Virtual Banquet Thread

[MinnBobber]

One thing that is important with ribs is to take off the membrane on the 'bottom' side of the bones... it makes the meat rather 'chewy.'

...................................
Thanks,
I'm not sure if there was a bottom side membrane as I looked for it and tried to remove it. If there was, it was very thin and almost translucent. I was expecting a more whitish/thicker membrane.

I got them from a local high-end store (Lunds/Byerlys) so not sure if they could have possibly removed it??
Internet directions said to just lift a corner of the membrane and peel off, easy peazy.....
I got under this very very thin membrane with a knife and lifted a corner and no way would it come close to peeling off

Like I said, not sure if it had the membrane or not??
.........................

Never heard of "pie bird" before but searched and learned about them. I even watched a video of "jailbird" aka Martha Stewart, using a pie bird.

I might try pre-baking the crust with aluminum foil over the outer edge and then fill and bake???

 

[t-dub]

One thing that is important with ribs is to take off the membrane on the 'bottom' side of the bones... it makes the meat rather 'chewy.'

There is a huge ongoing debate in the smoking world about whether this is true or not. As you are using an oven, and then grilling, then yes you are probably better off, but a long and slow smoke will convert that membrane into something softer and more palatable. I never bother removing it. The quality of the ribs makes a difference here as well.

Imo, a rub should be on as long as possible.

Once again with an oven bake and grill finish yes but with a smoker, not necessarily. It also depends on the kind of rub and the amount of rub you use. For 6 racks of ribs I will use about 2 pounds of rub. That is a lot of spice.

 

[arf777]

One thing that is important with ribs is to take off the membrane on the 'bottom' side of the bones... it makes the meat rather 'chewy.'

Imo, a rub should be on as long as possible. Seven hours is adequate; overnight is best. I usually bake my ribs, covered and with a small amount of water in the pan, for a while on low heat before grilling.

Although usually used for a two crust pie, I wonder if a pie bird would help keep your bottom crust from being soggy... @arf777 ???

God... between the thought of ribs and that pic of your custard/blueberry pie... I'm hungry!!!

Ribs-
I usually let ribs sit with a rub on at least overnight. Not much more than 24 hours though or the salt can start pulling fluid out creating a brine (depending on amount of salt- I tend to use less than most recipes). And definitely remove the membrane. Pretty easy to do. Here's a decent video on how to do it -

I personally prefer ribs out of a smoker. I have a sous vide set up but don't do ribs in them. I love sous vide cooking, but with any kind of smoker you can get fall off the bone ribs pretty easily. Should be able to get comparable results with indirect grill heat- just make sure to go low and slow.

One cheat for grilled rather than slow-smoked or indirect heat ribs- poach them partially first then finish them on the grill. Typical in restaurants.

Pie-
I know folks who swear by pie birds with two crust pies, but I haven't done one of those in a really long time. Not sure how it'd affect a custard and fruit pie without a top crust- the theory is it lets steam escape. I normally pre-cook my crusts with pie weights, then add the wet filling. Have done quiches and custard pies that way without a soggy crust issue.

There is a huge ongoing debate in the smoking world about whether this is true or not. As you are using an oven, and then grilling, then yes you are probably better off, but a long and slow smoke will convert that membrane into something softer and more palatable. I never bother removing it. The quality of the ribs makes a difference here as well.

Once again with an oven bake and grill finish yes but with a smoker, not necessarily. It also depends on the kind of rub and the amount of rub you use. For 6 racks of ribs I will use about 2 pounds of rub. That is a lot of spice.

T-dub is right, with a slow smoke the membrane is far less of an issue- like with other true barbecue, the proteins in it mostly break down. But if you're doing it some other way, like roasting and grilling or poaching and grilling, it's worth doing.

And the makeup and amount of your dry rub definitely has an impact on how long you want it to sit on the ribs. High-salt rubs you want on for less time than lower salt rubs.

 

[arf777]

Chicken and four pepper fajitas- chicken marinated for 2 days in cumin, extra virgin, garlic, black pepper and Texas Pete, then sauteed with poblanos, jalapenos, anaheims, orange bell peppers, and red and vidalia onion. Pico de gayo is organic tomatoes, vidalia onion, garlic, cilantro, salt and pepper. Served with queso fresco, sour cream and whole wheat tortillas

 

[Buildozer]

 

[arf777]

Made this last night but forgot to post it (lots o' dabbing). Bratwurst in madeira and mushrooms with purple yams and garlic kraut. Bratwurst, button mushrooms, carrots, garlic, sage, rainwater madeira. Kraut is cabbage and garlic (and salt) aged for 2 weeks.

