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What is/was for dinner?
- Thread starter Gutwrench
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Uhhhh … it’s still full? 
From a technical perspective, there is a hot food-hot plate, cold food-cold plate violation? Ie: the “cold” raw tomato slice on a hot food plate.
Also I see no green vegetable. Peas and potatoes and tomatoes while delicious are all carb heavy offerings. Where’s the dark leafy greens? The creciferous vegetables etc.
Of course I’d overlook these pedantic nit-pickings and enjoy it anyways
From a technical perspective, there is a hot food-hot plate, cold food-cold plate violation? Ie: the “cold” raw tomato slice on a hot food plate.
Also I see no green vegetable. Peas and potatoes and tomatoes while delicious are all carb heavy offerings. Where’s the dark leafy greens? The creciferous vegetables etc.
Of course I’d overlook these pedantic nit-pickings and enjoy it anyways
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Man I’ve been staring at this for days now lol and it’s making me crazy that I can’t make it to the grocery to buy some wogs because my trusty truck is in the shop.
Mmmmm. When I can I’m going to smoke some brined and spatchcocked birds and I’ll do the backs right along with them for entry into my highly exclusive frozen-chix-stock-goodie-bag club. That chicken looks fantastic.
Oh, yum.
There isn't an Asian cuisine that I dislike, and that looks absolutely mouth-watering.
Will be having this tomorrow 🔥 🔥
What recipe for brining liquid - I have been perusing some recipes online, but most seem to have industrial quantities of salt - would you recommend?
And, for how long would you recommend the meat to rest in the brine?
You can make both dry or liquid brines. The idea is to brine the food using your favorite spices, and then to let it rest tightly covered for a few hours before cooking. The types and amounts of salt, sugar, and spices of various kinds depend on what you prefer. For example, I only use salt "to taste" or "low salt" foods. A dry brine can be one of the numerous ones for steaks, or chicken, or fish, and so on. These brines-sold as "Rubs"- are found at the local stores. I just make my own using the spices that add flavors the food, keeping it low on salt, and so on.
There are numerous blends dry spices that don't contain sugar, salt, preservatives, you can use to make your own brine. For example, Spice Island (found at Costco and most supermarkets) has "Organic Italian Seasoning" that contains the following ingredients: oregano, marjoram, thyme, basil and parsley flakes. There are numerous organic blended-spice seasonings like the one above that don't contain salt, preservatives, sugars and other sweeteners, etc. Some people like the taste of lemon peel and black pepper in their foods.
Wet brines can be made using the same spices mentioned above, plus the addition of fluids of various kinds depending on the type of food you are cooking. For example, some people enjoy a light-sweet taste of orange in poultry (turkey, chicken, etc.), while others may prefer the sweetness of apple, or cherry, or even cranberry in pork. You can buy organic juices that don't contain preservatives and added sugars for adding small portions to your brines.
By the way, tofu can be brined for a few hours before cooking using the same spices or flavors mentioned above. Spices or flavors that go best with meats and so on is a matter of "tastes" depending on the individual.
What Spices Go with What Meat? | Best Meat Spices
A comprehensive list of spices to inform you of which spices go with beef, fish, lamb, poultry, pork, veal, eggs and cheese.
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Thank you for taking the time and trouble to pen such a comprehensive, informative and helpful reply to my query. Very much appreciated.You can make both dry or liquid brines. The idea is to brine the food using your favorite spices, and then to let it rest tightly covered for a few hours before cooking. The types and amounts of salt, sugar, and spices of various kinds depend on what you prefer. For example, I only use salt "to taste" or "low salt" foods. A dry brine can be one of the numerous ones for steaks, or chicken, or fish, and so on. These brines-sold as "Rubs"- are found at the local stores. I just make my own using the spices that add flavors the food, keeping it low on salt, and so on.
There are numerous blends dry spices that don't contain sugar, salt, preservatives, you can use to make your own brine. For example, Spice Island (found at Costco and most supermarkets) has "Organic Italian Seasoning" that contains the following ingredients: oregano, marjoram, thyme, basil and parsley flakes. There are numerous organic blended-spice seasonings like the one above that don't contain salt, preservatives, sugars and other sweeteners, etc. Some people like the taste of lemon peel and black pepper in their foods.
