FeChef

I recently got a huge case of Tite-Dri meat pads for free (grocery store went out of business). In case you dont know what im talking about, these are high absorbency pads that are used to soak up blood from meat packages. Most grocery stores use these. Anyway, from what ive gathered they are not toxic. So i got this crazy idea to use these for Sous vide cooking when you are in a situation where you dont want the meat floating around the bag in its own juices. In my case, lets use for example a pre smoked brisket with a nicely formed bark/crust. Now i know some wont understand why i want to pre smoke and finish sous vide but its just like finishing something in your home oven. But with Sous vide i have the ability to #1 cook at a much lower temp then a home oven. #2 not tie up my home oven for a long period of time. I have done this before and have made some of the best butts,brisket, and ribs. The only con was losing alot of that crust/bark that had formed during the smoking. Now for my question. I could not seem to find much info if the materials in these meat pads are safe at temps in the 155F range. I know theres some smart people on here that probably know more about these materials. (cellulose and polyethylene) Do these materials break down at temps between (155F-160F)? Also, would these materials produce any off/bad taste in the meat? And lastly, how effective would they be in keeping the food inside the bag dry. And even more importantly, would they draw more moisture out then what expels naturally?

What a waist of "Lump" crab meat. Might aswell use "special" or "claw" if your going to add it into the mixer or blender.

Its not sesame oil. I use virgin cold pressed sesame oil in all my chinese cooking. I am sure you meant to say "toasted" sesame oil which is totally different then virgin cold pressed. That said, i do NOT like the aroma and taste of the "toasted" version. That said, i am curious about "roasted" peanut oil. I do love the aroma and taste of roasted peanuts. I will have to see if the asian market sells it next time im near them.

So i picked up some Maggi seasoning at the asian market today (the yellow cap). They had the red cap aswell (was more expensive) I asked the woman there and she said the yellow had more flavor and the red was more salty. I added 1/2 tsp to some fried rice tonight and it was really good. Not the flavor im after, but definitely better then just adding soy sauce.

Sometimes i plan a day or two ahead. Most times I plan it in the morning of that same day. And theres a few times when i just wing it last minute. But i never plan meals for an entire weeks. Thats way too organized for my taste.

Stupid would be you assuming the original poster is cooking for a living. Stupid would be assuming i knew the original poster was cooking for a living. Not once in his original post did he mention he was in the business of cooking for others. Stupid would be the original poster for asking advice on food safety on the internet instead of taking a food safety class for his business.

After reading your original post again, I realize you are making large amount of stock. I would just fill the bath tub up with cold water and let it cool down for an hour or two then put in the fridge. I have done this many times and never got any children or elderly people sick.

What does good Octopus taste like. I love all seafood. Squid, scallops, everything. That said, and Franci made a good point, I have never tasted good Octopus. It was always bland with the texture and taste of sucking on rubber. Ive had it in a cold seafood salad, in a sauce with mushrooms, and deep fried. None where worth eating. Also in my neck of the woods its expensive and always frozen, never fresh.

Ironically i flash chill stocks to quickly set the fat layer on top so i can pull it out before pouring the stock into cube trays to freeze for a flavor boost to dishes. Just today i made a stock from the bones of 10/lbs of chicken thighs. I dont know why but my chicken stock turned completely white as milk. I read this is a good thing and people purposely try to get this complete white color.

You do not need to flash chill stocks. Especially if they were brought to boil temps like 212F. Due to the nature of sous vide cooking alot of people cook at really low temps that "barely" pastuerize. I think this also brings out the worry warts so these people tend to over think things. I ony flash chill when i know i cooked something med rare and dont plan to eat it that same day and want to leave it in the fridge instead of freezing. If i plan to freeze i just put it in the fridge for a few hours and right into the freezer. No need to flash chill.

I have tried a recipe that called for fish sauce. It definitely was not the flavor in question. What is Maggi sauce? I seen a bottle of it at the asian market but did not buy it. There was no english print on the bottle so i couldnt read what it was but for some reason i imagined it was something like gravy masters or kitchen boquet. Which is basicly carmel coloring used to darken gravys. That definitely would not be what there using as this is a very light color sauce, even lighter then the picture of my mei fun from last night.

