Who are the cooks out there

flhrci said:
Don't tell @Matthew but my "grill" is a skillet on an electric stove for the rare time I cook something a steak. I live an apartment and don't want the hassle of dealing with a grill.
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Matthew requests that it at least be a cast iron skillet.
 
My problem when I cook in cast iron or at least a steak in cast iron the entire house fills with smoke. Great sear, but well, lots of smoke.
 
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flhrci said:
I have to deny that request and let you know that all I have are ceramic non-stick at this time. No help for me right?
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There is hope for you yet! . All you require is charcoal briquettes, a lighter... and a patch of sidewalk you can run away from if you are deprived of a barbeque grill, galvanized garbage can with a metal lid, or even a large pie tin. (Which is inexcusable because you should have plenty of those after eating Costco pies.)

Alton Brown has your solution right here:

 
EdFred said:
My problem when I cook in cast iron or at least a steak in cast iron the entire house fills with smoke. Great sear, but well, lots of smoke.
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Wow... maybe too hot? I use an IR gun and I apply the pre-seasoned steaks when the cast iron skillet hits 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Then I tent with aluminum foil to keep the splatter down. 3 minutes per side (medium rare) or 4 minutes per side (medium).
 
rtk11 said:
Wow... maybe too hot? I use an IR gun and I apply the pre-seasoned steaks when the cast iron skillet hits 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Then I tent with aluminum foil to keep the splatter down. 3 minutes per side (medium rare) or 4 minutes per side (medium).
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I knew I needed one of those IR guns. What do you recommend? Every once in a while, Harbor Freight has one really cheap, but the combination of Harbor Freight and cheap scare me off.
 
JOhnH said:
I knew I needed one of those IR guns. What do you recommend? Every once in a while, Harbor Freight has one really cheap, but the combination of Harbor Freight and cheap scare me off.
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One way to make sure your cast iron hits 400F is to preheat it in a 400F oven. Remember (it's easier to forget than you think) that handle will be hot!
 
flhrci said:
Has this become a BBQ thread yet?

Haven't heard from @AKBill in awhile.
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Not much to say the members have spoken..;)
edit: the daughter brought over some Dungeness Crab last night she could not wait to cook. Good stuff..:)
 
I love to cook. I love Alton Brown for his science. I wish every meal could be a culinary adventure, but sometimes you just gotta make It work. Today, I’m checking on my uncle’s island home post hurricane season (because he is 80, and I am not). Just enough time after walking from the airport to grab a thin London Broil, orange juice, and half and half from the nearby grocery store before the ferry leaves to his island, figure that will get me by. Sure enough, get to the house and find teriyaki sauce, a can of baby peas, and 90 sec microwave Uncle Ben’s brown rice. One pan. Yummy. Oh yeah, single malt too. And coffee for the morn. All is well, especially since the house looks to have survived.

I know, such problems to have. But dagnabbit, the skeeters are biting fierce now at the end of the rainy season, and I can’t find any Deep Woods OFF! Feel for me!
 
AKBill said:
What ideas do you have for a fun holiday dinner. Thanks
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we typically do different cultures every year. We’ve done Mexican (posole, empanadas, tamales, etc.), German (sauerbraten, red cabbage, spaetzle), British(ish) (goose), American (ham).

I was proposing Swedish this year, but got shot down in favor of German again. Can’t really complain though, it’s a good menu. We might add glazed carrots and a marzipan stollen this time around.
 
JOhnH said:
I knew I needed one of those IR guns. What do you recommend? Every once in a while, Harbor Freight has one really cheap, but the combination of Harbor Freight and cheap scare me off.
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Honestly, the Harbor Freight IR gun would be fine. It's close enough, and you don't need EXACT temps for searing and cooking meat. For baking, yeah I think that makes more of a difference.

Alternatively you could sous vide the meat, then throw it on the cast iron skillet to sear the outside. That works also, but the 400 degree cast iron skillet is pretty fool-proof, as this fool can attest.
 
I do have one of those temperature guns at the office. I was wondering what I use it for now I know. It was given to us by the Energy company as some sort of gift pack for switching fluorescent to LED
 
rtk11 said:
Alternatively you could sous vide the meat, then throw it on the cast iron skillet to sear the outside. That works also, but the 400 degree cast iron skillet is pretty fool-proof, as this fool can attest.
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For the post sous vide bath the other tool I like is a cast iron griddle I put on the gas grill - 30 minutes on high gets it heat sunk enough to sear just about anything without cooling off and any smoke is outside. I have a moose roast in the bath right now and it will get seared when I get home.

