Heartsurgeon

Thomas keller has a technique for processing/rendering fat that works with anything. described for duck fat (if pork fat is King of all fats, then duck fat is the Queen), he runs the skin/scraps/fat through a meat grinder to bust up all the tissues, then vacumn bags it and sous vide's it at 189 degrees for 1.5-2 hours. that technique works well, and extracts every last scrap of fat. a quick and dirty technique while gets you most of the fat, but with out the fuss, involves chopping up the odd bits and skin with a knife (as fine a dice as you have the energy/time to perform), then sticking it in a ziploc heavy duty freezer bag (excluding as much air as possible), and tossing it in barely simmering water with a plate ontop of the bag to keep it submerged. 2 hours later, you've got fat! Now the MOST fabulous confit turkey legs i've ever made, i used all duck fat. this time, i was at my dad's house, and i didn't bring any duck fat, so i was planning on simple using butter, but them the turkey prep left me with lots of skin/fat/bits, so i decided to render the fat with the baggie tehcnique, which worked well enough. the turkey fat definitely had a "turkey" aroma to it, so i thought that would enhance the confit, and use this part of the bird as well (i hate to waste anything). Any fat will work, just depends on the falvor your trying to develop. Chicken fat, turkey fat, duck fat, butter..i would expect each work, imparting a slightly different taste to t he end product. The time and temperature are correct, and work great. the meat literally fell off the bones when the cooking was completed. the render fat (and turkey stock made from the bones), where also used in the stuffing, and in the fricasse of breast meat.

sous vide turkey thighs/legs the legs were seasoned with a rub of kosher salt/thyme/fresh bay leaf/black pepper/garlic for 6 hours in a ziplock bag (modified from the keller recipe for duck leg confit), then sealed in a bag with a stick of butter and several large scoops of rendered turkey fat, and a "herb sachet" made up of 6 sprigs thyme, 2 crushed garlic cloves, 10 peppercorns, a bay leaf all tied in cheesecloth. 180 degrees for 12 hours utterly fabulous... you will never eat the breast meat again after you've had the sous-vide "confit" turkey legs/thighs. the rub is 6-10 sprigs of thyme, 2 bay leafs, 10-20 pepper corns, 3-4 crushed garlic cloves and 1/4-1/2 cup of salt. the turkey fat is rendered from the skin of the turkey (peel it all off), and the fat chunks removed while butchering the bird. grind the skin up and place it in a baggie in simmering water for 1-2 hours, or sous vide it at 190 degrees for 1-2 hours. the solids are strained off, and the fat will solify over a small amount of liquid (after some time in the fridge).

turkey three ways: 1)sous vide turkey thighs/legs the legs were seasoned with a rub of kosher salt/thyme/fresh bay leaf/black pepper/garlic for 6 hours in a ziplock bag (modified from the keller recipe for duck leg confit), then sealed in a bag with a stick of butter and several large scoops of rendered turkey fat, and a "herb sachet" made up of 6 sprigs thyme, 2 crushed garlic cloves, 10 peppercorns, a bay leaf all tied in cheesecloth. 180 degrees for 12 hours ... THIS WAS THE STAR OF DINNER 2) Left turkey breast fricasse in leek/cream/vadouvan sauce 3) Right turkey breast seasoned with Ras al Hanout, seared. garlicy mashed potatoes - HEAVENLY 5 pounds Yukon Gold spuds cooked 4 headed of roasted garlic 2 teaspoons kosher salt 1/2 stick unsalted butter 1 cup heavy whipping cream lots of black pepper consistency adjusted with milk Focaccia bread 700 ml water 50 ml rosemary garlic infused olive oil (lots of rosemary, lots of garlic, 1 cup oil, buzzed with a stick blender. the oil is strained (bits are reserved) 2 tablespoon of reserved bits (return remainer of bits BACK into the oil, and save for second step) 12 gms yeast 20 gms malt powder 20 gms semolina flour 20 grams kosher salt 1000 gms all purpose flour (KA) 4 hours rise time divide into two batches simply flatten dough with fingers on a silpat placed in a sheet pan. 1 hour second rise press dimples all over surface of the dough with index finger. Brush rosemary olive oil mixture over the dough. sheet pan with dough goes into preheated 400 degree oven for 25-30 minutes toss large cup of water into the hot broiler pan in bottom of oven, close the oven door. Roasted red bell pepper/goat cheese/eggplant terrine fire roasted red bell peppers, charred skin/seeds removed (keep as large single sheets of bell pepper) 1/4 inch slices of eggplant, salted for 1 hour, rinsed, compressed to remove more liquid, repeat 2-3 times, then brush eggplant slices with garlicy olive oil and saute until golden brown. line a mold (like a bowl) with saran wrap. line the interior of the bowl with roasted red pepper. then layer goat cheese, eggplant, bell pepper until the mold is full. Season with black pepper and balsamic vinegar and garlicy olive oil over each layer of goat cheese. when the mold is full, fold the redundant saran wrap over the terrine, and place a plate on the terrine, and a heavy can, and place in the fridge overnite. others made walnut spinach salad with sesame seed dressing apple and pumpkin pie stuffing kale with garlic chips lord, i woke up this morning feeling like i had been mugged by a angry mob of food.

