What's cooking? (1 Viewer)

[Malcolm R]

Makes sense. I'm just not a fan of soggy, mushy vegetables. But probably by the time you bake it twice, it's nice and firm again.

 

[Mike Frezon]

I'm just not a fan of soggy, mushy vegetables. But probably by the time you bake it twice, it's nice and firm again.

Again...exactly right. It's crisp and firm. The biggest letdown with trying to use tortilla shells as a pizza base is that they are way too thin and you can't pick them up. They are even tough when trying to use a knife/fork.

But the cauliflower in this instance firms up nicely and gives you a good base for everything you put on top.

Ya know how great it is with a regular pizza when the cheese drips over the end of the crust during baking and gets that nice, crisp feel to it? That's what happens with this "dough." And my guess is that having the cheeses mixed into the cauliflower helps explain that.

Nothing mushy about this experience.

 

[Jason Charlton]

So here's the spatchcocked bird.

View media item 3624
I'm dry-brining it this year: 2-3 tsp of kosher salt sprinkled on the skin. The bird is chillin' in the garage refrigerator uncovered (this will supposedly allow the skin to dry out a bit, which helps keep it crispy, which is the way we (I) prefer it).

Depending on the ambient temp this 18-pounder could be done in 2 hours at 325° give or take.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving! Eat, drink, and be merry!

 

[DaveF]

I did a wet brine followed by drying in the fridge last year (per ATK). It was very good.

 

[Citizen87645]

I spatchcocked the bird. That was pretty easy with a new set of kitchen shears.

I avoided a mishap when i realized I used baking soda instead of baking powder for the dry rub on the turkey skin. Rinsed off the bird and reapplied salt and pepper, figuring any residual baking soda would be sufficient.

Turkey turned out very good. I had dressing underneath, but it came out a bit too salty from the turkey juices running off. Next time I'll probably forego salt in the dressing and have some reserve bread crumbs to balance things out.

All in all, a successful first turkey roasting with some ways to improve for next time.

 

[DaveF]

Had T-Day at a friend's. I cooked the traditional Derby Pie, with homemade crust, and also buttermilk biscuits. And fresh eggnog.

I got distracted while (my new from last year) KitchenAid mixer was on autopilot whipping cream. With a start, I remembered in a minor panic, looked at it, and saw that I was past whipped cream, into Cool Whip, and on a fast track to butter! Fortunately, while stiffer than desired for topping egg nog, it still tasted good and was just fine for pie.

 

[Jason Charlton]

Overall, our Thanksgiving feast was a big success. As expected, the turkey took just at 2 hours at a steady 325°. I applied a wet rub under the skin over the breasts and thighs, adding the last of the rub and some oil to the outside for some golden brown crispy skin.

Here's how I had the grill set up.

View media item 3625
I added two pouches of cherry wood chips on the hot side of the grill, a drip pan under the bird, and the bird arranged with the legs and thighs closest to the heat (this helps them reach their higher target temp at the same time the breasts are done).

And here she is right before taking her off.

View media item 3626
Not much leftovers, but enough for one more dinner and some tasty sandwiches. Cheers, everyone!

 

[Sam Posten]

I didn't buy any BF today until noon when some folks started raving about the price of this pressure cooker. I spoke to one of the proponents and they convinced me it's worth a try. We'll see!

http://www.seriouseats.com/2016/10/why-pressure-cookers-are-better-than-slow-cookers.html

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FLYWNY...lo-20&linkId=29bfb7dd8d99d6d6a1bf3a9e0c0ee3ae

 

[Citizen87645]

My co worker has one and loves it.

 

[DaveF]

I didn't buy any BF today until noon when some folks started raving about the price of this pressure cooker. I spoke to one of the proponents and they convinced me it's worth a try. We'll see!

http://www.seriouseats.com/2016/10/why-pressure-cookers-are-better-than-slow-cookers.html

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FLYWNY...lo-20&linkId=29bfb7dd8d99d6d6a1bf3a9e0c0ee3ae

I used a pressure cooker a fair bit in my 20's, but haven't used it much the past many years. From my experience, and a quick scan of the Serious Eats link, I think they're being (willfully) unfair, at least regarding the matter of browning. The reason most people don't get nicely browned meat in a slow cooker is because they don't brown the meat first. Because the point of a slow cooker, for most, is to throw a bucket of ingredients into the cooker and forget about it for six hours.

