OT: Best and Worst cooking tip you've ever received
gammanu95
Have you ever tried to stick a silver dollar into a stripper's G-string?
I am sure there are a lot of bachelors, single women, and single parents on this board. Food is something we all have in common, and the struggle of eating healthy while enjoying the meal is a struggle we all share. I learned to cook well as a bachelor, and have enjoyed trying new recipes and improving my culinary skills throughout my adult life.
On the thread about foods one cannot stand, one reply stated that people tend to overcook skinless chicken. I think the problem probably starts earlier in the prep process than cooking. Almost all chicken is frozen. Even if it is thawed when you buy it, it may have been frozen earlier in processing or shipment. (You would be surprised how much bread is shipped frozen, which converts the starches into sugar.) Even if the chicken is fresh-never-frozen, it should be brined. A simple brine consists of: 1 gal water, 2/3c brown sugar, 1/2 cup sea salt or 1/4c table salt. Let the chicken brine for 12-72 hours, it is best if frozen chicken thaws in the brine. This will give you a whole new outlook on chicken.
I should have known the worst advice I was going to receive. He was an art major from Arkansas married to a lawyer, who was truly insane. We were talking homemade spaghetti sauce. If you make homemade spaghetti sauce, you know what a pain it is to get all the spices chopped/ground/shredded/diced, cook the sausage and ground beef, peppers, tomatoes, onion, strain the basil leaves out on time, and simmer it to the right consistency. Then you cannot make it in small batches, so you have a freezer full of red tupperware bowls. But I had found an amazing recipe that was worth it every few months. My improvement to the recipe was merlot. I don't have a measure, just to taste, more than dollop. I shared that tip with Damon, and he made a big deal of looking around to ensure no one was nearby or eavesdropping, and he told me his secret was a half teaspoon of vanilla. I love vanilla. I always pay a premium fr the real thing, no artificial extracts for me. I put that shit in everything - whipped cream, cookies, pancakes/waffles, french toast/monte cristo. If I love bacon, then vanilla is my mistress. He swore by it, saying it balanced the acidity of the tomatoes and other vegetables. He was wrong, one teaspoon of vanilla gave the whole pot just this weird off-taste. It took a lot of shredded parmesan to cover the taste.
Bonus tip: I always cooked my ribs to 165. I figured pork ribs were like beef - cook it as little as possible. Since 165F is the necessary minimum temp to ensure all microbes and parasites are dead, then that was the optimum temperature, right? Wrong. For juicy, slide off the bone ribs, you need to achieve 190-degrees fahrenheit. That is the temperatures which cooks and melts the tendons and ligaments, adding more juice, taste, and tenderness to your ribs. Blew my mind when I learned that, but when I tried it I learned it was true.
On the thread about foods one cannot stand, one reply stated that people tend to overcook skinless chicken. I think the problem probably starts earlier in the prep process than cooking. Almost all chicken is frozen. Even if it is thawed when you buy it, it may have been frozen earlier in processing or shipment. (You would be surprised how much bread is shipped frozen, which converts the starches into sugar.) Even if the chicken is fresh-never-frozen, it should be brined. A simple brine consists of: 1 gal water, 2/3c brown sugar, 1/2 cup sea salt or 1/4c table salt. Let the chicken brine for 12-72 hours, it is best if frozen chicken thaws in the brine. This will give you a whole new outlook on chicken.
I should have known the worst advice I was going to receive. He was an art major from Arkansas married to a lawyer, who was truly insane. We were talking homemade spaghetti sauce. If you make homemade spaghetti sauce, you know what a pain it is to get all the spices chopped/ground/shredded/diced, cook the sausage and ground beef, peppers, tomatoes, onion, strain the basil leaves out on time, and simmer it to the right consistency. Then you cannot make it in small batches, so you have a freezer full of red tupperware bowls. But I had found an amazing recipe that was worth it every few months. My improvement to the recipe was merlot. I don't have a measure, just to taste, more than dollop. I shared that tip with Damon, and he made a big deal of looking around to ensure no one was nearby or eavesdropping, and he told me his secret was a half teaspoon of vanilla. I love vanilla. I always pay a premium fr the real thing, no artificial extracts for me. I put that shit in everything - whipped cream, cookies, pancakes/waffles, french toast/monte cristo. If I love bacon, then vanilla is my mistress. He swore by it, saying it balanced the acidity of the tomatoes and other vegetables. He was wrong, one teaspoon of vanilla gave the whole pot just this weird off-taste. It took a lot of shredded parmesan to cover the taste.
