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Duck fat and rosemary popcorn.
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Oct 4, 2012 14:22
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I use it from time to time to lard up chicken I'm roasting. It gives it just a slightly better aroma and a bit of meaty taste - just make a paste of it with salt and pepper and herbs and garlic and slather it on. (then add more salt)
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Oct 4, 2012 16:33
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I ended up getting a blender at Goodwill for 10 dollars. Smoothie-ville, here I come! Does anyone use a chef's torch for anything other than creme brulee? Does anyone have recommendations for a good, cheap torch? They seem to be around $30, but that seems a little expensive for just one dessert.
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Oct 4, 2012 19:03
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Pigasus posted:I ended up getting a blender at Goodwill for 10 dollars. Smoothie-ville, here I come! Go to Home Depot and get a Bernzomatic with a propane canister. Will cost you the same as a "chef's torch" but provide more heat, plus you can use it to sweat in plumbing joints. I've used mine to sear meats before cooking sous vide (although it doesn't work as well as a hot pan). Most recently I used it to melt the cheese on some cheesesteaks because I forgot to put the cheese on until I already had the meat in the bun.
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Oct 4, 2012 19:10
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Don't forget melting the cheese on french onion soup.
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Oct 4, 2012 20:10
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thirding the brenzomatic or whatever the hell it's called. when I was a mischievous youngster, there was an abandoned house in my best friend's neighborhood - like it looked like the family had just loving up and left or something, really spooky - and the house was absolutely trashed. like imagine if you opened every closet in every room and dumped the contents out all over the floor, and clothes strewn everywhere. my friend and I had a kind of hobby of lockpicking and going into places we weren't supposed to be, so we naturally wanted to explore this spooky grafitti'd house with poo poo all over the place. we found a lot of cool stuff and I could write a whole GBS thread about it actually, but anyways, so in their basement there was a brenzomatic torch, and I thought it was really cool. I took it (the only thing we took actually), and still use it to this day in cooking applications. hehe. COOL STORY BRO
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Oct 4, 2012 20:36
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I actually bought a Benzomatic fairly recently. They're more like $20, so definitely cheaper than whatever puny butane torch they sell at Williams Sonoma. Make sure you get the one that is regular propane (blue tank from the Benzomatic brand, IIRC), as they also sell one that's mixed with other stuff so it burns hotter or something and I have no idea if that puts off non-foodsafe fumes. I don't use it for everything, though, as I am a wimp and it is heavy, loud, and scary. So that's the main benefit of the small torches. I've heard they caramelize sugar slowly, though, which is problematic, as the slower the sugar caramelizes, the more likely you will overheat the custard underneath. Also, while this isn't a kitchen tool recommendation, try practicing the carmelizing technique with bananas cut in half lengthwise and covered in sugar. The turbinado/sugar in the raw stuff seems to work better, but granulated sugar works great, too.
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Oct 5, 2012 02:30
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I tried the blue canister benzomatic to sear meat and it doesn't do a great job. A ripping hot cast iron is much much much much better. The torch is probably good for things that don't lay flat.
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Oct 5, 2012 05:04
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Chemmy posted:I tried the blue canister benzomatic to sear meat and it doesn't do a great job. A ripping hot cast iron is much much much much better.
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Oct 5, 2012 06:08
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nmfree posted:I suppose if you're really hell-bent-for-leather you could try using MAPP gas (or a MAPP substitute) instead of the propane; it's right next to the propane torches in the yellow cylinder. wait a second... my cylinder is yellow.....
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Oct 5, 2012 07:43
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Yeah MAPP is what I want to try for searing after sous vide, Modernist Cuisine recommends it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_tgxzXmpKQ
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Oct 5, 2012 07:43
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I have a MAPP gas tank too and used to use it but someone told me it wasn't food safe. I really have no idea though. If Modernist recommends it, maybe they know it's safe.
