General Cooking Discussion

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networkn

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#228819 23-Jan-2018 21:00

Our knife thread threatened to veer off the cliff. As food is one of my real passions, I thought I'd see how many others here wanted to share discussions on food in general.

Share a recipe (normal copyright rules apply etc), or a tip, trick, or just general commentary.

Maybe we could exclude baking and BBQ because they are huge topics on their own, one of which already exists.

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#1945770 23-Jan-2018 21:26

If you like Pickled Onions here's a great simple "recipe":

Peel small or "pickling onions"

Wash

Place in a KlipIt container with the strainer. (Ideal container in 3 different sizes.)

Fill with TasteMaker (NZ made!) Pickling Vinegar.

Clip lid on!

Leave in your pantry.....great in 2 months.

Refrigeration not required.

Even still great flavour and crisp after 14 months!

I think Countdown have deleted the vinegar now - but New World have access to it.

(My NW at Wigram actually got it in at my request)

Geektastic

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#1945794 23-Jan-2018 23:43

+1 to Ruth Chris.

Only beaten by Del Monicos. Their steaks are awesome but I would (and have) detour to a city in the US simply to eat their Lobster Bisque!

bazzer

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#1945797 24-Jan-2018 00:03

networkn:

Pro Cooking Tip: If you want amazing steak:

Buy a nice bit of Steak, Leave it out of the fridge for 30 minutes prior to cooking. I think Scotch is ideal. Heat Pan (not non stick), put some oil (I use olive) into the pan should be sizzling (too much heat is bad). Salt both sides of steak and fat. Put into pan for 2 minutes, then flip, put a decent knob of butter in, baste a couple of times whilst the other side is 2 minutes cooking. Remove from Pan onto a chopping board and rest for 5 minutes. Slice across the grain with aforementioned very sharp knife.

Fat will be rendered and soft, meat will be medium rare (obviously to some degree this will depend on heat and thickness).

Do NOT skip the resting for 5 minutes bit.

If you cut your steak and it bleeds over the plate or board, you didn't rest it long enough. Cardinal sin when cooking meat not to rest it.

If you haven't tried sous vide, you should. Takes any guess work out of the equation, "depend on heat and thickness" no more. Also means you can sear at as high a heat as possible (too much heat is not bad, or a even thing, without being ridiculous, e.g. see How hot is too hot?) and you can get edge-to-edge doneness (minimal gradient). And, no need to rest, so you can get stuck straight in to the deliciousness!

Isn't a scotch fillet already predominantly cut across the grain?

networkn

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#1945799 24-Jan-2018 00:09

I got a sous vide machine for Xmas. Haven't tried it yet. Also got a smoking machine

bazzer

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#1945800 24-Jan-2018 00:16

networkn: I got a sous vide machine for Xmas. Haven't tried it yet. Also got a smoking machine

Anova and Smoking Gun (or a real smoker)?

It's been nearly a month! I don't know if you have a vacuum sealer, but if not, I've had good success with the Glad Snap Lock bags and water displacement method. I always just clip to the edge of the container so don't even need to seal the top. I tried some cheaper bags, but the seams failed. I always use vacuum bags for longer or hotter cooks for the same reason. If you can find the ziploc freezer bags they sound great (thicker and good seal) but I haven't found a source here and haven't bothered importing any.

I think you'll like it. It's a paradigm shift, I reckon.

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#1945920 24-Jan-2018 11:01

Tip I found out - after keeping chickens:

Truly fresh boiled eggs are almost impossible to peel - the membrane sticks firmly to the whites and shells. They're much easier to peel when they've been stored a couple of weeks before boiling, but then they're far worse for anything else (fried/poached).

I did read a tip that baking soda (a chemical reported on the internet to be the cure to every problem that white vinegar doesn't solve) in the water for boiling eggs stops the membrane from sticking, but my kitchen experiment showed this to be a complete myth.

networkn

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#1945921 24-Jan-2018 11:06

bazzer:

networkn: I got a sous vide machine for Xmas. Haven't tried it yet. Also got a smoking machine

Anova and Smoking Gun (or a real smoker)?

