gdenby

Look at it this way. You just made the ultimate fond.

My limited experience is that toasting flour, browning it just by roasting, increases its savory flavor. But when I have added it to dishes, I can feel a granular texture in my mouth. Frying it to make a roux ends up with a similar flavor, but a silkier texture. I guess the mouth feel of roux is partly both the slipperiness of fat, and the gelatinous smoothness of cooked starch.

Plz, if you get a chance, drop a note on how it turned out. Fingers crossed that your guests are pleased, and you don't suffer exhaustion.

9 lb of butt should produce about 5 lbs. of cooked meat. Probably not quite enough for your guests. If you are using organic, I doubt you'll save much by supplementing with ribs. But the ribs will cook a lot faster, so they could be started later. I don't have any experience w. the WSM (altho I did have an ECB), so I can't offer time or technique specifics. A pork butt cooked to around 200F for pulling can be held for at least 4 hours, perhaps as long as 6, wrapped in 2 layers of HD foil, some towels and then placed in a "cooler." During the holding time, the cooker can be refueled, and the ribs cooked around 350F.

It is polite to share. Send me one of those as soon as it is done. Or, at least show as much as you can. Details. please. I suspect I will gain a pound just looking at the pics of the finished ribs.

Please clarify. When you say "meat tenderizer," do you mean one of those toothed hammers, or a marinade of powder application that soften the meat? Here's what I know about the topics mentioned. Enzyme meat tenderizers (papain and bromelian) break down collagen, the connective tissue that binds muscle fibers together. The various tenderizers available do not, as far as I know, break down elastin, which binds the muscles to bone. Too long an exposure to the enzyme tenderizers can make the meat mushy and dry before cooking. But collagen breaks down w. exposure to heat. Both braising and SV will allow the collagen to convert to gelatin. Soft and smooth meat is the result. As far as I know, elastin does not break down much, if at all, from heating. Cuts w. a lot of elastin can benefit from pounding w. a meat hammer, or piercing w. a Jaccard. These mechanical deformations of the meat structure also often allows marinades to get deeper into the meat. Concerning flavor addition, I find that hammering or piercing the meat reduces the amount of time to suffuse the meat w. flavor. Cuts the time by as much as 75%. My pretty limited experience w. SV has often resulted in much stronger flavors compared to meats cooked w. traditional methods. At this point, I am hesitant about adding more than a tiny bit of herb and spice, much less filling the meat w. an injection. In terms of tenderness, all I can say is that both SV and traditional methods of cooking can make foods very chewable, but the texture is different.

I too find the blade guard to be awkward. It doesn't grip well, and often makes it harder to push the food thru smoothly. I just use my fingers to hold the food. I have trouble finding gloves that fit my hands well enough to do any fine work. So, I also pay attention and stop before the last few slices. The last bits go under a knife if they are needed.

Yes, McGee and MC are great explainers. Also Shirley Corriher (Bakewise & Cookwise), Rob't Wolke (What Einstien told his Cook 1 & 2) and Herve This (Kitchen Mysteries, etc). But, most of the cookbooks I have should probably be called recipe books. Very little information on the why of a technique. I suppose that because most cooking was traditionally something that was done over and over for generations, and practiced on a daily basis, loose terms like a "slow fire" were generally understood. For those of use who may never have boiled water (my SIL, for instance) explanations are necessary. My guess on Madhur Jaffrey. The first roast/fry of spices breaks open seeds, releasing and enhancing some of the flavor compounds. The second addition adds flavors that work well when not cooked for a long time and which may also evaporate or break down.

Here's what I can offer. Cooked food is less resistant to the growth of pathogens than uncooked foods. Ordinary cooking should wipe out all but 1 pathogen out of a million. But that still means even vac-pak'd foods will start to spoil if not held below freezing. Don't know how or why uncooked packaged foods last so long. Meat begins to cook above about 120F. The protein shrinks and water loss is inevitable. The higher the temperature, the greater the contraction and disintegration. Don't know that boiling a stew makes the meat much drier, but there is a chance some flavor will be lost. As far as I know, meat that is overcooked becomes gummy, either boiled or pressured cooked. The primary difference I've experienced is that tho' sometimes chewy, pressure cooked meats are very flavorful from Maillard reactions, and all the collagen connective tissue has turned to gelatin. The mouth feel is not dry, but slippery.

Good post. I've started saying "water bath cooking" instead of sous vide, because sous vide is strongly associated w. expensive equipment. And, lots of people say "sous what?" As you point out, good results can be had w/o the best vacuum.