 

[MinnBobber]

I've been buying up all the rhubarb and fresh strawberries I can find while they are still in season. One part each by weight strawberries and rhubarb, half part sugar. Vacuum seal and sous vide on 160F for 2 hours. End up with a great sauce / syrup that goes great with ice cream. Want to see if I can blend it up and make a lemonade with it for cocktails. Have gone through ~10 lbs each of rhubarb so far, freezing bags that I am not using right away. Hope these will last until Labor Day but at this rate they wont make it to July.

...............................................................
Have you made any with just strawberries?
Would you use 2 parts strawberries by weight and 1/2 part sugar?? Rhubarb, I assume, needs more sugar than strawberries do.... but what works?

Is it almost thick enough to work as runny strawberry jam??
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With my new Anova, did two pork chops yesterday and only seared one. Put the second in frig.
Learning to spice a little heavier than what APPEARS to be very spiced.
Very juicy and good.
Today, put 2nd chop make in 135 F for a few minutes and then seared. Very good.

I used my new ziplock vacuum bags and their hand vacuum pump.
It is not great but it SUCKS JUST ENOUGH to get the job done

 

[fft]

...............................................................
Have you made any with just strawberries?
Would you use 2 parts strawberries by weight and 1/2 part sugar?? Rhubarb, I assume, needs more sugar than strawberries do.... but what works?
Is it almost thick enough to work as runny strawberry jam??
.....................................................................

I haven't done any with just strawberries but you definitely can... a lot of different kinds of fruit should work. In terms of sugar, 4:1 or 3:1 seem about right. Mine was closer to 3:1 but people adjust for the sweetness they prefer. Here are a few compote recipes: Epicurious and a general fruit compote recipe... just google "strawberry compote". All the recipes are for a saucepan... I use the SV because its easier and I can freeze the vacuum bags for long-term storage without having to deal with canning and all the crap associated with it. Not sure if the ziplock bags will be great for freezing but foodsaver should definitely be. You don't need to add the water if the recipe calls for it, and there is a wide range of add-ons such as vanilla, mint, etc. Its pretty hard to screw up.

For temperature, the Thomas Keller SV recipe calls for ~142F, which keeps the Rhubarb in stalks that soften but retain their shape. I crank it up higher because I like it a little mushier. When I reheat the bags, I strain out the liquid and use it for drinks like lemonade and use the solids for toppings. The strained toppings are jelly-like and could be spreadable, but most real jelly recipes use added pectin and I think more sugar.

 

[MinnBobber]

Made a strawberry kuchen today.
Recipe is for a raspberry kuchen but I only had strawberries.
Custardy and cinnamony.

Waiting for it to cool enough to dive in....

 

[hossthehermit]

Tried to put 'em in as before and after, but it turned out after and before ...............

 

[crawdad]

pesto pizza on the grill. from scratch dough, grew the basil and tomato...it was off the chain.

 

[momofthegoons]

Poor Man's Caviar

 

[crawdad]

 

[MinnBobber]

Sous vide, soft boiled eggs. Adjustment??

Hi,
I did soft boiled eggs but recipe needs adjustment.
- Place in boiling water for 3 minutes
- Ice bath for one minute
- 143 F for 45 minutes

The yolk was slightly too done. I like it very runny and it barely did.
Egg white was runny (at one end?) but I could peel it.

Any tips on how to adjust?
Any tips on better way to peel shell as parts stuck/ some white stayed stuck to shell?

Thanks
I had one egg that slighty cracked when dropped into boiling water, operator error as I thought they'd float but it sunk fast to the bottom. I just boiled for 5? minutes and it came out better than the sous vide LOL

 

[arf777]

Sous vide, soft boiled eggs. Adjustment??

Hi,
I did soft boiled eggs but recipe needs adjustment.
- Place in boiling water for 3 minutes
- Ice bath for one minute
- 143 F for 45 minutes

The yolk was slightly too done. I like it very runny and it barely did.
Egg white was runny (at one end?) but I could peel it.

Any tips on how to adjust?
Any tips on better way to peel shell as parts stuck/ some white stayed stuck to shell?