It's been nearly a month! I don't know if you have a vacuum sealer, but if not, I've had good success with the Glad Snap Lock bags and water displacement method. I always just clip to the edge of the container so don't even need to seal the top. I tried some cheaper bags, but the seams failed. I always use vacuum bags for longer or hotter cooks for the same reason. If you can find the ziploc freezer bags they sound great (thicker and good seal) but I haven't found a source here and haven't bothered importing any.

I think you'll like it. It's a paradigm shift, I reckon.

@bazzer yeah, I had the best of intentions but worked through Xmas/New Year including most stats! Hopefully mid next month I'll have some time.

Yeah, Anova and Breville Smoking Gun. First on the list is the smoked butter (made at home, so another first). I plan on having it with bread from my bread maker that I have never used (but bought second hand 2+ years ago!).

The problem with making bread is "making it" at a time that I have free, so that it's ready, when there are people around to enjoy it.

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trig42

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#1945939 24-Jan-2018 11:35

We have an Anova - great tool. Never had a bad meal out of it either.

I use the Sunbeam Food Storage vacuum bags and sealer, but a decent ZipLoc bag works just fine too.

There is a fried chicken recipe for the Anova's floating around somewhere - I have tried it and the chicken was delicious.

networkn

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#1945942 24-Jan-2018 11:39

This is one of my favourite cooking videos ever.

The two videos by Alton Brown called Tender is the Loin 1 and Tender is the Loin 2 changed the way I cooked meat forever. I credit it as one of the moments in my cooking career that was so significant.

BTW this isn't to be confused with the videos where Bear Grylls slow cooks a big cat!

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#1945948 24-Jan-2018 11:51

I'm a keen cook. I'll certainly be following this thread.

Here is one tip: Your oven is (probably) lying to you. Get a decent in-oven thermometer if you want accurate temperature.

Another: Dry brining steak. Rub the steak with salt and leave it in the fridge on a wire rack in a drip tray for up to 72 hours before cooking. Then cook as normal (but don't add further salt).

My favourite dish at the moment - jewelled rice. I understand it's Persian in origin and traditionally used for special occasions like weddings. Works best with real barberries. These are hard to find but worth it.

I'm using the spiraliser a lot at the moment. Three of my favs are: -

- Raw courgette with lemon juice and fresh dill

- Raw beetroot with roasted pine nuts or almonds, smoked fish and feta

- Raw carrot with citrus juice, black sesame seeds and little sesame or avocado oil

Mike

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#1945954 24-Jan-2018 11:58

There is an Indian Restaurant in Taupo that has the most amazing Kashmiri Rice.

Malabar Beyond India. Not your traditional Indian Restaurant, they are innovating in some really interesting ways.

MikeAqua

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#1945972 24-Jan-2018 12:17

Fred99:

Tip I found out - after keeping chickens:

Truly fresh boiled eggs are almost impossible to peel - the membrane sticks firmly to the whites and shells. They're much easier to peel when they've been stored a couple of weeks before boiling, but then they're far worse for anything else (fried/poached).

Eggs laid by Blue Araucana hens (which are smaller with a blue shell) are very easy to peel compared to regular (e.g. red shaver) eggs of the same freshness.

Mike

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#1945973 24-Jan-2018 12:18

networkn:

This is one of my favourite cooking videos ever.

The two videos by Alton Brown called Tender is the Loin 1 and Tender is the Loin 2 changed the way I cooked meat forever. I credit it as one of the moments in my cooking career that was so significant.

BTW this isn't to be confused with the videos where Bear Grylls slow cooks a big cat!

I am a big fan of Alton Brown.

networkn

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#1945974 24-Jan-2018 12:19

Pumpedd:

networkn:

This is one of my favourite cooking videos ever.

The two videos by Alton Brown called Tender is the Loin 1 and Tender is the Loin 2 changed the way I cooked meat forever. I credit it as one of the moments in my cooking career that was so significant.

BTW this isn't to be confused with the videos where Bear Grylls slow cooks a big cat!

I am a big fan of Alton Brown.

Same. I have watched many hours of his videos.

networkn

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#1945989 24-Jan-2018 12:37

Any of you with Netflix, I cannot highly enough recommend Chefs Table S01E02 as fantastic watching.

I won't share anything about it, but it's amazing I think. Will be interested on others thoughts.

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