Yes, I have made stock from rotisserie carcasses. I and my family did not have headaches or stomach problems. But I thought the stock was not very good. The remnants of flavorings were there. There was not much gelatin, which I supposed had already been cooked out. It was fine for cooking rice or noodles. Not so good for dishes where the extra flavors didn't work well.

I too would recommend reading over the reports on various knife specific forums. I've spent months lurking on the above linked forum, and have learned a lot. One thing that was mentioned not too long ago was that knives bought from large retail stores would have a significant mark-up over smaller knife specific vendors. I have a few Japanese knives. Of the kinds you mention, the closest I have is a Hattori HD petty. It is a complete delight to use. Nimble, and beautiful, I've only had to touch it up about once every 6 months. If you don't mind, what did you buy that was disappointing?

Looks pretty good. Any rub on while in the SV? I've been hesitant to use traditional rubs because I wonder if the prolonged period with salt wouldn't make the final result too salty.

My first, and only ceramic knife cost $50, which was cheap at the time. It was wonderful for slicing vegetables. I used it to cut meat off of a well cooked chicken. The edge chipped when I nicked the ribs.. I tried to be more careful, but had several more chips. It is still very sharp, but I rarely use it. A few months ago, a local store was selling ceramic knives in a three pack for no more than $12. I was tempted. At that price, I would not be upset if I snapped the blade. But I can get similar cuts w. a snap-off utility blade at full extension. Those cost very little. At this time, I'm not seeing much advantage to using ceramic.

Many restaurants serve 'tough cuts'. Short ribs, lamb shanks, etc. In fact, you should consider yourself lucky if you're being served a batch from the day before. IMO stews and braises are almost always better the second day. Yes, both short ribs and shanks are served (and I agree they would be better on the second day), but they seem to be the exception. Steaks, chops, fish, some portions of duck, etc. seem to be offered more.

"when connective tissues break down to a point where the meat gives a faux type of tenderness where it is literally fall apart mostly common with slow braising or stewing is it possible to get this same effect by cooking the beef at a high temperature ? why is that texture rarely if ever found in high dining restaurants ?" I think there are 2 ways to have tenderness in meat. First, lightly cook those muscles which have small amounts of connective tissue, and which do little exercise, and which preferably have lots of fat. A high quality steak, for instance. The second way is to cook meats with high concentrations of connective tissue, specifically, collagen, in such a way that the collagen turns to gelatin, thus allowing the meat fibers to fall apart, while being lubricated by the gelatin. It would be difficult to achieve the second method of tenderness with higher and dry heat, because the exterior of the meat would likely burn. Most high end restaurants do not usually need to prepare cuts which are tough at the beginning. And, I would suppose a part of this is that traditionally, having diners wait hours for a tough cut to be cooked to tenderness is not desirable.

The Edge-Pro makes a big dif. w. all my knives, both culinary and woodworking. But, yes, the prices have climbed. My set seems to have increased about $80 - 90 since I bought it. However, I'm thrilled to see all the new stones and strops that are available from CKTG. I see some more stones in my future.

>I don’t really need another knife I've got a couple of cheap nakiris. For vegetables, I find them much handier than my chef knives. I'm clumsy w. a cleaver, and the nakris are small enough that I have good control, while the blade is broad enough to help scooping up the chopped stuff. You may not need one, but I think you might find a benefit from one. The Global you linked to is just slightly larger than average. As far as i can tell, the blade and handle proportions are the same as slightly smaller knives. Assuming the balance is good, I'd suppose the slightly wider blade would be even better than average for scooping up the cuttings. The Amazon listing shows a weight of more than 10 ozs, but other listing indicate under 7 ozs. I suppose the Amazon weight includes a box. So, the weight appears to be good, nice and light. And so I'll stop now, having helpfully not tried to convince you that, no, you really don't need another knife.

I don't think I have come across a recipe that calls for a whole chicken for stock. I have come across recipes that stipulate using first bones, and then meat scraps. At any rate,here's a small tip. Take a whole chicken and cram it onto a slow cooker. Maybe sprinkle on some herbs and a bit of salt. Go away for about 8 hours. At 8 hours, you will most likely find a chicken ready to fall apart, sitting in a bath of its own juices, with a small amount of browned stuff around the edges where the once dry ceramic crisped the renderings. De-fatted, that juice will make the most amazing rich stock. The down side is that it is hard to catch the breast meat before it becomes over cooked, and turns to mush. Not really a loss, as that is well suited for chicken salad. Then, after stripping the carcass, make stock from the bones, and add that to the reserved pot liquid. Reduce some. Great stuff. And put a bit of vinegar into the bones when making the stock. It will cloud up, but the vinegar melts a little of the bone, and gives a really good mineral boost to the stock. I don't use better than bullion any more. Here's my ethical note. I can't afford organic chicken all the time, either (and I've nopt been 26 for some time). But I suppose that when I do buy commodity chicken, if i save and render the fat, and reduce the bones and connective tissue to stock, I have at least wasted as little of the animal as possible.

