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IndyRob

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Everything posted by IndyRob

  1. When you change the way you cook something, you have to rethink everything. It's not just about smashing collagen. You have to manage what's left at the end. And those things will be different depending on how you applied your heat.
  2. I measured mine with a tape measure (not the best way) and it seems to be just under 2.5 inches (maybe 6cm). A 2.5 inch diameter hole would probably work pretty well. You might want to wait for a second opinion though, just to be sure.
  3. IndyRob

    Awful to Good

    I don't think a raw potato is awful - just unappealing. The taste doesn't change much with cooking. It just needs softening and some help from salt and perhaps other things. Raw meat or fish can even be a preferred treatment. Both can also be dried similarly to chiles but not be awful. We don't really eat spices as a primary, or even secondary component. We put spices on things like potatoes.
  4. IndyRob

    Awful to Good

    I guess it's sort of the same thing as chocolate, which doesn't appear in it's best form naturally. But rather as a slimy bitter seed. How did they figure that out?
  5. IndyRob

    Awful to Good

    I did that. But that's not the point. My end result, as I said, was remarkably good. I just don't know how, from that early starting point, one figures out that it needs just a bit of some of those other things.
  6. IndyRob

    Awful to Good

    Very, very bitter.
  7. IndyRob

    Awful to Good

    Long story short - I decided to make some authenticish Mexican Red sauce from dried chiles. I watched various YouTube videos in Spanish and English and settled on what seemed a traditional approach. After toasting some of the chiles and adding some chicken broth, I simmered and tasted - awful. It wasn't done yet, but I'm accustomed to building flavors - not trying to (for lack of a better word) salvage them. But I continued on faith. After straining, reducing, adding the required cumin, oregano and salt, something started to work. It did take a bit of adjusting, but in the end the result was remarkably good. I thought about Mole, which seems similar. Is Mexican cuisine unique in this regard? I can't think of anything in American, British or French cuisine where you start out with something awful and somehow fix it to great effect.
  8. A baking steel helps pan pizza quite a bit. I've perfected my Detroit Style pizza with a pizzatools pan and a baking steel. I haven't yet tried a more traditional style yet because the DS is so good. But it will require some trial and error to find the right temp and steel placement for your particular oven.
  9. I don't like ketchup on my hot dogs. But I dislike prejudice even more....
  10. I don't understand this rotuts writing style - or why a book that is explicitly about their last twenty years needs to include something new. We know that they don't do sous vide, or apparently the Insta-Things, but if you're a person who knows this, then this book isn't for you.
  11. It's really difficult for me to directly compare. Primarily because I think of a ribeye as two completely different cuts that come joined together. The deckle/cap/callotte has a completely different nature than the other part that I call 'the eye'. To me, the eye is like an inferior filet, or more like sirloin, or Manhattan steak (basically a New York strip cut in half and trimmed of fat). They need totally different cooking in a traditional sense and in a perfect world, I would always buy a ribeye roast, cut the eye out, and roll up the cap to cut steaks out of. The chuckeye shares more character with the deckle/callotte/cap than with the eye. My traditional way of cooking both is to pan sear each side at a really high heat and then turn the heat down to almost off for and extended period - maybe 15-20 minutes (during which time I'm adding butter, garlic and mushrooms). With a ribeye, this results in OMG deckle and overcooked eye. With a chuckeye, the flavor of the deckle is there, but it hasn't broken down as much so there's some stringiness. But, for the price, quite acceptable.
  12. I hate to disagree, but that's not true in this part of the country. Not only are they routinely cut into steaks, here's an advertised special.
  13. A little bit of microwaving usually gets me over the hump. But I recently bought some molasses with the idea that I wouldn't have to deal with this issue any more as brown sugar is simply sugar with some added molasses. I haven't actually used this trick yet, but Serious Eats has a feature on this theme.
  14. I am so doing this. But minus the sweet, and all of the savory. ETA: Please tell me that that would still be Znood El...(something).
  15. I've cooked them SV and traditional. Haven't noticed a difference. Unless you need to SV it a long time like a chuck roast,
  16. They have a very similar flavor to ribeye, and even have a bit of the fibrous look of the deckle, but are tougher. Still very good, but you're in for a little more chewing. It must be a midwestern thing because I can buy them off the shelf at most of my local groceries. Cheap too -- usually around $3/steak.
  17. I once slow roasted a pork roast to 188 and sliced it and it was perfect. I've got to think your meat has to have benefited somewhat by 'the stall'. I'd be curious as to whether the outside portions (other than the surface) ever got above 160. Probably too late to check now though.
  18. I wouldn't view it as insulting. It could be quite a compliment even though it doesn't align with your goals. It just depends on your business model and finding partners that compliment that..
  19. Thank you. So, in my incredibly inexpert opinion, although there's a jurisdictional issue in play, the real problem is the fact that the items were transported without the strict controls that TJ's might impose. In the worst case, someone could be trying to sell a rotting TJ product in Canada - represented as something you might buy at TJs.. The claims concerning brand confusion, to me, are silly given that they spend so much effort emphasizing the 'pirate' nature of the business. But I wonder about the knock on effects of any importer without the explicit approval of the manufacturer.
  20. Does anyone know how to find the decision of the 2016 appeal case that did them in? I can't imagine why the original dismissal didn't stand.
  21. I love chives with potatoes. Put them in the mash, or to top baked ones. Try putting equal parts margarine (seems to work better than butter for some reason) and sour cream in a bag with a load of chives and a bit of salt. Mash them up to mix and put in the fridge for a spell. The put a fluted pastry tip on the bag and dispense into baked potatoes.
  22. IndyRob

    Burger King

    The Harris Poll - 2017 Burger Brands... Five Guys Burgers and Fries In-N-Out Burger Shake Shack Wendy's Culver's Whataburger McDonald's SONIC America's Drive-In Smashburger Steak 'n Shake Is there a flame broiled burger in there? Actually, that may be a marketing hype list. I recently went to Five Guys for the first time and concluded that while the burger was good, it was nowhere near as good as all the news articles plastered on their walls would suggest. And that's really all their decor is - news clippings. It was like I walked into their own little burger masturbatoreum.
  23. It very well could be 'the greatest generation'. The one that experienced food rationing. TV dinners came along in the 50's, which would be about right. And Italians...get out of here with that stuff.
  24. Trivia: The Kentucky Oaks is a race run the night before and is the local's derby (party) before all the tourists come in. ETA: BTW, Kentucky Burgoo is just stew.
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