The General Questions thread - for quick questions, recipe requests, help.

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Goons with Spoons > The General Questions thread - for quick questions, recipe requests, help.

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Bagheera: Oct 30, 2003

Butter! Wow this is easy! But is it worth the effort?

Last night I made butter for the first time, and I'm amazed at how easy it is. Whisk cream with a stand mixer, then drain. Yesterday I made butter with cream straight from the carton. Today I made cultured butter, where I mixed 2 cups of cream with a tablespoon of kefir and let it sit for 24 hours.

From 2 cups of cream, I got about 1/3 pound of butter. That's about $8.25 worth of cream to make a pound of butter. Whereas Cabot butter is $5.20 a pound. Given that the fresh butter didn't taste as Cabot or Kerrygold, I don't think I'll make the butter very often. One day, I'll make a breakfast spread with butter, mozzarella, gherkins, strawberry jam, bacon, and fresh bread that's entirely homemade. But I don't think I'll stop buying sticks of butter.

# ? Mar 2, 2019 03:19

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# ? May 24, 2024 13:52

Nephzinho: Jan 25, 2008

Bagheera posted:

Butter! Wow this is easy! But is it worth the effort?

Last night I made butter for the first time, and I'm amazed at how easy it is. Whisk cream with a stand mixer, then drain. Yesterday I made butter with cream straight from the carton. Today I made cultured butter, where I mixed 2 cups of cream with a tablespoon of kefir and let it sit for 24 hours.

From 2 cups of cream, I got about 1/3 pound of butter. That's about $8.25 worth of cream to make a pound of butter. Whereas Cabot butter is $5.20 a pound. Given that the fresh butter didn't taste as Cabot or Kerrygold, I don't think I'll make the butter very often. One day, I'll make a breakfast spread with butter, mozzarella, gherkins, strawberry jam, bacon, and fresh bread that's entirely homemade. But I don't think I'll stop buying sticks of butter.

I've found it's really only worth it if you go the cultured route, or if you want to say you made it for a spread.

# ? Mar 2, 2019 04:14

Casu Marzu: Oct 20, 2008

Nephzinho posted:

I've found it's really only worth it if you go the cultured route, or if you want to say you made it for a spread.

Yep. Cultured butter owns.

# ? Mar 2, 2019 05:28

Scientastic: Mar 1, 2010; TRULY scientastic.
🔬🍒

Bagheera posted:

entirely homemade

Generally, when I do things that I consider are entirely homemade, I start to things about how I should probably starting growing my own wheat, or keeping goats...

What I�m saying is that it�s a short step from making your own butter to making your own human compost: tread carefully.

# ? Mar 2, 2019 09:57

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

The newest NICSA has reached the voting phase, please go have a look at the entries and vote! A lot of new(er) people put in some real outstanding effort on these.

https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3883527

# ? Mar 2, 2019 13:15

therobit: Aug 19, 2008; I've been tryin' to speak with you for a long time

Scientastic posted:

Generally, when I do things that I consider are entirely homemade, I start to things about how I should probably starting growing my own wheat, or keeping goats...

What I’m saying is that it’s a short step from making your own butter to making your own human compost: tread carefully.

I had a customer once who was into making her own flour. My mom owns a wheat farm and I would never consider that.

# ? Mar 2, 2019 16:18

AAAAA! Real Muenster: Jul 12, 2008; My QB is also named Bort

Someone posted the below Creole Etouffe recipe a while back and I grabbed it. I was thinking of trying to make it, but when reading through it to make sure I understood it. For the instructions bit, in Step 1 (I bolded) it says that the roux should get dark red. The instructions (at the bottom, also bolded by me) also say that you can use oil instead of lard, which is what I would do - will flour and oil turn red with no other ingredients here? Am I missing or mis-understanding something?