Wet brines can be made using the same spices mentioned above, plus the addition of fluids of various kinds depending on the type of food you are cooking. For example, some people enjoy a light-sweet taste of orange in poultry (turkey, chicken, etc.), while others may prefer the sweetness of apple, or cherry, or even cranberry in pork. You can buy organic juices that don't contain preservatives and added sugars for adding small portions to your brines.
By the way, tofu can be brined for a few hours before cooking using the same spices or flavors mentioned above. Spices or flavors that go best with meats and so on is a matter of "tastes" depending on the individual.
What Spices Go with What Meat? | Best Meat Spices
A comprehensive list of spices to inform you of which spices go with beef, fish, lamb, poultry, pork, veal, eggs and cheese.spicesinc.com
At the moment, two shoulder of pork chops (bone attached) are resting in a basic liquid brine (seasoned with sea salt, organic brown sugar, black pepper corns, juniper berries and a few cloves of garlic) in a dish in the fridge, and shall meet their culinary destiny tomorrow evening.
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Leftover fried-chicken (I save the breasts for last, as the legs/thighs surprisingly hold my primary attention) from Kroger, oven-braised Brussels, and a medley of fresh orange-bell+cucumber.
No surprise at all.
For, I am another who far prefers - and will always choose - chicken thighs (preferably with skin and bone still attached) to a (what I deem to be a very over-rated) chicken breast, which I find lacks flavour and can be rather dry.
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Smoking (dry spice rubbed) thick-cut beef spare ribs acquired from local butcher (supplied by nearby farm). Tossing them on the pellet grill... going low & slow for 5-6 hours.
Edit: half way there...
Edit: half way there...
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Dinner took the form of French bistro style potatoes (potatoes first sautéed with diced guanciale and sliced onion, minced garlic, then steamed in a little stock and wine).
This was served with a tweak on a Normandy pork recipe, whereby the pork chops spent some time in a brine (water, plus sea salt, pepper corns, juniper berries, some organic brown sugar, a few garlic cloves), before being sautéed in butter, after which white wine (rather than cider, as I didn't have any cider to hand), and organic double cream were added to the sauté pan, as were some diced sautéed cooking apples (slowly sautéed in some French butter and organic brown sugar).
A salad of mixed green leaves - plus my own French dressing (cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, olive oil, sea salt, black pepper, a small spoon of local honey, some minced garlic), accompanied, as did a glass (or two) of Chablis, a white wine from Burgundy.
This was served with a tweak on a Normandy pork recipe, whereby the pork chops spent some time in a brine (water, plus sea salt, pepper corns, juniper berries, some organic brown sugar, a few garlic cloves), before being sautéed in butter, after which white wine (rather than cider, as I didn't have any cider to hand), and organic double cream were added to the sauté pan, as were some diced sautéed cooking apples (slowly sautéed in some French butter and organic brown sugar).
A salad of mixed green leaves - plus my own French dressing (cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, olive oil, sea salt, black pepper, a small spoon of local honey, some minced garlic), accompanied, as did a glass (or two) of Chablis, a white wine from Burgundy.
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An extreme degree of culinary pleasure has been forfeit to the focus upon being the first to plant the Flag at the lowest elevation in the "Fat Mountain" range.
I believe the "OMG!!1! FATS IS BAAD!$!!" dietary guidelines passed-down are more cautionary tale left by those who recklessly insisted upon scaling the Summit by the most direct route possible.
Eating was designed to be pleasurable, and (luckily) there are many who take their time to spend great moments of time resting in various Base Stations on the climb-up
Wow! It seems that you went all out preparing such a dinner.
But please tells us about the pork. Did the liquid brine improve the moisture content in the meat? I am assuming that the spices and herbs you used improved the taste quite a lot.
Yes, I did (the recipes - well, I tweaked them all, - but the original versions, or, rather, the inspiration derived from two French recipes that I saw on the YouTube channel French Cooking Academy by Stephane Nguyen).
It is wet and windy outside, I had all (well, not fresh thyme) of the necessary ingredients to hand, and I had plenty of time - this kind of cooking is relaxed, but time-consuming - stuff, there was plenty of prep involved, and not just the mise en place.
Besides, I like to dine late, and take the time to savour, relish, enjoy a repast.
Yes, thank you.
The liquid brine utterly transformed the meat, and it was soft and quite moist and tasty and tender.
I am a now complete convert to this method; this is the only possible way to prepare pork chops, but it is not a dish that one can have on the table in an hour or so; not a meal for when you are in a rush, as planning, preparation and time are required.
