[Let's talk BBQ and BBQ sauce recipes]

I have been experimenting with Sous Vide Pork Ribs and looking for the best BBQ sauce recipe.  I know some of you will say Sous Vide Ribs are not "real" BBQ, but I don't have a outdoor grill or smoker.

 

Modernist Cuisine has 8 BBQ sauce Recipes.   I have tried it's Kansas City sauce and it's pretty good.  Has anyone tried the other 7 recipes?

 

Anyone have what they consider the best BBQ sauce recipe?

[Can I microplane frozen foie gras without any previous salt preparation?]

4 hours ago, Paul Fink said:

The recipes I found for  Foie gras en torchon  all use a curing salt.

Ordinary salt won't kill bacteria. Curing salt or pink salt is used to cure ham, bacon, sausages etc.

I would not serve raw frozen foie gras but then I won't miroplane it ether.

Thanks for the tips!  I guess I'll have to make a torchon.  

 

Keep in mind the Microplaned Foie Gras has been Momofoku Ko's trademark dish been on the Menu since 2008!  Momofoku Ko has 2 Michelin Starts, 4.5 half stars on Yelp, and 3 stars from New York Times.  People can't get enough of the Microplaned Foie Gras.

[Can I microplane frozen foie gras without any previous salt preparation?]

4 hours ago, jmacnaughtan said:

 

This may be a silly question, but why would you microplane foie gras?

 

David Chang has a 2 Michelin Restaurant in NY where he simply microplanes frozen Foie Gras Torchon.  It's supposed to taste amazing.  It's a torchon so he preps it by salting and curing it before freezing it.  I'm guessing the salt kills bacteria?

 

Perhaps a better question is, can I safely eat raw Foie Gras?  If I microplane the frozen Foie Gras, I'm essentially eating it raw.

[Can I microplane frozen foie gras without any previous salt preparation?]

I have some frozen foie gras in the freezer.  Can I simply microplane the frozen foie gras?

 

I haven't cleaned it, or salted it before putting into freezer.  Is this safe?

 

Thanks!

[Does reheating sous vide ribs and duck legs at high temp in oven dry it out?]

6 hours ago, gfweb said:

I wouldn't do it. Great chance to dry out some of it because the surface will get way hotter than the temp it was cooked at.

 

Why not have the oven at 150?

 

But I can't see a reason why you couldn't sear then pop into a bag and put in the SV unit to reheat.

 

I don't want to sear the ribs first and then SV to reheat it, because the crust will get soggy.  I don't have time to sear 10 pounds of meat after reheating by SV either. 

 

The reason I'm using a 400F oven is because I plan on roasting veggies in the oven.  I don't have time to roast veggies first, and then roast the ribs and duck legs separately.

 

I understand the surface of the meat may get hotter then 150F, but not by much right?   Perhaps I should take out the ribs and duck legs at 130F?  That way most of the meat will still be under 150F?

 

 

[Does reheating sous vide ribs and duck legs at high temp in oven dry it out?]

I have some 12 hour 165F sous vide pork ribs and 10 hour 180F sous vide duck confit in the fridge.

 

I plan on reheating these sous vide meats in the oven during Thanksgiving.  If I reheat them in a 400F oven and take them out when the internal temperature is 150F, will it dry out the meat?  Is it better to take the meat out when internal temperature is 130F so less moisture will be lost?

 

I figured since the meats have already been at 165F and 180F in the past, reheating them close to that temp shouldn't matter for moisture lost.  Am I wrong?

 

I don't plan on reheating by sous vide because I plan on searing the meats before putting in oven.

 

Thanks!

 

 

[Using Stock I for Stock II then Stock III rather than reducing]

I pressure cooked in water.  Ratio of chicken to water is 1:1 by weight.

 

 

[Using Stock I for Stock II then Stock III rather than reducing]

On 11/17/2016 at 8:44 PM, paulraphael said:

The idea behind a double or triple stock is to concentrate the non-volatile flavors without losing all the volatile ones.

