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Wolfert

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    Letting meat rest after cooking

    in eGullet Q&A with Harold McGee

    Posted · Edited by Wolfert (log)

    Hi Harold:

    Thanks so much for spending the week with all of us. Your new book is not just good, it is magnificent!

    I have a two parter question.

    If I brown meat (for example, a beef fillet) at high temperature on top of the stove, then let it restt, then finally finish the cooking in the oven, is it necessary to let it rest a second time?

    I've heard a second rest is not necessary for even distribution of meat juices. Do you think this is true? if so (or not) please give us your reasoning.

    Your Favorite Way to Cook Polenta: Tips and Tricks

    in Italy: Cooking & Baking

    Posted

    I'm familiar with that method of preparation. Actually, I learned it by an old woman. (And I wonder where Paulal Wolfert learned it).

    I learned this method on the back of a bag of Golden Pheasant brand polenta, a product distributed by the Polenta Company of San Francisco. This Tuscan recipe has been printed on the back of the bag for more than 20 years. The owner, Ed Fleming, told me it was an old paesan's mother's recipe.

    Creating a Perfect Cheesecake

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted

    I was told that the famous New York Lindy's cheesecake was baked without a waterbath. The cake is first blasted with high heat to set the outside, then baked slowly at a very low temperature to avoid curdling the eggy cheese mixture, and finally finished in the receding heat of a turned off oven.

    I used this method to make a Corsican cheesecake (fiadone) and it was really wonderful: wobbly, delicate and creamy throughout

    This type of slow baking is very forgiving.

    Good Lamb Tongue Recipes?

    in Cooking

    Posted

    This is from my book on The Cooking of South-West France. It comes from the restaurant La Tupina in Bordeaux. Serve warm, thinly sliced, with Sweet and Sour Prunes as a first course.

    SERVES 4 TO 5 AS A FIRST COURSE

    •Begin 1 day in advance

    2 pigs’ or calves’ tongues, each weighing about 10 ounces

    1 tablespoon coarse (kosher) salt

    1/2 teaspoon crumbled thyme

    3 cups mixed fat: preferably goose or duck, but rendered pork fat can be substituted (have enough to cover the tongues)

    1/2 head garlic

    1. 1 DAY IN ADVANCE, wash and dry tongues. Slit each tongue down the center, opening it slightly. Roll in salt and thyme. Set in a noncorrodible bowl, loosely covered with plastic, in refrigerator 24 hours.

    2. THE FOLLOWING DAY, preheat oven to 300°F. Rinse tongues under running water to remove salt marinade. Place fat in a deep ovenproof bowl or earthenware dish. Place in oven. When melted, add tongues and garlic. Cover and cook 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until very tender. A thin skewer should enter very easily. Remove from the oven and allow tongues to cool in the fat.

    3. When cool, peel off the skin, return to the fat, and store in the refrigerator completely covered with fat until ready to use. Use within 1 week,

    4. To serve, bring fat to room temperature. Scrape off fat, and steam tongues to warm and remove remaining fat by heat. Serve at room temperature, or hot or cold, thinly sliced. (For longer storage, follow directions for storing in recipe for Confit of Duck, Steps 10, 11, and 12.)

    Inspired by a recipe given to me by chef-owner Jean-Pierre Xiradakis of La Tupina Restaurant in Bordeaux.

    Flageolet Beans

    in Cooking

    Posted

    www.frenchselections.com and chefshop.com carry the buttery fleshy tarbais bean in season. I've bought from both and they are of red label quality. If it has the red label on it you are getting the good stuff.

    www.ivillage.com used to carry the lingot bean which is the best substitute. Haven't been back to look. Whatever you use you want a thin skinned bean that doesn't fall apart even when reheated.

    I'm going to try the Jacob\trout asap..

    Has anyone ever tried cannelini as a substitute?

    Socca de Nice

    in France: Dining

    Posted · Edited by Wolfert (log)

    The Magic of the Fire by William Rubel covers almost everything you would want to know about cooking on a thin metal griddle in the fireplace. It doesn't have the directions for making socca but it does have the one for galettes of sarasin which are similar. Bux pointed this out in the previous post.

    Duck Ham

    in Cooking

    Posted · Edited by Wolfert (log)

    Thank you so much. Please don't chill the duck breast so you can easily scrape off the surface fat and also please don't forget to wash off the salt with vinegar rather than water.

    The melon recipe is really very pretty and easy once you have product on hand

    duck confit

    in Cooking

    Posted

    When one makes duck confit in large batches, the weight of theduck and the weight of salt is followed very carefully. This is especially important for long term storage. I just reduced the amount of duck to a pound. I should have offered the weight of the salt in the same terms. Sorry.

    Duck Ham

    in Cooking

    Posted

    I think the scraping does a number of things including an optimum cleanliness and a lovely soft texture. The lardo texture was something I had never noticed before the addition of scraping to the recipe. How much to scrape ...well, I used a potato swivel blade once one way..it was enough to take away the pimply skin.

