Cooking Related: Agree or Disagree

[Henning]

RIBS A LA HENNING:

Okay, like right I tried it. Got the coals good and hot, and cut the rack in to three pieces to more closely match the form factor. I wasn't able to peel the film thing off the backside of the ribs, but I figured it would burn off anyway on the coals. I was right. I threw a little season salt on them and stuck them on the coals and covered it.

It took more than ten minutes, more like 20-30 minutes, but it worked. They weren't fall of the bone tender (not that I was expecting so) but they were reasonably tender.

Given that the other alternative takes a minimum of four hours, I can recommend this method to those needing ribs right now. I've had those stupid store bought pre-cooked ribs and these are better than that.

Yep, like I said, I HATE ribs like that. Ribs are your chance to bond with your caveman time line, bone between your fingers, flame cooked meat to bite into and tear off the bone Oooo oooo aaaaRRGH!

Time varies with the size of the ribs you get, but yeah, you're eating within the hour of starting the fire.

 

[overdrive148]

Steak just needs S&P .

You can set the oven to 400, sear on a stove top cast iron skillet a couple minutes on one side, flip, and put the whole skillet in the oven to finish. For a fatty steak like ribeye, a dry skillet works just fine, otherwise I *might* use a very little oil.

Put your left hand palm up and relaxed, then use your right index finger to poke the meat below your left thumb. That's rare. Touch you left thumb to left index finger and poke again for med-rare. Repeat until thumb is touching pinky for well done. You have now calibrated your poking finger to tell how done the steak is. (Doesn't work well on thin or very thick steaks, though.)

Unfortunately no cast iron here, just the aluminum non-stick pan that walmart had 1 of. Would it be worth investing in one for steak and other meats? Most of my cooking is done on the stove, when I get to a better place I'll invest in a BBQ...

Didn't know about the finger tricks - that helps quite a bit I think. I did the into the oven trick with the NY steak but I hadn't seen that (or the thyme + butter combo) in any of the recipes I perused online until this one.

Between steaks if you have that nice crust going, deglaze the pan with your favorite booze, I like using a stout and a bourbon or brandy, or just plain wine or beer; just pour them in and scrape around with a spatula to clean the surface, then pour it off into a bowl on the side for adding to a sauce. This way you start with a fresh metal surface for each and get a good sauce.

Any specific suggestions for alcohol? I keep more whiskey around than beer. And that sauce idea sounds fantastic, always wanted to try sauteed mushrooms but the GF doesn't like em. I have problems with stir fry with pan sticking as well. The beef and broccoli recipe I have uses corn starch and a few other things that almost religiously get stuck to the bottom of the pan, even when putting the stir in stir fry.

 

[48dodge]

One way I've been doing steaks occasionally is cooking them in a cooler. Basically sous vide but a lot cheaper than buying a sous vide machine. Fill up a cooler with water that matches the temp you want your steak. I aim for 130 which will drop to 125ish when you add the meat. Put your steaks in a well sealed ziploc or vac seal them then drop them in the water. Let them sit there for at least 30 minutes but you can go longer. I keep a digital thermometer probe in the water to make sure everything is where it should be. When you're ready grab the meat and unseal it. Try not to gag because it'll look really gross at this point. Season it a little more lightly than usual then pan sear it. The entire steak will be cooked exactly how you like it all the way through.

 

[Henning]

Unfortunately no cast iron here, just the aluminum non-stick pan that walmart had 1 of. Would it be worth investing in one for steak and other meats? Most of my cooking is done on the stove, when I get to a better place I'll invest in a BBQ...

Didn't know about the finger tricks - that helps quite a bit I think. I did the into the oven trick with the NY steak but I hadn't seen that (or the thyme + butter combo) in any of the recipes I perused online until this one.



Any specific suggestions for alcohol? I keep more whiskey around than beer. And that sauce idea sounds fantastic, always wanted to try sauteed mushrooms but the GF doesn't like em. I have problems with stir fry with pan sticking as well. The beef and broccoli recipe I have uses corn starch and a few other things that almost religiously get stuck to the bottom of the pan, even when putting the stir in stir fry.

Yes, get a cast iron skillet, and a Dutch Oven while you're at it.

Booze preference is up to you, you're the chef. Do what you think tastes good, reality is all of them work very well, though you will use a good quantity of liquid to deglaze that will quickly evaporate, so if I am using an expensive or syrupy booze, I'll dilute it with 'fizzy water' for the deglaze process and then add to taste in finalizing the sauce. For a steak a whiskey sauce is always good, especially if you have asparagus.

