I would like to try sous vide cooking but I don't want to buy abother cooker I'll likely rarely use, and I enjoy having a beer and cooking on the grill.
I would like to try sous vide cooking but I don't want to buy abother cooker I'll likely rarely use, and I enjoy having a beer and cooking on the grill.
The Instant Pot model I bought (the Ultra 60) has the capability to do sous vide without any addons. The local supermarket here had some American Wagyu medallions for $8 each - I picked up a couple to try this with.
So, followup. I made the Wagyu medallions sous vide - and they were wonderful.
The initial step was prepping them for cooking. Luckily, I have a FoodSaver, so this is pretty simple - season the medallions, put them into a bag, and vacuum seal them. Once done, the next step is prepping the Instant Pot. The Ultra 60 doesn't have an express "Sous Vide" mode - instead, you use the configurable "Ultra" mode to make it a sous vide bath. So you set it to Ultra, then set the timer for the correct time (2 hours in this case), set Pressure to None, set Temperature to Custom, then set the exact temperature you want the bath maintained at (I went 130 degrees F), set Delay to Off, and Keep Warm doesn't really matter. Put the bags in the pot, then fill with hot water, making sure the bags stay completely submerged. Take the bags out, and start the Instant Pot, letting it come to temperature. Once it has, put the bags back in, and let the Pot do its thing. About 5 minutes prior to the Pot finishing, get a pan hot and put in some oil. Once the cooking is done, take the bags out, and extract the steak. With tongs, rub the steak on the pan for 30-45 seconds on each side to build up a solid sear, then serve.
The big thing you notice immediately is that the steak is cooked uniformly - in this case, a deep reddish pink. It was perfectly juicy and tender, and just melted in your mouth.
Did you get to check the accuracy/consistency of the temperature setting?
No, I didn't, and I should do that. But, I've read a few reviews online that have had success with the Ultra 60, so I wasn't too worried. I'd say that if you're really serious about sous vide, a circulator is going to be a good idea, but this is a pretty effective way to do it.
I would like to try sous vide cooking but I don't want to buy abother cooker I'll likely rarely use, and I enjoy having a beer and cooking on the grill.
A sous vide setup has a ton of uses since it interacts well with just about any animal protein. And it's not mutually exclusive with a grill either. You still have to finish meats since sous vide won't crisp out the outside of a protein so firing up the grill for that isn't uncommon. And sous vide isn't as great on vegetables since they need a fairly high temperature to break down pectins so you'd still be grilling side dishes.
Sous vide works well on veggies too, but it's not a universally applicable technique, like everything.
The big thing these days is it's surprisingly cheap and fairly easy on space.
Grab one of these bastards for like ~$150: https://ca.anovaculinary.com
which is like the size of a large immersion blender.
Then grab a container big enough for a few servings of food for like $20 or something, say 8qts or something.
And that's it.
I dropped this in [chat] last night, but I'll put it here too. Some more fishery from me.
So, that's (an) amberjack, which is kampachi in Japanese, which you probably haven't seen on the menu at your local sushi place, but it's closely related and tastes similar to the more commonly seen on menus yellowtail/hamachi.
I did a poke the other night, which I didn't actually like that much. The fish is very mild -- much less flavorful than tuna, I think -- so it didn't stand up to the stronger flavors I used in the poke. It fared better in the roll preparation, paired with some green onion, avocado, and cucumber. I think the ideal case would be just sashimi with soy, or a little nigiri roll.
Also I think I'm cutting the fish wrong. There's probably a correct shape/angle to do that on that I've missed.
Oh, and the plates are hand turned and glazed by my girlfriend at her ceramics class. I'm legally required to say that
I did a poke the other night, which I didn't actually like that much. The fish is very mild -- much less flavorful than tuna, I think -- so it didn't stand up to the stronger flavors I used in the poke. It fared better in the roll preparation, paired with some green onion, avocado, and cucumber. I think the ideal case would be just sashimi with soy, or a little nigiri roll.
