The Food Thread
Re: The Food Thread
It's just the angle of the jangle, they're proper chips.
Re: The Food Thread
Best meal I ever cooked was a Beef Rendang (I think I did the Hairy Bikers version). That it was good is no surprise as it's been voted the best meal in the world. I mean the dish in general, not specifically mine. Although mine was bloody good.
Second best meal I ever made (and have repeated a number of times) was a thai green curry (a Nigel Slater recipe).
They're both surprisingly easy to do; it's just a matter of sticking ingredients in a food processor and then cooking the paste with coconut milk and other bits. Even for an exceptionally lazy person like myself, food isn't difficult, just time consuming and potentially expensive.
Second best meal I ever made (and have repeated a number of times) was a thai green curry (a Nigel Slater recipe).
They're both surprisingly easy to do; it's just a matter of sticking ingredients in a food processor and then cooking the paste with coconut milk and other bits. Even for an exceptionally lazy person like myself, food isn't difficult, just time consuming and potentially expensive.
Re: The Food Thread
Great idea for a thread.
So - I love american BBQ cooking and have done ever since I visited the mecca that is Franklin BBQ in Texas.
I have a Weber Smokey Mountain smoker, and provided there is no rain expected you can find it in my back garden every weekend cooking meat long and slow. The whole aim is to maintain a low cooking temperature by limiting the air that can get to the coals which sit at the bottom - I tend to aim for around 225F for most cooks - and then cook the meats over really long periods. You use various types of wood depending what you are cooking, with oak, hickory, apple, cherry and chestnut being my go-to woods. Finally just above the coals sits a water-pan to make sure you retain plenty of moisture while cooking.
When the meat is cooked, you will find a deep pink blush around the outer edge when you cut it and look at the cross section - this is called the smoke ring and shows that the smoke has permeated the meat, adding that essential flavour.
Many cooks involve a spice rub, which blackens and as the outer edge of the meat caramelises and forms what is known as the bark - the tastiest element of the meat by far.
The joy of smoking meat is that you can take cheap cuts of meat with lots of fat and sinew, but as you cook them slow the fats render out leaving the flavour behind, and the sinew dissolves into the meat, leaving insanely tender flavourful eating behind.
My favourite cooks:
Beer-can chicken - sit a chicken Withnail & I style but with a half-full can of beer up its' jacksey (the beer evaporates and infuses the chicken from the inside, adding both flavour and moisture), having given it a rub of whatever spice mix you would like.
Baby back ribs - always a crowd pleaser. Take the ribs and remove the membrane from the bone-side. Lightly coat with american mustard and add a spice rub - I tend to go for quite hot as my wife and I both like chilli. Refrigerate overnight, then let them come up to temperature for an hour or two before the cook, adding some more rub. Cook using the 3-2-1 method (unwrapped for 3 hours, wrap in foil and cook for another 2 hours, unwrap, sauce, and cook for a final hour). As soon as the meat passes the tear test (take two adjacent ribs and pull gently - the bones should separate from the meat with little resistance and come away clean) and they are ready to eat.
Pork shoulder: Pulled pork seems to have become a thing in the UK recently, but most of it is utter crud that I would not touch with a shitty stick. Real pulled pork: Take the shoulder and remove any outer layer of skin and most of the fat, leaving just a little to render. If you want crackling, you have the makings with what you cut off so go for it. As with the ribs, coat in american mustard and apply a healthy amount of rub. I then also inject the meat with a mix of apple juice or cider, water, cider vinegar, worcester sauce and some of the rub dissolved into the liquid - you can't have too much flavour right? Smoke it until you get an internal temperature of 203F - you may find that the temperature stalls at about 160F, if that happens just wrap it in foil and continue the cook. You can unwrap again later if you want to deepen the bark. Once at temperature wrap it up and let it rest for at least 30 minutes. Shred it with a set of bear claws or forks, add some more of the rub together with any retained cooking juices and your preferred BBQ sauce (don't skimp - buy a good one) and serve up as you want it.