Yes, stuff sticks to pans lol. With a well seasoned cast iron pan, you'll get the best results short of a smoking hot charred wok, and you'll notice they still deglaze about 2/3rds way through and it collects back on to the coated meat.

Peanut oil takes the most heat, season your pans with it and never wash them with soap.

 

[Henning]

Also, most people using wine will chose a deep red, I like mixing it up with a FumeBlanc, especially if you have some good fresh shrooms.

 

[overdrive148]

Yes, get a cast iron skillet, and a Dutch Oven while you're at it.

Booze preference is up to you, you're the chef. Do what you think tastes good, reality is all of them work very well, though you will use a good quantity of liquid to deglaze that will quickly evaporate, so if I am using an expensive or syrupy booze, I'll dilute it with 'fizzy water' for the deglaze process and then add to taste in finalizing the sauce. For a steak a whiskey sauce is always good, especially if you have asparagus.

Yes, stuff sticks to pans lol. With a well seasoned cast iron pan, you'll get the best results short of a smoking hot charred wok, and you'll notice they still deglaze about 2/3rds way through and it collects back on to the coated meat.

Peanut oil takes the most heat, season your pans with it and never wash them with soap.

It's one of those cheap 5 dollar woks from Walmart, which is also non-stick. Then I realized you don't really even need the wok to do stir fry in the first place.

Putting a good cast-iron skillet on my list then, that sounds amazing. Never had one, how does seasoning work or is that something I'm better off googling?

One way I've been doing steaks occasionally is cooking them in a cooler. Basically sous vide but a lot cheaper than buying a sous vide machine. Fill up a cooler with water that matches the temp you want your steak. I aim for 130 which will drop to 125ish when you add the meat. Put your steaks in a well sealed ziploc or vac seal them then drop them in the water. Let them sit there for at least 30 minutes but you can go longer. I keep a digital thermometer probe in the water to make sure everything is where it should be. When you're ready grab the meat and unseal it. Try not to gag because it'll look really gross at this point. Season it a little more lightly than usual then pan sear it. The entire steak will be cooked exactly how you like it all the way through.

Interesting, never heard of that before. After searing is the steak done or do they go in the oven? And what is the benefit to making the steak this way, more tender or just the consistency of the doneness?

 

[Sac Arrow]

Yep, like I said, I HATE ribs like that. Ribs are your chance to bond with your caveman time line, bone between your fingers, flame cooked meat to bite into and tear off the bone Oooo oooo aaaaRRGH!

Time varies with the size of the ribs you get, but yeah, you're eating within the hour of starting the fire.

It wasn't bad at all, a bit more charred than I cared for. I'd do it again if I were in a time crunch. Last night I did them indirect heat, and they came out perfect. Not "fall off the bone" but it came clean off the bone, which is how I like them.

 

[48dodge]

It's one of those cheap 5 dollar woks from Walmart, which is also non-stick. Then I realized you don't really even need the wok to do stir fry in the first place.

Putting a good cast-iron skillet on my list then, that sounds amazing. Never had one, how does seasoning work or is that something I'm better off googling?



Interesting, never heard of that before. After searing is the steak done or do they go in the oven? And what is the benefit to making the steak this way, more tender or just the consistency of the doneness?

Technically they're done when you pull them out of the cooler.

 

[Matthew]

It's one of those cheap 5 dollar woks from Walmart, which is also non-stick. Then I realized you don't really even need the wok to do stir fry in the first place.

Putting a good cast-iron skillet on my list then, that sounds amazing. Never had one, how does seasoning work or is that something I'm better off googling?



Interesting, never heard of that before. After searing is the steak done or do they go in the oven? And what is the benefit to making the steak this way, more tender or just the consistency of the doneness?

Cast iron - get a skillet. 10" min, 12" preferable. They will be preseasoned, just start cooking. The more you use it the quicker it will get that nice shiny black look.

Everybody has their method of seasoning. Here's mine: If you need to season, wipe it almost dry with veg oil or shortening and put in a hot oven for a while to bake it on. Let it cool and wipe nearly dry again with a little more oil and a paper towel.

Cleaning, again, different strokes for different folks. Almost everyone agrees to avoid scrubbing with detergent. Lately, I've been using the kosher salt method with excellent results. Dump about 3 or so Tbs of kosher salt into the dry skillet. Wad up a paper towel and scrub hard. The salt acts as as drying agent and abrasive. When the skillet is clean, wipe out the salt. I give it a quick rinse with water, dry it, put on med heat on the stove to dry it some more, let it cool, then put it away or wipe with oil and put it away. I put it in a paper grocery bag to keep it dry and avoid scratching anything with it.