    Duck Ham

    in Cooking

    Posted

    Working with "mikeycook" (see first posting in this thread) we developed a revised recipe for the re-issue of The Cooking of South West France. I'd like to share it with you because I think it is really very fine.

    AIR-DRIED DUCK BREAST

    “Jambon” de Magret

    Fresh (not defrosted) duck breasts can be treated in the same manner as one cures a ham. The breasts are rubbed with salt and pepper, and are left to hang until firm and dry but not hard, about 12 to 15 days. The salt draws out the moisture that would harbor bacteria, and the air drying keeps it from deteriorating.. The resulting “ham” is very flavorful and prosciutto-like in texture. It is served very thinly sliced with fresh figs, melon wedges, or a platter of pickled wild leeks (see mail order page ooo). The fat is reminiscent of the Italian lardo.

    The recipe is a creation of Jean-Louis Palladin, not an old traditional recipe..Many cooks have expanded on the technique, such as smoking the breast after curing and it is wonderful. I particularly like Ariane Daguin’s d’Artagnan smoked duck breast. Try it as an alternative to the air dried duck breast if you don’t have the temperament to wait 2 weeks to cure your own duck breast. See recipes below with melon, salad and …. pickled wild leeks. (see mail order.)

    I have a Catalan friend who makes a spicier version. He combines paprika, cayenne pepper, oil, and vinegar to make a thick paste he rubs on the flesh.

    SERVES 6 TO 8

    •Prepare about 2 weeks in advance

    ACTIVE WORK: 20 to 30 minutes

    CURING TIME: 2 weeks

    You will need about 1 yard clean cheesecloth

    1 whole fresh, boneless mulard or Muscovy duck breast with skin on

    (each magret weighs 13 to 16 ounces )

    1/2 cup (about 3 ounces) very coarse salt (rock or pickling )

    I used maldon salt

    2 teaspoons roughly crushed black pepper

    1 small handful of fresh thyme sprigs or ½ teaspoon herbes de Provence

    2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

    Scrape away a thin layer of the skin surface and save for the note below. Make criss crossing lines with a knife on the fat side but not deep enough to touch the flesh. Gently rub the flesh and skin side of each breast half with salt and pepper and herbs. Place on paper towel lined plate , top with paper towels and refrigerate, uncovered, 24 hours.

    3. THE FOLLOWING DAY, wipe each breast to remove herbs, spices and salt, dip in 2 tablespoons vinegar for 10 seconds and dry well. Repeat with the second breast. Place one breast, skin side down, on a double layer of 1/2yd x ½ yd cheesecloth and press and roll to create a nice cylinder. Then as tightly as possible without leaving airspace on the flesh side tie up at each end. Repeat with the second breast. Hang 2 weeks turning upside down after one week. You can hang these duck breasts in a frost free refrigerator, otherwise use a really cool part of the cellar.

    AFTER 7 DAYS, turn them upside down.

    The duck breasts are ready when the fleshy sides feel very firm and the skin sides feel firm but there is some “give” when they are pressed.

    The duck hams do not last very long, about 1 week. Keep them refrigerated in a suspended position until ready to unwrap. Thin-slice the fleshy side on the diagonal, like smoked salmon. Serve as part of an antipasto, thinly sliced in a cold consommé with cubed melon balls, or with warm asparagus dressed with a light walnut oil vinaigrette. Odds and ends of the “ham” can be chunked and used like bacon or duck cracklings in a green salad.

    Notes:

    When I lived in an apartment in New York I cured the duck breasts by hanging the packets about 3 feet in front of a fan or air conditioner in such a way that the breasts didn’t touch each other .

    What to do with the skin scrapings:Cut up and fry in a skillet. Use the crisps for a snack and save the fat for cooking.

    Air-Cured Duck Ham with Mixed Melon

    You can substitute smoked duck breast in this recipe. Either makes a great appetizer and a play on the classic melon with prosciutto.

    Active work:20 minutes

    Serves 8

    ½ recipe air-cured magret (see recipe above) or 1 smoked duck breast

    1 ½ quarts mixed melon cubes, ¾ inch each

    3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

    2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice

    2 tablespoons walnut oil

    Salt and freshly ground pepper

    1. Thinly slice the duck with or without the fat. Keep moist under plastic wrap. In a large bowl, combine the melon squares .

    2. Just before sercving, add the fresh juices and oil. Season with salt and pepper. Toss to mix. Add half the slices and toss. Add the remaining slices attractively on top and generously sprinkle with pepper.

    duck confit

    in Cooking

    Posted · Edited by Wolfert (log)

    Try the following next time: weigh your duck pieces. For every pound use 4 1/3 teaspoons salt for long term ripening (more than a week). Use half the amount of salt if you intend to keep confit less than one week.

    the larger amount is to ripen the duck more fully and the duck will last about 3 to 6 months. Think of wine and how it changes. The salt flavor dissipates a little if you steam it in a couscous cooker.

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