has it occurred to anyone that this is a competition, and sabotage of a competitor's dish (the lamb) is certainly possible. perhaps the lamb was undercooked on purpose?

the wife wanted foccacia bread, so here's the recipe i used: 1000 gms KA all purpose flour 12 gms yeast 20 gms salt 20 gms malt powder 20 gms semolina flour 700 gms water 50 grams rosemary/garlic infused olive oil 1 tbsp of minced fresh rosemary (rosemary/garlic infused olive oil made by adding strippings off 10 sprigs of rosemary, and 6 peeled cloves of garlic to 1/2 cup of olive oil and pulsing into a mash using an immersion (stick) blender. the result was strained through sieve, yielding the olive oil and minced rosemary, which was also added to the dough. the remaining olive oil and rosemary was recombined, and later drizzled over the foccacia just prior to baking. The dough was allowed to rise for about 3-4 hours. lightly dusted with flour, cut in half, laid out on a oiled siplat/baking tray (using some of the left over rosemary oil) the dough was pressed out with my fingers until it was about 1/2 inch in thickness, and allowed to rest for about 40 minutes. dimples in the foccacia where made with my fingers, and rosemary/garlic/olive oil was drizzled over the foccacia. a very light sprinkle of Kosher salt over the focaccia, then into a pre-heated oven at 400 for about 30 minutes. The obligatory 1 cup of water into the broiler pan added when the bread went in the oven. FANTASTIC result. way easier than making boules, as i only make one big loaf, and since it's all done on the silpat, minimal cleanup, no transfer issues. no need to wait for the flavor to mature, as the rosemary provides plenty of flavor.

sorry about the gibberish i posted above. i have tried various grinds of: brisket chuck sirloin shoulder short rib loin tips best so far has been 1/3 brisket 1/3 sirloin 1/3 chuck cubed, lightly frozen, run through the grinder with the large hole insert, a single time. i add a small amount of cold water to the cubes as they are being ground. salt and pepper the surface medium heat in canola oil to get a crust on both sides, flip once, serve'em medium rare/bloody. still trying different mixes.

113% is a higher level of hydration than i have ever read about. i try 65%-82% hydration (by weight), depending on the protein content of your flour (I use 75% hydration, King Arthur allpurpose) different flours will react very differently, even though thet are all labeled "all purpose". you should be able to mix the dough with a large spoon (easier to clean than a mixer). refer to my visual pictoral on high hydration/no-knead bread making, about half way down the page pictorial

kosher salt black pepper alleppo pepper flakes my own jerk spice rub ras el hanout vadouvan rosemary tarragon thyme herbs de provence