Creole Etoufe posted:

Creole tends toward more classical french style spices (rosemary, thyme, parsley, etc.) This is my recipe, and I go lower sodium, because my blood pressure has been creeping up over the past 10 years or so. You don't have to, but I've noticed that even for a person not on a "low salt" diet, most cajun/creole recipes tend to salt the everliving gently caress out of the dish. I'm talking like 150% of your daily sodium intake in a single serving - and a lot of that is because most of these recipes use heaps of canned cajun/creole spice mixes, like Tony Chachere's or whatever. You can find one of those, but here's mine. This is a mise-en-place recipe, that is to say have everything prepped ahead of time and ready to be dumped in the pot at just the right moment.

-1/2 cup lard*
-1/2 cup flour

-1 large onion, chopped
-1 large bell pepper, chopped fine
-3 stalks of celery, chopped fine

-1 Tbs minced garlic

-1 tsp thyme
-1 tsp rosemary
-1 tsp basil
-1/2 tsp black pepper
-3 bay leaves
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 1/2 tsp dried parsley

-1 cup chicken or fish stock (I use the "no salt added" sort, you can use whatever you want)
-1 14oz can of crushed tomatoes (once again I use the "low sodium", you can use whatever you want)

-2lbs of meat, prepped (your pick! Could be shrimp (shelled and de-veined,) crawfish (if you can find it and don't mind the work,) chicken (skinless, boneless, and cubed,) smoked sausage, whatever you want.)

2 Tbs Butter

Fresh chopped parsley (If you want to be fancy)

A dutch oven or some sort of large (4-6qt) , stainless-steel pot.

1) Make the roux by melting the lard over medium heat, then whisking in the flour. If this is the first time you've ever made roux, the key is to keep whisking and never stop. For a creole etouffee you want a dark red roux. This will probably take ~20 minutes, don't get impatient. Put on some music, zen out stirring the pot.

2) Once the roux is a lovely dark red color, dump in the onions, celery, and bell pepper. Keep stirring until the onions are nice and translucent and everything starts to soften up. 3-5 minutes.

2a) If you are using chicken, pork, or sausage, now is the time to add it. Let it brown up. ~3-5 min

3) Dump the garlic in, and stir to incorporate. It'll get nice and fragrant, but don't let it burn. ~30 seconds.

4)Add the rest of the spices and incorporate them well. Once again, let them get fragrant, but not burn. ~30 sec.

5) Carefully add in the stock. Roux has a well deserved reputation for wanting to splatter as soon as liquid hits it. Having the vegetables and spices will help mitigate this, but it can still happen. Pour the stock in slowly and carefully, stirring and de-glazing the bottom of the pot. Bring it just below simmering, then mix in the crushed tomatoes as well, and bring to a simmer and cover. Let that go on for ~15 to 20 minutes. (If I'm doing chicken or pork, I let it run out longer - 1/2 hour for chicken thigh meat, an hour for pork loin or chicken breast. This will help tenderize the meat.)

5a) If you opted to go with shrimp, crawfish tail, lobster tail chunks, crab meat, or chunks of fish (perch, cod, bass, whatever) now is the time to add that. Don't overcook seafood - let it simmer for ~5 minutes max.

6) Kill the heat and stir in the butter.

7) Serve over rice, and sprinkle the chopped parsley on top.

*If you can't find/don't like lard, then you can use vegetable oil or peanut oil. NEVER use Extra Virgin Olive oil for roux. It can't handle the sustained temperature and will denature.

# ? Mar 2, 2019 16:19

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

AAAAA! Real Muenster posted:

Someone posted the below Creole Etouffe recipe a while back and I grabbed it. I was thinking of trying to make it, but when reading through it to make sure I understood it. For the instructions bit, in Step 1 (I bolded) it says that the roux should get dark red. The instructions (at the bottom, also bolded by me) also say that you can use oil instead of lard, which is what I would do - will flour and oil turn red with no other ingredients here? Am I missing or mis-understanding something?

