FeChef

I was given a turkey to make for the holiday and its one of those pre seasoned turkeys in a 8% turkey stock,salt and sugar solution. I usually brine my turkeys in a 4.5% salt solution. Im wondering if I brine it wih my 4.5%, will it reduce the 8% brine it already has, or make it more salty? Should i just leave it as is? Im going to be removing the breast and sous vide the pieces individually.

I think im going to try sous vide directly in the springform pan, inside a jumbo size ziplock bag @ 176F for 3 hours, then finish in a 425F oven till the top browns. I think starting with a recipe that makes a NY style will give me the texture im looking for. My wife wants me to make it a pumpkin cheesecake.

New york style is a very tall with a bottom crust and a light dusting of crumbs or nuts on the sides, or plain on the sides and gets browned ontop and the sides to have a semi hard thin shell and a rich thick,dense,creamy, tangy inside. Its best i can explain. I dont care for those soft, light texture cheesecakes that seem to sag in the middle of the slice.

Problems Ive had in the past using my (very old) oven are #1 cracking.#2 rising too high around the edges and sinking in the middle.#3 done on the outside still soft in the middle. Those are the 3 main reasons that have alot to do with my old oven and the fact that its built into the wall and is slightly off level so i have to rotate cake pans every 10 minutes so the batters dont pool into one side. I rent so replacing the oven is not an option unless it completely breaks.

I realize this is an old thread but there really isnt much information out there for making cheese cakes sous vide. Im wondering if making a thick, dense (no air bubbles) new york style cheese cake could be done in a bag and piped into a springform pan to brown in the oven and then left to set up in the fridge? Or must this be done directly in the springform pan (bagged and submerged)? Would the filling set up in the bag, or does it only set up after cooling down? Also, aside from a vacuum chamber, whats the best way to remove any air in the filling before cooking?

Sounds more like karaage: a wet marinade followed by a flour (or flour & cornflour) dredge. It gets especially bulletproof when they fry the hell out of it and it'd dry and overcooked. At this point, If overcooking the hell out the chicken makes the breading stick so well, its atleast a step in the right direction.

Regarding KFC, or any commercially breaded chicken there must be something beyond any household binder like egg or milk. Ive had breaded chicken where you can tug on a large area of breading and he chicken meat just shreds off along with the breading. And when i say tugging, i mean really pulling on it. Theres no way normal flour or breadcrumbs and a simple egg wash is going to bind that well to the meat or the skin.

This is interesting and VERY helpful. Thank you.

Ok this is better. When i said pat dry i mean drying the chicken with a paper towel. When i said light dusting i mean dredging the chicken (dry) in flour and shaking off any excess flour. I was told to do this before dipping in egg wash so the egg wash doesnt just roll off the chicken. I am certain that i have tried just going straight from rinsing brine off to the first flour dusting with same results of breading always falling off when taking out of fryer. I mean not all of it falls off but you can see it wants to just fall right off with little effort. I suppose i posted this thread expecting to hear about some commercial product that helps bind seasoned flour or breadcrumbs to the point you cant even pull it off without some chicken comming off the bone with it.

Not discounting reasonable suggestions. Im discounting vague sentences like "I think it's the drying that's causing your problem."

From everything i have read or watched on tv, says to pat dry and dust in flour. Then to dip into a eggwash, butter milk, or batter. Then dredge into seasoned flour, or bread crumb. Then allow to set in fridge for 15-20 minutes. Then fry, or bake. Ive not read anything that implies a coating being dry would cause it to fall off.

Again.....Say Wut?

Say Wut?

The thing is, I pat the chicken dry with paper towels and put them on a cooling rack in the fridge with paper towels ontop for a few hours to let them dry.

