What can you expect in the Food Thread on PF?

[Evo]

My carrots are too salty, and I was so careful, now I'm trying to leach out the salt.

 

[DoggerDan]

My carrots are too salty, and I was so careful, now I'm trying to leach out the salt.

Uh, drain, rinse, repeat. Try adding 1/2 tsp per lb of carrots. If you're using chicken/beef/soup stock, don't add a thing.

The carrots will not absorb much salt themselves. It's not the NaCl osmotic, it's all the other stuff they have under their skins.

 

[HeLiXe]

Uh, drain, rinse, repeat.

Sounds like me and my nose

 

[Thrafgig]

immersion cooking safe plastic bags?

I have a practical question.

If you are not familiar, immersion cooking is a method of using very controlled heated water to cook foods. This allows you to do some amazing things.

The issue I have is the containers I use to cook in. I am using plastic reclosable kitchen bags that are re-zippable as it were. I am concerned with any substances that might leach out of the plastic and into food.

Temperatures in immersion cooking are generally around 65-80°C. Most often the food items are placed in a plastic bag with a suitable oil (olive, sesame, etc) and cooked for anywhere from a few minuets up to 1 hour.

Is there anything in plastic bags that I should absolutely avoid for health reasons or is the temperature/cooking times too low?

Any advice greatly appreciated.

 

[Evo]

To do immersion cooking correctly, the bags should be vacuum sealed. I suggest that you invest in an inexpensive vacuum bag machine as this will allow the bags to sink and prevent water from getting inside the bag.

And the resealable food plastic bags are safe.

Saran and Ziploc both maintain that their product lines are completely plasticizer free. The temperatures necessary to create dioxin (around 1500°F) are beyond the normal operating conditions of household and commercial microwave ovens.)

http://www.cookingforengineers.com/article/99/Microwave-Safe-Containers

 

[Thrafgig]

Thanks Evo, I wanted to know for exactally that reason. A kitchen store has a very high quality vac bagger on hold for me (it was the demo model) and I can get it for 70% off. Time to go spend the money.

 

[Evo]

Thanks Evo, I wanted to know for exactally that reason. A kitchen store has a very high quality vac bagger on hold for me (it was the demo model) and I can get it for 70% off. Time to go spend the money.

Awesome deal! Good luck with the immersion cooking.

 

[Evo]

I sent the Evo Child to get a smoked turkey because it was on sale for half price. I handed her the flyer so she wouldn't forget what was on sale. She refused it, saying she wouldn't forget. Three hours later she shows up with a regular turkey, it's pouring down rain and it's the end of the sale.

Ok, I cooked my NON smoked turkey last night. When you're craving smoked turkey, it just doesn't hit the spot.

So, I just made a huge bowl of turkey salad. Now I have ten more pounds of bland turkey to deal with.

I was planning to use the smoked turkey to flavor beans and make incredible collard greens with smoked turkey legs...

 

[WhoWee]

I sent the Evo Child to get a smoked turkey because it was on sale for half price. I handed her the flyer so she wouldn't forget what was on sale. She refused it, saying she wouldn't forget. Three hours later she shows up with a regular turkey, it's pouring down rain and it's the end of the sale.

I feel your pain - just showed your post to my 12 year old and her response was "are you going to tell me about that $5 AGAIN"?

 

[turbo]

I sent the Evo Child to get a smoked turkey because it was on sale for half price. I handed her the flyer so she wouldn't forget what was on sale. She refused it, saying she wouldn't forget. Three hours later she shows up with a regular turkey, it's pouring down rain and it's the end of the sale.

Ok, I cooked my NON smoked turkey last night. When you're craving smoked turkey, it just doesn't hit the spot.

So, I just made a huge bowl of turkey salad. Now I have ten more pounds of bland turkey to deal with.

I was planning to use the smoked turkey to flavor beans and make incredible collard greens with smoked turkey legs...

Not good. When you are craving real smoked turkey, even a properly brined and roasted turkey can't fill in. I love my smoker!

 

[Evo]

I feel your pain - just showed your post to my 12 year old and her response was "are you going to tell me about that $5 AGAIN"?

 

[dlgoff]

Not good. When you are craving real smoked turkey, even a properly brined and roasted turkey can't fill in. I love my smoker!

Yea. My cravings dictates my behavior. I would have probably went out and bought a cheapy smoker which Evo can still do for the remaining 10 lb.

 

[Evo]

Yea. My cravings dictates my behavior. I would have probably went out and bought a cheapy smoker which Evo can still do for the remaining 10 lb.

Smokers are illegal here.

 

[dlgoff]

Smokers are illegal here.

What!

I really feel for you. I could send you some

[PLAIN]http://www.peppers.com/cube/images/uploads/z31.jpg

 

[turbo]

Smokers are illegal here.

I would have to move farther into the woods. If I can't smoke turkeys and beef, pork, etc, I'd have to lose a lot of my favorite foods. I have to try to lose the hickory, and use green apple, alder, cherry, etc instead.

 

[dlgoff]

I have to try to lose the hickory, and use green apple, alder, cherry, etc instead.

Have you ever tried peach wood. It's not the sweetest smelling smoke but its flavor can't be beat IMO.