There are at least some sushi chefs in Japan that were surveyed recently that think the similar tasting yellowtail/hamachi is overrated due to a relative lack of flavor so it's not surprising that it would get lost among stronger flavors. Being overrated is far from a universal opinion among the chefs surveyed but the point about the flavor being light probably stands.
I did a poke the other night, which I didn't actually like that much. The fish is very mild -- much less flavorful than tuna, I think -- so it didn't stand up to the stronger flavors I used in the poke. It fared better in the roll preparation, paired with some green onion, avocado, and cucumber. I think the ideal case would be just sashimi with soy, or a little nigiri roll.
There are at least some sushi chefs in Japan that were surveyed recently that think the similar tasting yellowtail/hamachi is overrated due to a relative lack of flavor so it's not surprising that it would get lost among stronger flavors. Being overrated is far from a universal opinion among the chefs surveyed but the point about the flavor being light probably stands.
I could easily go off on a tangent about people's preferences about fish, especially as related to sustainability, but that's neither here nor there.
When I did a similar preparation with yellowtail I caught in CA, I had roughly the same reaction about it's mildness. I generally feel strongly that keeping things simple and letting ingredients speak for themselves is the way to go when you have high quality starting materials, but here I feel like that's maybe overly limiting and maybe I have to go the other way and use more vigorous flavors/preps. The rolls were pretty good, though.
I did a poke the other night, which I didn't actually like that much. The fish is very mild -- much less flavorful than tuna, I think -- so it didn't stand up to the stronger flavors I used in the poke. It fared better in the roll preparation, paired with some green onion, avocado, and cucumber. I think the ideal case would be just sashimi with soy, or a little nigiri roll.
There are at least some sushi chefs in Japan that were surveyed recently that think the similar tasting yellowtail/hamachi is overrated due to a relative lack of flavor so it's not surprising that it would get lost among stronger flavors. Being overrated is far from a universal opinion among the chefs surveyed but the point about the flavor being light probably stands.
I could easily go off on a tangent about people's preferences about fish, especially as related to sustainability, but that's neither here nor there.
When I did a similar preparation with yellowtail I caught in CA, I had roughly the same reaction about it's mildness. I generally feel strongly that keeping things simple and letting ingredients speak for themselves is the way to go when you have high quality starting materials, but here I feel like that's maybe overly limiting and maybe I have to go the other way and use more vigorous flavors/preps. The rolls were pretty good, though.
There's a delicate balance letting a good ingredient shine through and adding flavors that complement but don't overwhelm it. Seafood, white fish in particular, tends to especially be easy to overwhelm. I've done a few really light sauces with white fish using things like butter, lemon, clam juice or some dijon mustard, olive oil, and pickle brine that are thin so they don't cover the fish's texture.
AbsoluteZeroThe new film by Quentin KoopantinoRegistered Userregular
Just made this yesterday and it was so freakin' delicious I had to share. I cobbled this together from a number of different recipes and time and temperature suggestions I've seen across the web and a couple different cook books, looking at ways to sous vide turkey and ways to deep fry chicken wings.
The result - Deep Fried Turkey Legs.
One of the advantages of sous vide is it gives you a way to easily prepare dishes that traditionally can be touchy, or in this case dangerous, to produce. If you've ever wanted moist, delicious, crispy deep fried turkey but you wanted to A) make it indoors and not die in a fire, I think this is a pretty darn good solution. The sous vide takes care of fully cooking the meat to an even doneness, retaining the moisture and making the meat super tender. Then, since the meat is already fully cooked from the sous vide, you can do a fast fry in oil at a higher temperature than you normally would if you were frying the meat raw, because at that point you are only interested in putting that crispy crust on the outside of the meat and not cooking it all the way through. Finally, since we are only cooking legs we can do this with a fairly compact setup on your cooktop indoors, and not have to worry about a big propane frying rig that you would traditionally use outdoors to fry a turkey (and risk immolating yourself in the process).
