Norm Matthews

Back in the early 1980's Consumer Guide published a" Favorite Brand Name Recipe Cookbook" over 350 pages long with just recipes from the top or side panel of commercial food products. It was so popular that a year later they came out with another one titled the same with MORE in front of the name. Unfortunately many of those recipes don't work any more because the ingredients and or package size changed over the years.

If these wings were from a meat processor it is quite likely that they were already brined or injected with a saline solution and brining them again would be unnecessary and possibly produce a too salty and water logged product.

I owned a successful restaurant for several years and writing the order was always done for the sake of the cooks. They had to organize them by when they came in and by table. I'd really hate to expect two or three cooks to keep all that in their heads.

I don't use these much anymore but the two fish ones I made on the potters wheel and decorated with "chinese" cobalt. The other one is cast iron and made by Lodge.

We are in two different parts of the world and I don't have any experience with an Aga and I don't know exactly what you mean by BBQ. It is probably not the same as my understanding of the term but what I'd do if you have a two rib- standing rib roast is either cut it in half so you have two bone-in steaks and grill or pan sear/oven cook as for a couple great steaks OR pat it dry and butter the ends, stand it up on the bones ( if it is big enough to stand up) and using a probe thermometer, roast it at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, lower the oven to 325 and roast until done to your likeness. 120 is rare 135-140 is medium rare. Pull it about 5 degrees before done and lightly cover it with foil and let it rest for 5-7 minutes before slicing. It will continue cooking after out of the oven for that resting time. Another roasting theory is to cook it at regular temperature and finish on high but the above it the way I've always done it. Before cooking or roasting, season as desired. Some say don't use salt, I do, I use salt, pepper and a little rosemary.

I only have two whisks: a flat whisk very much like the one on the left in your picture and a balloon whisk similar to the next to last on the right. I find I use the flat whisk all the time, not just for whisking but also as a spatula. It is much better at whisking gravy or sauce in a square bottomed saucepan than the balloon whisk which is better designed to be used in a round bottomed skillet or saucier.

Both. Rye, whole wheat, white whole wheat, Southern AP flour, Northern AP flour, bread flour all take different amounts of water to make a dough. Shirley Corriher says humidity does NOT play a significant factor in water absorption and I believe her but some say that time of year flour is harvested and age can make a difference. I believe that the only way to make yeast bread is to not measure the flour by cups or scale, but add it a little at a time until a soft dough is formed, then knead by hand with minimal additions of flour until it 'feels' right. I look askance at people who tell you precise amounts of flour to be used in any bread recipe. You need an eye and a touch to make good bread. edit, ps most food scientists will tell you that sugar is not a dry ingredient even though it is a powder when you put it in. Don't ask me why.

It looks pretty generic. You realize that different flours require different levels or percentages of liquid to make a dough?

I don't know what kind of diet you are on but if it is to count calories, skip this one. You must cook this in a double boiler type arrangement because you want to thicken the soup, not cook the eggs. You add any cooked vegetable you want and/or chicken. You may add whole or chopped vegetables and serve then as is or puree them when the mood hits you. Warning,,, if you try this cream of soup with sauteed mushrooms and onions, it will spoil you forever. You will never want to open a cream of mushroom soup can again. BASIC CREAM SOUP 2 C. Chicken broth 1 C. finely cut vegetables (such as mushrooms) 1 onion, minced or grated 1/4 C. chopped parsley salt and pepper 1 cup cream 2 egg yolks

In my opinion, the thing about drip coffee makers is that coffee floats. When the stream of hot water hits the grounds-especially in a flat bottomed basket, the water spreads out on the filter and the grounds float above the water. Maybe a 5th of the water goes into the carafe before most of the grounds even get wet. A vacuum coffee maker do a better job no matter how good the filter is in a drip coffee maker. It has a filter but the grounds all come in contact with water before they fall into the carafe. The best thing to do with one of those is to get the grounds wet just before the water goes in and to use a cone shaped basket.

Marinades and brines may or may not add moisture. I owned a Korean restaurant along with my wife. Her mother was the head cook. I have access to recipes used in marinades and I suspect that the Korean BBQ friend was cooking short ribs. If so he probably used an enzymatic ingredient to his marinade and that can make a meat juicier. Other marinades can add flavor and some can tenderize but I suspect your Korean friend used an enzyme to break down the tough spare ribs because the grill time is so short. See this article about marinades. It is by Shirley Corrhier.