Brisket: The holy grail. US style packer-cut brisket is tough to get over here, but thankfully a friend is a butcher who hand cuts it for me. Brisket is a looong cook, but so worth it. Rub in mustard then pepper and salt, and cook similar to the pork above, including tackling the stall at 160F. It may take 12 hours or more to cook. Once done, separate the flat and the point, two distinct parts of the brisket. The flat can be eaten as it is, sliced nice and thin pastrami style. The point I like to turn into burnt ends - cut into 1" cubes, sauce, and into a foil tray and back into the smoker for a second cook. You cook these puppies down until they are fall-apart tender and holy shit... Lots of work and can go wrong, but when it goes right there is a reason it is viewed by many as the ultimate BBQ meat.
I have also smoked plenty of other stuff, both meat and plant based. For the vegetarians, smoked nuts, beans, corn on the cob etc are amazing!
So yeah, I love caveman cooking!
In the next instalment, how to reverse sear the perfect steak.
So - I love american BBQ cooking and have done ever since I visited the mecca that is Franklin BBQ in Texas.
I have a Weber Smokey Mountain smoker, and provided there is no rain expected you can find it in my back garden every weekend cooking meat long and slow. The whole aim is to maintain a low cooking temperature by limiting the air that can get to the coals which sit at the bottom - I tend to aim for around 225F for most cooks - and then cook the meats over really long periods. You use various types of wood depending what you are cooking, with oak, hickory, apple, cherry and chestnut being my go-to woods. Finally just above the coals sits a water-pan to make sure you retain plenty of moisture while cooking.
When the meat is cooked, you will find a deep pink blush around the outer edge when you cut it and look at the cross section - this is called the smoke ring and shows that the smoke has permeated the meat, adding that essential flavour.
Many cooks involve a spice rub, which blackens and as the outer edge of the meat caramelises and forms what is known as the bark - the tastiest element of the meat by far.
The joy of smoking meat is that you can take cheap cuts of meat with lots of fat and sinew, but as you cook them slow the fats render out leaving the flavour behind, and the sinew dissolves into the meat, leaving insanely tender flavourful eating behind.
My favourite cooks:
Beer-can chicken - sit a chicken Withnail & I style but with a half-full can of beer up its' jacksey (the beer evaporates and infuses the chicken from the inside, adding both flavour and moisture), having given it a rub of whatever spice mix you would like.
Baby back ribs - always a crowd pleaser. Take the ribs and remove the membrane from the bone-side. Lightly coat with american mustard and add a spice rub - I tend to go for quite hot as my wife and I both like chilli. Refrigerate overnight, then let them come up to temperature for an hour or two before the cook, adding some more rub. Cook using the 3-2-1 method (unwrapped for 3 hours, wrap in foil and cook for another 2 hours, unwrap, sauce, and cook for a final hour). As soon as the meat passes the tear test (take two adjacent ribs and pull gently - the bones should separate from the meat with little resistance and come away clean) and they are ready to eat.
Pork shoulder: Pulled pork seems to have become a thing in the UK recently, but most of it is utter crud that I would not touch with a shitty stick. Real pulled pork: Take the shoulder and remove any outer layer of skin and most of the fat, leaving just a little to render. If you want crackling, you have the makings with what you cut off so go for it. As with the ribs, coat in american mustard and apply a healthy amount of rub. I then also inject the meat with a mix of apple juice or cider, water, cider vinegar, worcester sauce and some of the rub dissolved into the liquid - you can't have too much flavour right? Smoke it until you get an internal temperature of 203F - you may find that the temperature stalls at about 160F, if that happens just wrap it in foil and continue the cook. You can unwrap again later if you want to deepen the bark. Once at temperature wrap it up and let it rest for at least 30 minutes. Shred it with a set of bear claws or forks, add some more of the rub together with any retained cooking juices and your preferred BBQ sauce (don't skimp - buy a good one) and serve up as you want it.
Brisket: The holy grail. US style packer-cut brisket is tough to get over here, but thankfully a friend is a butcher who hand cuts it for me. Brisket is a looong cook, but so worth it. Rub in mustard then pepper and salt, and cook similar to the pork above, including tackling the stall at 160F. It may take 12 hours or more to cook. Once done, separate the flat and the point, two distinct parts of the brisket. The flat can be eaten as it is, sliced nice and thin pastrami style. The point I like to turn into burnt ends - cut into 1" cubes, sauce, and into a foil tray and back into the smoker for a second cook. You cook these puppies down until they are fall-apart tender and holy shit... Lots of work and can go wrong, but when it goes right there is a reason it is viewed by many as the ultimate BBQ meat.