 

[turbo]

Have you ever tried peach wood. It's not the sweetest smelling smoke but its flavor can't be beat IMO.

About the only peach wood up here is the tree in front of my house. I planted it years ago, and just got some fruit this year. I don't think I could bear to start cutting it up to smoke meats.

 

[Evo]

Pecan wood is great.

Located in abundance in the Southwest, this wood produces a medium fruity taste and is the choice of many professional chefs. Pecan will burn cool and offer a richness of character. You will not be disappointed. It can be likened to a smoother version of hickory. It may be used for longer lengths of time for smoking larger pieces of meat, such as briskets and pork roasts.

The above information is from Barbecue'n On The Internet. Read more @ this link: http://www.barbecuen.com/wood.htm#ixzz1dRMiYDbL

 

[Dembadon]

Here's one to try this thanksgiving:

http://humormatters.com/holidays/Thanksgiving/turkeytan.htm

 

[Evo]

Here's one to try this thanksgiving:

http://humormatters.com/holidays/Thanksgiving/turkeytan.htm

OMG! I must do that.

 

[rootX]

I found my favorite cook!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7UmUX68KtE

 

[Evo]

Sit down turbo. I'm watching holiday foods on a tv shopping show.

I thought the 4-5 pound ham for $60 was outrageous. They just showed a 6 pound seafood sampler, shrimp with tails on, lobster claws with shells, snow crab claws with shells, $180.00! And that's ON SALE! It's normally $198.00!It's a small plate and once you remove the inedible part, it's even smaller. I'd pay maybe $42 retail at the grocery store, less if I catch a sale.

Who buys this stuff?

 

[Math Is Hard]

Dinner party tonight. My vegan neighbor is making Jackfruit carnitas. This should be interesting.

 

[dlgoff]

I thought the 4-5 pound ham for $60 was outrageous.

That's what I thought until I ate a http://shop.honeybakedcatalog.com/show_category.asp?category=1&tgs=6660678:10790070&cart_id=". You must splurge sometimes.

 

[Evo]

That's what I thought until I ate a http://shop.honeybakedcatalog.com/show_category.asp?category=1&tgs=6660678:10790070&cart_id=". You must splurge sometimes.

I don't like sweet meat.

 

[dlgoff]

I don't like sweet meat.

Dang it. I totally forgot. Still, well worth the cost IMO.

 

[Evo]

I buy a smoked ham that usually sells for $1.19 a pound.

 

[turbo]

Sit down turbo. I'm watching holiday foods on a tv shopping show.

I thought the 4-5 pound ham for $60 was outrageous. They just showed a 6 pound seafood sampler, shrimp with tails on, lobster claws with shells, snow crab claws with shells, $180.00! And that's ON SALE! It's normally $198.00!It's a small plate and once you remove the inedible part, it's even smaller. I'd pay maybe $42 retail at the grocery store, less if I catch a sale.

Who buys this stuff?

Wow! My mother and grandmother would disown me if I ever fell for that crap! They were all for buying less-expensive cuts of meat/seafood, and making them "to die for" through planning and preparation. The best cuts of meat that we ever got were probably loin and tenderloin, but that was venison, not beef. One of the reasons I am so fond of New England boiled dinners is that we had them so often every winter - comfort food for cold weather. Cheap beef roasts, potatoes, carrots, onions, turnip, cabbage, etc. You could feed a large family very cheaply that way, then make gravy out of the sauces and extend that meal even farther by topping bread with the gravy and chopped leftovers to make open-faced sandwiches, or chop the beef and vegetables to fry up as hash and top that with gravy, with eggs on the side.

My school-chums used to love it if I could have them spend the evening and have supper with us, and conversely, I hated being invited to eat at their houses, since nobody's mother seemed to be able to cook. It was a moot point, usually, since such plans had to be made and approved in advance, and we never had a telephone until I was in HS. I was about 8 or 9 or so when I finally figured out that "richer" kids got fed Kraft mac and cheese and Betty Crocker cakes because their mothers simply could not cook. So sad. Even by 1960, the loss of those basic skills was well underway.

 

[Thrafgig]

As my Chef taught me:

"You can tell how good a man can cook if you eat his meatloaf"
Chef R. Rene

Practically any prat can sautee a 50 dollar hunk of sea scallops in butter and shave 300 bucks worth of truffle on top and of course it tastes amazing. Now do that with ground beef, a basic spice rack, rice, ketchup and no butter and I will be impressed.

 

[turbo]

I think I have a new hot sandwich. My wife stopped by the artisan butcher shop a few days back and got some thin-sliced roast beef and Cooper sharp (it's not all that sharp) cheese slices. I have been piling those on her home-made French bread and browning those sandwiches in butter in a pre-heated frying pan. To die for! I have had all kinds of hot meat-and-cheese sandwiches all over the place (including the famous Philly cheese steaks) and this concoction tops the list. Simple and great. Serve with a half-bowl of the spicy soup she worked up last weekend and you have a meal that can't be beat.

If I could stand being around people (fragrance chemicals), I'd buy a food truck and start putting local fast-food franchise stores out of business.