An alternative to a Dutch oven is a French oven. It's still cast iron, but has a porcelain coating. Here's an example -http://www.lecreuset.com/cookware/french-ovens---braisers/round-french-ovens/3-1-2-qt-round-french-oven

You don't have to pay too much, either, the example I pasted is a high $$ brand. They can be used in the oven, stovetop, or both.

And searing the steak and finishing in the oven is just another method. Advantage is a litte more even cooking since it will cook from both sides in the oven. Works best with thick steaks.

 

[AdamZ]

Agree!

 

[Matthew]

It wasn't bad at all, a bit more charred than I cared for. I'd do it again if I were in a time crunch. Last night I did them indirect heat, and they came out perfect. Not "fall off the bone" but it came clean off the bone, which is how I like them.

Ribs have 3 results: tear off the bone, pull off the bone, and fall off the bone. Pull off the bone is what you are looking for. You done good.

If you really want to impress, double-cut the ribs. You end up with a lot of scraps, but chicks dig it. . Single cut is just cutting evenly between adjacent ribs. To double cut, cut between rib 1 and rib 2 but run the knife right along rib1. Then cut between rib 2 and rib 3 but run the knife against rib 3. Rib 2 ends up with a whole lot of meat. Repeat with rib 4 and so on.

 

[jonnyjetprop]

An alternative to a Dutch oven is a French oven. It's still cast iron, but has a porcelain coating. Here's an example -http://www.lecreuset.com/cookware/french-ovens---braisers/round-french-ovens/3-1-2-qt-round-french-oven

You don't have to pay too much, either, the example I pasted is a high $$ brand. They can be used in the oven, stovetop, or both.

IMHO,

Pay the money to get a Le Creuset. It's one of those purchases where you'll give it to your kids as long as you take care of it. Check ebay or outlet stores for the best pricing on less popular colors.

I cook a lot. The three top pans I use are my cast iron skillet, a non stick skillet and my Dutch (French) oven.

 

[JoeSelch]

IMHO,

Pay the money to get a Le Creuset. It's one of those purchases where you'll give it to your kids as long as you take care of it. Check ebay or outlet stores for the best pricing on less popular colors.

I cook a lot. The three top pans I use are my cast iron skillet, a non stick skillet and my Dutch (French) oven.

What's your favorite nonstick?
I'm in the market for new and have so far been disappointed with longevity or nonstickiness of the ones I've tried.

 

[Henning]

I gave up on non stick, you don't want to get it too hot either.

 

[Matthew]

IMHO,

Pay the money to get a Le Creuset. It's one of those purchases where you'll give it to your kids as long as you take care of it. Check ebay or outlet stores for the best pricing on less popular colors.

I cook a lot. The three top pans I use are my cast iron skillet, a non stick skillet and my Dutch (French) oven.

We do have a LeCreuset. Got it almost 30 yrs ago at an outlet store and use it regularly. It's really good to sear something like a pot roast on the stovetop, then simmer in the oven for even heating.

The cast iron skillet has cooked all kinds of things. I have a good cornbread recipe that works great in that skillet.

We got a couple of Calphalon non-sticks on sale that have been holding up
OK.

 

[jonnyjetprop]

What's your favorite nonstick?
I'm in the market for new and have so far been disappointed with longevity or nonstickiness of the ones I've tried.

I figure a non stick pan is good for 3-5 years max. The current set is from a state fair. I'd have to look to see the brand.

 

[Sac Arrow]

What's your favorite nonstick?
I'm in the market for new and have so far been disappointed with longevity or nonstickiness of the ones I've tried.

I gave up on non stick, you don't want to get it too hot either.

We do have a LeCreuset. Got it almost 30 yrs ago at an outlet store and use it regularly. It's really good to sear something like a pot roast on the stovetop, then simmer in the oven for even heating.

The cast iron skillet has cooked all kinds of things. I have a good cornbread recipe that works great in that skillet.

We got a couple of Calphalon non-sticks on sale that have been holding up
OK.

Calphalon, hands down. Pretty hard to get it hot enough to affect the coating. Biggest thing is you need to use some oil, or it will stick. Don't need much though. I just wipe it down with olive oil.

 

[JoeSelch]

Sounds like Calphalon. Thanks!

 

[Matthew]

Whatever you get, make sure the handles are rated for >350 so you can pop the whole thing in the oven if you ever want.