5punk

Does anyone do value bourbon? you could try that.

I just made ramsay beef wellington

It wasn't bad, but I didn't cook the mushroom out enough, so ended up with some sogginess.

And I underestimated the carryover a little, the 2nd slice ended up a bit too close to medium for my liking. (pulled at 55c, 10 minutes of resting brought it to 60c)

Heston chips, so good.

They take a long time to make, and it's best not to skimp on cooling time (but if you're in a hurry, the freezer can work to get them cold again) but you can make them well in advance and do the final frying when you're ready to eat

Also, when I simmer the chips, I do it in fairly salty water (more salt than I'd use for spuds), mainly because I think they taste nicer than with just salt on top.

More testing with (skinless) pork belly related products leads me to this conclusion:

Braise in slightly sweet/acidic liquid at 90-100c for as long as you want, say 6 hours as a minimum, if you go much over that you may need to replace the liquid, though it doesn't evaporate quickly at these temperatures.

The basic idea is to break down the collagen into gelatin (or the fat, into delicious) which happens at about 70c, but ovens can act funny when they're set this low, so cooking a little higher means we get a stable temperature that's still plenty low enough to cook the meat gently.


Food Safety bit: Before you panic, given the amount of time we're cooking for, we don't need to worry about low temperatures, hell, 55c will kill salmonella after 90 minutes, but that's not really sustainable in an oven. (totally possible with sous vide, mind, but that's a bastard without proper toys)

when you "reduce heat" from a boil to simmer(covered)...what does that actually mean? medium heat? low heat? as long as its bubbling with the cover on ?

MORDETH LESTOK wrote:when you "reduce heat" from a boil to simmer(covered)...what does that actually mean? medium heat? low heat? as long as its bubbling with the cover on ?

Depends on your stove, but it's usually just above the lowest heat setting, higher for uncovered. You find it by turning it down until it stops bubbling, then turn it slightly back up again until it bubbles again.

A simmer is a bastard to define really, I'd say there should be some movement and bubbling, but not violently (as in a boil)

To not answer your question, whatever setting a simmer sustains itself at (not getting too much hotter or colder) is about where you want it.

At a guess, I'd say medium low, about 4* if you have numbers probably, but that's on my hob, with my pans. your mileage will vary and the best way to know is looking and listening.


edit:
* of course, assuming they go to 10, if they go to 4, it'd be no good

Pretty much.

Keep the liquid just below boiling, small bubbles form and break on the surface as opposed to form, gather and burst as large bubbles before they reach the surface like they do when boiling. I'd say around 80-85c 18-185f in numbers.

It helps to heat the liquid without breaking apart any solid parts or get stuff sticking on the bottom of the pan.

.

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Normally, I use the slow cooker for the beef stew, but this time, I've tried the stove. Seems like med-low is producing the small, non-violent bubbles.

My roommate is bringing me chinese on her way home from work...so, I'll let ya know how it comes out tomorrow. Besides, it always tastes better the next day

Personally for stews I've always preferred using a really heavyweight pot and the oven at about 140/150C, just to go even further from answering your question.

Fillet steak, a good handful of, really, really nice meat.

What should I do with it? bit bored of brandy/peppercorn/cream sauces at the moment.

Who needs sauce? I'd eat it as is (well, cooked obviously).

I would too, without cooking it.

but a bit of variation is nice, the sauce is mostly for the spud products and blood

Go Pacific and try a fruit based sauce. Not quite sure if it would work with steak but I know they do work with chicken.

No, just. no.

get a massive block of cheese

melt the cheese

pour on meat

...

profit

New cooking toy acquired. It's a slow cooker. Add meat, veg, stock, beer and pearl barely, put on Low and leave for 8 hours. Mmmm meaty stew.

Any 5punkers like to help me compile a short list of cheap easy to cook nutritious food? I'm off to uni in a week :3

So far i can craft:

Ramen and *meat* soup
Chilli
Bolognaise
Pasta sauce + pasta

Well probably more, but that's all i can think of at the moment

Shepherd's pie? That's all I can cook that doesn't come out of a jar.