Kind of an experiment since its a gnarly roast with lots of connective tissue so it got 170 degrees for 24 hours. It may be baby food but I do have a freezer of Newfie moose if I f'ed it up. :D
 
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Pugs said:
For the post sous vide bath the other tool I like is a cast iron griddle I put on the gas grill - 30 minutes on high gets it heat sunk enough to seer just about anything without cooling off and any smoke is outside. I have a moose roast in the bath right now and it will get seared when I get home.

Kind of an experiment since its a gnarly roast with lots of connective tissue so it got 170 degrees for 24 hours. It may be baby food but I do have a freezer of Newfie moose if I f'ed it up. :D
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Had to Google Newfie. I got it now!
 
flhrci said:
Had to Google Newfie. I got it now!
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LOL - me too!

Pugs said:
Kind of an experiment since its a gnarly roast with lots of connective tissue so it got 170 degrees for 24 hours. It may be baby food but I do have a freezer of Newfie moose if I f'ed it up. :D
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That should work to turn the connective tissue and its collagen into a gelatin and loosen up the meat. "Low (heat) and slow (cooking)" is used for tough cuts, especially ribs where the collagen around the rib gone becomes gelatinous and allows the meat to fall off the bone. Let us know how it turns out!
 
I've posted about it before, but short of a proper smoker, the best way I have found to make ribs is in the oven, using the turkey roaster. I prop a couple racks so they are standing, or leaning at an angle, then bake them covered at 250 for about five hours. Standing them accomplishes two things - they don't render in their own fat, and the airspace within the roaster allows a nice char to form without the need to finish uncovered (and risk drying them out.)
 
My best recipe:
Mix a packet of onion soup in a tub of sour cream. Let it sit in a refrigerator for a few hours, or overnight, then scoop out and eat with plain Ruffles potato chips.
 
Crashnburn said:
My best recipe:
Mix a packet of onion soup in a tub of sour cream. Let it sit in a refrigerator for a few hours, or overnight, then scoop out and eat with plain Ruffles potato chips.
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That's the same recipe we used in the '60s.
 
What's left of the family (we're not repopulating the planet) congregates at my sister's house, with folks showing up when they can during the week. Sis does the big traditional meal on Thur (or sometimes Fri, if folks are delayed in arriving), but the last couple of years I've brought a batch of seafood gumbo for the days folks are there before the big meal occurs. I made this year's batch this weekend using two red snapper (~8 lbs total), ~7 lbs shrimp, and a couple of pints of crab fingers (from one of the several good fishmongers nearby). Had the fish filleted but kept the heads/bones/skins, and bought whole shrimp. Used the heads and shells of the shrimp and the fish parts for stock. Ended up with 4-5 gallons of gumbo. Froze 3 gallons and have been working through the rest...will probably be about gone by the time I'm ready to travel. Yum!
 
I fermented hard boiled eggs twice. The first time they turned into the best food I ever ate period. They were SO good. The second time they went bad. Worst mess I ever had clean up. Haven't tried again since.
 
I might be doing a tri-tip the day before Thanksgiving. I know we’re doing the whole turkey thing the day of.
 
Jim_R said:
What's left of the family (we're not repopulating the planet) congregates at my sister's house, with folks showing up when they can during the week. Sis does the big traditional meal on Thur (or sometimes Fri, if folks are delayed in arriving), but the last couple of years I've brought a batch of seafood gumbo for the days folks are there before the big meal occurs. I made this year's batch this weekend using two red snapper (~8 lbs total), ~7 lbs shrimp, and a couple of pints of crab fingers (from one of the several good fishmongers nearby). Had the fish filleted but kept the heads/bones/skins, and bought whole shrimp. Used the heads and shells of the shrimp and the fish parts for stock. Ended up with 4-5 gallons of gumbo. Froze 3 gallons and have been working through the rest...will probably be about gone by the time I'm ready to travel. Yum!
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Mmmmm. Wish I could get invited.

Last year my extended family rented a huge (9 bedroom) house in TN for 3 days. We had a mostly traditional dinner on the day, but my Sister in Law volunteered to keep a HUGE pot of her specialty (Chicken and Dumplings) on the stove. I thought "how boring". But that pot of stew was the hit of the week. It is what people talk about and ask for her to do next time. I guess it was the cold weather that made it even more appealing. Everyone else loaded up all of the counter space with their own snacks, deserts and various dishes and we all over ate for 3 days. It took me a month to lose that weight.
 
It's aggravating, I hate doing the same thing twice in a row, but Teriyaki chicken thighs is on the bbq menu for tonight. Nothing else they had looked good, at least for a halfway reasonable price. But instead of that high fructose corn syrup crud, I got some Yamasa Teriyaki sauce instead. Should be good.
 
Well I was voted out for the Salmon at Thanksgiving. I was told King Crab as a side is OK. Turkey and stuffing w/mashed potatoes is a must. Still 5 days to get things together. Sad thing is I'm only working 1 day this week, Monday..:)
 
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