Eggplant Terrine: this is to die for: Software: 1)crushed head of garlic in 1/2 cup of olive oil 2)red bell pepper (char the skin throughly over flame, reserve in a covered bowl) 3)egg plant (sliced 1/4-1/2 inch thick, heavily salted both sides, on a wire rack over he sink, let it drain for 1-2 hours. Rinse off salt and stack the eggplant up and hand squeeze as much moisture out of eggplant slices as possible. Rinse, and repeat...egg plant slices should be wafer thin.) 4)goat cheese 5)balsamic vinegar 6)salt/pepper Hardware: saran wrap, soup bowl, vacumn sealer/vacumn bag The Program: brush eggplant slices with garlicky olive oil and saute at medium heat until well browned Peel and remove seeds from bell pepper (do not rinse), lay skin out as a flat sheet line the soup bowl with an excess of saran wrap. line the bell pepper in the bowl until interior surface covered, and excess bell pepper hangs over the edges of the bowl. season bell pepper with salt and pepper. add a flat layer of eggplant add a flat layer of goat cheese, drizzle small amount of balsamic vinegar and garlicky olive oil over the goat cheese. add a flat layer of bell pepper,season bell pepper with salt and pepper. repeat the layers and seasonings until the bowl is full. fold the excess red bell pepper from the first layer, over the top of the terrine, fold the excess saran wrap over the top off this, an dpress down to remove air pockets. at this point I have placed the bowl in a vacuum bag and sealed it under vacumn to compress it and refrigerate at least over nite. alternatively, it could be covered with a plate and a heavy can placed on top to compress. at service, remove the vacuum bag, use the saran wrap to pull the terrine out of the bowl/mold. open the saran wrap, and invert the terrine onto a plate, remove the saran wrap. the terrine should appear like a bright red dessert cake...use a serrate knife to cut into cake wedges, serve cold as an appetizer. it's looks great, and the taste is profoundly good.....next time i make one, i'll post a pic..it's really a nice way to present eggplant, it tastes ethereal, and you can make it a day or two ahead of time, making it ideal for dinner parties..

i typically take an entire head of garlic, run the cloves through a garlic press, and cover the garlic mash with 1/4-1/2 cup of olive oil. i let the oil/garlic mixture sit out for anywhere from a few minutes to an hour, and use it during the meal prep. i pour some oil through a sieve, and use it to dress a salad (with lemon or balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper) i use some of the oil to cook/sear with. the garlic mash can be added to a pot of rice that is cooking (amazing flavor in the rice), to a soup, stock, or sauce. whatever is left over, i discard. Easy to make this freah, everytime you use it. the idea of storing it (uncooked) for a long period of time is unappealing to me. short term use (used the same day)...no problems.

i make boules by hand and love em... but i also use a Panasonic bread machine to make a multi-grain/whole wheat sandwich bread that is great ... different breads altogether, each one I enjoy making and eating. my advice..do both!

"I believe that if ever I had to practice cannibalism, I might manage if there were enough tarragon around" - James Beard Bearnaise sauce of course! I grow only three herbs in my garden, and tarragon is one. the other option (which can be combined with the option listed above) is a rub. while I will be mocked and ignored by many, the few who actually try this rub will be rewarded. It is incredible on beef, lamb, chicken and salmon. Mix Emeril's original seasoning, with Spice Islands Jamaican Jerk seasoning in a 1:1 ratio. Apply liberally onto the meat and pat. Salt and pepper to taste. Sear in pan, finish in oven. You'll never stop using it once you start....

"what makes the ombu burger good." it tastes good. Ombu and Chang Thai are the two places we eat the most now. Gave up on Bleu.

i've done short ribs and lamb ribs for 24 and 36 hours at 131 degrees. i liked the longer time better. it fully liquify the tendonous insertions in bone/muscle, i believe you will need a higher temp. I've done turkey legs and duck legs at 180 degrees, for 6-12 hours (depending on the size of the leg), with incredible results (when you grab the bone, it comes out totally clean). I've done lamb shanks with good result as well. i believe you need temps greater than 160 to melt down the major collagenous tissues your talking about.

when i make pizza, i always make two pies. We eat one pie, and i let the other pie cool off a little bit, them cut it in half. I can fit the halves into some large foodsaver pouches, and vac seal them. into the freezer.. when its time to eat the frozen pie, i cut the foodsaver bag open, and microwave the pie. tastes great (just like the original). if i want a crisp crust (usually not crispy at this point) plop the pie onto a pre-heated pizza stone for a few minutes. my pies consist of home made dough (wolfgang puck's recipe), grated sharp cheddar, smoked gouda, and mozarella as the cheeses, garlicy olive oil, salt, pepper, and a protein (drained clams, and pre-cooked morrocan spiced lamb are my favorites). NO TOMATO products. the lack of liquid ingredients (other than the olive oil) helps keep the crust crisp initially, and hold up well after freezing/reheating.