 

It's substantially similar to the classical technique of reducing a stock in stages—reducing half the stock by 80% or so, then adding another quarter of the stock and reducing that a bunch, and then adding the last quarter and reducing hardly at all.

 

It's simpler these days just start with less water, if you're using a pressure cooker or sous-vide. The catch is that you'll end up with a way higher proportion of aromatics. The pc lets just some of the aromatics out; the s.v. bag doesn't let out any. So you have to adjust your recipe. I cut way back on the mirepoix, especially carrots, which for some reason dominate in pc and sv stocks. And I leave garlic out of the sv bag entirely. If I want garlic, I'll steep it in later. SV'd garlic makes everything taste and smell like a tire fire (moral: not all aromatic compounds are sacred ... )

 

 

Curious what your thoughts are about boiling stock briefly after pressure cooking the chicken carcass.  I compared two stocks.

 

Stock 1-  I pressured cooked chicken carcass for 1.5 hours, did a natural pressure release, and then strained the stock into another container.

 

Stock 2- I pressured cooked chicken carcass for 1.5 hours, did a natural pressure release, then boiled the stock with the chicken carcass for 5 min., then strained the stock into another container.  

 

I found stock 2 to have a much richer and stronger flavor.  Boiling for 5 min. didn't reduce the stock too much, but I think perhaps boiling the chicken carcass for 5 min helped bring out more of the juices inside the chicken carcass?

 

Any thoughts?

[Using Stock I for Stock II then Stock III rather than reducing]

1 hour ago, dcarch said:

No you cannot. You can start  a fire. My method is to pressure steam using a separate pot inside the PC.

 

 

 

 

3 hours ago, rotuts said:

you have to use the minimum water that the PC maker recommends

 

in the IP it might be 1 cup

 

however , you can put the carcass in a second container above that one cup and PC that it seems

 

this is what 

 

@dcarch  

 

there are various circular vessels that fit in the IP , on the rack that came with the IP so their contents are above the water and thus Pressure-Steamed.

 

if you just put the carcass on the rack that came with the ip , w 1 cup water under that , the carcass with ' drip ' into that one cup

 

I understand now.  Thanks so much for the tips!!

[Using Stock I for Stock II then Stock III rather than reducing]

20 hours ago, btbyrd said:

Or just use less water the first time.

 

Is it OK to simply pressure cook chicken or pork carcasses with no water, or very little water?  No dangers?

 

Can I simply pressure cook pork fat back with no water?

 

I posted earlier about trying to boil broth with high fat content (with no lid) and found that the soup "exploded" or bursted on me.

 

Thanks!

 

[My soup exploded! How to I prevent this? Can I still use my pot?]

3 hours ago, rotuts said:

truth be told

 

I have no vision of what happened to you.

 

the PC was open     and then you tried to use it as a regular pot to boil its contents ?

 

BOOM   but you don't tell us more than that

 

more detail might help

 

cheers

To clarify,

 

I didn't do a quick release to release the pressure cooker.  I let the pressure naturally go do down by itself. (I read that stock tastes better this way in MC)

 

When I opened the lid, the stock looks clear.  So I want to boil the stock to emulsify some of the fat and the particles into the stock. This is for Ramen stock not western clear stock.  I find it tastes better if I boil the stock for 5 min to emulsify some of the fat and particles.

 

After a few minutes trying to get the stock to a boil, I hear a boom sound, like a big "pop" sound.  I'm guessing it has something to do with the pressure and different temperatures of the fat and liquid?  Anyone else have this experience?

 

The pot seems fine.

 

Is there any danger of heating up stock and fat really fast in a pressure cooker WITH the lid sealed on?  I always turn the temp. lower when it reaches 15psi.  I use a magnetic portable induction to heat the pressure cooker really fast.

 

Thanks for the tips everyone!

 

[My soup exploded! How to I prevent this? Can I still use my pot?]

I put a bunch of pork trotters, fat, and water into a pressure cooker and pressured cooked it for 3 hours.  (I'm making ramen base soup)

 

I released the pressure and removed the lid.  I tried to boil the soup again (so I could emulsify the fat).

