Plastic Baggies, Water Baths, Funny French Words

So it has been over a year since my last post. Either I’ve become lazy, or something wonderful and exciting has happened. Let us pretend it was the latter.

On the barbeque front this last summer my wife and I cooked several racks of ribs a number of methods with various results. She is pretty darned good. Her preparation ideas trumped mine, producing better results. We tried boiling racks before a short smoking session, boiling and then grilling, smoking a few ways. It seems that boiling produced consistent and delectable results.

Somehow late last year the sous vide method caught my eye. For those of you who don’t know of sous vide here is a quick run-down:

Imagine you could cook something through without making the outside burnt. Imagine a way to cook something at a constant temperature from outside to inside such that the whole thing was of consistent texture and doneness. That is sous vide. No more crusty dry steak surrounding a small nicely done pink center. Your whole steak can be the nice pink center. Now you’d still want a bit of a crust on your steak because of all the wonderful flavors the Mallard reaction creates. The browning of meats, all those flavorful bits left over in a pan after you sear off a steak. How do you accomplish both? That is the trick.

A water bath can be set for the temperature you want the final product to be cooked to. If you want salmon cooked to 122F, the water bath is at 122F. It is a matter of how long it takes for the food to come to temperature. Thermodynamics and heat transfer are the names of the game. If you are interested in this method of cooking, be weary of any recipe that does not discuss the length of time food should be cooked depending upon the thickness of the food. Remember, the inside of the food has to warm up to the same temperature as the water bath.

A water bath set for a constant temperature is the high end way to cook sous vide. This requires a piece laboratory equipment called an immersion circulator. There are several manufactures of this item. If you have at least a thousand dollars to play with, you can grab one of these, a hotel pan or large stock pot and go to it. The circulator heats and pumps the water around the pan to keep the whole pot or pan at a constant temperature. They can be as accurate as to be within a fraction of a degree Celsius or Fahrenheit. These are required for more sensitive foods, like eggs. Fear not- there are less expensive ways to cook sous vide. Variations of this range from using hot water and an ice chest, a stove and digital thermometer with spoons and ice cubes (as I’ve been doing), buying an appliance like the Sous Vide Supreme for round about $500. You can also purchase an electronic controller that uses a thermocouple or resistance thermal device, better known as an RTD, to control a heater of some sort- a hot plate, crock pot, or even a rice cooker. The nice thing about a hot plate or crock pot is that you might already have one. The bad thing about these devices is that in general the heat will only come into the pot from the bottom, so keeping the entire volume of water at the same temperature can be tricky. Some people have used bubbles to mix the bath up- an el-cheapo aquarium air pump will do the trick nicely. A rice cooker can also be used- supposedly the heat in a rice cooker come from the sides of the cooking vessel.

How do you keep the food in the water without soaking your food? A plastic bag is how. Foodsaver and other kinds of vacuum bags are supposed to be the best way to do this. According to the forums I’ve read lots of DIYers use freezer baggies or a vacuum bag that Reynolds made at one time which was evacuated by a hand pump. I contacted SC Johnson Wax about the use of their name brand freezer bags and sous vide. They suggested that it was not wise to use freezer bags as the bags had a melting temperature of about 180F. What do I use? I haven’t purchased a vacuum bagging device. At some point in the near future I would. My preference would be for a model that is able to handle liquids, as you can marinate food as it sits in the bag (some suggest freezing your marinade to eliminate the need for a vacuum sealer that handles liquids). I currently use heavy duty freezer bags. But I’ve been cooking at low temperatures- 122 for salmon and 155F for beef pork. I’m not too concerned about the bag melting. There may be a concern for the grade of plastic breaking down at higher temperatures. I am not qualified to make a call about this. You are left to your own research and judgment here.

What about that Mallard reaction? This is the fun part. Sous vide is like watching paint dry- keeping that temperature within a window for a half hour to 72 hours is boring as all get out (this is why people invest in a controller and timer or more- who wants to stand at the stove that long watching a bag sit in water?). Putting the finishing touches on the dish; however, is fun. I got a butane torch from Williams Sonoma. You could just as easily get one from Sears or Home Depot. You’ll just want to brown the outside of your beef, pork so that it looks like it sat in a pan for a while. You’ll burn some seasonings, but that happens anyhow. Now you’re “cooking with gas” and painting with flames.