In any case, as a child, I had never much cared for pork chops, or even, fillet of pork, as I had always found them far too dry; in fact, in recent years, belly of pork (and its German/Alsace kin, kassler, smoked belly of pork) were about the only cut of pork that I liked, partly on account of taste, mouthfeel and moisture.
However, this was excellent.
Agree about pork chops being dry and hard to chew, which in turn makes it difficult to infuse flavors and moisture into it in a short period of time. Liquid brines work well with a whole chicken, or turkey as well.
Very much so.
Actually, the pork chops resided in their brine overnight; actually, their total resting time was closer to 24 hours.
Excellent and very good to know.
Since it sounds like you’re interested in brining and I’m not sure if one of my go-to technique books, On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen (McGee), is available in your area, here’s what McGee has to say about brining meat:
The tendency of modern meats to dry out led cooks to rediscover light brining, a traditional method in Scandinavia and elsewhere. The meats, typically poultry or pork, are immersed in a brine containing 3 to 6% salt by weight for anywhere from a few hours to two days (depending on thickness) before being cooked as usual. The come out noticeably juicier.
Brining has two initial effects. First, salt disrupts the structure of the muscle filaments. A 3% salt solution (2 tablespoons per quart/30 gm per liter) dissolves parts of the protein structure that supports the contracting filaments, and a 5.5% solution (4 tablespoons per quart/60 gm per liter) partly dissolves the filaments themselves. Second, the interactions of salt and proteins result in a greater water-holding capacity in the muscle cells, which then absorb water from the brine. (The inward movement of salt and water and disruptions of the muscle filaments into the meat also increase its absorption of aromatic molecules from any herbs and spices in the brine.) The meat’s weight increases by 10% or more. When cooked, the meat still loses around 20% of its weight in moisture, but this loss is counterbalanced by the brine absorbed,so the moisture loss is effectively cut in half. In addition, the dissolved protein filaments can’t coagulate into normally dense aggregates, so the cooked meat seems more tender. Because the brine works its way in from the outside, it has its earliest and strongest effects on the meat region most likely to be overcooked, so even a brief, incomplete soaking can make a difference.
The obvious disadvantage of brining is that it makes both the meat and its drippings quite salty. Some recipes balance the saltiness by including sugar or such ingredients as fruit juice or buttermilk, which provides both sweetness and sourness.
For actual recipes involving salting and brining meats, a personal favorite is The Zuni Cafe Cookbook (Rodgers).
Scored more fresh North Carolina backfin crabmeat so it will be crab cakes tonight!
This is how I've done them for decades:
In medium bowl, gently combine crabmeat, breadcrumbs, and fresh parsley. Fold in mayo mixture. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour then form into 8 patties. .
Heat (1 T) olive oil and (1-2 T) butter in a frying pay over medium heat until it begins to froth. Add patties to the pan and cook ~4+ minutes on each side then serve.
This is how I've done them for decades:
- 1/3 C (Dukes) mayonnaise
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 2 T Dijon mustard
- 2 t Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 t hot sauce
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 lb. jumbo lump crabmeat, picked over for shells
- 3/4 C crushed Saltines (or panko breadcrumbs) - use more as needed to reduce liquidity
- 2 T Freshly Chopped Parsley
In medium bowl, gently combine crabmeat, breadcrumbs, and fresh parsley. Fold in mayo mixture. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour then form into 8 patties. .
Heat (1 T) olive oil and (1-2 T) butter in a frying pay over medium heat until it begins to froth. Add patties to the pan and cook ~4+ minutes on each side then serve.
That's food porn. Should be banned from this site 😂Smoking (dry spice rubbed) thick-cut beef spare ribs acquired from local butcher (supplied by nearby farm). Tossing them on the pellet grill... going low & slow for 5-6 hours.
Edit: half way there...
Thank you, once again, for this link.
I watched it again, this evening, knowing that I had all of the necessary ingredients to hand.
Red onions (thinly sliced) are now in my fridge, - where they will remain overnight - happily pickling in freshly squeezed (by me) lime juice and sea salt, as suggested by this recipe; I even managed to place the thinly sliced red onions for an initial twenty minute bath in some scalding hot water, as recommended by Rick Bayless.
While I like (very much) the look of the crabmeat, I must say that I absolutely love the pan.
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