You cook the flour/oil very slowly and the flour browns. You can make roux in a skillet on the stove and stir constantly to keep the flour from burning, or you can make it in a skillet in a 325 oven but it takes a long time. You can also buy jarred roux at the grocery store sometimes-you want dark red/brick roux for that recipe.

# ? Mar 2, 2019 17:14

Human Tornada: Mar 4, 2005; I been wantin to see a honkey dance.

Regardless of the fat you use, it will turn brown with a hint of red, but I wouldn't really call it "red". GIS "cajun roux" to get an idea of what it should look like.

# ? Mar 2, 2019 17:41

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

AAAAA! Real Muenster posted:

Someone posted the below Creole Etouffe recipe a while back and I grabbed it. I was thinking of trying to make it, but when reading through it to make sure I understood it. For the instructions bit, in Step 1 (I bolded) it says that the roux should get dark red. The instructions (at the bottom, also bolded by me) also say that you can use oil instead of lard, which is what I would do - will flour and oil turn red with no other ingredients here? Am I missing or mis-understanding something?

You can also use butter in your roux.

I wouldn't really call it red per-se. It'll be a middling brown, darker than khaki, less dark than milk chocolate. It can maybe be a bit rust colored depending on your flour. For etoufee, err on the lighter / "blonder" side anyways as you'll want it to act as a thickening agent that you'll get less of with a very dark roux.

# ? Mar 2, 2019 18:27

pile of brown: Dec 31, 2004

So I know keto is bullshit but I have to make trendy food for one of my outlets, does anyone know of a keto recipe resource that doesn't rely on powders and poo poo? I just want whole(ish) ingredients, like almond milk is fine or whatever

# ? Mar 2, 2019 22:53

Killingyouguy!: Sep 8, 2014

I tried to roast a bunch of vegetables but I mad overcrowded the pan and now they're closer to steamed than roasted.

Can I just... re-coat them in oil and put them back in (less crowded this time)?

# ? Mar 2, 2019 23:30

Casu Marzu: Oct 20, 2008

Killingyouguy! posted:

I tried to roast a bunch of vegetables but I mad overcrowded the pan and now they're closer to steamed than roasted.

Can I just... re-coat them in oil and put them back in (less crowded this time)?

Depends on the veg and how long it's been roasting already. You might just get mush or leather. If they're tender, toss the pan under the broiler and watch it like a hawk.

# ? Mar 2, 2019 23:41

AAAAA! Real Muenster: Jul 12, 2008; My QB is also named Bort

Kaiser Schnitzel posted:

You cook the flour/oil very slowly and the flour browns. You can make roux in a skillet on the stove and stir constantly to keep the flour from burning, or you can make it in a skillet in a 325 oven but it takes a long time. You can also buy jarred roux at the grocery store sometimes-you want dark red/brick roux for that recipe.

That Works posted:

You can also use butter in your roux.

I wouldn't really call it red per-se. It'll be a middling brown, darker than khaki, less dark than milk chocolate. It can maybe be a bit rust colored depending on your flour. For etoufee, err on the lighter / "blonder" side anyways as you'll want it to act as a thickening agent that you'll get less of with a very dark roux.

Thank you for the replies gentlemen, I was just not expecting flour and oil to make that color of a finished product so the explanations help!

# ? Mar 3, 2019 01:02

Hollismason: Jun 30, 2007; An alright dude.

Can I use coarse Sea Salt instead of Kosher Salt to brine? The store didn't have any and all they had was coarse sea salt.

# ? Mar 3, 2019 01:25

Nephzinho: Jan 25, 2008

Hollismason posted:

Can I use coarse Sea Salt instead of Kosher Salt to brine? The store didn't have any and all they had was coarse sea salt.

Yes, it'll dissolve fine and you're basically just over paying.

# ? Mar 3, 2019 01:31

Hollismason: Jun 30, 2007; An alright dude.