As you can tell, I am fascinated by sous vide. If you are interested google Douglas Baldwin’s Sous Vide Guidebook. You can download this as an Acrobat file. It is the most comprehensive guide I’ve seen to sous vide. There are some cookbooks published by Thomas Keller that are supposed to be excellent as well, but not necessarily written for the home cook. I’d love to get one for the pictures at least… but the book is pricey. Again, beware of other books published by suppliers of DIY sous vide controller parts and equipment. I purchased one book published by such a company and was seriously disappointed. The recipes were minimal and didn’t bother with details such as cooking times, which in my opinion is dangerous. Use the following resources and Baldwin’s book and you’ll be in good hands.

I’ll keep you informed as to my progress with the temperature controller and my sous vide concoctions. What about you? Have you tried sous vide before? What resources have you found invaluable?

Links-

Douglas Baldwin: A Practical Guide to Sous Vide

Under Pressure At Pembroke

Science of Food And Cooking- Sous Vide Eggs

Sous Vide Rack of Lamb

The Empty Cart

Suffice it to say that it has been a while since my last post. Quite a lot has happened in the meantime. We can get into that later.

I watched Food Inc yesterday afternoon and now I’m bewildered. See, I went to Wal Mart to make groceries this evening and I came away with an almost empty cart. There are two reasons for this. First, it was 7:30 P.M. on a Sunday and the whole store had been picked over almost as if a hurricane had entered the gulf, and secondly I kept thinking about the food I was about to put into the cart, deciding not to purchase it because I wasn’t sure of its’ origin or had second thoughts about the trip it took to get to my store. It was if I’d been shell shocked. What didn’t make sense is that I knew most of this already. I’d already seen Joel Salatin of PolyFace Farms on CSpan once and watched the video in this link (It is long, but well worth it. Honest). I’ve heard about how Monsanto owns Round-Up ready seed and doesn’t let farmers keep it, I knew that a lot of the fruit and veg that are on the shelves of our markets are picked way before they are ripe, are artificially ripened, and coated in wax to preserve them. I had no idea how dangerous meat packing jobs are. I had no idea how horrid the conditions chickens are raised in. I had no idea how the fast food industry caused fundamental changes in the way food gets from farm to market and to our plates.

It is a shame that we allow our food to be raised in such intolerable and inhumane conditions. It is a shame that we condone similar treatment of those who get our food off the vine and carcass. We must do better. We must find ways to make good honest and healthy food available to everyone. Healthy food must be as easy and inexpensive as the processed crap we shove down our gullets because we don’t have the time or money to prepare a proper meal.

It seems that Jamie Oliver has a point. It seems that the First Lady also has a point. Children in urban settings are far more likely to eat processed foods and less likely to be able to identify an eggplant on sight. How sad is that? We must do better.

Kwahite!! Ahm huntin' Wabbits- & Chili makes it out of the house!!

I've been promising the Millwrights at work a sample of my Cincinnati Chili recipe  for months now.  I'd set a few dates that I'd bring it in, but was kept from my obligations by the installation of a new roof and emergency surgery on our dog Buddy.  I finally made some for them Monday night.   This time I was able to follow my own directions- not a soupy version this time 'round.  I bought a ton of cheese, brought in a bottle of Frank's Hot Sauce (I know I've espoused using Crystal, but I had it in the kitchen waiting to be used for buffalo wings and didn't want to let it sit forever.  Ever seen really old hot sauce?  It turns brown and really gross).   I made a shit-ton of spaghetti (I still have enough for lunch that day and then some).  At the store I could not find oyster crackers.  Oh well- can't replicate the entire experience.   I did make a mistake that I won't make again- I used 20% fat ground beef. Eeeeeeeeeeeewwwwww.  I pulled my hand out of the pot after breaking up the meat in the broth and water to find it covered in fat.   That was really nasty.  It might have been the store using a fattier cut than advertised, but I'm not taking that chance again- 15 or 7% from now on.   I ended up sopping up fat from the top of the chili a few hours after I moved it to Tupperware for transport that morning.  Most importantly, none of my test subjects tossed their cookies, complained of stomach cramps, ran to the John with diarrhea, or refused to touch the stuff.  Everyone ate at least one full plate.  Now, nobody came up to me and exclaimed, "Where has this stuff been all my life?  I've been wasting my stomach capacity on this crappy Hormel for way too long!!".   Depending upon the griping of one of the guys I may make it at least one more time (he was on vacation).  