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Oct 5, 2012 12:25
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Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:I have a MAPP gas tank too and used to use it but someone told me it wasn't food safe. I really have no idea though. If Modernist recommends it, maybe they know it's safe. http://www.bernzomatic.com/Portals/8/Resources/msdsSheets/eng-Mapp_Gas_MSDS_2008.pdf There's a "possibly carcinogenic according to California" warning but that applies to almost everything these days, and everyone ignores it. Seems safe. MAPP gas seems to be in the middle of being replaced with MAP/Pro http://www.bernzomatic.com/Portals/8/Resources/2011-MSDS/Eng-MPPro-12-8-11.pdf It seems like both are fine as long as the fuel is being burned thoroughly. Steve Yun fucked around with this message at 22:19 on Oct 5, 2012 |
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Oct 5, 2012 20:43
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I have 3 things on my to-buy list: A coffee grinder, a crock pot, and a rice cooker. I don't want to break the budget on them, but I want to buy them on amazon because I do not drive a car and nowhere that would have a good deal on them sells them. Are there any "always avoid" brands of any of these? What's the difference between a "(cooked) rice cooker" and an "(uncooked) rice cooker". Can the former only... cook cooked rice? how the hell does that make any sense, there's so many prices and names and I'm scared and confused 
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Oct 8, 2012 21:57
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Yonic Symbolism posted:I have 3 things on my to-buy list: A coffee grinder, a crock pot, and a rice cooker. Hm. The go-to grinder is the Baratza Maestro, getting a refurbished one is the way to go. If that's too difficult for you, I've had one of these and after 7 years of weekend coffee, it is still going strong. The reviews are true though, it's got a bit of static+powder to it... but for the price, it's hard to get something better. For crock pots I have enjoy using the one I have, but YMMV. Again, for the price - hard to go wrong. The defacto rice cooker is the Zojirushi brand. The cooked/uncooked is referring to capacity since, for a while, it wasn't clear whether a manufacturer was referring to the amount of cooked rice a cooker would give you, or if it was the amount of uncooked rice it could cook. Zojirushi cookers like this one are known to last forever and give the best results, especially those with fuzzy logic (which are more expensive than this one). If this one is outside of your price range, I suggest scouring kijiji/craigslist to find a used model that you can afford.
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Oct 8, 2012 22:17
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Thanks. Though 133 is a little over my price range... I was looking for 20-40 at most. I never heard of kijiji, might check that.
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Oct 8, 2012 22:27
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Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:I have a MAPP gas tank too and used to use it but someone told me it wasn't food safe. I really have no idea though. If Modernist recommends it, maybe they know it's safe. It's food safe. We use one at work. Ours is Map/Pro though, but the old MAPP is fine too.
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Oct 8, 2012 22:51
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Yonic Symbolism posted:I have 3 things on my to-buy list: A coffee grinder, a crock pot, and a rice cooker. I've said it before, but buying the Fagor or Cuisinart electric pressure cooker is a much better buy than getting 3 different appliances. It has a setting to sautee onions, a pressure cooker setting, a rice cooker setting, AND a slow cooker setting. http://www.amazon.com/Fagor-670040230-Stainless-Steel-6-Quart-Multi-Cooker/dp/B001A62O1G I bought that one a year ago for the restaurant to use in hummus emergencies, and it's been going strong. It's solidly built, and does the job very well. The (cooked) refers to how much cooked rice you end up with. The (uncooked) refers to how many cups of uncooked rice it can take.
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Oct 9, 2012 04:15
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I really wish I'd known about that cooker a year ago. I went on a buying spree and now I have no room for anything.
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Oct 9, 2012 05:12
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feelz good man posted:I'll add these. Anyone still want one of these? I happened across one at the thrift store today and figured that while I have no use for it, someone here might. I got it for $3 and I'll send it to whoever asks first for that plus shipping (five bucks? I don't know). Just PM me so we aren't cluttering up this thread. Edit: It's been taken Choadmaster fucked around with this message at 00:53 on Oct 10, 2012 |
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Oct 9, 2012 08:06
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Any recs of cooking books? I did a quick forums search and found these two books from this thread http://www.amazon.com/Cooking-Geeks-Science-Great-Hacks/dp/0596805888/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1315929045&sr=8-1 http://www.amazon.com/Food-Cooking-Science-Lore-Kitchen/dp/0684800012/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1315929155&sr=1-1 and other "classics"/must reads?