Brisket and Flank steak have long fibrous and somewhat chewy texture unless cut across the grain. It makes a nicer presentation and breaks up the texture of the meat so it is easier to chew. Stew meat needs long cooking time to break down the meat and sometimes to dissolve the collagen. Meat that is already tender does not nave thpse properties and does not need long cooking times. James Beard once said words to the effect, the better the cut of beef, the less you need to do to it. Ribeye, porterhouse and T-bones are steaks that are tender. Tenderloin is a part of a T-bone after the bone is cut away. Strip steak is the other part from a boneless T-bone. Round, chuck, flank, and brisket are cuts that can benefit from a long cook time. You could stew a primal cut steak if you want, but it is expensive and a waste of good meat when a cut made for stew is cheaper and will taste very good when done this way.

Tender and moist aren't defined by 'steak' and 'lean' I have seen chuck steaks which aren't lean and round steaks which aren't tender . I think the term steak is used by butchers to define the size of the cut, not the tenderness. Some top prime steaks are not lean. They can and should be marbled with fat. The tender cuts of meat come from the least used muscles in the cow. Those would be the cuts taken from the back of the cow, along the spine from below the shoulder blade to just before the rise of the rump. These cuts can be cut into roasts or steaks Those cuts need very little cook time. They will be tender as long as they are not over cooked. Some cuts of meat will be juicy and tender if cooked medium rare AND sliced thin and across the grain- like a London broil- AND will be juicy and tender if simmered in a braise for a long time BUT will be very dry and tough if cooked too long an a grill OR not cooked long enough in a braise. To get the best results when cooking meat, you should understand where the part comes from on the cow and prepare the meat accordingly. A good cookbook on good cooking methods for various kinds of meat for good results is- in my opinion- How To Cook Meat.

The original post said this...The taste was perfect, meat well done and falling of the bone but the ribs were a little dry. Falling off the bone and a little dry are cause and effect. They were overcooked.

I think over cooking is indeed the culprit, especially with lean meat. You can boil shrimp or poach fish completely submerged in liquid and it can be dry and over cooked. If you over- grill a steak it will be dry and chewy. However some meat is tough and fatty and needs a long slow cooking time. Temperature alone is not enough to ensure both tenderness and juiciness, like a brisket for instance. It has collagen that needs to break down either by a braise or BBQ smoking.

There are many ways to prepare any particular cut of meat but if you slather ribs with sauce and braise them in a slow cooker or seal them in foil and steam them in the oven, then finish them on the grill, you will undoubtedly produce some good tasting ribs but please do not call it barbecue.

I smoked some baby backs about a week ago @ 280º for two hours, indirect heat with hickory chunks smoking beside the lump charcoal, then wrapped in foil and cooked another hour, then finished over hot coals with some sauce being baked in. They were moist and tender but not falling off the bone. If they were then they cooked at too high a temperature for too long. That is why they tasted dry. I spray mine with apple juice and put Oklahoma Joe;s rub on then the night before. Spare ribs take about 5-6 hours and beef back ribs take even longer. Baby backs do not take as long.

I do have a good exhaust system. It is a mini version or home version of what restaurants use by code but you still get grease splatters. I have spatter screens and they help but there are still grease spatters. I don't see any way to avoid it but you don't have to let it build up. I clean the stove top after every cook session and do an even more thorough cleaning, getting the walls, floor and counters every Sunday afternoon. It is not a lot of work if you keep up with it. It takes an extra 5 minutes a day and 20 minutes on Sunday.

Well this one was honest.. honest mistake probably. Speaking of Kroger's meat dept. They had some very white stuff in foam trays with plastic wrap over them with the label: Pork, the other white meat. Lean and healthy. It was pure pork fat.

I cant recall all of the details but I once bought a package that was labeled Texas (something) Dinner for two. It was enough for one-me, not two hungry people. It had included some sausage, shrimp, corn and other stuff. It said something like 120 calories per serving on the front. Inside the package, the sausage was packaged separately and the information about that shot the 120 calories claim all to pieces. On the back of the outer package, in very fine print, it said servings per package: 10

Sometimes I make tacos with carnitas meat, chopped. I also have a Mexican roast beef that can be shredded and used in the meat but most of the time I use ground beef, chorizo, onion and refried beans for the meat filling. Others have posted good seasonings- With the ground beef mixture I use Spanish Gardens from Kansas City. My son's GF is half Mexican and she prefers that taco seasoning too.

Although I have had it for years, my KitchenAid mixer changed the way I cook the most. Now I don't even think twice about making mayonnaise, bread, cake batters, whipping cream or egg whites. I just turn on the machine and it does all the arm and elbow grease work for me. I was surprised at how much I use a flat whisk my son gave me a few years ago. I can whisk stuff in a square sided sauce pan and use it as a spatula in a teflon skillet among other uses.

I believe KitchenAid is now making one too. I'd go with that one because I am afraid an aftermarket, off-brand version might void any warranty you have on the mixer.

There is a good recipe and directions for breakfast sausage at http://www.stuffers.com/

However salt does preform an important function in cooking and which kind-particle size- how much, and when it is used that can make a big difference in final results.