FeChef

puffed rice is similar to rice krispies. But puffed rice is more uniform in shape.

I am at wits end here. I have been trying for years to reproduce the same texture of this general tso chicken breading that i used to get at a "no longer local" chinese restaurant. Its not your typical big chunks of chicken coated with breading bigger then the chunk of chicken inside. This restaurant uses there melt in your mouth tender thin white meat chicken strips that you usually get with the popular dish "chicken w/broccoli" The breading is a very light coating with little crunchy bits that resemble "rice crispies" The soft tenderness of the chicken and the little crunchy bits is just an amazing texture contrast. I have tried for years to achieve this texture with no luck. Here i will mention things i have tried: Velveting with egg white/cornstarch= no dice dusting with cornstarch/flour mixture= no dice dusting with wondra flour= no dice moistening chicken and coating in rice crispy/flour mixture= no dice And my last attempt involved spraying water onto a cookie sheet with flour and sifting out the tiny flour balls and letting them harden and coating chicken with them. Seemed to be on the right track but still wasnt it. Does anyone have any ideas? Here is some pics i took of the dish last time i was there.

Downunder and out in the sticks, we have a butcher that sells locally raised wagyu beef. His ground beef, made into burgers, is to die for! It has the flavour that I remember from my youth (way too many years ago) and is beefy beyond anything else I have tasted.Simon I wish i could say the same. My memorys on burgers from my youth were identical to eddie murphy's delirious. And the ground beef always had little gristle balls in every bite. Needless to say i hated homemade hamburgers growing up.

The browning on my omelette was not by mistake. I like that slightly crisp outside with a hearty dish like this. You almost need it to hold all of the heavy ingredients in. Also, this was a meal for two, theres 6 eggs in it.

Chili, cheese, and bacon omlette w/homefries. hotsauce on the side.

On the subject of price for prime chuck, my guess is it most likely cost more then choice ny strip or ribeye, and in my opinion, even select ny strip that i can get everyday for $3.97/lb is better then choice chuck, and probably better then prime chuck aswell. Of course this is my opinion and i would never buy prime low end cuts unless it was just as cheap as choice. But im curious to know if people really buy into this hype.

Fresh early morning caught catfish out on the lake lightly dusted with flour,salt,pepper pan seared in a cast iron skillet in browned butter. Scrambled eggs on the side.

Thought you were going to stick to just buying it? Its so cheap it probably would cost me more to grow it.

Couldnt agree more. There is a fine line you cross when you go from (and im being modest here) $10/lb for choice ribeye vs $20/lb + for prime ribeye. Is it really worth 2x as much? I personally think not, and could not enjoy eating it knowing i payed that much. Now the price difference from select to choice is more reasonable when were talking only a few dollars per pound more.

One of my favorite soups is Ham, potato, and green bean soup. Also Ham, potato, and cabbage soup.

I tend to believe this aswell. This also explains the inconsistency with sous vide cheap cuts like top round. Some come out dry where others may come out more moist and tender. I always make sure when i get a good deal on top round that its labeled choice grade. If its not labeled its most likely select or no grade.

What I find interesting is ive seen low end cuts labeled as select and choice, but ive never seen a bottom round, top round labeled as prime. Never seen a chuck roast labeled as prime either. My guess is large companys that make alot of "beef products get first pick at these prime grade cuts. Companys like Arbys or others that sell "formed beef".

That beef looks thin and tender. Something like what asian restaurants serve here in the states. What is the technique for this thin, almost "cant be beef its so tender" meat? Do they use a meat tenderizer like papain? I know the egg/cornstarch velvet technique but that just doesnt come close to how tender the beef is.

I agree there is no need to SV. If butterflied, jaccarded, and pounded thin it only takes less then 4 min in the deep fryer and is as tender as can be. I usually dust in flour, dip in a flour/milk batter, and then hand pressed into panko bread crumbs. You can add whatever spices you want into the batter so the flavor comes from inside and the panko is just the crust. Top with marinara and shredded mozzarella and throw under the broiler for a minute untill cheese is bubbly. Place ontop a bed of pasta.

Yes I know you meant GB you froze from fresh. I was just saying that I make my own frozen patties from fresh GB and if frozen imediately and vacuum sealed, and when thawed even up to a year later its hard to tell it was frozen.

Believe it or not, I find my burgers come out better if the patties are partially or frozen before they hit the hot grill. So I make the patties and stack a few of them inbetween wax paper and freeze them, then vacuum seal them in portions. I usually make a whole 7 lbs worth at a shot. Great for family picnics and blows any store bought frozen patties away.

You should invest in a foodsaver vacuum sealer and buy in bulk and freeze. I prefer to buy a chuck and grind my own then freeze. But if I buy 7 lbs or more i can get 80% ground beef for under 1.99/lb no pink slime and is everyday savings. If you vacuum and freeze imediately it thaws to the same the day i bought it even a year later.

I pay $1.99/lb for NotPrime ground NotBlack cow, If Im in a hurry and dont have time to grind or age my own chuck, in which I will pay no more then $2.49/lb. But as the poster above me said, there are snobs out there that will pay even more then your paying for that Prime ground for "choice angus ground".

Im sure It will be good, but the question is if its really worth the price.

Also on the subject of heinz chili sauce, for a sweet tangy wing sauce, mix one jar of heinz chili sauce with one jar of plum sauce. Of course test a small batch to make sure you like the combination.

You could cut it with some Heinz chili sauce. Its a similar flavor profile and is very mild. Im sure some Sriracha purist will disagree but its better then using mustard imo.

Personally I wont buy into the "ground prime" hype. Its already tenderized being ground so thats a pointless benefit. Then theres the flavor, which im sure anything "prime" should be flavorful, but so is grinding your own "choice" chuck roast or brisket. You are better off buying "choice" chuck or brisket and dry ageing it yourself with those drybagsteak bags and grinding yourself. It will blow away any of that "ground prime" your thinking about buying.

Actually, Im finding it more and more un-interesting. I think this thread is going to ruin cilantro for me. I can just see myself in the grocery store smelling cilantro trying to find soapy stinkbug smells. Thanks OP.

I've used the BBQ and the smoker plenty of times in the past, but when people start talking about fires and 800 degree temperatures, I get a little antsy. Which is far better than snide. Lighten up a bit. Your on a cooking forum, and those are cooking utilities that you gave the impression you are afraid of. Im sorry you didnt find the humor in it. My appoligies if you found my comment snide.

Its possible. But im thinking maybe there are different species of stinkbugs, and the ones we have around here dont smell, or maybe only male or female stinkbugs smell, or maybe they only smell when they mature. We get alot of these bugs and i dont recall them ever smelling, but maybe im imune to there smell. We have two stinkbugs in my part of the world...the native greenish-backed one (which is almost pretty) and the invasive brown bug from somewhere in Asia (Korea, I think) which are far more numerous and about as stinky as the native. How does cilantro taste to you? I find the cilantro I buy when eaten raw chopped up on a taco, taste almost mint tasting. I actually started putting it on my lamb Gyro's and it really pairs well with the cucumber,tomato, and onion.