anyone have any experience with sous vide mushrooms? i'm thinking specifically about rehydrating a batch of assorted dried wild mushrooms in some stock/butter/seasonings while bagged, and cooking it at the same time as rehydrating. The idea would be to add minimal liquid to rehydrate and allow cooking, and maximize flavor. anyone have any experience with this? or even fresh sroom's sous vide?

i think the semolina i have must be a fine grind. it's no different that wheat flour in texture.

better have ownership of the business name, customer list, and a non-compete clause in place to keep the previous owner from just setting up a new bakery and competing with you. you should seriously consider a non-disparagement clause as well, with penalities, to keep the previous owner from trash talking about you. if he want's you to have a thriving business, no reason he should object to a non-compete and a non-disparagement clause. if he plans to undercut you and compete, probably not worth the hassle to set out on your own..

i usually try several differetn percentages to find out how the ingredient effects the bread. i'll definitely try 20%. once i've run several different batches, i'll comment on the results. i will check out Abra's posts, thanks.

I going to try my standard formula with 50% semolina flour..i got a rather large sack of the semolina, and i need to use it up! Anyone have any experience with semolina based baked goods?

yes. i leave them uncovered on the tray for 2 hours. interestingly, just prior to the mini-buns going onto the tray, they are rolled in flour (see pics) after the 2 hour rise, a majority, if not all of the surface flour has been hydrated by the water content of the mini-buns (absorbed into the bun). The surface of the buns after two hours are not dried out in the least..in fact, the buns are fairly sticky, hence the technique of transfering them to the baking stone, minimal handling, just by the edges. if you try to get a spatula beneath the entire bun, it's not going to slide off, it going to stick to the spatula. this stickiness is even a greater problem as the dough ages. at two weeks, the buns can stick to your fingers or the spatula like glue if your not careful. then you end up with funky shaped buns!

you can sometimes get commercial grade kitchen equipment from Dovebid.com as well (auction site). I remember looking at some Hobart stuff at one ofthere auctions several years ago. while i haven't bought hobart mixers from dovebid, i did go to a dovebid auction and picked up $50,000 of 1 year old office furniture for $3000!

i have tried several different sources of "malt",including various beers (used in place of water), and even Malta (a malt beverage). while they all imparted that malty flavor, they also made the bread muddy in color (unappealing), and were more expensive than the malt powder. in the end, i suppose any malt source is going to impart the desired taste. it then becomes a question of cost, stability of the product, and ease of use. In my experience, the powder wins.

in general terms, to improve the crumb, increase your hydration. If your refrigerating your dough prior to baking, increase your rise time after you form your boule. i increased my rise time of 2 hours, and saw significant improvement in crumb. i was limited in the amount of hydration i could deal with, as my dough became to runny for me to handle easily. with the dutch oven technique, a wetter dough should be more managable. that's a killer crust. it's making me hungry.

King Arthur Flour Diastatic Malt powder King Arthur FLour Non-Diastatic powder When i went looking for malt powder, i ended up buying both the diastatic and the non-diastatic, partially because they were cheap, relative to the shipping cost, and partially because i had no clue which one i should use. I tried both (in the dough), and eventually just mixed the two together, and use 20 gms per 1000 gms of flour...adds some very nice "breadiness" to the bread. My latest addition is 20 gms of semolina flour, which i believe makes the bread a tad more tasty. Of course, this could be my imagination. The malt however, makes a clear difference. King Arthur ships to Canada (heck, they probably make their flour from canadian winter wheat). One sack of malt powder will last you forever.... A super aged sharp cheddar with this bread, and a cup of hot tea is my breakfast of choice...it doesn't get any better... I did try adding small amounts of whole wheat as well, without the desired effect, in fact i thought it ruined the taste i was looking for. All that said, i do have a recipe for my bread machine that makes an excellent whole wheat bread loaf that i slice into sandwich bread. Sliced and toasted it's great, but entirely different from the bread i was trying for in this recipe.