Last night I tried making Russian Tea Biscuits.  There is a link to the recipe I used in an earlier posting (Nov. 30th).   I did not use the fruit pie filling suggested.  I left the insides dry- cinnamon, sugar, raisins, and I used chopped pecans instead of walnuts.  The pecans were left over from Heavenly Hash (see later this post).  It turned out pretty well.  The dough is really nice, but could be a little more dry.  Perhaps a few more minutes in the oven.  I would like to try to replicate the treats I've come to love from Davis Bakery in Cleveland.  The filling was close- it seems they may have some butter or something to keep the filling more moist.  My wife had a great suggestion- icing.  Icing like that found on cinnamon rolls.  That could be good.   Of course- all washed down with a tall ice cold glass of milk, 

Heavenly Hash  is a candy treat that pops up around Louisiana and other parts during the Lenten Season.  It is ridiculously simple, and ridiculously good. Melt chocolate.  Pour half the chocolate on a baking sheet covered with wax paper.  Dump chopped pecans and mini marshmallows onto the chocolate.  Cover with the remaining chocolate.  Allow to cool.  Cut into two-bite sized pieces. Eat.  The good folks at Elmer's Candy  out of Ponchatoula Louisiana distribute a commercial

version of the stuff.  

The Resurrection of The Puddin' Pop.

Puddin' Pops Rule.  But I've not been able to find them on the shelves of any grocery stores for a while.  Whilst in Kent visiting my brother and his family for Thanksgiving he told me how to make my own.  So freaking simple I should have figured it out myself.  Ready- make Jello Pudding.  Dump pudding into popsicle molds (or ice cube trays), add stick.  Freeze.  Remove pop from mold.  Enjoy.  Brilliant.  Genius.   

Made a nice steak dinner last night following several of the recipes from Tom Fitzmorris's book, Tom Fitzmorris's New Orleans Food. Entree- Strip Steak Bordelaise (pg 155).  The recipe calls for a whole bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon or Bordeaux to be reduced to a cup's worth of liquid.  I hated to see so much wine evaporate.  I may have to try this again as I don't think I quite followed the directions too well.  For those interested in the bottle of wine- Bogle Vineyards Cab. 2006.  This was quite good by itself.  Not too much tannin (not that I'm any sort of real wine connoisseur).  it was raining outside so I decided to purchase cast iron grill skillet with which to broil the steaks.  It worked really well.  As usual I need to pay more attention to cooking time- let's just say that they turned out WELL DONE.  Loved hearing the butter sizzling away in the skillet.  Sides- Mashed Potatoes and Broiled Asparagus Parmigiano (pg. 225).   Sonya tells me that my potatoes are a but too lumpy, but seasoned well.  The asparagus was wonderful.  I'd make this again in a heartbeat.  Growing up I hated asparagus.  I wouldn't touch the stuff.  Somehow a few years ago I decided to give it another try and I found that when well prepared it is good- especially when grilled or broiled.  For dessert I made Heavenly Hash- a treat found here in Louisiana during the Easter season-  Chocolate, nuts, and marshmallow in lumps all mushed together.  Tom has a recipe for this on page 292.  

Made tuna steaks under the broiler on Monday night.  Again- well done- past where I wanted them.  I will eventually learn this skill.  First time I've ever prepared them and even cooked as far as I did I feel that they turned out well.  

Other news-  Papa Johns just opened a location near the house.  Finally.  We've been stuck just far enough away from two other locations that we couldn't get delivery from either.  I usually find PJs pizza to be better than Domino's.  The crust is better and I like the sweeter sauce.  Great stuff.  Another pizza joint replaced the recently defunct Hogie and Deaux's.  I always thought the name as really clever.  Their pizza was decent.  This new place called Roma's has a New York style crust.  The kind of slice that flops down on itself and the only good way to eat it is by folding it in half.  Gave it a shot during the week too.  Not too bad.  I also ordered a Meatball Parmigiana hoagie.  The meat mix was a bit odd. Perhaps they had veal in there or something, I dunno.  Sonya enjoyed it.  When I dropped by there was only one guy working the entire place- prepping, cooking, taking orders, the works.  We'll see how long they last.  I wish the guy luck.   We'll give him another try.  Got to support the local guy.

TGTO, Russian Biscuit Agression, And How to Read Instructions

TGTO. Thank Goodness Thanksgiving is Over.
I had a great time visiting my brother and his family. They cooked a 22 pound turkey and enough stuffing and mashed potatoes for an army. They cooked the turkey in a bag. I'd never done that before. Nice golden brown on the outside, juicy and delicious. I have no idea how they seasoned the bird, but it turned out really well. The stuffing was his wife's secret family recipe, cooked in the turkey- the horror!!- naw. I've never seen so much white bread turned into something good before.

