JHeald

Hi eGullet, I've stalked the forums for a while now, and posted only a few times, but this is my first thread. I've got a question about a baffling inconsistency. Here's the background: I've made beef wellington the past two weekends. One roast for four people; while I don't know the weight, it was about 2.5-3 inches in diameter, and probably 4 inches long. I treated the beef very similar each time. Each roast was left in the fridge for 3 days, exposed but covered in paper towels to dry out a little (have to thank user "David A. Goldfarb" for that tip), and mushroom patte was cooked down until it didn't release any more liquid. The build was beef, mustard (only of the first, a disappointing omission on the second), thyme, mushroom patte, prosciutto, crepes (have to thank user "Nayan Gowda" for that tip), and puff pastry. The wellingtons were cooked at 400F until a probe thermometer said 140, then pulled, rested, sliced, served, devoured, and thoroughly enjoyed by all. Here were the difference between the two: 1) I didn't pre-sear the second beef, hoping it would result in a more even medium-rare wellington. 2) I [think] I rested the second wellington for about 5 minutes longer than the first (10 vs. 15). 3) I salted the first beef about 1 hour before pre-searing, but I salted the second beef 24 hours beef cooking the beef wellington. 4) I seared and wrapped the first beef in the mushrooms and proscuitto 1 day before cooking, but I only wrapped and refrigerated the second beef ~1 hour before cooking. 5) While probably minor, I didn't cut slits in the second puff pastry as deep (it didn't go through the pastry to the crepe, like the first). 6) The first Beef Wellington was a wonderful medium-rare (albeit with a rather large ring of welldone), while the second beef was completely cooked through! Here is the problem: The second beef wellington hit 160F (via carryover) by the time I sliced it. While the texture was fine, it was slightly more dry and more importantly, a personal disappointment (while I've only been cooking for 2.5 years, I expect better from myself...). Here is the nagging question: What went wrong? Why did the second beef go up 20 degrees by carryover alone, and the first one did not? My thoughts on the situation: I can't imagine that the pre-sear played any significant role, beyond depriving my guests and myself the wonderful Maillard reactions. I'm also doubtful that the longer pre-wrap and refrigeration had anything to do with this. I also doubt the the extra five minutes of resting played a significant role [all alone]: while another five minutes of carryover could make a big difference, the fact that the first beef was still a very nice medium-rare in the middle (about a 1.5 diameter), I doubt five minutes on the cutting board would take this cut of beef from ~145F to 160F. I also don't think that the pre-salting had anything to do with it (although my mother, one of the guests, thinks that it contributed to drying out the beef, making it cook more/faster/whatever. By that argument though, dry-aged beef should be well done after two minutes in a toaster over...so I don't believe a word of it.) Here's what I think happened: the capsule of puff pastry, and the absence of adequate ventilation resulted in impaired heat transfer out of the food, so the residual heat continued to penetrate the beef. If that is the case, then I assume that cutting proper ventilation in the puff pastry, or maybe poking decorative rows of holes all around, will help prevent this. I don't want to try cooking this again, pull the beef at 120 or 130, only to find that carryover stops after 5 degrees. What do you all think? I apologize if this seems like information overload, but I figure that the best way to get the best answer is to provide as much information as possible, up front. No one likes twenty-questions...except 4 year-olds... Thanks to everyone!

My wife just cleaned our babies cloth diapers with baking soda and white vinegar (a total of two or three wash cycles, I believe). Stains AND smells seem to be completely gone. If it's good enough for a babies butt, it should work for your favorite jacket (which might be your baby).

I have to agree with DanM: were it not for Alton Brown, I wouldn't be cooking. Granted it was the scientist in me that found his show so fascinating, but if the purpose of a cooking show is to teach someone how to cook, then "Good Eats" is definitely a cooking show. There is a show similar to this concept (sans the competition or plastic knives) called "Kill It, Cook It, Eat It". Considering the trend towards organic, free-range, wild caught, all natural, etc., I would guess (or hope) there will be more shows devoted to exploring where our food actually comes from. Similar to my love for Good Eats, I believe that knowing about food (what it is, where it comes from, what to do with it) is a critically important component of cooking, and more important for overcoming fears of/in the kitchen. I hope that new cooking shows focus on depth and the importance of cooking with fresh, real ingredients, rather than how to make meal quickly or with canned foods. I also don't ever want to see another husband-and-wife-lovely-dove cooking show...yuck...

While I feel for Jen as much as the next viewer, I'm particularly interested in Kevin's reaction to the judging and, as far as I could tell, Tom's final comments to each of them. When asked what the judges said, Kevin replied that he didn't want to talk about it, and that he was "really mad". My primary guess is that he didn't appreciate being told that he cooked the lamb...'horribly'...I think was the word Tom used. From the comments he made about meat temps, and his lack of reaction to being told they were not medium-rare, that is my best guess. Any thought?

It would probably be a good idea to cut the block into much smaller chunks, then freeze it. Because yeast is a living organism, it doesn't do very well when frozen and thawed repeatedly. By freezing the block in small pieces, you minimize the freeze-thaw-freeze-thaw cycle.