Yes the last dredge is in flour but it is not plain, it contains salt, pepper and msg. Note to the others: I have no idea why some of you never heard the term "breading" in reference to a seasoned flour coating. Look up any KFC clone recipe and you will find a million references and the use of flour as a final coating. Not bread crumbs. And he who asked about the oil temp, I have dropped pieces into 375F oil that had dropped to 325F and those pieces had the same problems with the breading not staying very well. Im leaning more toward the person who mentioned possibly brining is causing adhesion issues. By the way, the brine is a simple 4.5% salt. (45g salt / 1000g water)

I am confused, you have never seen a recipe that calls for an outside layer of flour. Like, you have never soaked chicken in buttermilk and then tossed in season flour and deep fried? Or like, just tossed calamari rings right into flour and then fried.. Fe chef, I am assuming you are a sushi chef, if you are having issues with breading chicken. What I think it the best thing is to let it all sit together for awhile in the fridge once you have floured, egg'd and breadcrumb'd but, you said you have already tried that. Maybe your oil is not hot enough, what temp are you frying at? And you said you dried the chicken prior to putting the flour on. I was letting it sit in the fridge for 15-20 minutes before frying @ 375 (drops to 325F). Yes i brine my chicken first then let it rest in the fridge on paper towels for a few hours to get any excess moisture off before lightly dusting in "flour" then dip in egg wash, then seasoned "flour" breading, then sit in fridge 15-20 min before frying. Today I dusted a batch and let the dusting get tacky in the fridge a few hours. I then dipped in eggwash and then breading and then let sit in the fridge for a few hours and then i decided to flash freeze them and going to see what frying from frozen does. At this point i'll try anything.

But this is about flour based breading, not bread crumbs.

Here in the US bread crumbs are tiny crumbs of bread. I specificly said flour breading, which is made from flour and seasonings.

Ok normally I wouldnt bother responding to you but you clearly read my post, yet you are bringing up bred crumbs when i clearly said this isnt about bread crumbs, its about flour "breading" I dont know, maybe you are from another country where the term breading and light dusting is alien to you, if so my appoligies.

Ok this has been nagging me for ages. No matter what method I use to bread chicken, it always falls off. It doesnt matter if its boneless skinless chicken breast or with skin, even with chicken wings it eventually falls off either while frying or taking a bite and half the breading falls off or cutting with a knife it falls off. I have tried letting the chicken dry out on a rack in the fridge, light dust of flour then 15 min rest, then buttermilk or egg wash then dredge in breading and another 15-30 min rest before frying. No matter what i do it always falls off! The only luck i have had is a light dusting in flour, dip in a milk/flour batter, then coated in Panko bread crumbs. But this is about flour based breading, not bread crumbs. How do some of these commercial breaded chicken companys get the breading to stick so well to the chicken? I have had breaded chicken where I actually wanted to remove the breading (health kick) and I couldnt even get the breading off! /RANT

If your going to sous vide it, I would go 36 hours @135F-140F for med rare tender slices. If you want something pulled but not mealy or stringy you can go 24-36 hours @ 160. A simple 4.5% kosher salt water brine overnight will keep it juicy and tender but not give it a "corned" taste. You can slather with BBQ after its cooked and hit it with a blow torch to get a nice chared/glazed crust. Wont be the same as a good smoked brisket but will do the job.

I have never bought ghee nor have i made ghee. But I make brown butter all the time and it is excellent on popcorn, steamed clams, lobster, and crab legs. Its also the secret ingredient in my homemade perogies with butter and onions. Whoever said make sure not to brown the butter doesnt have a clue.

Is it a 3lb chunk? If so for med rare i would go 135F for 16 hours. Would give you something the texture of deli style med rare roast beef. Slice thinly and you can use it for open face roast beef, hot roast beef sandwiches like Arbys but 10x better, or chicago beef sammichez. Almost forgot french dip sandwiches with some swiss cheese and johnnys au jus.

Yes I am using GS this time. In the past I used RM but I read that GS was better for larger cuts of meat and is supposed to have a stronger bond. I am hoping it makes a big difference with these chuck tender roasts and giant turkey breasts ( i plan to do this with a 25lb turkey).

I havent decided on the approach for the wings or the legs yet. I was thinking of deboning the thighs and glueing them together with the skin sides facing out. I would Sous vide them @ 145F but for the breast i prefer 140F. Do you have a link or pictures of this deboned, fried wing? Are they cooked first, then bone removed? About the glue, I have used it a few times for various meats, But a few times I had less then stellar results with the bond strength, and was wondering if pre brining would have any effect on the bond. I dont use any acidic ingredients, I use a simple 4-5% salt solution. I may add 2% sugar, but undecided.