skin has to be cross-scored very finely with a sharp blade or alternatively you can buy a ‘pork stamper’ from a Chinese supermarket. This looks like a torture instrument - it’s a 2-3” diameter circular wooden stamp with sharp nails embedded into. You stamp the pork all over and the nails puncture the skin – thus the fat is released during cooking like you would if you’d scored it. The big advantage with stamping over scoring is you get a very even finish. I recommend all pork lovers to get one!! Season the skin as you would normally and throw it in the oven to cook. Charring – this is the more important technique. When the meat is cooked to your liking i.e. still moist and juicy, the skin will never be crisp enough. To finish put your joint under a hot grill and let the skin bubble and slightly char all over. If you have a flat piece of belly this is straightforward. If you’ve rolled it then you will have to keep an eye on it and turn it. Be careful not to blacken it, there is a fine line between edible and burnt skin. The smell of burnt skin is not good either. When it’s lightly charred all over, remove from heat and let it cool a little. Crackling always gets crispier when it cools. The final step is to get a sharp knife and lightly scrape away the top layer of charring to leave you with a thin light crispy layer of crackling. If you’ve used a stamper then there are no visible score marks and the visual effect is that of one uniform piece of crackling all over, YUM!!

Flimsy chopping boards on slippery counters avec blunt knives - make me wanna holla!

David, you're on a roll! Inspired by your Salt and Pepper prawns earlier, i made the same. As it's a Sunday i found time to do some Gau Ji (fried dumplings) too:

Gosh it's been two full weeks since the last post on this thread. Are you telling me that none of you have made any Chinese food in that time? Tonight i made Salt and Pepper prawns and some Gau Ji:

The latter method that you describe where there is this additional cooking step. What is that all about? Is that a faff or what or have i been missing out all this time? Nice looking duck dish David, i've never before seen anyone roast a preserved duck ('wind duck' or 'lap ap'). This type of duck is usually really salty - like Jewish lox salmon or pucker-your-face salty! Usually small amounts are steamed and served as an accompaniment with plain rice along with other dishes. I'll try roasting it next time, did you prepare it anyway before putting it into the oven, like rinsing he cure off?

It's a funny thing - 'velveting'. I'm Chinese and i've never 'velveted' anything.... ever! Plus i've never seen or heard of a Chinese home cook use this technique. I'm sure no relative or Chinese friend of mine has ever bothered to do this. Am i alone here? Are there any cooks of Chinese extraction out there who have been taught this in a home kitchen? Don't get me wrong, i'm not doubting this is an authentic technique but is this mainly a restaurant thing?!? Like, if i was French wouldn't make fresh demi-glace everyday

There was talk of mango not long ago on this thread. I've been eating mangoes constantly for the past month now and i've been told to stop by my wife due to increased flatulence!!!! Today, i cooked crayfish for the first time in a salad with squid and red peppers. The crayfish were live which was what caught my eye at the market today. They were okay but a bit on the bland side and not much meat on them. For the price i'd take a sweet juicy prawn over them anyday.

This is the first proper meal i've cooked for a couple of weeks. My wife and i have been to New York for the first time on holiday and i was inspired by some fantastic sushi we had there (described in THE BEST: Sushi in Manhattan). Sadly, the fish market was particularly uninspiring this morning and only the salmon looked good Sooo, made a load of vegetable tempura to compensate....

This was called "Box of Dreams", if i ever make it back to NY i'll ask for omakase for sure!! Raji, you're good! You got most of it right: - (centre top) it was a large cooked prawn with the Tamago - (centre right) i'm not sure what Kanpachi is. This had the texture of a flat fish and was nice and firm. I've never had it before, if i had to guess - maybe flounder? I'm a sucker for uni and unagi but for me the most delicious dish was the negitoro, yum.

Hi folks, not posted on this sub-forum before but felt the need to post a photo of this amazing sushi dinner i had in Hatsuhana in Manhattan. My wife and i have just come back from our first visit to New York (in fact our first time in the USA) and we both think that this is the best sushi we've ever had outside of Japan. Enjoy the pic...

The mysterious meat on the left is (exotic) back bacon!! The beans were just warmed through in the pan at the end to pick up all the tasty bits. The quality of black pudding does vary a lot over here too. The bad ones are just bland and insipid, the good ones are a taste sensation. Watch this space, i'll post pictures of the FULL ENGLISH when i get the chance and when i feel the need to clog arteries.

Nice idea Lisa, i'm definately substituting ham for smoked salmon next time i make Eggs Benedict. This morning i couldn't resist buying the ingredients for a British 'fry-up' at my butchers. Not had one for a while and compromised by not having the bangers and mushrooms too. The black pudding was delicious, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, yum!!

Shheeesh you guys, does everyone think this looks deee-lishh!?! You all have got low standards on this thread Those blackened bits are olives btw!! Oh and it not pac-man or rabbit or whatever.... it's a baby eagle bursting out of an easter egg!!!!!

OK! I don't know why i've holding out on you guys but i had this pizza disaster last week. You know how it goes, overloaded dough sticking whilst you're transferring it onto the stone. Looked like a road accident but tasted great, kinda like half pizza - half calzone! I think if i'm going to be this greedy with the toppings i'll have to get a proper pizza peel...

After this talk of mango, i couldn't resist and bought a box of them. I bought the usual "honey mango" from Pakistan that i buy every year: Did a bit of research and I think the term "honey mango" may be a generic name for Pakistani ones, probably dreamt up by the importer. Early in the season the majority of the "honey mangoes" are in fact of the Sindhri variety. Whatever they're called they've just filled my entire house with their sweet aroma! Time to get my fingers sticky. Old Foodie, I didn't know you could freeze them. That's worth knowing nearer the end of the season, thanks Mango panacotta sounds delicious too.

Mmm mangoes!! Thanks for reminding me it's that time of the year again. Do you get the Pakistani Honey Mangoes over there? The alfonso mangoes are a step up from the Brazilian and Caribbean ones but the Pakistani Honey ones are another level entirely. So sweet and juicy it almost make your teeth hurt. Apart from sitting in the corner and devouring them I like to make mango lassi. Very refreshing substitute to fruit juice or milkshake to store in your fridge.

Peter, $4 for all those clams? Is that the norm over there, because that is a steal!!! Tonight, nice simple roast chicken, spuds and peas:

Whoops, forgot to mention the lemon zest in the mixture! But hey, recipes aren't there to be followed are they? They're definately not foolproof if one is an idiot!!