Thanks
I had one egg that slighty cracked when dropped into boiling water, operator error as I thought they'd float but it sunk fast to the bottom. I just boiled for 5? minutes and it came out better than the sous vide LOL

Try slow poached instead. I have used this method to great success. Diff is no boil at all first, then adding some additional heat, bringing the sous vide water to 146 instead of 143. Does make a difference. BUT- the main advantage sous vide eggs have is safe pre-cooking. If you don't need to precook, IMO 4-5 minutes in boiling water is quite reliable.

EDIT: And make sure the eggs move about a bit in the sous vide to prevent uneven cooking.

 

[MinnBobber]

Try slow poached instead. I have used this method to great success. Diff is no boil at all first, then adding some additional heat, bringing the sous vide water to 146 instead of 143. Does make a difference. BUT- the main advantage sous vide eggs have is safe pre-cooking. If you don't need to precook, IMO 4-5 minutes in boiling water is quite reliable.

EDIT: And make sure the eggs move about a bit in the sous vide to prevent uneven cooking.

........................................

Thanks.
i don't need to precook so just the 4-5 minutes in boiling water will be my future method.
I wanted to try the sous vide but the the old fashioned way may be better.

I did NOT move the eggs around in the sous vide as I thought the water circulating would do it BUT like I said, a couple eggs had runny whites at one end so moving them would have cured that Thanks

 

[fft]

........................................

Thanks.
i don't need to precook so just the 4-5 minutes in boiling water will be my future method.
I wanted to try the sous vide but the the old fashioned way may be better.

I did NOT move the eggs around in the sous vide as I thought the water circulating would do it BUT like I said, a couple eggs had runny whites at one end so moving them would have cured that Thanks

People have different tastes around sv eggs. I like 142f for an hour, but some people don't like the white being a little runny. Getting a soft boiled egg that looks like what you get is boiling water is hard In a sv because the boiling water cooks the white to a higher temp than the yolk. In boiling water, the classic soft boiled is the three minute egg.

Here's a link to a serious eats article which talks all about different soft boiled egg strategies with a sv:

http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/10/sous-vide-101-all-about-eggs.html

They reference a 13 minute at 167f method that approximates a classic soft boiled egg. Might give that a try too.

 

[grokit]

Sous-vide aside, I am still somewhat confused regarding the ideal execution of soft-boiled eggs on a stovetop. My poacher broke and I have some great egg cups so inquiring minds and all that.

Am I correct that there is a bit of a contradiction here:

• "If you don't need to precook, IMO 4-5 minutes in boiling water is quite reliable.
  
• "In boiling water, the classic soft boiled is the three minute egg."

How about we settle at 4:20
Some more specifics would be nice (paging @arf777)

 

[grokit]

90% organic, vegan, no added sugar.

Came out great, wouldn't change a thing !
Except for the tropical version I have in mind

 

[t-dub]

90% organic, vegan, no added sugar.

Nice to see you finally got your Popsicle moulds . . .

 

[arf777]

Sous-vide aside, I am still somewhat confused regarding the ideal execution of soft-boiled eggs on a stovetop. My poacher broke and I have some great egg cups so inquiring minds and all that.

Am I correct that there is a bit of a contradiction here:

• "If you don't need to precook, IMO 4-5 minutes in boiling water is quite reliable.
  
• "In boiling water, the classic soft boiled is the three minute egg."

How about we settle at 4:20
Some more specifics would be nice (paging @arf777)

Been cooking a decent amount in the mountains. Longer boil at altitude. And personally I always found a pure 3 minute egg a little runny. At sea level, I'd say 3:30.

 

[grokit]

Been cooking a decent amount in the mountains. Longer boil at altitude. And personally I always found a pure 3 minute egg a little runny. At sea level, I'd say 3:30.

Do you start from cold water or lower it into bubbling/simmer etc? Details please

 

[arf777]

Do you start from cold water or lower it into bubbling/simmer etc? Details please

I lower into the already bubbling water. Much more precise that way.

 

[arf777]

First new bacon in a while. Brine is a cross between my sherry / Drambuie brine and a corned beef-type brine- sherry, drambuie, Prague Powder #1, sea salt, maple sugar, ginger, white peppercorns, allspice, clove, cinnamon, and garlic. Smoked over 2 parts sugar maple to one part orange wood.

 

[MinnBobber]

First new bacon in a while.

Now that doesn't look like any bacon I've ever had....yours looks so much better.

Can you get that crispy/crumbly texture like commercial fatty bacon when you roast it in the oven?

Yours looks just as meaty as a ham so maybe no way to get same texture??
bacon bacon