 

After a few minutes I heard a "BOOM" sound!  I think my soup exploded!  

 

How do I prevent this in the future?  

Do you think I damaged my pot?  This is important because the pot is part of the pressure cooker, and I don't want to pressure cook something if it's damaged.  Is it safe to use again?

 

Thanks for the advice!

[Do Marinades penetrate cooked meat the same as raw meat? and other Marinade Myths..]

On 10/31/2016 at 10:25 AM, btbyrd said:

Whether marinades penetrate depends on what's in the marinade. Molecular size is key. Salt is relatively small compared to most flavor molecules, and this feature (along with its ionic activity) help it penetrate where other molecules cannot tread.

 

The best online (non-academic) resource I've found on testing brines and marinades is Greg Blonder's blog 'Genuine Ideas.' Here are some of the most relevant posts:

 

This post uses chemical dyes with different molecular sizes to investigate how far into meat flavor molecules can travel. 

This post investigates the rates of diffusion for various salts (table salt, curing salt, MSG) into animal proteins.

This post investigates the extent to which sugar in a brine adds flavor to the interior of meat.

 

Lots of quality reading on that site. 

Wow great read!

 

What do you think about herbs and salt?  Do you think Herbs' flavor molecules will travel with the salt into the meat?  

 

Thomas Keller uses herbal salt for his Duck Confit.  He puts salt, thyme, parsley, and bay leaves into a spice grinder.   He grinds it up to make a green herbal salt. He covers the duck with this herbal salt and lets it sit in the fridge for 24 hours.  Then he washes off the herbal salt, and then braises it in duck fat for another 10 hours.  That means the herbs are no longer on top of the meat during the braise.

 

Did the herb molecules travel with the salt into the duck?  

If not, why not just add herbs at the end of cooking?

[Do Marinades penetrate cooked meat the same as raw meat? and other Marinade Myths..]

Thanks for the info Nickrey!

 

Let's assume their is no acid in the Marinade, so we don't have to worry about acid eating at the meat

 

Are you saying that flavor molecules can hitch a ride with the salt?  I thought Marinades can't go beyond 1/8 of the meat no matter how long you marinade it?

 

Why do chefs like Thomas Keller marinate short ribs for 12 hours in the fridge, then braise them with the marinade for 5 hours, and then let the rest overnight?   That's over 40 hours of being in the marinade.  If a Marinade can't go beyond 1/8 inch of the meat anyways, what's the point  of all these steps to let the meat soak in the marinade for so long?

 

 

[Do Marinades penetrate cooked meat the same as raw meat? and other Marinade Myths..]

Let's talk Marinades and Marinade myths!

 

Do Marinades penetrate cooked meats the same amount as raw meats?

 

For Example.

 

Sample A.  Take out a raw chicken thigh, place it marinade, and let it sit in fridge for 12 hours.

Sample B.  Take out a plain precooked chicken thigh that has already been chilled, place in marinade, and let sit in fridge for 12 hours. 

 

Will the Marinade have penetrated Sample A the same amount as Sample B?  or almost the same amount?

 

 

How about this example?

 

Sample C.  Take out a raw chicken thigh, put it in marinade, and let sit in fridge for 4 hours.

Sample D.  Take out a raw chicken thigh, put it in marinade, and then Sous Vide it for 4 hours with the marinade.

 

Will the Marinade penetrate Sample C the same amount as sample  D?   or almost the same amount?

 

From what I understand Marinades can only penetrate 1/8 of inch of meat no matter how long you marinade it.  The salt in the Marinade can go much deeper.

 

Thoughts?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Does boiling sous vide chicken stock kill everything including Botulism Spores?]

I often sous vide 5 pounds of chicken thighs for 8 hours at 156F.  There is a lot of chicken juice and fat left over in the bag.

 

I plan to save all the juices and fat every time I sous vide until I get about 4 cups of chicken juice.  Then I can make chicken soup and use the fat for frying veggies.  This may take me a month of saving juices however.  Is storing the juices and fat for a month or longer safe?