Its just a bunch of julienned vegies like carrots, napa cabbage, celery, green onions, minced garlic, minced ginger, a few eggs scrambled and fried, thin rice noodles or angel hair pasta cooked al dente and quickly chilled. Then you add some oil to a wok and quickly stir fry the vegies and set aside with the fried eggs. Add more oil to the wok. You can add some thin strips of cooked pork, chicken, shrimp at this point and toss in the noodles and let them warm up for a minute or two, then add a mixture of 1/4 cup pork OR chicken stock ,2 TBSP soy sauce and 2 tsp of cornstarch and toss till liquid bubbles and is absorbed. Toss in the other already cooked ingredients and serve. And yes i made the pork. Im pretty sure you read the thread i made about chinese roast pork. Its leftovers that i had sliced and froze.

Its funny you brought that thread back up. I have since then traveled 70 miles to a Asian market where i was able to buy many popular ingredients that are not found in local grocery chains. I found Pearl River Bridge Delicious Light Soy Sauce to be the best ive ever tasted. I used to be very sensitive to soy sauce but this stuff i can douse on anything. Well maybe im exaggerating a bit but this soy sauce is by far the best ive tasted. Now back to topic, I went out on a limb and tried adding a sauce that consisted of heavily reduced pork stock, light soy sauce and cornstarch. I may have added too much soy sauce, but the flavor profile was very close to what i get at local Chinese take outs. So i know im on the right track. Heres a pic of tonights Pork Mei Fun.

I dont know about mayo in cheese but who the F doesnt like mayo on a cheese burger? Or mayo on a BLT w/cheese. Ham and cheese sandwich w/mayo.Or a turkey club with mayo? Cali cheese steak w/mayo. If you dont like mayo on these sandwiches, my guess is you just dont like mayo period.

Has anyone had Mei Fun @ americanized Chinese take out restaurants? Not the Singapore version. There is other versions like chicken, pork, shrimp, and house (which is a combination of the last 3 listed). There is a "flavor" that is NOT curry (singapore version). I cant figure this out. What is strange is that this flavor is not specific to one local place. This flavor is similar from place to place. But what i did notice is this flavor is not consistent. Some times it bold, and sometimes its bland. I have tried lotsof ingredients besides the basic (fried eggs,chinese cabbage, carrots,scallions,ginger,garlic) Its definetly not just soy sauce. Ive tried XO sauce, that not it either. Its very light color so i will also rule out dark soy or oyster, hosin..ect. Could this be a simple chicken stock mixed with light soy and cornstarch? It does seem to have some liquid on the bottom of the plate (although white in color). This has been bothering me for a few years. Its one of only a few dishes i want but cant seem to duplicate. Any help would be very much appreciated.

I gave my wife a slice. She could not believe it was chicken.

Turkey cost more. Especially if you buy just the breast. I can get individually vacuum packaged boneless skinless chicken breast for 1.99/lb from Wegmans. Thats an everyday sale. Seems the cheapest option since there is no waste.

Here is a pic.

I did not see a point to posting a pic since it just looks like a sous vide chicken breast. The muscle fibers are tight due to the brine/cure just like ham. But other then that, nothing really to showcase.

The experiment was a sucess in terms of flavor. It did not turn pink for some reason. I suppose i did not add enough MTQ but there was enough MTQ to give it a "hammy" flavor. The tsp of liquid smoke was perfect amount. Next time i will add the liquid smoke from the beginning. I think i will also double the amount of MTQ next time. It was not too salty so i think doubling the MTQ would be in the perfect range. The long brine also gave the chicken a ham texture. Really all that was missing was the pink color.

Math never was my strong suit. I was always under the impression that 1000g water for every 10g salt would equal a 1% sodium brine. I never took weight of protien to be brined into account.

Two breasts each breast was probably 8oz or less. So 1lb in total.

Sure why not. Just dumped a tsp in and shaked the bag around. I'll probably give it atleast another day soak.

Thats the problem. I dont know how much liquid smoke to add. For the brine i used 500g water and 20g of MTQ.

Well i do like the taste of processed deli meats like smoked turkey breast. If you read the label on the packages they do say smoke flavor added. Pretty sure thats liquid smoke. Just not sure how much and when to add it. Im thinking i probably should add it during the brine/curing.