I have also smoked plenty of other stuff, both meat and plant based. For the vegetarians, smoked nuts, beans, corn on the cob etc are amazing!
So yeah, I love caveman cooking!
In the next instalment, how to reverse sear the perfect steak.
08/10/2003 - 17/08/2018RCHD wrote:Snowy is my favourite. He's a metal God.
10501
Re: The Food Thread
Wow, that's quite a commitment, Ian! I'm not sure I'd ever have the patience to prep and cook something like that. I'm also lacking a garden and so can't really buy that kind of equipment anyway. Just reading your post has made me crave some good grub like that though. I do love going to a good steak house or BBQ shack and having all manner of things like that, I'm especially fond of a good blue steak.
Perhaps we should change your forum name to Smokey.
Perhaps we should change your forum name to Smokey.
Re: The Food Thread
I demand Snowy posts more, in general!
Sounds great, Snowy. I am fortunate to have a big garden, even if I barely use it. Perhaps I should turn it into a mini farm + smokery!
Sounds great, Snowy. I am fortunate to have a big garden, even if I barely use it. Perhaps I should turn it into a mini farm + smokery!
Re: The Food Thread
Um, my time consists purely of sticking stuff in the oven and looking at the food section on Instagram wishing I could cook it 
I do make a mean lemon drizzle cake though.
I do make a mean lemon drizzle cake though.
Re: The Food Thread
Here is a tip about frying off mince.
Don't just dump it into the pan and mulch it around until it goes all grey and horrid.
Dump it into the pan in smaller batches flatten it down and then...leave it. Don't mulch it about. Leave it until it's properly browned on one side then flip it over and brown the other side. After that's done then break it up and fry off some more. Lovely browned meat that leaves a great Browning on the pan when you bring in your sauce choice and mix it all back together.
Don't just dump it into the pan and mulch it around until it goes all grey and horrid.
Dump it into the pan in smaller batches flatten it down and then...leave it. Don't mulch it about. Leave it until it's properly browned on one side then flip it over and brown the other side. After that's done then break it up and fry off some more. Lovely browned meat that leaves a great Browning on the pan when you bring in your sauce choice and mix it all back together.
19-10-2003
12072
12072
Re: The Food Thread
Good tip. I tend to find frying off mince to be annoying for things like Bolognese because you want the pieces to be small, and I spend far too long bashing meaty chunks into giblets while it cooks. ¬_¬
Re: The Food Thread
Glad you enjoyed my mega-thread - I did read it once posted and thought "Doubt anyone will want to read all that bobbins" so what do I know?!
For your viewing pleasure, here is some brisket that I did recently, sliced pastrami style - you can see the smoke ring quite clearly.
Reverse searing a steak then. I do this using my smoker and BBQ, so it is a double-clean required at the end, but if you want a perfect steak and are going to spend a lot on the meat, then I reckon it is worth it. It is a real crowd-pleaser too - several mates are decent BBQ cooks but this really elevates it.
Beef is pretty robust and can take some pronounced smoke without becoming unpleasant, so you could use oak, although I prefer cherry or apple for a slightly more subtle smokiness. I tend to get a bone-in rib eye, also sometimes called a tomahawk steak or Côte de boeuf. I get my butcher friend to do mine, but Waitrose have also recently started selling them. If using one, go for a good size and thickness. In fact regardless of what cut you use, make it a nice thick steak so you get a nicely seared outside and a beautiful medium rare core. My wife and I both prefer medium rare, so that is what I will walk through here. If you want different cooks I can give you the temperatures to aim for.
The other thing that you will need, which I look at as an essential for any non-minced meat cookery, is a decent probe thermometer. This can be the penknife-style that you use to check temperatures, but for smoking I use one that connects via a cable to a monitoring unit so that I get a consistent view of the temp. The one I have also has a little bluetooth receiver, so you can see the temp without having to be out by the smoker or inside by the oven, whichever I am using at the time. Take the probe and push it into the very centre of the meat, being careful not to get close to any bones (these will heat faster than the meat which will give you an erroneous temperature - especially to be avoided when cooking a chicken).