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Oct 9, 2012 19:23
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PhazonLink posted:Any recs of cooking books? I did a quick forums search and found these two books from this thread I personally really like The New Best Recipe by the Cook's Illustrated people. It's gigantic (>1000 pages) and covers a lot of ground, culinarily-speaking. The recipes themselves are not always perfect (they tend to come out a little bland, as a rule), but they provide a good starting point for a wide variety of dishes. More than the recipes, though, I really appreciate Cook's Illustrated rigorous methodology and reading about how they come up with their recipes. Even if I don't take all their results verbatim, its always interesting and insightful reading about how they came to them.
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Oct 9, 2012 19:54
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PhazonLink posted:Any recs of cooking books? I did a quick forums search and found these two books from this thread http://www.amazon.com/Alternative-Vegan-International-Straight-Produce/dp/0977080420 Alternative Vegan, by Dino Sarma is a perennial recommendation around here because it is a wonderful teaching tool for people new to vegan/indian food. It has a narrative approach which gives you a good sense of how the recipe "works" and which ingredients you can experiment with. Another, minor reason for its popularity is that Dino is a beloved GWS regular, but I wouldn't recommend his book if it sucked. I'm a devoted meat eater and clueless about non-european cuisine and I love this book. http://www.amazon.com/Joy-Cooking-7...=joy+of+cooking The Joy of Cooking will not teach you anything cutting edge, but if you want tried and tested recipes for the basics, it can't be beat. Especially for baking. I pull it out every time I need to make pancakes or biscuits or pie.
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Oct 9, 2012 21:03
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Yonic Symbolism posted:Thanks. Though 133 is a little over my price range... I was looking for 20-40 at most. I never heard of kijiji, might check that. I have this rice cooker, and it has been amazing: http://www.amazon.com/Aroma-ARC-101...oma+rice+cooker 20 cups is obviously pretty huge, but I cook for a pretty hefty number of people occasionally. Overall, the brand has treated me really well, so I would recommend it if all you are looking for is a "Press button, cook rice" machine without all the bells and whistles. Rice turns out great every time.
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Oct 9, 2012 21:12
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Mark Bittman is pretty good, and pretty comprehensive: http://www.amazon.com/Cook-Everythi...ng+mark+bittman His recipes also come out a little bland if you do them exactly as written, but they mostly work. I found Bittman much more appealing than the Cook's Illustrated/America's Test Kitchen cooking for fascists style.
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Oct 9, 2012 22:08
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I can't recommend getting "too many" bowls for holding chopped ingredients. I only have a few and I find myself trying to carefully mould mounds of chopped vegetables constantly as my bowls go from ~2 cups to gallon-sized mixing bowls. A starting cook really should have a bunch of the cheapest plastic bowls from Goodwill just to hold cut ingredients. Also, I don't think I saw it, but the small Pyrex bowls that hold about a cup of stuff are REALLY useful, not just for holding cut ingredients, but also if anything needs to be microwaved to soften/melt/heat something quickly. Also a meat tenderizer may not seem like a high priority item, but when you find yourself smacking chicken breasts thin with a wine bottle because it's the heaviest non-edged thing you own, you might reconsider. I don't imagine pounding meat is that rare, is it? I'm seconding Armoa cookers as well. I have this one http://www.amazon.com/Aroma-ARC-838...oma+rice+cooker The best part I like about it, besides the fact that it makes rice drat well, is that when it's done it beeps extremly loudly 8 times in a row. I usually miss alarms and beeps unless I'm listening for them, but I can be a few rooms away doing whatever and I cannot miss this alarm. I've had rice stay good overnight with it set to Warm with no problems (it got dry after 12 hours but hey).
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Oct 9, 2012 22:52
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Saint Darwin posted:Also a meat tenderizer may not seem like a high priority item, but when you find yourself smacking chicken breasts thin with a wine bottle because it's the heaviest non-edged thing you own, you might reconsider. I don't imagine pounding meat is that rare, is it? Just putting meat meat between two sheets of plastic film and hitting it with your fist works fine too.
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Oct 10, 2012 00:07
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Would a skillet work as well?
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Oct 10, 2012 01:49
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Steve Yun posted:Would a skillet work as well? I tried a skillet actually, the problem is the blow is diffused by the surface of the meat so in order to really pound an area, well, you have to slam that thing harder than is really safe, in my opinion. The thing with the tenderizers is that they have a large enough surface area that it doesn't split the meat, but are weighted and small enough that you can really slam an area without having to go nuts.