Get good at slicing and dicing. Have a good sharp knife, and a good mandolin. Be able to dice an onion without thinking about it. Almost impossible to cook well without dicing and sauteing onions, garlic, mushroom. Improve ingredients. Get the best olive oil, soy sauce, vinegars, and spices you can find. Hard to beat fresh grated parmesan reggiano. You may have to order some stuff online. Its worth the expense and mess to cooks some ducks and/or a goose just to get the fat from them. Start a small herb garden. A couple of flower boxes will provide enough growing space for thyme, chives, marjoram, basil, etc. Fresh herbs make great flavor improvements. Use some to make herb butter to keep on hand. Practice a couple common things, and get really good at them. For instance: There is no comparison between homemade stock and store bought broth. Making it in a pressure cooker is a great time saver. Make a good omelette? I did have to buy a better pan, and it took about a dozen tries to get the method down. Three minutes per serving, including the time it takes to snip the chives, grate the cheese. Hows your hash browns? Try making them w. the duck or goose fat. How's your gravy? Know how to make a roux? Got a killer mac-n-cheese recipe? Make every variation of grilled sandwiches you can. Make pan sauces after sauteing meats. With practice, a lot of things not only happen quicker, but they become less tedious. An hour in the kitchen can pass pretty quickly. Except for the dish washing.

Sorry. It seemed to me that the roasting pan you linked to was expensive compared to a set of All-Clad. I see that comparable pots and pans are roughly evenly priced. I'm glad to learn of these brands. Thank you.

I find a lot of it to be overpriced, made in China crap. U'm, yeah, but it appears the OP has a freebie to stuff at BB&B. I would not be surprised that All-Clad is trading on its name. Is there something else at BB&B that beats it?

"What I use now, skillets, stockpot, sauce pans." There's your answer. If BB&B will let you, get the best you can of each one. If you can't, the All-Clad set is functional and beautiful. +2 about getting your hand on whatever knife you want to buy. I'm just a home cook, too, sometimes feeding 12. Sometimes more. The amount of time spent slicing, dicing, carving, etc is significant. A balance between the blade and the handle that does not feel good to you will make cooking a chore. And a poor "fit and finish," where the various parts do not meet smoothly will render even a good blade clumsy. NY Times columnist Mark Bittman had an article some time ago that was useful. It described how to have a decently equipped kitchen for about $300. You might look that up, and try to buy better versions of what is listed in the article.

To directly answer your first post: The Globals aredecent knives. Do you like how they feel in your hands? Both Calphalon and All-Clad have good reputations. I have a couple of Calphalon pots, and like them a lot. However, I'd also repeat that you will probably not use most of a set of pots and pans. You could get by with just a good chef's knife and a parer. When I got "serious" about cooking some years ago, I looked at what we shad used for years from what we received for our wedding. There were 6 things way at the top of the list. A very good Sabatier chef's knife, and steel. A decent maple cutting board. From a large set of Revere ware pots and pans, the biggest pot for boiling pasta, etc. and a big colander. A 2 cup measuring cup. Close runner ups were cast-off stuff from my mother, such as a Le Creuset enameled cast iron skillet, a spatula, an old box grater, a couple of sheet pans, and a set of measuring spoons. And the two mixing bowsl that we had not managed to drop over a period of decades. We had by that time burnt thru several electric skillets, slow cookers, and toasters. Between work and 4 kids, those got lots and lots of use. Think thru what you might like to cook, or what you might have to cook. Hosting a Thanksgiving dinner? You'll most likely need a turkey roaster and a serving platter. It would also be nice to have a food saver for the leftovers. One thing I wish we had received was a pressure cooker. Back then, they were hard to use. The newer models are pretty much explosion proof. I would readily exchange 5 or 6 pots and pans for a fine pressure cooker. You will never want to buy soup again, and if you need pureed food, aka baby food, a few minutes using a pressure cooker will make weeks worth.

I've made stock twice with smoked meats. Once with pork neck bones, and once w. beef neck bones. Both times, the bitterness was too intense. I did render out some of the trimmings today. The smoke flavor in the fat is intense. I will keep a small amount on hand. I avoid liquid smoke, but this smoked fat is much better. Strong, but not acrid. But just at the moment, my lips having been coated w. unctuous fat for most of a day, I'll hold off for awhile. Oh, wait. The drought has ruined most of the corn crop. But I know a guy who irrigates some. Sweet corn grilled and smeared w. this could be good