Season the steak with salt and pepper, you can add garlic powder and/or onion powder too if you like and let it come up to room temperature. Pop it into the smoker and cook at 225F until the internal temp is 115F. This works just as well cooked in an oven or cooked indirectly on a BBQ (i.e. in a closed BBQ with the meat not directly over the coals), I just love me some smokiness. Once at temp, pull it off and rest for a few minutes. You always let meat rest at the end of a cook, but with steaks you can rest them more than once and it makes the meat better in my experience.
The aim with this first step is to provide you with an even primary cook but doesn't give you that beautiful sear and caramelisation that really makes a good steak.
While that is cooking, I fire up my BBQ (a Weber Master Touch - I am a bit of a Weber whore, they are expensive but they are also bloody good). I have a griddle from Weber, but you can do this in a cast iron skillet/griddle pan just as easily. Pre-heat the pan to a medium high heat, or in my case get the griddle heated directly over the coals (direct rather than indirect cooking BBQ fans). Pop some butter in the pan and melt until it is bubbling (or in my case brush the steak with pre-melted butter) and whop it in the pan or on the griddle.
It will generally take 2-3 minutes per side, but continue to use your probe to monitor the internal temperature. If you try this recipe (with or without smoker) then I really strongly recommend medium rare, but I said I would so here are the temperatures for each gradient: 125F for rare, 135F for medium rare, 145F for medium, 155F for medium well, or 160F for well done.
Rest the steak for 10-15 minutes after they hit the desired temperature and serve. I promise you, if you like a good steak you won't get much better than this.
For your viewing pleasure, here is some brisket that I did recently, sliced pastrami style - you can see the smoke ring quite clearly.
Reverse searing a steak then. I do this using my smoker and BBQ, so it is a double-clean required at the end, but if you want a perfect steak and are going to spend a lot on the meat, then I reckon it is worth it. It is a real crowd-pleaser too - several mates are decent BBQ cooks but this really elevates it.
Beef is pretty robust and can take some pronounced smoke without becoming unpleasant, so you could use oak, although I prefer cherry or apple for a slightly more subtle smokiness. I tend to get a bone-in rib eye, also sometimes called a tomahawk steak or Côte de boeuf. I get my butcher friend to do mine, but Waitrose have also recently started selling them. If using one, go for a good size and thickness. In fact regardless of what cut you use, make it a nice thick steak so you get a nicely seared outside and a beautiful medium rare core. My wife and I both prefer medium rare, so that is what I will walk through here. If you want different cooks I can give you the temperatures to aim for.
The other thing that you will need, which I look at as an essential for any non-minced meat cookery, is a decent probe thermometer. This can be the penknife-style that you use to check temperatures, but for smoking I use one that connects via a cable to a monitoring unit so that I get a consistent view of the temp. The one I have also has a little bluetooth receiver, so you can see the temp without having to be out by the smoker or inside by the oven, whichever I am using at the time. Take the probe and push it into the very centre of the meat, being careful not to get close to any bones (these will heat faster than the meat which will give you an erroneous temperature - especially to be avoided when cooking a chicken).
Season the steak with salt and pepper, you can add garlic powder and/or onion powder too if you like and let it come up to room temperature. Pop it into the smoker and cook at 225F until the internal temp is 115F. This works just as well cooked in an oven or cooked indirectly on a BBQ (i.e. in a closed BBQ with the meat not directly over the coals), I just love me some smokiness. Once at temp, pull it off and rest for a few minutes. You always let meat rest at the end of a cook, but with steaks you can rest them more than once and it makes the meat better in my experience.
The aim with this first step is to provide you with an even primary cook but doesn't give you that beautiful sear and caramelisation that really makes a good steak.
While that is cooking, I fire up my BBQ (a Weber Master Touch - I am a bit of a Weber whore, they are expensive but they are also bloody good). I have a griddle from Weber, but you can do this in a cast iron skillet/griddle pan just as easily. Pre-heat the pan to a medium high heat, or in my case get the griddle heated directly over the coals (direct rather than indirect cooking BBQ fans). Pop some butter in the pan and melt until it is bubbling (or in my case brush the steak with pre-melted butter) and whop it in the pan or on the griddle.
It will generally take 2-3 minutes per side, but continue to use your probe to monitor the internal temperature. If you try this recipe (with or without smoker) then I really strongly recommend medium rare, but I said I would so here are the temperatures for each gradient: 125F for rare, 135F for medium rare, 145F for medium, 155F for medium well, or 160F for well done.
