Cooking with "Modernist Cuisine" (Part 2)

[Msk]

[Moderator note: The original Cooking with "Modernist Cuisine" topic became too large for our servers to handle efficiently, so we've divided it up; the preceding part of this discussion is here: Cooking with "Modernist Cuisine" (Part 1)]

Simple 72 hr at 145 f brisket sous vide using best bets for slightly flaky texture.

Phenomenal.

Edited July 3, 2013 by Mjx
Moderator note added. (log)

[Guy MovingOn]

Anyone in or near Surrey, UK, fancing fixing my PID waterbath??

[Chris Hennes]

Simple 72 hr at 145 f brisket sous vide using best bets for slightly flaky texture.

Phenomenal.

Did you smoke it first, or just cook SV? Seasonings?

[Msk]

I took a 3.5 lb brisket and cut it into 3 equal pieces.

Just SV no smoking first

First way - Just salt

Second Pastrami Seasoning from MC

Third a canned Pizza sauce (I was in a rush to get this thing in and it was that or nothing)

The resulting texture was the same for all 3 meats, I was a little worried about having the meat sit in tomato sauce SV because of the acid. But there was no discernible difference in texture. Since I will be serving this recipe at a dinner in a couple of weeks to an unadventurous crew, I anted to simulate a more standard braised texture thus the 145 for 72h.

The resulting texture was fantastic, very soft and yielding but wouldn't fall apart. The beef was so tender and beefy tasting (even for brisket) and whatever fat was there was completely jellylike.

The seasonings were off, I needed more salt in all 3. The pastrami spice disappeared to be only pepper tasting. I did a flat iron steak SV for 1 hr last week at 135 that had great success with the pastrami rub (just make sure to add more salt to it because the pastrami recipe assumes the thing has been brined for a week).

The tomato sauce itself (not the meat) had a "tin" flavor to it but I bet it was the can I used and will have to revisit this one. One of my go to Brisket braises is an "italian Style" red sauce with basil, garlic, and oregano that Im worried wont translate to SV because of the long cooking time and dried herbs.

Each of the first two also had about a 1/4 of the beefiest tasting jus, though wouldn't bee enough to make a sauce. Next time id put another bag with fixins to make the base for a sauce too.

[Msk]

Just did Mango sorbet. No fancy Ingredients. Just mango and a simple syrup pureed then put into a ball jar and Vacced . These ball jars were just too tall to go in my vp112 so I used the jar attachment with my foodsaver universal lid.

Here you see just how much the liquid expands. I wonder if a foodsaver has enough power to do this technique.

Before

After

They are in the freezer now I'll comment on taste and texture later.

[sigma]

New member just wanted to say that the book is fabulous -- a real credit to the cooking world and to the authors. I've cooked a few recipes and all but one went quite smoothly. Even the one which was a bit hinky turned out delicious. Moving from the recipes to the comments on traditional cooking, I want to try the new, old braising style, or what Myrvhold et al call real braising. They suggest cooking the braise covered under the broiler, but do I read this to be the method for the entire time, or just for finishing. In other words, am I to broil my Staub for an hour and a half for this method of braising? Many thanks and bravo!

[bmdaniel]

This is a boring one, but I made their brown veal stock recipe last week and it is very good and quite easy in the pressure cooker. I do think it is a little strange that they have you add vodka and don't discuss the reasoning - I assume it's just to extract alcohol soluble flavors, but you think it would be mentioned ? (or maybe I missed it?).

[Jen Rehm]

What do you think about using beef cheek in place of the short rib for the burger patty?

I've never ground my own meat before, How do you gauge the relative fat content?

[Msk]

Mango Sorbet Update - Delicious!

I usew loq quality pre-peeled mango from Trader Joes. The puree still tasted ok, but not ripe or concentrated. However, the frozen aerated version tasted significantly more concentrated which is the opposite of what I expected since it was frozen.

The texture was really cool, the best way I could describe it is like "Frozen cotton Candy". It was firm but melted in your mouth, but without that hard ice-crystal texture of frozen liquids. I also didnt let it sit 5 minutes to soften like the recipe suggested. It felt and compacted almost like snow, which leads me to believe it has potential to be molded and sculpted.

The upside to this recipe is it took all of about 15 minutes and required no fancy ingredients, and might even be possible with a foodsaver.

You could additionally make alot of the "Syrup" before hand and just add it to some pureed fruits, chill, vac, and be done in like 5 minutes of active time. The recipe suggests waiting 5 hrs in the freezer, to me it "looked" frozen after about 2 but I didn't tempt fate.

They also do this with dairy with the inclusion og "PGA" in the aerated coffee ice cream recipe which I will do when my sample arrives.

I am going to make a batch of syrup and try this with a bunch of different fruit purees.

Mike

[jmolinari]

So just blending it in a blender entraps enough air into the puree that when you vac it it expands? What keeps the structure from collapsing once it expands under vacuum? Seems crazy and delicious!

[mkayahara]

What keeps the structure from collapsing once it expands under vacuum?

It's frozen.

[jmolinari]

What keeps the structure from collapsing once it expands under vacuum?

It's frozen.

Yah, i got that:)

i meant what keeps it from collapsing while pulling the vacuum, and pulling the air out of the jar isntead of it staying in the gel structure

[mkayahara]

What keeps the structure from collapsing once it expands under vacuum?

It's frozen.