Nephzinho posted:

Yes, it'll dissolve fine and you're basically just over paying.

Thanks

# ? Mar 3, 2019 01:38

spankmeister: Jun 15, 2008

We don't even have kosher salt over here in Europe, and so many American recipes rely on it. It's just the grain size so it's easy to adjust for it. If you're making a brine it doesn't really matter what kind of salt you use, as long as you factor in the volume difference of different kinds of salt.

# ? Mar 3, 2019 01:43

Hollismason: Jun 30, 2007; An alright dude.

I was just brining like 5 thighs overnight in some lemon oregano and pepper. So I figure 1 tablespoon of salt per cup. Its not a lot of chicken really.

I was just totally out of kosher salt and how a "high end" grocery store does not sell kosher salt is beyond me even though the store is ridiculously overpriced.

Hollismason fucked around with this message at 01:46 on Mar 3, 2019

# ? Mar 3, 2019 01:44

SubG: Aug 19, 2004; It's a hard world for little things.

Hollismason posted:

I was just brining like 5 thighs overnight in some lemon oregano and pepper. So I figure 1 tablespoon of salt per cup. Its not a lot of chicken really.

I was just totally out of kosher salt and how a "high end" grocery store does not sell kosher salt is beyond me even though the store is ridiculously overpriced.

Get a kitchen scale, never worry about measuring salt by volume again.

# ? Mar 3, 2019 02:04

Hollismason: Jun 30, 2007; An alright dude.

I need so many different things for my kitchen.

# ? Mar 3, 2019 02:07

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

SubG posted:

Get a kitchen scale, never worry about measuring salt by volume again.

This. If you cook or bake regularly, you'll want one eventually. I just grabbed a cheap $10 digital Amazon basics one and use it every week to weigh out cooked meat for lunchboxes etc, everything really.

# ? Mar 3, 2019 02:07

Totally Reasonable: Jan 8, 2008; aaag mirrors

Hollismason posted:

I need so many different things for my kitchen.

And the first one is definitely a scale, unless you're ripping meat apart by hand and don't know what a knife is.

# ? Mar 3, 2019 03:04

Hollismason: Jun 30, 2007; An alright dude.

I mean what exactly do I need a scale for? I usually just eye most things unless its a crucial amount.

# ? Mar 3, 2019 03:34

pile of brown: Dec 31, 2004

Hollismason posted:

I mean what exactly do I need a scale for? I usually just eye most things unless its a crucial amount.

Brining is best done by weight rather than volume, you will get far more consistent results.

# ? Mar 3, 2019 03:43

Nephzinho: Jan 25, 2008

Hollismason posted:

I mean what exactly do I need a scale for? I usually just eye most things unless its a crucial amount.

Cooking = completely eyeball it, I don't measure a goddamn thing.

Baking = full breaking bad, every ingredient has its own bowl and is weighed twice.

# ? Mar 3, 2019 03:47

Grand Fromage: Jan 30, 2006; L-l-look at you bar-bartender, a-a pa-pathetic creature of meat and bone, un-underestimating my l-l-liver's ability to metab-meTABolize t-toxins. How can you p-poison a perfect, immortal alcohOLIC?

Hollismason posted:

I mean what exactly do I need a scale for? I usually just eye most things unless its a crucial amount.

If you're not doing any baking you don't really need a scale but it's nice now and then. If you're going to bake things get a scale.

# ? Mar 3, 2019 06:16

Casu Marzu: Oct 20, 2008

Agree. Outside of baking, my scale gets used most for weighing out water/salt for brines.

That being said, for baking it's second to none.

# ? Mar 3, 2019 06:18

SubG: Aug 19, 2004; It's a hard world for little things.

That Works posted:

This. If you cook or bake regularly, you'll want one eventually. I just grabbed a cheap $10 digital Amazon basics one and use it every week to weigh out cooked meat for lunchboxes etc, everything really.