Rest the steak for 10-15 minutes after they hit the desired temperature and serve. I promise you, if you like a good steak you won't get much better than this.
08/10/2003 - 17/08/2018RCHD wrote:Snowy is my favourite. He's a metal God.
10501
Re: The Food Thread
So it would appear one post about my caveman cookery is enough 
08/10/2003 - 17/08/2018RCHD wrote:Snowy is my favourite. He's a metal God.
10501
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Medicine Man
- Bar Staff
- Posts: 2625
- Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2018 1:44 pm
- Location: Under the Stairs
Re: The Food Thread
I think most people will still be reading through it.
I read it. I'm now starving.
I read it. I'm now starving.
Re: The Food Thread
I'm just quietly envious. I can't really cook stuff like that in my tiny flat! Whenever I do steaks it just completely stinks the place out and I have my desk set up pretty close to the kitchen area, it ends up smelling like a BBQ shack in the whole flat for hours.
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Stormbringer
- Rad Dad
- Posts: 1418
- Joined: Fri Aug 10, 2018 9:57 am
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Re: The Food Thread
I am sort of embarrassed to admit that I want to join your tribe and live in your cave, just so I can join in your feasts.
Between tedium and fright
Such is the song of the nether world
The hissing of rats
And the jarring chants of angels
Such is the song of the nether world
The hissing of rats
And the jarring chants of angels
Re: The Food Thread
Today is a no-rain day, so I shall be smoking meat. Yus.
Mrs Snowy has instructed me that she would like a beer-can chicken with smoked corn on the cob. I shall gather pics along the way for you.
So the cook will be on the Smokey Mountain, no need for the Master Touch today. I will be using a neat little gizmo to regulate the temperature too, the Flame Boss 300. This little fella takes away the need to continually nip out to check the pit temperature (i.e. the temperature inside the smoker) by using an internal temperature sensor linked to a variable speed fan. You close off two of the bottom air vents and have the flame boss fan connected to the third. It determines where you are at temperature wise and ensures just the right amount of air gets to the coals to maintain a consistent temperature. They are not cheap, but they allow you to set up and then track progress via an app on your phone - very handy.
With the chicken, because you are not cooking it at high heat, you will not get a crisp skin on the outside. To counter this, before cooking I push my fingers in between the skin and the meat of the bird, to lift it away from the meat, being careful not to tear the skin. I then put the rub (paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic and onion powder, salt and pepper and a little cumin preferred for chicken - can give the quantities if anyone wants them) under the skin of the chicken around the breast meat, then dust the rest of the bird including some inside the body cavity.
So, that's the plan, pics to follow.
Mrs Snowy has instructed me that she would like a beer-can chicken with smoked corn on the cob. I shall gather pics along the way for you.
So the cook will be on the Smokey Mountain, no need for the Master Touch today. I will be using a neat little gizmo to regulate the temperature too, the Flame Boss 300. This little fella takes away the need to continually nip out to check the pit temperature (i.e. the temperature inside the smoker) by using an internal temperature sensor linked to a variable speed fan. You close off two of the bottom air vents and have the flame boss fan connected to the third. It determines where you are at temperature wise and ensures just the right amount of air gets to the coals to maintain a consistent temperature. They are not cheap, but they allow you to set up and then track progress via an app on your phone - very handy.
With the chicken, because you are not cooking it at high heat, you will not get a crisp skin on the outside. To counter this, before cooking I push my fingers in between the skin and the meat of the bird, to lift it away from the meat, being careful not to tear the skin. I then put the rub (paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic and onion powder, salt and pepper and a little cumin preferred for chicken - can give the quantities if anyone wants them) under the skin of the chicken around the breast meat, then dust the rest of the bird including some inside the body cavity.
So, that's the plan, pics to follow.
08/10/2003 - 17/08/2018RCHD wrote:Snowy is my favourite. He's a metal God.
10501
Re: The Food Thread
Change of plan, my butcher mate had some beautifully marbled tomahawk steaks, so picked up one of those (at just under a kilo it will feed the wife and I and then some), and going to cook it on the Master Touch. Pics will still follow.
08/10/2003 - 17/08/2018RCHD wrote:Snowy is my favourite. He's a metal God.
10501