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Oct 10, 2012 02:00
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I use an empty wine bottle.
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Oct 10, 2012 02:15
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dino. posted:I've said it before, but buying the Fagor or Cuisinart electric pressure cooker is a much better buy than getting 3 different appliances. It has a setting to sautee onions, a pressure cooker setting, a rice cooker setting, AND a slow cooker setting. Thanks for mentioning them, I didn't know they even existed. Well those brands don't in Australia but someone called "new wave" sells a similar 5 in 1 multi cooker here. To all those using MAPP in the kitchen, I'm surprised. I'm in HVAC and use it a lot. The stuff stinks, I can't believe anyone would use it on food. Also there was a safety recall here in the beginning of the year as the cylinders sometimes leak. MAPP gas is severely toxic, as it contains methylacetylene, one breath of that causes instant lose of consciousness and death shortly after. Not because of asphyxiation, but methyl acetylene will shut down your nervous system. If propane isn't hot enough I'd switch to MAPP Pro as that doesn't have methyl acetylene. Fo3 fucked around with this message at 03:22 on Oct 10, 2012 |
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Oct 10, 2012 03:13
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Fo3 posted:MAPP gas is severely toxic, as it contains methylacetylene, one breath of that causes instant lose of consciousness and death shortly after. Not because of asphyxiation, but methyl acetylene will shut down your nervous system. mystes fucked around with this message at 03:31 on Oct 10, 2012 |
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Oct 10, 2012 03:27
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Get a rubber mallet from Home Depot or Harbor Freight for a great chicken breast flattener. If you really want to flatten them get a big dead blow hammer. 
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Oct 10, 2012 03:28
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Steve Yun posted:Would a skillet work as well? I use a 6in skillet. Works just as well as a mallet.
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Oct 10, 2012 05:41
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Before I bite this bullet, is this the best bet for a kitchenaid mixer these days?: http://www.amazon.com/KitchenAid-KP...rofessional+600 EDIT: reasoning being the metal gearboxes on the professional series are more desirably/longer lasting. Is there a general opinion on head tilt vs bowl lift? The Third Man fucked around with this message at 20:44 on Oct 10, 2012 |
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Oct 10, 2012 20:26
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The Third Man posted:Before I bite this bullet, is this the best bet for a kitchenaid mixer these days?: I'm pretty sure the general consensus is that lift bowl is superior, assuming you have enough room for it since it is substantially taller. Tilt heads tends to walk around the counter a bit more, since the joint where it tilts isn't 100% secure. At least a couple people prefer tilt head, though, because it's easier to stop and add more items mid-mix if necessary.
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Oct 10, 2012 23:12
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icehewk posted:Bam, 4 oz jars. If you check out your local canning supplier (read: big box fuckos cashing in on the trend) you may be able to find 4 oz and save the $11 on shipping.  loving useful as hell. I even have eleven left over for later spices! EDIT: In case you were wondering, yes, I put these in a drawer after taking that picture. Not stupid.
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Oct 11, 2012 06:52
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CloseFriend posted:Allow me to thank you for this with a picture.
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Oct 11, 2012 07:16
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CloseFriend posted:Allow me to thank you for this with a picture. For anyone else who is looking, I noticed my local OSH has these as well ($11 or $12 iirc. Not as cheap as online, but no shipping charge either). Also, https://www.specialtybottle.com has lots of interesting stuff for fairly cheap. Can't say how airtight any specific item is though. Edit: I ordered a thermapen and it just arrived. The thing is a loving beast! It looks so dainty in the photos (exactly the opposite of the A-maze-n Pellet Smoker I got last week, which seemed big but was freakin tiny). Anyway, I took my temperature with it (I know this probably is not a recommended use) and it appears to be a couple degrees off (or maybe I'm dying. Who knows?). Not that I'd normally care about that level of precision but the thing came with a handwritten certificate of calibration  . Guess I'll boil some water and give it a proper test. Update: Boiling water: 210 degrees. I'm not dying.
Choadmaster fucked around with this message at 08:34 on Oct 11, 2012 |
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Oct 11, 2012 08:06
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Does anyone know of any good Chipotle pastes that you can get in the UK. I have dried ones which are great but a paste would be really handy for quick things.
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Oct 11, 2012 11:39
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