Come all ye self-styled chefs and kitchen users, we must talk.

Salt, pepper, and olive oil. I've marinated in the past but only if I'm actually grilling in. When I make one in the pan (like the one I just finished eating for lunch leftovers) I keep it simple and buy good cow.

Lucky Wilbury wrote:
wanderingtaoist wrote:

Everyone who cooks and has Kindle: Ruhlman's Twenty for Kindle is currently only 3 dollars. Everyone should have the book. (The link should also donate to GWJ, hope I tagged it correctly).

Bought and read a couple chapters. Very interesting read and definitely worth it.

Oh man, I definitely want to pick this up. The description sounds great, and Ratio was a very useful read for me. Thanks for the tip!

TigerBill wrote:

Here's a steak question for ya'll. Marinated or, straight from cow to grill?

This is another meat quality question. If it's a truly great piece of steak it'll be a cold day in hell before I'd marinate it. Bit of salt bit of pepper and I'm done. I am not against a flavoured salt on occasion though.

TigerBill wrote:

Here's a steak question for ya'll. Marinated or, straight from cow to grill?

Cow -> BBQ -> Mouth.

AP Erebus wrote:
TigerBill wrote:

Here's a steak question for ya'll. Marinated or, straight from cow to grill?

Cow -> BBQ -> Mouth.

I vote this as an alternative ruleset to Rock -> Paper -> Scissors.

What's the point of a huge catch-all thread if you're not replying to posts from several weeks ago?

DanB wrote:

While we are on the subject of eggs, here's a great vid with a genuinely great way to make poached eggs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...

I'll be trying that in the morning

Poaching eggs isn't that difficult or involved. All you have to do is stop the microwave ~90 seconds before the grits is done and crack the egg into the bowl.

What?

That's actually a really nice quick-and-dirty hot breakfast. Grits + water in the bowl, don't stir. Microwave it ~90 seconds shorter than the directions call for. Add the egg and return to the microwave for the remainder of the cooking time. Stir in shredded cheese, breaking up the egg as you do so. Salt and pepper to taste. Let it sit for a minute or two so the grits and egg can finish cooking properly. You've got yourself a hot, hearty, tasty breakfast in a matter of minutes and you've only dirtied up the one bowl (and the entire inside of the microwave, until you learn how long you've got until the egg explodes).

clover wrote:
tuffalobuffalo wrote:

some sort of meat product.

IMAGE(http://www.toptenz.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/pottedmeat.jpg)

KILL IT! KILL IT WITH FIRE!

In my cupboard I have two cans that I use as props when I'm teaching Scout groups about camp cooking. One of them is a similar potted meat food product. The other is a can with no labels other than a "?" written on it with a sharpie.

Guess which of the two I recommend eating first in a survival situation...

Maq wrote:

Baking isn't like other cooking. There's very little improvisation. You master the techniques and follow the recipe.

The way I've heard it put is like this: cooking is an art, baking is a science.

That said, my fiancé manages to bake rather well without all that pesky precise measuring stuff. She does it by being familiar with what sort of texture and consistency the batter is supposed to be, and knowing how to add what ingredients until it looks right.

AP Erebus wrote:
TigerBill wrote:

Here's a steak question for ya'll. Marinated or, straight from cow to grill?

Cow -> BBQ -> Mouth.

What amuses me is this answer is either "yes" or "no" depending on where you live (and what your definition of "BBQ" is).

Where I live, the proper response to that answer is "what the hell does cow have to do with barbecue?".

Have y'all had that flame war yet? I've only read as far back as the egg poaching conversation.

TigerBill wrote:

Here's a steak question for ya'll. Marinated or, straight from cow to grill?

The best steaks I've ever had have actually all been cooked sous vide, and then marked either on a grill or hot sauté pan. Best texture; my wife can eat them rarer that way without complaining about that rubbery mushiness that rare steak can have sometimes. And always, always, cooked exactly to temp all the way through. Super tender. A++++ would eat again.

(also, not marinated in this case)

TigerBill wrote:

Here's a steak question for ya'll. Marinated or, straight from cow to grill?

It really depends on the cut. If you are marinating Strips, Delmonico, Porterhouse, Rib Eye, or Fillet Mignon, we will have words. In these instances, you season it like a pretzel, sear, and maybe crack a little pepper after the first turn. I will also accept a proper dry rub for anything but the fillet. Finish it with a nice garlic herb butter.

