FastTalkingHighTrousers

What's the point of the Red Seal? Every chef I know in Canada claims it's kind of useless. Why do some cooks get it?

Yeah, I can see how an employer insisting on formal training is knee-slappingly funny. ← The posting mentioned nothing about "formal training". A degree from the CIA and formal training are apples and oranges, my friend. Amusing indeed.

It's not totally clear - it's more like the colour of pale apple juice. I'm pretty sure, though, that if you start with tomato water it will come out totally clear. ← That's true! I've done it in the past with the water from different colored heirloom tomatoes, .15% agar and a superbag. The resulting liquid is "water clear" and is bursting with heirloom tomato deliciousness.

I've done everything from cooking beef, chicken and fish to order for ~<1hr. to cooking shorties and pork shoulder for 48hours. I've never done brisket ...not a big fan. I always season every protein I vacuum pack. Never have I pulled anything out of cryo that I would consider to be dried out.

I've always seasoned proteins I've either cooked via sous-vide or braise. I've never had a situation where my meat comes out dry due to seasoning. I would love more information about the threat of meat losing moisture do to seasoning. Should we therefore never season proteins before vac'ing? This notion is new to me.

Very well put, slkinsey. Maybe now we can put this baby to bed.

Ha! I used to purposefully do that in order to get under my old sous chefs skin. She would start screaming "Who f*cked the plastic wrap again?!".

Flap meat is cut from the loin, not the flank. It sits in the middle of the fat cap on the loin. Flank and hangar are 2 completely different whole muscles so no it is not possible that vacio is part hanger, part flank. If it is indeed just flap meat then it comes from up by the loin ... a great distance from either flank or hanger. ← "Flank and hangar are 2 completely different whole muscles so no it is not possible that vacio is part hanger, part flank." Can I get an amen on that? ← AMEN, brother! Testify to deliciousness!

Flap meat is cut from the loin, not the flank. It sits in the middle of the fat cap on the loin. Flank and hangar are 2 completely different whole muscles so no it is not possible that vacio is part hanger, part flank. If it is indeed just flap meat then it comes from up by the loin ... a great distance from either flank or hanger.

It'd make a fine chef's knife. You'll get used to the angle of the blade.

Nice! Sounds delicious when I'm done drooling it's time to call my man Vinnie at John Dewar and have him put some aside for me.

You should do the trotter recipe from MPW's White Heat: Trotters stuffed with chicken mousse, sweetbreads and dried morels. When he bones out his trotters, he doesn't mention retaining the meat. I say grind it and use it in the farce with the chicken mousse. He serves it with very loose potato puree and a cognac and madeira sauce. I used to work at John Dewar's in Wellesley. You in Boston? Enjoy the trotters!

There's no right or wrong way to eat sushi or sashimi. Just get it in your mouth as quickly as possible and enjoy.

I wish you good luck on your veg. sausage casing journey ... but I'm pretty sure you won't find what you need. Just pump the sausage mix into some synthetic casing, poach them, decase them and grill 'em. They won't have that snap your looking for but trying to make an entirely vegetarian sausage with the texture of meat sausage = square peg -> round hole.

If you've ever had the air dried kobe at French Laundry you wouldn't have to ask why.