Bonus tip: I always cooked my ribs to 165. I figured pork ribs were like beef - cook it as little as possible. Since 165F is the necessary minimum temp to ensure all microbes and parasites are dead, then that was the optimum temperature, right? Wrong. For juicy, slide off the bone ribs, you need to achieve 190-degrees fahrenheit. That is the temperatures which cooks and melts the tendons and ligaments, adding more juice, taste, and tenderness to your ribs. Blew my mind when I learned that, but when I tried it I learned it was true.
41 comments
Often though my ribs would be scorched at the end of the day when I’d come home from work. (good advice) I learned to pour around 1/4 cup of apple juice in the bottom of the crock pot keeping the ribs moist and not ruining the flavor. Crock pots can often overcook things but the apple juice neutralizes that issue with ribs.
The best advice I ever got related to the tomatoes I use for my homemade red sauce. For years domestic tomato growers have been breeding their tomatoes to get sweeter, less acidic versions. It has gone so far that the FDA now requires virtually every domestic canned tomato or jarred tomato sauce producer to add citric acid to keep these tomatoes safe/shelf stable. But the problem also extends to fresh tomatoes, though at least if you use those you won't be adding citric acid to your sauce.
I was turned on to Cento San Marzano canned tomatoes. They come from a specific region of Italy and have no citric acid in them I was skeptical at first, but damned if it didn't make a real difference in the quality of my sauce. No wonder so many of the cooking show hosts on the Food network use them, including Bobby Flay. They are expensive - about $3.50 for a single can and you need multiple cans for a good size batch - but are well worth it.
As far as brining chicken, better you than me. That's a lot of salt and sugar for a delicate meat. I marinate skinless chicken in a modified Italian dressing marinade for at least 24 hours and we get a ton of flavor without the heavy salt and carbs. I do salt and pepper the chicken prior to cooking, but I wouldn't want every bite to be a salt bonanza. I do brine pork chops, but even then I'm careful about how long they stay in - a few hours is more than enough to get them salty and juicy before I coat (if oven baked) or sauce them (if grilled).
I used to try and cut the stem out in a circle
Anyway, best tip - when cooking brisket buy a full packer, not just the flat, and buy prime grade, not choice.
Worst tip? That pork butt needs to be injected. Complete waste of time. It’s plenty juicy without the hassle.
Aside from the reason Rick mentioned, San Marzano has volcanic soil which is why tomatoes and grapes (wine) go so well over there. Italian White wines are exceptionally crisp from that region. Whites are often overlooked from Italy with the exception of Pinot Grigio (yuck) and Prosecco. There are so many other options.
Great thread guys, really
My strategy is to go to a Michelin starred restaurant and tell the chef that he’s going to accompany me to the zoo and prepare a delicious wildebeest dinner. I hunt the wildebeest and the chef uses his judgment regarding preparation. If said chef balks the it’s raw chef for this lion. ROAR!!!
I've received a ton of advice that has had poor results. I tend to blame myself more than the advice. But, I'm gonna say that basically any advice including some sort of soda has universally been bad. Dr Pepper BBQ, Coke Cake, none of that shit is ever good.
Best meat tip: Low and slow. Crockpot, smoking, braising, slow roasting, will make virtually any cut of meat tender. Especially something like venison.
Best fowl tip: Brining/marinating will make almost any commercially raised bird better. Less so for game fowl.
Best veggies: Steaming or stir fry.