Marination among other things is about the tenderizing and the breaking down of tougher fibers in meats. Marinade sirloins, chucks, T-bones, Rounds, Flank Steak to your heart's content.

The finer cuts have rare tough bits, do not require the breaking down, and you run the very real risk of marinating these cuts into mush-an off sponge like consistency.

Now I love a good jerk steak, or chimichuri steak. Marinate them overnight. Marinade Grecian style for a week if you want. Just don't do it to a tenderloin.

Honestly, this topic is so regional-like what is BBQ that it makes precious little difference. I shy towards the Texas style of grilling; the Carolina style BBQ. I am not all for sticky sweet sauces, let the animal shine.

With a lot of folks with the marinating, the sauces I have to concluide that you don't actually like the taste of beef, or chicken, or pork, rather you want everything to taste like sugar or lemons.

Oh wow guys, hold your horses!! On the meat question, I wasn't exactly serious, it's all a matter of personal preference!
I tend to like my meat rare to medium rare, but I'm not going to give anyone grief if they like theirs well done. From what I've seen, different people in different parts of the world eat their meat in different styles, and no one is in any way licensed to say that one way's better than the other. I've observed that meat is usually cooked longer in North America than in Western Europe, but not as long as in Southeast Asia. And I've had great steak in all three regions!
So truly, I hope no one took offense by my misguided attempt at humor (heh, fat chance of that ), and would like to make amends for it. I also pledge to turn in my man card which I truly have no claim to, being, well, unequipped.

With that out of the way, our personal preference with steak is pretty much how Blondish described it. I like having nice sear marks, but not too seared, not charred and blackened, just lightly seared, and then moving over to a cooler side of the barbecue to finish.
We also like to marinate the meat if we get the chance, but not necessarily all the time. Out here they have this neat marinade that I haven't tried yet for steak, but I did try it for chicken, the locals just marinate the chicken for an entire day in a mix of water and soy sauce with some thyme. That's it, nothing more, nothing less. There's something to be said for simplicity at times.

Minarchist wrote:
TigerBill wrote:

Here's a steak question for ya'll. Marinated or, straight from cow to grill?

The best steaks I've ever had have actually all been cooked sous vide, and then marked either on a grill or hot sauté pan. Best texture; my wife can eat them rarer that way without complaining about that rubbery mushiness that rare steak can have sometimes. And always, always, cooked exactly to temp all the way through. Super tender. A++++ would eat again.

(also, not marinated in this case)

I think I've mentioned it upthread somewhere, but you can get some of the same benefit at home without the complexity of a sous-vide setup by putting the cold steaks in a 250 degF oven with a meat thermometer in them. Leave them in there until the internal temperature is around 95 degF, then take them out and finish them on the grill or however you would normally cook a steak.

This way, you're cooking the outside of enough just enough to get a crust, without overcooking it to ensure that the center gets cooked enough.

By far and away, this has led to the nicest steaks I've ever had in someone's home (in this instance, my own ).

Jonman wrote:
Minarchist wrote:
TigerBill wrote:

Here's a steak question for ya'll. Marinated or, straight from cow to grill?

The best steaks I've ever had have actually all been cooked sous vide, and then marked either on a grill or hot sauté pan. Best texture; my wife can eat them rarer that way without complaining about that rubbery mushiness that rare steak can have sometimes. And always, always, cooked exactly to temp all the way through. Super tender. A++++ would eat again.

(also, not marinated in this case)

I think I've mentioned it upthread somewhere, but you can get some of the same benefit at home without the complexity of a sous-vide setup by putting the cold steaks in a 250 degF oven with a meat thermometer in them. Leave them in there until the internal temperature is around 95 degF, then take them out and finish them on the grill or however you would normally cook a steak.

This way, you're cooking the outside of enough just enough to get a crust, without overcooking it to ensure that the center gets cooked enough.

By far and away, this has led to the nicest steaks I've ever had in someone's home (in this instance, my own ).

Oooh, Edwin brought home a few filets yesterday. I think I will try this... cooking steaks at home is still a novelty to me.

We can have words, KH. I marinate strip steaks. You'll just have to get over it.