You will need…
• Turkey Legs
• Seasoned Salt (or use 2 parts salt to 1 part sugar and a few dashes of pepper)
• Fresh Thyme and/or Sage
• Peanut Oil
Optional: If you wish to brine your turkey legs, which is totally optional but can penetrate more flavor deep into the meat, prepare an adequate amount of brine 2 days prior to the day you want to eat (I like Alton Brown's roast turkey brine recipe, personally). Brine the turkey legs 24 hours. However, the turkey legs still turn out super good without the brine.
One day prior to the day you want to eat, heat the sous vide water bath to 149 degrees F. Pat dry and season the turkey legs on all sides using the seasoned salt or salt/sugar mixture. Place the seasoned turkey legs in vacuum seal bags and add a few sprigs of thyme and/or leaves of sage. Vacuum seal the bags and submerge in the heated sous vide bath. Cook at 149 degrees F for 14 to 24 hours.
To finish, heat a couple inches of peanut oil (enough to just submerge the legs) in a deep pot over medium to medium-high heat. Use a candy thermometer and heat the oil to 400 degrees F. While the oil is heating up, remove the bags from the water bath and remove the turkey legs from the bags. Discard the herbs. Pat dry the turkey legs to remove as much moisture from the surface of the meat and skin as you can. Once the oil reaches 400 degrees F, carefully place one turkey leg in the oil and fry for 2 minutes (you might want to use a splatter screen to keep the mess down). Remove the turkey leg and place on a wire rack to cool and allow the excess oil to drip off. If needed, heat the oil back to 400 degrees F and repeat with remaining turkey legs, frying one at a time. Note: make sure the turkey legs aren't in contact with any type of wire or stainless steel, such as a frying basket, when they go into the oil; just slowly and carefully lower them in by hand. If they are in contact with bare metal when they hit the hot oil, the turkey skin can fuse to it. Once they are in the oil for a bit you are OK to fish them back out with a metal or wire utensil.
Turkey legs in the bath...
Turkey legs fresh out of the hot oil...
Turkey leg after I've gnawed on it a bit... so tender and delicious!
One of the advantages of sous vide is it gives you a way to easily prepare dishes that traditionally can be touchy, or in this case dangerous, to produce. If you've ever wanted moist, delicious, crispy deep fried turkey but you wanted to A) make it indoors and not die in a fire, I think this is a pretty darn good solution. The sous vide takes care of fully cooking the meat to an even doneness, retaining the moisture and making the meat super tender. Then, since the meat is already fully cooked from the sous vide, you can do a fast fry in oil at a higher temperature than you normally would if you were frying the meat raw, because at that point you are only interested in putting that crispy crust on the outside of the meat and not cooking it all the way through. Finally, since we are only cooking legs we can do this with a fairly compact setup on your cooktop indoors, and not have to worry about a big propane frying rig that you would traditionally use outdoors to fry a turkey (and risk immolating yourself in the process).
Turkey legs are one of the less expensive cuts of meat that really benefit from sous vide. I do a confit using duck fat at a similar temp and time when my reserves start getting high and finish them via broiling.
Just made this yesterday and it was so freakin' delicious I had to share. I cobbled this together from a number of different recipes and time and temperature suggestions I've seen across the web and a couple different cook books, looking at ways to sous vide turkey and ways to deep fry chicken wings.
The result - Deep Fried Turkey Legs.
One of the advantages of sous vide is it gives you a way to easily prepare dishes that traditionally can be touchy, or in this case dangerous, to produce. If you've ever wanted moist, delicious, crispy deep fried turkey but you wanted to A) make it indoors and not die in a fire, I think this is a pretty darn good solution. The sous vide takes care of fully cooking the meat to an even doneness, retaining the moisture and making the meat super tender. Then, since the meat is already fully cooked from the sous vide, you can do a fast fry in oil at a higher temperature than you normally would if you were frying the meat raw, because at that point you are only interested in putting that crispy crust on the outside of the meat and not cooking it all the way through. Finally, since we are only cooking legs we can do this with a fairly compact setup on your cooktop indoors, and not have to worry about a big propane frying rig that you would traditionally use outdoors to fry a turkey (and risk immolating yourself in the process).
