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Poaching/Freezing truffles?


alwang

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Hi all,

Has anyone tried the method Thomas Keller suggests for preserving black truffles, which is to poach them in a mushroom stock and then freeze? I'm curious how well it works out. Do you need to excessively dry the truffles to avoid frost? Can you easily refreeze the unused portion?

Thanks,

-al

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al wang

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  • 2 weeks later...

al, I searched the site and found this thread, I wish someone could have answered your question, I cannot. I did find this on frozen truffles (not poached) and thought it might help.

I have read that storing truffles in your rice gives the rice an amazing flavor (makes sense, since it's used so much in rissottos). I am going to order some, and have lots of questions about them, as I have never cooked with them, only had them in resturants. There are preserved truffles available, but I want to play with the real deal.

If the truffle is frozen in broth, what is it used for??? the thread linked above says never to thaw them once frozen, just shave from that state into the dish..so how are you going to use a whole frozen truffle that's frozen in stock with out thawing and draining the stock to shave??

I really need to do some more research before I make this investment.

Patty

Edit: is, is it..

Edited by highchef (log)
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Hi Patty,

I still haven't pulled the trigger myself. The way I read it in the French Laundry book, you poach the truffles in mushroom stock, then you take the truffles out of the liquid and freeze them separately. However, it wasn't clear to me whether you should try to dry out the truffle before freezing: I guess I could see arguments for and against. The truffle-infused mushroom stock of course should be separately frozen and stored, and that in itself sounds fantastic. :smile:

-al

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al wang

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you might try to call bouchon (easier to get through to than TFL :wink: ) and see if their chef Jeff Cerciello can give you any insight. or ask a manager there to see if they can ferret out the answer for you.

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The poaching and freezing of truffles really has only one point. To extend thier "shelf-life." At TFL, we poached them in mushroom stock, which subsequently made a truffle stock, which was then used on various dishes. You do not need to dry them at all. No special actions are needed. Just softly poach the truffles until they are soft, then shock them in an ice bath. We would them cryovac them with a little of the poaching liquid.

For a home cook without a cryovac machine, I would recommend freezing the truffles in a small container with the poaching liquid, so that frost does not occur on the truffles. If, on the other hand, you do have a cryovac machine, cryovac the truffles and just poach until soft i.e. sous vide. Hope this helps.

- Chef Johnny

*edit* - As far as re-using and re-freezing, there is no problem. But when you freeze them, I would definitly not recommend using the truffles for shaving, as thier structure is different. We use frozen truffles in risottos and powders, hache, etc. :)

Edited by ChefJohnny (log)

John Maher
Executive Chef/Owner
The Rogue Gentlemen

Richmond, VA

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welcome chefJohnny, to e-Gullet! Thank you for that info.

You should check out the threads on souos vide.

I will start small, so storage really shouldn't be a problem as I'm not running a resturant. BUT..it sounds worth buying a couple extra to poach and store to have on hand. The resulting stock would add a lot to many, many dishes.

Thanks

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welcome chefJohnny, to e-Gullet! Thank you for that info.

You should check out the threads on souos vide.

I will start small, so storage really shouldn't be a problem as I'm not running a resturant. BUT..it sounds worth buying a couple extra to poach and store to have on hand. The resulting stock would add a lot to many, many dishes.

Thanks

I definitly recommend this technique, simply to have some truffles on hand. And, FYI, a good use for the resulting stock.... use it to make a black truffle risotto. :wink:

John Maher
Executive Chef/Owner
The Rogue Gentlemen

Richmond, VA

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