Maq wrote:
Eleima wrote:

The only discussion there should be about steak is that if it's not red inside you're doing it wrong.

[size=8](I have no idea, I'm a filthy skimmer too)[/size]

There's a lot of dick swinging about how rare you eat your steak that seriously needs to die.

I don't agree with what you just said. I think that objectively, a steak tastes best and has the best texture when it's medium-rare and a lot of steak afficionados agree.

I think people who eat their steaks well done probably just have never experienced a good cut of steak properly seasoned and expertly cooked but that's just my opinion.

EDIT: I guess what I said about medium-rare only applies to the better cuts of steaks. Some cuts really need a lot of work to make them any good (marinating being the best option probably)

interstate78 wrote:

I think people who eat their steaks well done probably just have never experienced a good cut of steak properly seasoned and expertly cooked but that's just my opinion.

In my experience, and this is all anecdotal, people who eat well done steaks do it mostly because that's how they order it in a restaurant (because they don't trust the prep to not make them sick). I made some perfect medium-rare ribeyes last weekend when my mom was in town but I forgot that she doesn't like her food not "done" all the way though because she thinks that she'll get sick. It really pained me to throw a perfectly seared ribeye in the microwave for a minute so that it wasn't pink in the middle but after all, isn't one of the joys of cooking for people having them tell you how good it is when you get it just right (for them)?

interstate78 wrote:

I don't agree with what you just said. I think that objectively, a steak tastes best and has the best texture when it's medium-rare and a lot of steak afficionados agree.

Food is like art or entertainment, it is subjective.

For those who are interested, Barry Smith has an interesting book and at least one podcast on the Philosophy of Wine with a fair bit of discussion on taste. I think the basic idea extends beyond wine to all things, which is to say it's subjective but influenced by objective characteristics. I put it in the same group as an object's color; color is not a property of the object but a result of the objects physical properties, the interaction of those properties with the surrounding environment, and the perceiving agent's sensory organs, perception, and interpretation of the stimuli resulting from those interactions.

See also Trichy's Failing the Fifth grade.

Jonman wrote:
AP Erebus wrote:
TigerBill wrote:

Here's a steak question for ya'll. Marinated or, straight from cow to grill?

Cow -> BBQ -> Mouth.

I vote this as an alternative ruleset to Rock -> Paper -> Scissors.

But BBQ beats everything.

So, I ended up waking up at 4:00 this morning and couldn't go back to sleep. I had the strange craving for a breakfast sandwich. Rather than buy the frozen kind, I decided to make some from scratch. I even went so far as to make my own biscuits which turned out to be a great idea. I really don't like the Pillsbury pre-made biscuits.

I used this recipe that I found except that I just used thyme:

[size=10]Thyme and Cheese Biscuits[/size]

[size=10]Ingredients:[/size]

[size=10]2 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. fresh minced thyme
1/2 tsp. minced fresh parsley
1/2 tsp. minced fresh rosemary
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
5 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup milk[/size]

[size=10]Preheat over to 400 degrees. Grease a cookie sheet and set aside. Mix flour, baking powder, herbs and cheese in a large mixing bowl, using a fork. Cut in the butter. Mixture will be crumbly. Add the milk and stir until dough holds together, you may add more milk if necessary. Drop by large spoonfuls on the cookie sheet an inch apart. Bake 10-12 minutes.[/size]

I divided the dough into six parts, then split each part in two, formed them into patties, and finally put the two pieces back together. They're easy to take apart then, after they are cooked. Anyways, the biscuits were great except that you should add a teaspoon of salt to the above recipe.

And pictures:

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/yFo3Uyn.jpg)

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/b2hYOcz.jpg)

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/vwdhIa7.jpg)

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/fzD1ZGN.jpg)

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/tG4NKvn.jpg)

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/im03TA2.jpg)

I'll see ya'll after I get over this heart attack thing.

Eleima wrote:

In the microwave? Wow, that's almost anathema in my book. I don't think I've ever cooked meat in the microwave. Ever. At least not that I recall. But you're right, if that's the way she likes it...

I usually don't either but she was hungry and the pan and oven were already off and cold. I didn't have much choice.

H to the ickle wrote:
interstate78 wrote:

I think people who eat their steaks well done probably just have never experienced a good cut of steak properly seasoned and expertly cooked but that's just my opinion.