Conversely, a pressure cooker doesn't give you browned foods either, unless you first brown the meat before pressure cooking it -- not in my epxerience. Likewise in a good beef stew recipe with a dutch oven, you first brown the meat and then you put it to slow cook and simmer to get all the marvelous flavors produced by the mallaird reaction.

Pressure cookers are nice: you can get a good stew done in less time than conventional recipes. And when I was into it, it was said they preserve more nutrients by losing less to evaporation and long cook times. But, my experience is that it's no panacea to good flavor. In fact, it was easy to get less flavor from a rushed, too-simple pressure cooker stew. And the best stews I've made are slow cooked.

Try it, experiment, have fun. But don't expect miracles.

 

[Stan]

The reason most people don't get nicely browned meat in a slow cooker is because they don't brown the meat first. Because the point of a slow cooker, for most, is to throw a bucket of ingredients into the cooker and forget about it for six hours.

And the best stews I've made are slow cooked.

I'm one of those "throw it in, cover it and walk away". The only prep is cutting things into proper sized pieces. If it needs browning, or sautéing, etc. first, I pass. Never had any problem with meat or veggies getting a bit of browning on them, maybe mine runs a little hotter than most, but everything turns out great. (except chicken which dries out, skin is awful, so I stick with beef and pork stews, the occasional roast)

 

[Malcolm R]

Ditto. It seems contrary to the intent of a slow cooker to cook things twice and dirty a bunch of extra dishes. If I have to brown/cook on the stovetop, I may as well just cook the whole thing there. With a slow cooker, I want to toss everything in the pot and walk away until dinner time.

 

[DaveF]

I'm not judging. Just stating facts.

I've got a slow cooker and I use it. And for various recipes, it's not worth browning first. Defeats the point of simplicity.

 

[ChristopherG]

Overall, our Thanksgiving feast was a big success. As expected, the turkey took just at 2 hours at a steady 325°. I applied a wet rub under the skin over the breasts and thighs, adding the last of the rub and some oil to the outside for some golden brown crispy skin.

Here's how I had the grill set up.

View media item 3625
I added two pouches of cherry wood chips on the hot side of the grill, a drip pan under the bird, and the bird arranged with the legs and thighs closest to the heat (this helps them reach their higher target temp at the same time the breasts are done).

And here she is right before taking her off.

View media item 3626
Not much leftovers, but enough for one more dinner and some tasty sandwiches. Cheers, everyone!

For some reason I am not "allowed" to view the photos. I am curious about the grill setup though...

 

[Jason Charlton]

For some reason I am not "allowed" to view the photos. I am curious about the grill setup though...

Strange.

I noticed that HTF wasn't allowing me to load an image directly from my computer (browse) - it wanted either a web URL or a link to items in my "Media", so I chose the latter.

Noticed today that my media items have "shareable links".. here's a try using that... I'll go back and edit the previous post, too.

Well, I guess that post is too old for me to edit, so here's the finished bird.

 

[ChristopherG]

Thanks Jason. Looks fantastic!

 

[DaveF]

Anyone use Silpat instead of parchment paper for baking?
http://silpat.com/silpat.html

 

[Jason Charlton]

My wife uses similar silicone baking mats and swears by them. We got some large mats and cut them to fit our cookie sheets. She didn't notice any effect on baking times, nor was there any impact on the amount of browning on cookie bottoms. Cleanup is easy and since my wife bakes lots of cookies during the holidays, the fact that they are truly nonstick is a big plus.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

This year I did a dry brine of salt, pepper, and garlic powder, with a touch of turmeric, paprika, and cayenne. Spread it around under the skin and it worked quite well. I only decided on it the day before, though -- next year I'll give it an extra day or two.

I also put an ice pack on the breast for about 15 minutes right before putting it in the oven. This trick works! It keeps the breast meat from finishing too long before the dark meat and drying out.

I was going to bust out the ol' pellet smoker, but the Missus convinced me to just stick it in the oven. With the convection fan, it cooked super fast.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

I have a Bella slow cooker (https://www.amazon.com/Programmable-Searing-Cooker-Locking-Chrome/dp/B00KA2KRKG) with a removable insert. You put the insert right on the stove to sear the meat, then replace it and fire up the cooker. It works great, and I don't have to bother with a separate pan for browning.