FOOD PREPARATION HINTS

@jespah,

jespah wrote:

Cycloptichorn wrote:
I freeze rice and quinoa all the time. Works great, especially brown rice - cook up a big ol' batch on the weekend and then have it for lunch during the week.

Cycloptichorn

We do this, too. There's pretty much always a big bag of brown rice or quinoa or bulgar or cous cous (although there's less of a need for the last two as they cook rather quickly) in the freezer, ready for a quick dinner.

The indoor grill is freakin' awesome. Just peel and slice onions in half, spray the cut side and put it on a hot grill. Turn over once or twice if needed -- let it fall apart. Do peppers and asparagus, too, if you like. Soooo good and there's virtually no fat with this prep method.

I have the indoor grill but my goddamn vent hood... yeah, doesn't exist. We don't have one. So I don't use it too often.

Last time I made steak au poivre the damn fire department showed up, b/c I had so much crap pouring out the windows...

Cycloptichorn

1 Reply

The garlic impaler...

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@Cycloptichorn,

snort..

I don't have one either. On the other hand, I don't use much if any high heat.

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Here's another tip regarding garlic (and opening jars):

Next time your silicone baking mat needs replacing, don't toss it. Cut it into six-inch squares. Roll your garlic cloves up in it and apply a bit of pressure as you roll it back and forth to rub all the papery skin off the clove.

Also works well for opening stubborn jars. You get a better grip on the jar with it.

1 Reply

@Butrflynet,

I use a rubber glove..
for opening jars.

1 Reply

@ossobuco,

Haven't looked at the videos yet but looked at the tips link - not new to me, but good for those new to the ways of garlic. Except I don't always then mince the smashed garlic.

I also pickle garlic by putting it in leftover olive jar juice from the store; for example, the Mezzetta brand olives. I gobble up the olives (fished out with a spoon) and then have this jar of good stuff...
I shouldn't recommend this since it is probably vulnerable to contamination, but I'm fine so far. I also toss in leftover carrot sticks, jalapeno slices, and so on.

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@farmerman,

farmerman wrote:

FRYING ONIONS. Dont ever use olive oil to pre soften and fry onions for cooking. The olive oil imparts a slight bitterness to the sulfur compounds responsible for the onion flavor. Instead slowly saute them in butter , they will remain sweet and the sweetness along with the sulfur compounds imparts a good oniony flavor.

Amazing food can get so hightech.

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So I bought single edge razor blades today, for garlic slivering. Took me a while - they were in grocery hardware and called Single Edge Safety Scrapers. It's true that I used to use those to scape paint off of glass..

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An often-repeated bit of food preparation wisdom:

"Take the roasted meat from the oven, cover & allow to rest for 10 - 15 minutes"

I don't doubt that this is good advice, but I'm asking why is it so?

What are the the benefits of the "rest"?
(as opposed to not resting the meat before serving.)
I've always wanted to know.

2 Replies

@msolga,

I've always understood that the rest allows the temperature of the meat to come to equilibrium causing the proteins to relax. Then when you cut into the meat the juices don't run so much.

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@msolga,

The benefit is that you don't burn the holy livin' piss outa yer fingers trying to carve and serve the meat.

1 Reply

@Setanta,

There's definitely something to the juiciness though. What Swimpy says makes sense.

My husband was a far more accomplished cook than I when we met, but when we met he was also a vegetarian, so we've both had to learn to cook meat. For whatever reason (strange ovens or over-checking -- I think the latter) -- meat always seemed to take longer for me than indicated by the recipe, so I'd tend to have to rush it to the table once it was edible. I knew about the "rest" thing but thought it was just sort of frippery, can do without it.

At some point I got the hang of cooking meat, and started letting it rest just because it would be done but I'd still be fiddling with the sides or whatever. That definitely made a huge difference, for the better, and I make sure to let it rest now.

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@sozobe,

http://www.chow.com/food-news/53754/why-should-i-let-my-meat-rest/

1 Reply

@sozobe,

I find that with a roast (chicken, pork, whatever) that it also helps to give it a bath. I squirt lemon or lime juice over it to tenderize it, somewhat, and put it in a shallow bath of tomato juice, or the generic type of vegetable juice (psuedo-V8). Of courrse, you need to roast it covered in that case. The tomato or vegetable juice is slightly acidic, just as is the lemon or lime juice, and that also helps to tenderize it.

I wasn't contradicting Swimpy, i was just having my little joke there . . .

1 Reply

@Swimpy,

That was a good link, swimp.
I like Chow, lots of goodies on there.

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@Setanta,

our exclusive chicken roasting method is to dry the bird and loosen the skin with a curved ice pick, thenput it in a 500 degree (F) oven for 10 min per pound. Its the moistest youd ever want and of course, we must let the bird rest to suck the moisture back into the meat

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@farmerman,

Thanks for all that information about "resting", everyone.
Now I know.

(But I confess, if I'm really really hungry, the "rest" can be much shorter than required! Wink

)

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@farmerman,

I love hot roasting a chicken (I use 450°F) but, unless I make sides for the roasting pan with aluminum foil, there is a lot of smoke and the oven gets extremely dirty.
I've tried just putting on the cover, but then the skin doesn't get that nice crispy crispy crispy.

Joe(crunch)Nation

3 Replies

@Joe Nation,

I often roast a whole chicken or turkey breast in a clay pot that has been soaked in water for several hours. The bird sits on a bed of fresh herbs, onions and lemons and retains moisture inside the clay pot. About 30 minutes before it is done, I crank up the heat to 450 and remove the lid to crisp up the skin.

http://s7.thisnext.com/media/largest_dimension/0CA099DD.jpg

1 Reply

@Joe Nation,

We do the last ten minutes or so under the broiler to crisp the skin, then put the lid back on while it rests.

0 Replies

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