In my experience, and this is all anecdotal, people who eat well done steaks do it mostly because that's how they order it in a restaurant (because they don't trust the prep to not make them sick). I made some perfect medium-rare ribeyes last weekend when my mom was in town but I forgot that she doesn't like her food not "done" all the way though because she thinks that she'll get sick. It really pained me to throw a perfectly seared ribeye in the microwave for a minute so that it wasn't pink in the middle but after all, isn't one of the joys of cooking for people having them tell you how good it is when you get it just right (for them)?

In the microwave? Wow, that's almost sacrilege in my book. I don't think I've ever cooked meat in the microwave. Ever. At least not that I recall. But you're right, if that's the way she likes it...

TuffaloBuffalo, I gotta say you're pretty good with that image capturing device of yours

So um, the catsup. Was that just to troll? I ask because my wife likes that on scrambled eggs. I will often use Hot Sauce, which is just catsup with anal regret the next day.

I do not do photos. But the Chicken Paprikash Soup I made yesterday went well.

I was working with a 10 quart soup pot, slow cookers work too.

So 10-12 chicken thighs (I went boneless/skinless)-sear those or grill them a bit.

3 medium rough chopped potatoes.

2-3 carrots, sliced thin.

1 medium onion, diced fine(I use a food processor)

3-4 cloves garlic minced, pressed, food processed.

Saute the onions, garlic in olive oil in the pot.

After a few minutes of browning, add in a tablespoon of rosemary, another of thyme. Salt and Pepper to taste. Add in the potatoes. I put a dash of chili powder in.

Next add half a stick of butter, melt it down while stirring the mix. Now you will add 1/4 cup of paprika. Everything should get to be a nice red hue.

Next you will add your stock. Do not go crazy, add enough chicken stock to fill the pot 3/4.
Bring to a boil. Pop in the chicken thighs. Also, add in some peas or lima beans-I did a cup and a half of peas.

Bring back up to a boil, add in more stock as needed-I am so happy I did not rely only on surface tension yesterday, there was a half inch left in the pot.

I tasted mine, and I had to add a little bullion and another 1/3 cup of paprika at this point. Your flavor may vary. If you go bone in thighs, I bet you will not need to add bullion.

I wanted this to be thinner. But if you desire, you can add in a roux (butter and flower mix).

Now, I like this soup because it is a lot less salty than chicken paprikash generally is, it came out sweet with a hint of the butter. Come October, I will make this but with onion spaetzel dumplings-and likely some sour cream mixed in.

I used ketchup and hot sauce. Got some of the Simply Heinz ketchup and wanted to try it. Sugar based ketchup tastes better than the corn syrup stuff.

Catsup vs Ketchup
So, you know there is a difference, right?

Eldon_of_Azure wrote:

Catsup vs Ketchup
So, you know there is a difference, right? ;)

Odd, both considered food...

Looked up Inkjet vs Laser. And they straight out lie about the price per page. Inkjet shows being cheaper...yeah sure! lol

Herbs vs. Spices seems relatively legit.

Speaking of herbs, I want this in my kitchen:

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/iuhW93W.jpg)

Something like this has me really waffling on what sort of home works best for my wife and I. The prospect of having a small garden out behind the kitchen with herbs, veggies, maybe making it a full greenhouse for cooler months is appealing. But having less day to day maintenance with a condo or townhouse, even losing that freedom is also appealing given our busy lives.

I have mt perfect kitchen/home in mind, and it does not come pre-made.

I would love that herb terrace but I have 3 cats with two of them being purebred Bengals. The wild cat that dwells inside would be all over this and I can envision it laying on the floor in a crumpled mess with both of them sleeping on it.

However, I am planning to do an in-door herb garden in my home using wall sconces. I did this in college and it worked well and was decorative.

Blondish83 wrote:

I would love that herb terrace but I have 3 cats

'nuff said. I still remember when my cat got a hold of my valerian capsules. You definitely want to cat-proof any herbs in the house.

ETA - looks like I just got upgraded to Executive status. Does this mean I get more legroom?

Something you can do with pets, is a terrarium for herbs. Basically, you put a fish tank near the window.

And I might just have solved my initial condominium issue.