You will need…
• Turkey Legs
• Seasoned Salt (or use 2 parts salt to 1 part sugar and a few dashes of pepper)
• Fresh Thyme and/or Sage
• Peanut Oil
Optional: If you wish to brine your turkey legs, which is totally optional but can penetrate more flavor deep into the meat, prepare an adequate amount of brine 2 days prior to the day you want to eat (I like Alton Brown's roast turkey brine recipe, personally). Brine the turkey legs 24 hours. However, the turkey legs still turn out super good without the brine.
One day prior to the day you want to eat, heat the sous vide water bath to 149 degrees F. Pat dry and season the turkey legs on all sides using the seasoned salt or salt/sugar mixture. Place the seasoned turkey legs in vacuum seal bags and add a few sprigs of thyme and/or leaves of sage. Vacuum seal the bags and submerge in the heated sous vide bath. Cook at 149 degrees F for 14 to 24 hours.
To finish, heat a couple inches of peanut oil (enough to just submerge the legs) in a deep pot over medium to medium-high heat. Use a candy thermometer and heat the oil to 400 degrees F. While the oil is heating up, remove the bags from the water bath and remove the turkey legs from the bags. Discard the herbs. Pat dry the turkey legs to remove as much moisture from the surface of the meat and skin as you can. Once the oil reaches 400 degrees F, carefully place one turkey leg in the oil and fry for 2 minutes (you might want to use a splatter screen to keep the mess down). Remove the turkey leg and place on a wire rack to cool and allow the excess oil to drip off. If needed, heat the oil back to 400 degrees F and repeat with remaining turkey legs, frying one at a time. Note: make sure the turkey legs aren't in contact with any type of wire or stainless steel, such as a frying basket, when they go into the oil; just slowly and carefully lower them in by hand. If they are in contact with bare metal when they hit the hot oil, the turkey skin can fuse to it. Once they are in the oil for a bit you are OK to fish them back out with a metal or wire utensil.
Turkey legs in the bath...
Turkey legs fresh out of the hot oil...
Turkey leg after I've gnawed on it a bit... so tender and delicious!
What's that container you are sous-viding in with the suspiciously perfectly sized hole in the lid?
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AbsoluteZeroThe new film by Quentin KoopantinoRegistered Userregular
@shryke Everie collapsible hinged sous vide container lid paired with a 12 qt Rubbermaid commercial food storage container.
I've had a hard time making pizza in the oven. Tried the magic peel, tried a baking steel, never could get the hang of it. Tried the cast iron pan route, but the slow response time of the cast iron made it really hard to time it right.
This device cost $45 and gives me consistent results. Time is 20 minutes per pizza, but with no pre-heating. I've seen many similar products over the years, but they either never showed the bottom crust, or they showed a bottom crust that was pale and sad looking. Top crust doesn't have any char (I assume because of all the escaping steam is throwing off the temperature), but I can try using the heat gun I bought to see if that helps.
So I tonight I found out my mom had never made pancakes from scratch. So I look up a recipe and whip up the batter real quick.
It seems a bit thick. Add some more milk, then add a bit more, and cook a few. Something is defiantly up.
Only then do I realize I was looking at.the baking soda, 3 1/2 tsp, and mistakenly put in 3 1/2 cups flour instead of the called for 1 1/2. Whoops. Added more bs, salt, sugar, butter and milk, foregoing a SecoND egg since we had used about half the batter.
They salvaged ok. But I can't think of anytime I've cooked that I've ever goofed like that.
Anyone got a good use for chicken fat? My wife has been buying skin on bone in thighs recently because they are so cheap at <$1/lb, and I've been deboning them and pulling the skin off and rendering the fat out.