 

If I empty all the juices and fat from the bags, and boil them, will this be safe to store for long periods in fridge or freezer?  I am also concerned about Botulism Spores which I understand is heat resistant.

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

 

[Anyone try sous vide Octopus at low temps for better yield?]

Sous Vide Octopus at 77C for 5 hours is popular but the Octopus loses a lot of size and juice.

 

Has anyone tried Octopus at 60C, maybe for 24-48 hours?  I still want the octopus tender, but hoping to get a better yield.

 

Any low temp and time recommendations?

 

Thanks!

[Polyscience Sous Vide Toolbox (formerly known as SousVide Dash)]

No because according to the App it doesn't reach 141F at core until it hits 1 hour 57 min 21 seconds.

 

I'm asking why the cooking journal saids 1 hour 30 min 45 seconds for pasteurization but the graph saids 1:39 for pasteurization.

[Polyscience Sous Vide Toolbox (formerly known as SousVide Dash)]

I've been using the Sous Vide Dash App and still confused about the time recs.

 

I input 1 inch chicken breast, 141F, pasteurize to core.

 

On the cooking journal,  at 1 hour 30 min 45 sec it saids "All pathogens reduced at core"

 

Does that mean the chicken is safe to eat after 1 hour 30 min. 45 seconds?   

 

When I scroll down, the graph shows it takes about 1 hour and 39 min for the red line (Listeria Core) to pass.  So does this mean I have to wait 1 hour and 39 min.?

 

Which time is correct?

[Re-formulating dishes for Bariatric and Weight loss patients]

I find using Sofrito, but draining most of the oil, is great flavor booster for topping lean meats and seafood.  Calorie wise it takes about 3 tablespoons of Sofrito to equal 1 tablespoon of oil.  This helps keep the calories low.

 

Ginger scallion sauce is also very low calorie.

 

Miso, soy sauce, fish sauce, dried scallops, dried shrimp, shitake mushrooms, Kombu, kimchee, are all great for adding flavor and umami to a dish.

 

I lost 30 pounds and was eating mostly lean meats and veggies.  I tried to find creative ways to make food taste better.

[Re-formulating dishes for Bariatric and Weight loss patients]

I find Thai food in general to be low calorie as long as you don't deep fry or use curry.  Just mix fish sauce, lime juice, little sugar, cilantro stems, and chilies.  This basic sauce can be used over minced chicken breast, pork tenderloin, or vegetables.  

[[Modernist Cuisine at Home] Sous vide vegetables]

I tried green beans with bacon, cooking sous vide melted the bacon onto the beans - excellent

Sounds great!  you have a time and temp?

[[Modernist Cuisine at Home] Sous vide vegetables]

I'm curious, if I cook vegetables without a bag in 185F hot water for 30-45 min. would lots of flavors still leek into the water?  

 

Thomas keller in his cookbook said it's important to cook vegetables as fast as possible to keep the color bright and vivid.  He said enzymes that dull the color are only destroyed at boiling point.  Wouldn't Sous Vide or cooking vegetables at 185F dull the color?

 

In Coi's cookbook, Patterson saids to cook vegetables in a light simmer, not boil.

 

Any thoughts?

[[Modernist Cuisine at Home] Sous vide vegetables]

There's lots of posts about Sous vide meats, but I want to talk about Sous Vide Vegetables!

 

It seems the general rule is to sous vide vegetables at 185F for 30-45 min.

 

I'm thinking of sous vide my broccoli, cauliflower, and asparagus, chill in an ice bath.  Then get a good sear with cast iron pan or maybe use searzall.

 

Anyone have some good experiments, times, temps, with sous vide veggies?!

 

[How long can sofrito last in fridge compared to XO sauce?]

Why does XO sauce last indefinitely?  Is it because there are preservatives in the dried scallops, dried shrimp or the ham?  

 

XO sauce is basically sofrito with added dried scallops, dried shrimp and sausage or country ham.