What are the biggest mistakes cooking?

Never, ever attempt to hide your leftover spinach in the chili you are making for the week. It is not appetizing to try to eat a bowl of something that looks like what your baby used to leave in his diaper.

Tasted fine though ... if you could eat it.

The biggest mistake I make in the kitchen is being in the kitchen in the first place. I can't boil water without screwing it up.

originally posted by: olaru12
a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Nice to know that about the Fugu....

In 4H where we raised and butchered our own hogs, it was drilled into us to cook pork well.

4-h.org...

I have had it in Japan. Over rated. Just another boney small fish. Not bad, Nothing wrong with frying any small fish.

Well, I wasn't part of 4-h so I never learned pork needed to be tuff. There is nothing wrong with medium rare on certain cuts of Pork. I made Pulled Pork yesterday and it smoked 8 hours and finished to a temp of 205 in the oven, then I put it in a cooler wrapped in towels for a couple hours to residual cook for a couple more. Depends upon the cut.

Denny

You really need to rest steaks after they come off the grill. Cook them to the desired temp then rest for 5mins. Pull the steaks off the grill and place on a cooling rack 5mins. Not a plate. Something that air and circulate. Put them back on the grill to heat the steaks back up. If you don't rest them when you cut into the steak all the juices pour out on the plate. If they are rested those juices are reabsorbed into the meat. Makes for a tender steak especially with filet mignon. Same for duck breast.

Also if anyone has ever broken down a Ny Strip Loin. There is one side that kinda starts to trumpet up while looking at it. That side is the worst side. There is a vein that runs through the steak on that side. When your at the store the ny strips without that vein are the nicest. If you want well done the go ahead and get the trumpet end. If you break one down you can see the vein move more to the center of the steak. The far end will eventually when cooked have a part that looks like a clenched fist when cooked. So tough.

Ok, finished dinner.



Very simple meal. Caesar Salad, Japanese Yakitori grilled Corn with butter/soy sauce dressing and NY style Shrimp Buns. (Yes, there is a difference between NYC and New England Lobster rolls.... I like the NYC) Made 45 minutes ago.

Here is the deal plain n simple. I honestly have traveled the world, eaten in 7-8 of the 50 top ranked restaurants in the world. I don't go out to eat just to get full, that I can do at home. However, I anyone is interested, have more than one food idea that I can share. I do everything from soul food to sushi and everything in-between.

If anyone is interested, I have real food experience and ideas. Last time I posted food some line cook called me arrogant. Not interested in smack talk, if you want real food ideas from a fringe profession and real world travel, no problem. No one pays me, if ideas outside the box are a problem. Well, as you where solder.

Denny

One of the advantages of being me is I'm kinda like a garbage disposal when it comes to meat. I'll eat pretty much the whole steak every time. I do tend to avoid the ones with a ton of fat but a slightly tough steak doesn't bother me that much. I can't remember ever having a steak that wasn't better than just about anything else I could have been eating. It's like pizza. It's hard to do it too wrong.

a reply to: DaCook

Got to tell ya another reason I don't post here. Very unfriendly format to post. Compared to other websites.... how in the frick do you post pictures here? This is not my first rodeo at food post, and other websites are more user friendly for sure. Pictures are worth a 1000 words, and you eat with your eyes first.

Denny

a reply to: BrianFlanders

Don't buy ribeyes. Restaurants mostly won't serve them because they get sent back for being "to much grissel" well that's the point of a ribeye the flavor comes from the fat. That's why a ribeye is 16oz or 18oz versus the 14 oz. Ny strip.

I make steak in my toaster oven and roasts in the crock pot. Generally, the roasts come out good. Steak is so so. Better than hamburger.

Fresh ginger with pork chops (thin) marinaded in soy and some sugar with garlic shoots is so good. Goes good with white rice.

originally posted by: DontTreadOnMe
...

IMHO, the best stove would be an electric oven with a gas cooktop, and they are available these days.

Most commercial stoves are built exactly this way...electric ovens and gas tops.