Also weirdly, crispy chicken skin tastes like pork rinds.
Steam - Synthetic Violence | XBOX Live - Cannonfuse | PSN - CastleBravo | Twitch - SoggybiscuitPA
Anyone got a good use for chicken fat? My wife has been buying skin on bone in thighs recently because they are so cheap at <$1/lb, and I've been deboning them and pulling the skin off and rendering the fat out.
Also weirdly, crispy chicken skin tastes like pork rinds.
Anyone got a good use for chicken fat? My wife has been buying skin on bone in thighs recently because they are so cheap at <$1/lb, and I've been deboning them and pulling the skin off and rendering the fat out.
Also weirdly, crispy chicken skin tastes like pork rinds.
Fry stuff in it! It's really good for making fritters, rissoles and home fried potatoes.
Anyone got a good use for chicken fat? My wife has been buying skin on bone in thighs recently because they are so cheap at <$1/lb, and I've been deboning them and pulling the skin off and rendering the fat out.
Also weirdly, crispy chicken skin tastes like pork rinds.
Easy uses for almost any animal fat you have too much of:
Make biscuits with it, subbing in up to half the butter (or even all of it if you really like that fat).
Use it in place of butter when scrambling or frying eggs.
Just some simple things if you still have fat left over after the more dedicated uses (which you will if you make confit as that often adds more to your fat supply.
Chicken fat is glorious for frying some vegetables or augmenting rice. It's always been one of my favorite things to pair with anything savory that has ginger in it.
Anyone got a good use for chicken fat? My wife has been buying skin on bone in thighs recently because they are so cheap at <$1/lb, and I've been deboning them and pulling the skin off and rendering the fat out.
Also weirdly, crispy chicken skin tastes like pork rinds.
Anyone got a good use for chicken fat? My wife has been buying skin on bone in thighs recently because they are so cheap at <$1/lb, and I've been deboning them and pulling the skin off and rendering the fat out.
Also weirdly, crispy chicken skin tastes like pork rinds.
Fry stuff in it! It's really good for making fritters, rissoles and home fried potatoes.
You could also make gribenes
Thanks for the ideas folks! I've been cutting the skin up to make rendering easier, but not as small as need for gribenes (I cut the skin into 3-4 pieces tops). I might have to freeze it first then cut it up next time so I can make some of those. They look really tasty!
Steam - Synthetic Violence | XBOX Live - Cannonfuse | PSN - CastleBravo | Twitch - SoggybiscuitPA
Not sure if it counts as cooking, but I've lately (past few months) been messing with various forms of fermentation. I've got a competent sourdough starter living in my fridge(produces very flavorful bread), as well as quite adequate kimchi.
I've also been growing a scoby, and my kombucha jug produces about two liters (half a gallon?) per week. Very tasty too, and since it's bloody expensive in stores, much more convenient. I've noticed that jasmine green tea makes a very mellow kombucha. I've also been making some kvass equivalent, since it's a great summer drink with a bit of lemon juice mixed in.
I've been back to oldschool one-pan, minimalist cooking since none of my gear has arrived in the new place yet. Total kitchen implements right now:
One large skillet
One small skillet
One medium pot with lid
One ceramic 6in chef's knife
One steel 6in chef's knife
One plastic double-ended mixing thing
Two bamboo food-poking utensils
One tongs
One spatula
One can opener
One cutting board
paper plates
silverware
I've been back to oldschool one-pan, minimalist cooking since none of my gear has arrived in the new place yet. Total kitchen implements right now:
One large skillet
One small skillet
One medium pot with lid
One ceramic 6in chef's knife
One steel 6in chef's knife
One plastic double-ended mixing thing
Two bamboo food-poking utensils
One tongs
One spatula
One can opener
One cutting board
paper plates
silverware
aaaaand that's it...
