MexChef

Normally it is cooked... The complete name is Chicharron Prensado which literally means "pressed crackling". By pressed what they mean is that it was wrapped in a cloth (cheesecloth-like) after being deepfried, and all the fat wringed out... It is common to dice it and mix it with green sauce (tomatillo, peppers, onions) Cheers!

So, does anyone have a suggestion of how to safely make garlic oil, without cooking it?

Is clouding the only reason you don't want to use lime or lemon juice? if so, try clarifying it using agar. lookie here: http://cookingissues.wordpress.com/2009/07/14/agar-clarification-made-stupid-simple-best-technique-yet/ Cheers pw

Hi: I recently upgraded to a Polyscience inmersion circulator. It works like a charm, but I've noticed that some sediment has begun to stick to the stainless steel coils... The manual suggests that the water is too hard and recommend cleaning often but it doesn't suggest how... Has anyone had this type of problem with yours? How do you clean it? Cheers! pw

A question for you experienced gardeners/horticulturists: I live in USDA Zone 9b and want o get a couple of earthboxes to begin growing stuff... what are the easiest vegetables/herbs to grow in this climate? thanks! cheers! pw

I have two sizes... I've used them to core apples and pears, make potato balls, seed jalapeños and serranos, portion cookie and scone batter... cheers!

Thanks MexChef, I think I would enjoy one of those. It would be an expensive sandwich to make given I have neither the beef nor the Egg. ← I'm sure you could make them in any really hot grill, although maybe you wouldn't get so nice flames hehehe cheers!

Kobe/Perigord Brioche Burger... photos below in this link Kobe/Perigord Brioche Hamburgers Cheers!

It's for a cooking competition... I only have 5 hours to prep and cook and cannot arrive with cooked duck.... all ingredients have to be raw... I thought sous-vide might help due to the higher control over things and less use of fat than traditional oven way (water conducts heat about 27 times better than air).... Legs are in fridge curing with a compound salt... will cook today sous-vide at 85°C for 3 hours and will let you know tomorrow how it turns out... cheers!

but duck confit cooks normally in two or three hours. its the salting/brining that takes forever - hard to accelerate that no? ← Umm, duck confit takes a lot longer than that to cook. It's more like 10-12 hours of slow cooking because you want the duck to be just about falling apart but to retain enough definition to hold together. See this thread for an excellent pictorial of the method: Confit Duck. I don't see how sous vide could speed up this process, but I'd be interested to see if its possible. Ideally though, you'd want to age your confit a bit in the refrigerator to make it extra special too--duck confit is the polar opposite of a quick preparation. ← I know this... I was wondering from the chemical perspective if using a hotter than 80°C (ultimate temperature the duck ever reaches if cooked in an 80°C oven) bath will accelerate the fat's and colagen's "melting"... Maybe some temperature playing near the 2nd or 3rd hour... I don't know... will experiment on this and let you know if results are satisfactory... cheers!

but duck confit cooks normally in two or three hours. its the salting/brining that takes forever - hard to accelerate that no? ← The salting brining is ok... I can do that beforehand... and the confit I normally cook submerged in fat for 10 hours in an 80°C oven.... Have never done it in less time... so was doubtful about it... Would you suggest then 4 hours in an 80°C bath as a good option? cheers!

Need to make duck confit in under 4 hours... I was thinking sous-vide at higher than 80°C... any ideas? thanks! pw

That will probably create pressure on your front door. ← So what do you suggest? some sort of window in the kitchen area? Also I forgot to mention there is an underground storage room with elevator shaft and stairs and outdoor access... I think most of the pressure incoming from the makeup air will be alleviated by this underground space...

The menu is basically grilled steaks and seafood, nothing so upscale additional equipment be needed... the oven will be used for baking and for keeping plates warm or whatever other use we find for it hehe... the grills themselves can be turned into "brick ovens" for broiling if needed (especially for really thick steaks). As for the make up air, I was thinking of the main air-conditioned-dining room /through the aile along the pass through table.... (no door)

Hello all: I'm opening a restaurant (first time I do this) as an upgrade from the catering business I run from home... I have almost (I think) every detail covered and have come to the A/C issue... Should I provide it to the kitchen or will the hood alone extract most of the heat? My concern is that food be in a "cold" environment just to make the cooks confortable. The heat sources under a 6 meter hood (unless of course someone recommends different) will be: 4 charcoal grills 6 burner range 1 oven 1 80cm griddle 2 deep-fryers In front of this hood will be the hot table (bain marie) and besides that the refrigerated table without hood on top, for plating and service. Any input anyone?

Yesterday I cooked outside, some shrimp and cream cheese filled jalapeños wrapped in bacon, maple glazed smoked salmon, grilled ribeye and chocolate chip cookies: