- Thread starter
- #181
If running low on wood for your smoker, no problem. Use what you have to get the smoke into the meat then throw it into the oven for a finish. In most cases I'm wrapping my ribs after 2.5 to 3 hours anyway.
Tips & Techniques - All Things Cooking Related
- Thread starter DoctorShavegood
- Start date
To keep your plastic cutting board from sliding all around on you, especially when it starts to develop a bit of a bow in it, wet two paper towels and fold them each lengthwise. Once done place under each end of your cutting board, it will not move at all!
Yep I've done that. I've also been know to wander into the woods behind my house to find random pieces of hard wood (maple or oak in my area) to prolong a smoke if necessary. Not the best as they're not normally dried out enough, but not bad for adding a last 30 minutes of smoke....
In the winter I cook ribs low-and-slow indoors. Works fine -- yeah you lose the smoke, but it's way, way better than no ribs at all.
cook scrambled eggs over a low heat, never more than medium-low...take them off the heat before you think they are finished to allow for carry over cooking and add a pat or two of butter (depending on how much you are making) to help stop the cooking and for a silky texture, a nice shine and phenomenal flavor.
I didn't want to fire up the grill yesterday and I did two racks of baby backs totally in the oven....they may not have had the smoke flavor, but that certainly didn't stop everyone from eating them up!
They were rubbed down well...wrapped tightly in foil, placed meat side down on a pan..250° for 2.5-3 hours...opened up, drained the juices...turned the oven to 350°....brushed on some sauce back into the oven on the open foil meat side up for 10 min...repeated that 2 more times and then finished them under the broiler for some color.
again...they may not be smoked, but they were really good!
- Thread starter
- #186
I've been watching Sara Moulton who is a chef on PBS. No nicer lady then you'll ever meet. She puts a big bowl of soapy hot water in the sink and uses that to wash her hands after handling meats, etc. It's very convenient plus it keeps your dirty hands of the faucet handle.
Make your own inexpensive kitchen cleaner / degreaser with washing soda (sodium carbonate).
Just fill an empty spray bottle with water and add like 10 tablespoons of washing soda. You could also use baking soda, but sodium carbonate is much better. Use 50 grams/liter if you want a pH-value of 11.5.
Use it for cleaning all kitchen surfaces, cooker hood, oven, cutting boards (germs) or removing stenches from carpets or other things. Sodium carbonate is very versatile, but especially effective against fat. Be careful with aluminum or untreated wood.
You can also add a squirt of dish soap for tensides if you want.
Just fill an empty spray bottle with water and add like 10 tablespoons of washing soda. You could also use baking soda, but sodium carbonate is much better. Use 50 grams/liter if you want a pH-value of 11.5.
Use it for cleaning all kitchen surfaces, cooker hood, oven, cutting boards (germs) or removing stenches from carpets or other things. Sodium carbonate is very versatile, but especially effective against fat. Be careful with aluminum or untreated wood.
You can also add a squirt of dish soap for tensides if you want.
Sodium Carbonate (washing soda) is less and less commonly available. You can convert Sodium Bi Carbonate (baking soda) into Sodium Carbonate by cooking it and releasing water and carbon dioxide. If I recall correctly spreading out a pound on a baking sheet and cooking in a 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes does the trick.
This stuff is an alkali. Don't combine it with bleach or you will get mustard gas. Not a good thing. Many many deaths have been caused by cleaning staff inadvertently combining acid and alkali cleaners.
This stuff is an alkali. Don't combine it with bleach or you will get mustard gas. Not a good thing. Many many deaths have been caused by cleaning staff inadvertently combining acid and alkali cleaners.
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Depends on where you live. In my part of the world it is dirt cheap and available in almost every drugstore and many supermarkets, even much cheaper than baking soda (just the opposite problem). I can't even buy borax here, European Union says it's "too dangerous" for me.
However, knowledge about sodium carbonate is also fading. People like to trust in commercials and buy overpriced kitchen cleaners instead (just like forgetting DE razors and buying cartridge razors).
Watch out for "Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda Laundry Booster" or buy sodium carbonate online. Or use the suggested oven method.
I also use it as washing detergent, just mix it 1:1 with curd soap. Or to remove moss and algae from my patio.
YUM YUM !!!
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Here's a cool tip. If you're making buttermilk pancakes and scrambled eggs, put a scoop of batter into the eggs before cooking. Makes the eggs light and fluffy and adds great flavor.
And if you are not cooking pancakes, heavy cream in place of milk in the eggs is decadent.
Kent Rollins is a real cowboy cook! I enjoyed his showings on Chopped, a true gentlemen.
Now that's the coolest avatar I've seen in a while!
Maybe I'm re-inventing the round wheel.......
Due to a slight intolerance, I don't use anything derived from cow's milk, and only treat myself to sheep's or goat's milk cheese once in a blue moon
But I miss butter when cooking mushrooms - you just can't beat the taste of melted butter.
I came up with a solution tonight without looking on the internet...
1. Pull the stalks off some large mushrooms (I ate the stalks raw because I love raw mushrooms)
2. Sprinkle sea salt and ground pepper inside the caps
3. Fill the caps with margarine
4. Microwave for 2 minutes
Melted marge with salt tastes just like melted butter
One night I'll add some crushed garlic into the mix -
Dairy free garlic mushrooms with a buttery taste
I love "heart attack eggs" fried in bacon fat as much as the next man, but if my Doctor even suspected that I ate them more than once in a blue moon, she would probably have nightmares !!
Tonight I also found a healthy way to fry eggs...
1. Heat 0.5cm of sunflower oil in a ceramic frying pan
2. Tilt the pan and rest one edge on the worktop (it's made from marble in my kitchen) insulate if necessary, and the opposite edge on the hob - the oil is 3 or 4 cm deep
3. Crack an egg into the hot oil, it almost deep fries and seals very quickly
4. Move the pan around (the egg sticks), crack another egg into the oil
The best fried eggs for as long as I can remember - nice crispy whites, and the yolks were nice and yolky in the middle
Healthy too, less sunflower oil = less cholesterol
Due to a slight intolerance, I don't use anything derived from cow's milk, and only treat myself to sheep's or goat's milk cheese once in a blue moon
But I miss butter when cooking mushrooms - you just can't beat the taste of melted butter.
I came up with a solution tonight without looking on the internet...
1. Pull the stalks off some large mushrooms (I ate the stalks raw because I love raw mushrooms)
2. Sprinkle sea salt and ground pepper inside the caps
3. Fill the caps with margarine
4. Microwave for 2 minutes
Melted marge with salt tastes just like melted butter
One night I'll add some crushed garlic into the mix -
Dairy free garlic mushrooms with a buttery taste
I love "heart attack eggs" fried in bacon fat as much as the next man, but if my Doctor even suspected that I ate them more than once in a blue moon, she would probably have nightmares !!
Tonight I also found a healthy way to fry eggs...
1. Heat 0.5cm of sunflower oil in a ceramic frying pan
2. Tilt the pan and rest one edge on the worktop (it's made from marble in my kitchen) insulate if necessary, and the opposite edge on the hob - the oil is 3 or 4 cm deep
3. Crack an egg into the hot oil, it almost deep fries and seals very quickly
4. Move the pan around (the egg sticks), crack another egg into the oil
The best fried eggs for as long as I can remember - nice crispy whites, and the yolks were nice and yolky in the middle
Healthy too, less sunflower oil = less cholesterol
^I realize this post is six months old...
Mike, We always get Arm & Hammer's 'So Clean' washing soda at the No Frills we shop at. Check Home Hardware as well.
dave
- Thread starter
- #197
Tips?....don't eat anything from a box. Keep to the outer areas of the supermarket. Buy fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, nuts, eggs and fish. Frozen veggies and berries are just fine. Anything processed is a no, no. For oils, keep to olive oil, organic virgin coconut oil, avocado oil and grass fed cow butter. Throw all the commercial industrial processed oils in the trash, like vegetable, canola, peanut, safflower and grapeseed.
- Thread starter
- #198
I received a few of these from Mrs. Clause. They make 2" square blocks that holds 3oz's of liquid. The material is semi-rigid silicone. They're pretty good for cocktails but I have a better use for them. Freeze tomato sauce or chicken broth. Pop out a few when you need to make a quick Thai, tomato or chicken soup.
![$IMG_2650[1].jpg](https://xfdata.badgerandblade.com/attachments/447/447437-6ef172d1dd181c335450578a8ad4a5d7.jpg "$IMG_2650[1].jpg")
Just got home from the restaurant supply store and was looking at those. They also had the old style aluminum with lever style trays like we had when i was a kid, spendy, a few other interesting options in the ice cube section.
dave
dave
- Thread starter
- #200
Smoked Brisket
It's not easy to make, no Siree. I'll and tell you what I do to make it at least good.
Better Smoked Brisket:
1. Buy a good grade of beef. Prime if you can or at least high end choice.
2. Do the bend test on the brisket. Fold it half and see if it gives. If it bends easily that's good. It means the fat content is higher. Also inspect for streaks of fat...that's good.
3. Buy a smaller brisket like 9 to 12 pounds.
4. Open the package and trim only big, hard layers of fat. Leave most of the fat on the brisket. Trim sides if they look and feel mealy.
5. Dry the brisket with cotton towels. Completely dry it off, wrap in towels and place in frig for min. of 2 hours overnight is best.
6. Take brisket out of frig, and let it completely come to room temp. Trying to smoke cold meat is a time and wood waster.
7. Bring smoker up to 250-275.
8. Once the smoker is up to heat, salt the brisket. Pat the salt down on the meat lightly (no rubbing). The reason you salt right before you place brisket in smoker is to avoid the salt drawing out moisture from the meat. A wet brisket produces a barrier to the smoke and hinders the making of good bark.
9. Then sprinkle with a medium coarse ground black pepper or seasonings of your liking.
10. Immediately after seasoning, place the brisket in the smoker fat side down. The fat helps protect the meat from burning and drying out. In my opinion fat side up does not "baste" anything but the bottom of my smoker.
11. Smoke to internal temp. of 160 (let science work for you not touchy feely), then wrap in butcher or parchment paper. The butcher paper allows smoke to penetrate but allows the meat to breath. Wrapping in foil just turns the brisket into roast beef. Smoke until internal reaches 203.
12. Remove brisket from paper, place back in smoker for another few minutes to let the bark firm up some.
13. Wrap brisket in towels and place in cooler for 1 hour or so.
14. Remove point from flat with an angel cut down through the meat.
15. Cut meat 1/4 slices against or at a slight angel across the grain.
16. Eat....no sauce for me.
It's not easy to make, no Siree. I'll and tell you what I do to make it at least good.
Better Smoked Brisket:
1. Buy a good grade of beef. Prime if you can or at least high end choice.
2. Do the bend test on the brisket. Fold it half and see if it gives. If it bends easily that's good. It means the fat content is higher. Also inspect for streaks of fat...that's good.
3. Buy a smaller brisket like 9 to 12 pounds.
4. Open the package and trim only big, hard layers of fat. Leave most of the fat on the brisket. Trim sides if they look and feel mealy.
5. Dry the brisket with cotton towels. Completely dry it off, wrap in towels and place in frig for min. of 2 hours overnight is best.
6. Take brisket out of frig, and let it completely come to room temp. Trying to smoke cold meat is a time and wood waster.
7. Bring smoker up to 250-275.
8. Once the smoker is up to heat, salt the brisket. Pat the salt down on the meat lightly (no rubbing). The reason you salt right before you place brisket in smoker is to avoid the salt drawing out moisture from the meat. A wet brisket produces a barrier to the smoke and hinders the making of good bark.
9. Then sprinkle with a medium coarse ground black pepper or seasonings of your liking.
10. Immediately after seasoning, place the brisket in the smoker fat side down. The fat helps protect the meat from burning and drying out. In my opinion fat side up does not "baste" anything but the bottom of my smoker.
11. Smoke to internal temp. of 160 (let science work for you not touchy feely), then wrap in butcher or parchment paper. The butcher paper allows smoke to penetrate but allows the meat to breath. Wrapping in foil just turns the brisket into roast beef. Smoke until internal reaches 203.
12. Remove brisket from paper, place back in smoker for another few minutes to let the bark firm up some.
13. Wrap brisket in towels and place in cooler for 1 hour or so.
14. Remove point from flat with an angel cut down through the meat.
15. Cut meat 1/4 slices against or at a slight angel across the grain.
16. Eat....no sauce for me.