I'm convinced that when I move my most commonly used gear absolutely must go in the car with me and not the moving truck. Hell, a few weeks ago when I went out of town to a place lacking in food options nearby I packed some of my own silver ware and knives and a personal picnic to eat in my hotel room.
I could almost make do with what you have with you but the lack of a strainer or colander for pasta and other noodles, lack of a wire rack or roasting pan for keeping oven prepared meat from getting soggy in its own fat, and lack of thermometer to sanity check some stuff would be an issue and this is me speaking as a single guy and not you with a family with broodlings.
I've used pot lids as impromptu strainers with moderate success. Agree about the thermometer, though.
Also it's surprising how many people avoid grocery stores for supplies or even premade/deli food when they are on travel. The food is on par with most restaurant food and is roughly 75% the price (or less).
Posts
It's good, but lacks some substance. I think it works best as a sauce over something like enchiladas, or even just served with rice and beans
you can have a beer while you finish on the grill
just have to chug it really quickly
So, followup. I made the Wagyu medallions sous vide - and they were wonderful.
The initial step was prepping them for cooking. Luckily, I have a FoodSaver, so this is pretty simple - season the medallions, put them into a bag, and vacuum seal them. Once done, the next step is prepping the Instant Pot. The Ultra 60 doesn't have an express "Sous Vide" mode - instead, you use the configurable "Ultra" mode to make it a sous vide bath. So you set it to Ultra, then set the timer for the correct time (2 hours in this case), set Pressure to None, set Temperature to Custom, then set the exact temperature you want the bath maintained at (I went 130 degrees F), set Delay to Off, and Keep Warm doesn't really matter. Put the bags in the pot, then fill with hot water, making sure the bags stay completely submerged. Take the bags out, and start the Instant Pot, letting it come to temperature. Once it has, put the bags back in, and let the Pot do its thing. About 5 minutes prior to the Pot finishing, get a pan hot and put in some oil. Once the cooking is done, take the bags out, and extract the steak. With tongs, rub the steak on the pan for 30-45 seconds on each side to build up a solid sear, then serve.
The big thing you notice immediately is that the steak is cooked uniformly - in this case, a deep reddish pink. It was perfectly juicy and tender, and just melted in your mouth.
No, I didn't, and I should do that. But, I've read a few reviews online that have had success with the Ultra 60, so I wasn't too worried. I'd say that if you're really serious about sous vide, a circulator is going to be a good idea, but this is a pretty effective way to do it.
Sous vide works well on veggies too, but it's not a universally applicable technique, like everything.
The big thing these days is it's surprisingly cheap and fairly easy on space.
Grab one of these bastards for like ~$150: https://ca.anovaculinary.com
which is like the size of a large immersion blender.
Then grab a container big enough for a few servings of food for like $20 or something, say 8qts or something.
And that's it.
So, that's (an) amberjack, which is kampachi in Japanese, which you probably haven't seen on the menu at your local sushi place, but it's closely related and tastes similar to the more commonly seen on menus yellowtail/hamachi.
I did a poke the other night, which I didn't actually like that much. The fish is very mild -- much less flavorful than tuna, I think -- so it didn't stand up to the stronger flavors I used in the poke. It fared better in the roll preparation, paired with some green onion, avocado, and cucumber. I think the ideal case would be just sashimi with soy, or a little nigiri roll.
Also I think I'm cutting the fish wrong. There's probably a correct shape/angle to do that on that I've missed.
Oh, and the plates are hand turned and glazed by my girlfriend at her ceramics class. I'm legally required to say that
Also the fish looks good too!
There are at least some sushi chefs in Japan that were surveyed recently that think the similar tasting yellowtail/hamachi is overrated due to a relative lack of flavor so it's not surprising that it would get lost among stronger flavors. Being overrated is far from a universal opinion among the chefs surveyed but the point about the flavor being light probably stands.
Steam Profile
3DS: 3454-0268-5595 Battle.net: SteelAngel#1772
I could easily go off on a tangent about people's preferences about fish, especially as related to sustainability, but that's neither here nor there.