Overall: Butter, garlic and bacon.
Worst tip: Huntsman beat me to it. I have never, ever tasted anything more disgusting.
Worst tip- anytime someone tries to convince you that a microwave can get you similar results of an oven.
The good: My mom always said if you're walking with a full bowl of soup and don't want to spill it, look straight ahead, not at the soup. It works.
The bad: As a somewhat spoiled kid growing up, when I got married at age 23 I had never used a dishwasher before. Wanting to be a good husband, I loaded and started up the dishwasher. Well, I didn't know you're not supposed to use the regular dishwashing liquid I found next to the sink. Our kitchen looked like one of those nightclubs where they shoot foam all over the dance floor.
The ugly: Again, I don't cook, but I do own a few pots and some plastic food containers. I store them in the oven, since it never gets used. A friend stopped by one night and brought some food with him. Unbeknownst to me, he decided to preheat the oven. I suppose the good news is the Tupperware on fire got our attention before the handles melted off the pots.
I have since passed that book on toy older daughter, who has become an excellent cook in her own right.
Overrated: baking bacon. You can microwave bacon. If you have a high quality microwave specific bacon dish (Nordicware) and use high quality bacon (not Oscar Mayer), you can get deliciously crispy bacon from the microwave. It varies to the wattage, but I do 5 min for four slices with predictably flawless results.
For me that was actually great advice if you are cooking with butter rather than oil. My pan scrambled scrambled eggs are super light and fluffy.
RickDugan beats his meat but not his eggs. That explains a lot.
@ATAC: Nice. I am going to order that book just to have another good source for recipes. The book that got me started 20+ years ago was the Joy of Cooking. It includes not only a ton of recipes, but comprehensive discussions on different cuts of meat and various cooking methods (braising, roasting, stewing, etc., etc.). After my first divorce at a young age I found myself alone and almost helpless in the kitchen beyond a few basic dishes and this book was a lifesaver.
Why would I want my eggs to be like my meat? 😁
Well, a gentleman, a gentlelion, a gentleshark, a gentlebarnacle, and so forth. ROAR!!!
In the future you should PAY ATTENTION! You’ve got the smartest hairless ape on the planet posting tidbits of his knowledge and you’re makin’ masturbation jokes? That’s just sad… ☹️
It takes a lot longer to cook this way, 3-4 hours for steaks and wings, 36-40 hours for brisket but the results are so worth it, especially if you have a pellet grill to sear the steaks or add smoke to the wings/brisket.
Also works great for vegetables and potatoes.
True. Wildebeest sous vide is delightful.
Also, I was so drunk at the time that it’s possible I was alone. Who the fuck knows? One thing I do know: don’t cook dumpster pizza sous vide. Even if the whole mack thing was a hallucination I feel confident saying the words don’t cook dumpster pizza sous vide.
Worst all those ig trendy cooking tips. Microwaving food. I don't use it.
‘overcooking is a waste of good food.’
SO YOU BEAT YOUR EGGS!!! I knew it OH FUCK IT I HAVE TO SAY IT FUCK YEAH CLUB AD!!! Now I just jizzed in my pants.
Not that this rick is judging. Just sayin’ that you cum in your pants when you type the words “CLUB AD”
Now where were we… that’s right about food. Oh yeah, I like to put some whiskey in my wildebeest omelet. Helps take the edge off the frickin’ eggs. ROAR!!!
Scrub: use a finger or butter knife to get up under the membrane, then grab it with a paper towel. It wont slip out of your fingers and voila.
My best "advice" came from Heath Riles: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Hy5wnwuIZ2… you don't need to know that he's a competition winner to see that this fat fuck makes good ribs.
Rub, let sit for 20 minutes, Smoke @275 until bark forms (2-2.5 hrs) and you pass the smear test, braise in foil until 206-207 (1-1.5 hrs). Remove, lightly paint on sauce and smoke for 15 minutes, remove cover and let sit for 30. Perfect competition bite, no fall off the bone bullshit, tender and juicy af.