Visiting the Cleveland area made it possible for me to enjoy baked delicacies that I've not had in quite some time: Coconut Bars and Russian Tea Biscuits from the Davis Bakery. You have to understand that these had been a staple of every visit to Cleveland I'd ever had whilst growing up. When I think of Cleveland these are the things I dream about. Either one of the delights and a cold glass of milk is heaven on earth. My brother mentioned that someone had found a recipe for the Tea Biscuits and had good success making their own. This is one of the few baked goods I would like to become proficient at making. The walnuts, raisins, cinnamon, sugar, and hard crumbly biscuit dissolve slowly in the mouth. The dough is wrapped around the filling much like a roulade Gawd- wonderful. The embedded link is a start. I've not tried this yet and I'm not so sure about the raspberry filling. While performing a quick search earlier (russian tea cakes- a different animal) I did run into a recipe that called for vodka in the dough. Always a nice thing. I do somehow think that there might be some vodka or alcohol in the filling. I'll think about this some more

Before I left for Thanksgiving I did turn out a batch of Cincy Style Chili. This batch had the right flavor; however, it was too soupy. Too much liquid left in the mix. I just realized why (duh). I misread the quantity of water- I read 2 quarts instead of 1. That would explain it. So- if I follow the recipe as directed things should turn out well enough. -um yeah.

Late in my chili, Thanksgiving

1- I'm behind in my chili making. I know. I have plans to rectify that this weekend. My plans to serve chili this last week to a captive audience at work fell through because my roofer had an opening Tuesday. This leads to-

2- Nobody hates Satsumas. My father-in-law gave us a large box-full of the citrus last weekend. I ate a good few before Tuesday when I gave most of the rest to the roofing crew. A goodwill gesture. They disappeared within minutes. I'm looking forward to more when we visit next month. If you've never eaten one you're missing out. Satsumas, or Mikans, are incredibly easy to peel by hand and to me they taste like tangerine lifesavers- except better and like real citrus. I could eat a bushel without stopping. We also ended up with ten grapefruits. Those also usually turn out really well. I have yet to try one, so we'll see.

3. Thanksgiving is just around the corner. I'm not going to cook much at all this year, so my comments on T-day will have to be limited to tastings. The last 2 years I've used a Weber Grill recipe for BBQ turkey. The bird is brined first and I believe that step makes all the difference. Using the BBQ and some smoke from apple wood makes for an incredible flavor. It takes some time but it is well worth the effort.

I did once suggest to my parents that we try a Turducken or Tur-duck-hen. My folks used to catch a lot of flack from the family traditionalists who had nothing better to do than to critique the way everything was prepared and served. The idea was to throw the lot of them off guard. They wouldn't have a clue what it was supposed to taste like, how to cook it, how to serve it, or even how to properly eat it. Screw 'em. It worked to a degree. The item came stuffed with an awful green onion stuffing and the turducken came out dry. To my credit- no one gripped in the usual ways. My folks were spared from the needling that some of our stuffier kin would have heaped upon them.

Fried Turkey is something I'd like to try to make. I've had it a few times since moving to Louisiana and it has always been great. I'm really turned off by the Cajun Injector- think really large gauge syringe and horrible flavored marinade the color of burnt umber. From what I've heard the trick is to stab the Turkey like you're trying to kill Freddie Kruger- a thousand times over. Eeeww. No thanks. Please just season the fowl well and fry. The skin is really great. The investment in a decent burner and stand also serve well for boiling seafood- shrimp, crabs, and crawfish. Just a few months longer until crawfish season starts again.

Hopefully I'll have another post on chili this weekend or early next week.

Riced out.

I'm tired of rice. I made the mistake on Monday of making jambalaya and then Friday night I put together some dirty rice. I've been in this Louisiana food mood lately- all this boudin sausage at work, red beans and rice for lunch twice last week and then this week. This diet seems to be why so many of the "grocery" stores in small town Louisiana only really carry meats, canned goods, bread, and the Trinity of vegetables; onion/garlic, celery, and bell peppers. It would also explain why when we made pizza for dinner the other night I skipped pepperoni and sauteed some zucchini and squash for toppings. I had a real craving for something green.

The jambalaya turned out fairly well. We had some Manda (that's a brand) beef sausage that I threw into a skillet with a chicken breast. The trinity mentioned above, and some wild rice. I can't claim that it the seasoning was all my doing. As with most packaged wild rice products seasonings are included. They just happen to work out well with jambalaya. I have my father to thank for this trick. Something he picked up thirty years ago when he first made it to Louisiana.

The dirty rice was a cop out. A Zatarain's box of rice and seasonings with ground beef. I added onion, some bell pepper and the left over squash/zucchini mix from the pizza the night before. Not so shabby until lunch today when I decided to spice it up and added way too much red pepper. You'll have that.

I might make a batch of chili this weekend for the guys at work. They've heard me talk about this odd stuff for long enough that it is time that I subject them to the stuff. Kewl thing is that if I do make this for work I could expense the whole thing... Hmmm.