A cheapass scale is fine, but for like US$30 the gws hivemind favourite My Weight KD8000 is worth the little extra for the usability, durability, and so on.

# ? Mar 3, 2019 08:43

BrianBoitano: Nov 15, 2006; this is fine

Scales are also great when recipe authors include weights for things like potatoes or collards, where size can vary so "3 medium russets" could be 1 lb or 3. Especially important if you use a farmer's market or grow your own produce.

# ? Mar 3, 2019 13:36

Submarine Sandpaper: May 27, 2007

Nephzinho posted:

Cooking = completely eyeball it, I don't measure a goddamn thing.

Baking = full breaking bad, every ingredient has its own bowl and is weighed twice.

Depends on what you're baking imo. Once you get a feel for bread you don't need to. Starting off with either you should measure so you have reference for what recipes are asking and to know how you're adjusting things to your taste.

# ? Mar 3, 2019 17:05

Casu Marzu: Oct 20, 2008

Depends on the bread, too. If i'm throwing together a basic sourdough boule or something, I can do it by sight and touch. If I'm doing an enriched dough or something with alternative flours, I'm definitely using a scale every time.

# ? Mar 3, 2019 17:38

Captainsalami: Apr 16, 2010; I told you you'd pay!

Need some advice on cooking rib ends. Will just slathering them in a rub and baking them in tinfoil turn out good? Never had these before.

# ? Mar 3, 2019 21:49

Bollock Monkey: Jan 21, 2007; The Almighty

Suggestions for stir fry veg that's on the turn that isn't stir fry? I've got a bag containing spring greens, mushrooms, and a smattering of red onion and beansprouts but I ended up eating pad thai yesterday. I'm not too bothered by eating similar stuff two days on the trot but wondered if you lovely people might have an idea to change it up (other than stir frying with rice instead!)

# ? Mar 4, 2019 13:52

TychoCelchuuu: Jan 2, 2012; This space for Rent.

Bollock Monkey posted:

Suggestions for stir fry veg that's on the turn that isn't stir fry? I've got a bag containing spring greens, mushrooms, and a smattering of red onion and beansprouts but I ended up eating pad thai yesterday. I'm not too bothered by eating similar stuff two days on the trot but wondered if you lovely people might have an idea to change it up (other than stir frying with rice instead!)

Soup.

# ? Mar 4, 2019 15:25

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

Bollock Monkey posted:

Suggestions for stir fry veg that's on the turn that isn't stir fry? I've got a bag containing spring greens, mushrooms, and a smattering of red onion and beansprouts but I ended up eating pad thai yesterday. I'm not too bothered by eating similar stuff two days on the trot but wondered if you lovely people might have an idea to change it up (other than stir frying with rice instead!)

Curry

# ? Mar 4, 2019 16:43

WorldIndustries: Dec 21, 2004

I also use a scale for pour-over coffee to make the process more consistent.

# ? Mar 4, 2019 16:48

Submarine Sandpaper: May 27, 2007

Captainsalami posted:

Need some advice on cooking rib ends. Will just slathering them in a rub and baking them in tinfoil turn out good? Never had these before.

I've braised them for chili. No other experience

# ? Mar 4, 2019 16:55

Rocko Bonaparte: Mar 12, 2002; Every day is Friday!

Is there some name for a category of dairy-added, whipped gelatin desserts? I got the impression there was something from the 60's that wasn't just stirring in some Cool Whip or whatever and often was done in layers. You still see it now, but there isn't a categorical term for it.

# ? Mar 4, 2019 18:26

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# ? May 24, 2024 13:52

sterster: Jun 19, 2006; nothing; Fun Shoe

^ The only thing that I can think of is an english dish known as Trifle. It's usually fruit in gelatin layered with custards or creams and whipped topping.

# ? Mar 4, 2019 18:49

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Goons with Spoons > The General Questions thread - for quick questions, recipe requests, help.

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