Yah, i got that:)

i meant what keeps it from collapsing while pulling the vacuum, and pulling the air out of the jar isntead of it staying in the gel structure

Oh, sorry; I totally misread that. I think in general, you can pull too much of a vacuum, which will cause the foam to collapse, so it's just a matter of not exceeding the ability of the base to support the bubble size. In this case, the sugar in the base helps keep the bubbles intact. There may be more to it than that, though.

[Msk]

What keeps the structure from collapsing once it expands under vacuum?

It's frozen.

Yah, i got that:)

i meant what keeps it from collapsing while pulling the vacuum, and pulling the air out of the jar isntead of it staying in the gel structure

Oh, sorry; I totally misread that. I think in general, you can pull too much of a vacuum, which will cause the foam to collapse, so it's just a matter of not exceeding the ability of the base to support the bubble size. In this case, the sugar in the base helps keep the bubbles intact. There may be more to it than that, though.

Thats my guess too considering the Aerated coffee ice cream needs "PGA" viscocity modifier in order to get the same effect. If I recall correctly syrup only cooked to 214F.

[abadoozy]

I wonder if a foodsaver has enough power to do this technique.

I had to try this.

I did banana puree from frozen bananas, since that's what I had on hand. Bananas, simple syrup per the recipe, no citric acid. Blend in vita-mix, stir over salted ice water until really cold.

I had no clean pint jars, but I have the plastic vacuum container pictured next to the mango recipe so figured that would work. It's about 50 oz, so I measured out 120 grams of the banana puree (3x what they say to put in the 1 pint jars) and hooked up the foodsaver.

I did the vacuum override, let it go for about 5 minutes, and.... nothing. Well, maybe a slight puff. But disappointing overall.

On the plus side, I see a banana daiquiri in my future. And a chamber sealer, as soon as I figure out where to put it (not to mention how to pay for it.)

[MarkC]

I've just been using a Sharpie as I make the bags the ink its on the top above the seal.

That's what the MC team does too.

[Anna N]

I've just been using a Sharpie as I make the bags the ink its on the top above the seal.

That's what the MC team does too.

Hmmm - except there are many photos of white labels on SV pouches in MC. I find a white label easier to read.

[Chris Hennes]

I've got a batch of carrots in the pressure cooker right now. To others who've made the soup: did you interpret all of the last set of ingredients as a garnish? For how many servings?

[Joe MacBu]

Would someone post the Mango Sorbet recipe, please?

I have a FoodSaver as well as a MityVac hand pump with mason jar attachment that I'd like to test.

Thanks!

[johnder]

Yes, I did. The soup gave me about 5-6 dinner size potions and I think the garnish was the right amount for those if I recall. I actually had the first 2 bowls without any garnish.

[nathanm]

I do think it is a little strange that they have you add vodka and don't discuss the reasoning - I assume it's just to extract alcohol soluble flavors, but you think it would be mentioned ? (or maybe I missed it?).

Yes, that is the reason. This is discussed 2.320 to 2.321 and 2.326 - 2.327, but only generically. Sorry about that.

[nathanm]

i meant what keeps it from collapsing while pulling the vacuum, and pulling the air out of the jar isntead of it staying in the gel structure

There is lots of pectin in mango, so it will hold all by itself.

Any foam stabilizer (gelatin, xanthan etc) would work for fruit other than mango that does not have the same pectin content.

[Chris Hennes]

Had the Caramelized carrot soup (p. 3•301 and 6•150) for dinner tonight. I omitted the optional licorice powder, used unsalted butter rather than carotene butter, and did not centrifuge my carrot juice (which was store-bought). Overall I thought this was very successful, and also very simple. I particularly liked the ginger garnish, which gave a nice textural contrast and pop of ginger flavor to the soup. I think next time I will not omit the licorice powder, I bet it is a really nice enhancement to layer on with the tarragon. I'd also like to try to make this with fresher, younger carrots, but that will have to wait a month or two for my garden to catch up to my ambitions.

[bmdaniel]

Had the Caramelized carrot soup (p. 3•301 and 6•150) for dinner tonight. I omitted the optional licorice powder, used unsalted butter rather than carotene butter, and did not centrifuge my carrot juice (which was store-bought). Overall I thought this was very successful, and also very simple. I particularly liked the ginger garnish, which gave a nice textural contrast and pop of ginger flavor to the soup. I think next time I will not omit the licorice powder, I bet it is a really nice enhancement to layer on with the tarragon. I'd also like to try to make this with fresher, younger carrots, but that will have to wait a month or two for my garden to catch up to my ambitions.

I made this same soup, but subbed cauliflower for the carrot and used creme fraiche instead of juice (okay, maybe not exactly the same dish). It was quite good (the PC caramelized cauliflower had a very interesting, nutty flavor), but very rich with the butter and creme fraiche (I only used 8 oz of creme fraiche, but the cauliflower was quite moist).

[lesliec]

Now the book has finally got here from Canada I can switch my postings from the MC thread to the Cooking with MC thread ...

My first experiment, as it seems with many here, was the Mac & Cheese (or macaroni cheese as we calls it 'round these parts).

Those who got their hands on the book earlier than I observed that the flavour of the cheese really comes through (as opposed to the wallpaper paste flavour/texture of the traditional dish). I can totally confirm that. I had a nice piece of aged local gouda and some 24-month Cheddar-style; what was so impressive about the finished dish was the occasional burst of crunchy saltiness I get when eating old gouda normally. If you haven't tried making this yet, it justifies getting some of the best cheese you can find

Nathan et al: many others have said it, but your work is a stunning achievement. Sincere thanks for all the time and effort you've clearly put into it.