Baking is chemistry and science. Stove top is art. Combine the two and you have a winning dish!!

Root vegetables need to be started in cold water. ie carrots and potatoes. Vegetables like broccoli and green beans should be blanched. And then put in ice water. Except for potatoes they can be held and reheated for service. That way your not waiting on your proteins to start the vegetables. All right I digress. Been drinking for awhile.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Don't be tempted to use hydrazine.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Don't walk away from the stove/kitchen. It's so easy to burn a good meal.

Cheers - Dave

Another one is...Cast Iron is your friend!

Now granted, I collect Le Creuset cast iron cookware (and it's very expensive), but there are other pieces of cast iron cookware which are equally as good. I also collect Lodge, which is pretty inexpensive. I love cast iron to cook with.

Again, the cookware will make the difference between an 'okay' dish and a great dish.

Search around at garage sales for old cast iron. You can clean them up really nicely, especially with a wire brush. Re-season them and you've got a fantastic piece of cookware!!!

I find old ones, and grind them down to a smooth finish inside and then re-season them. Honestly, I like some of those pots more than my Le Creuset's!!! I'm actually afraid to damage the Le Creuset's because they're so damn expensive, so I only use them sparingly. My wife usually buys me one for Christmas, but we're running out of options now. (Psssst, I think she likes them more than me!) LOL!

One of the best kitchen purchases we ever made was a huge copper bottom stock pot. We've made more soup, stew, and stock in that thing over the years ... we caught a deal on close-out at a factory outlet store.

Cast iron is great until it comes time to clean it and put it away. The enamel coated stuff is OK, I guess but it is also very expensive. And I'd be mad as hell if I bought one of those dutch ovens and the enamel got chipped. (The dutch oven is definitely the one I'd want though)

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Baking any cut of meat in the oven uncovered, and at any temp over 375f covered for something like a 3lb rack of bone in pork ribs. Anything 2lbs or under should really cook at no temp over 325f covered.

If you dont have a lid, use aluminum foil to make one and form it tightly around the edges of the pot or pan. The reason is because it traps heat and all moisture while cooking it low enough not to toughen or dry up the meat.

If you want browned outsides on whatever you're cooking, sear both sides on medium high heat or a 7 out of 10 on a turn dial for a minute, flip and do another minute, then transfer to the baking dish.

If you're lazy and want to make sure the meat is cooked without butchering it too much like I do, take the lid off and broil for 5mins while you keep an eye on it or bake at a higher setting. I haven't perfected that part with an exact measurement I just do it.

I do this with 2lbs of chicken breast and not the bagged fillets or pieces but the plastic wrapped styrofoam trays with the entire breast cuts that are 2-2.5" thick that you'd normally butterfly or filet at 325f for an hour and 15min covered, then 5min uncovered at high heat or broil for about 5 mins. I can effortlessly cut them into pieces with a fork as some meat falls off like pulled pork.

Same thing with 2lb boneless pork ribs. Pork chops are some of the leanest cuts of meat out there and leaner than chicken breast by an insignificant percentage so they're too easy to over cook and they'll get tough or rubbery quick. Even if those are as thick as the chicken breasts above, they cook for 45mins and up to an hour if it's all of 2lbs, then for 5mins uncovered. The only cut of meat that I've had better success with baking uncovered vs covered is bone in chicken thighs because they have so much fat in them to keep it moist. When baking uncovered higher temps are required, any lean cut of meat has a good chance of coming out tough and dry.

a reply to: ketsuko

Yep, a right sized good stock pot is a gotta-have!

Totally agree.

a reply to: BrianFlanders

Oh, I don't know, cleaning cast iron isn't any harder really than cleaning any other kind of pot once you learn the tricks of how to do it. I usually just boil some water in mine and use a nylon brush to get the crusty stuff off, then wash them out as normal. I'm referring to non-enameled seasoned cast iron here. Enameled you can just soak the insides with water and clean as usual.

The real trick with raw cast iron is getting it seasoned properly to start with. Once you've got a good patina on the cast iron it makes cooking and clean up a snap.