When I did a similar preparation with yellowtail I caught in CA, I had roughly the same reaction about it's mildness. I generally feel strongly that keeping things simple and letting ingredients speak for themselves is the way to go when you have high quality starting materials, but here I feel like that's maybe overly limiting and maybe I have to go the other way and use more vigorous flavors/preps. The rolls were pretty good, though.
There's a delicate balance letting a good ingredient shine through and adding flavors that complement but don't overwhelm it. Seafood, white fish in particular, tends to especially be easy to overwhelm. I've done a few really light sauces with white fish using things like butter, lemon, clam juice or some dijon mustard, olive oil, and pickle brine that are thin so they don't cover the fish's texture.
Steam Profile
3DS: 3454-0268-5595 Battle.net: SteelAngel#1772
The result - Deep Fried Turkey Legs.
One of the advantages of sous vide is it gives you a way to easily prepare dishes that traditionally can be touchy, or in this case dangerous, to produce. If you've ever wanted moist, delicious, crispy deep fried turkey but you wanted to A) make it indoors and
You will need…
• Turkey Legs
• Seasoned Salt (or use 2 parts salt to 1 part sugar and a few dashes of pepper)
• Fresh Thyme and/or Sage
• Peanut Oil
Optional: If you wish to brine your turkey legs, which is totally optional but can penetrate more flavor deep into the meat, prepare an adequate amount of brine 2 days prior to the day you want to eat (I like Alton Brown's roast turkey brine recipe, personally). Brine the turkey legs 24 hours. However, the turkey legs still turn out super good without the brine.
One day prior to the day you want to eat, heat the sous vide water bath to 149 degrees F. Pat dry and season the turkey legs on all sides using the seasoned salt or salt/sugar mixture. Place the seasoned turkey legs in vacuum seal bags and add a few sprigs of thyme and/or leaves of sage. Vacuum seal the bags and submerge in the heated sous vide bath. Cook at 149 degrees F for 14 to 24 hours.
To finish, heat a couple inches of peanut oil (enough to just submerge the legs) in a deep pot over medium to medium-high heat. Use a candy thermometer and heat the oil to 400 degrees F. While the oil is heating up, remove the bags from the water bath and remove the turkey legs from the bags. Discard the herbs. Pat dry the turkey legs to remove as much moisture from the surface of the meat and skin as you can. Once the oil reaches 400 degrees F, carefully place one turkey leg in the oil and fry for 2 minutes (you might want to use a splatter screen to keep the mess down). Remove the turkey leg and place on a wire rack to cool and allow the excess oil to drip off. If needed, heat the oil back to 400 degrees F and repeat with remaining turkey legs, frying one at a time. Note: make sure the turkey legs aren't in contact with any type of wire or stainless steel, such as a frying basket, when they go into the oil; just slowly and carefully lower them in by hand. If they are in contact with bare metal when they hit the hot oil, the turkey skin can fuse to it. Once they are in the oil for a bit you are OK to fish them back out with a metal or wire utensil.
Turkey legs in the bath...
Turkey legs fresh out of the hot oil...
Turkey leg after I've gnawed on it a bit... so tender and delicious!
Turkey legs are one of the less expensive cuts of meat that really benefit from sous vide. I do a confit using duck fat at a similar temp and time when my reserves start getting high and finish them via broiling.
Steam Profile
3DS: 3454-0268-5595 Battle.net: SteelAngel#1772
What's that container you are sous-viding in with the suspiciously perfectly sized hole in the lid?
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B071L6PRY8/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1527456208&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65
I've had a hard time making pizza in the oven. Tried the magic peel, tried a baking steel, never could get the hang of it. Tried the cast iron pan route, but the slow response time of the cast iron made it really hard to time it right.
This device cost $45 and gives me consistent results. Time is 20 minutes per pizza, but with no pre-heating. I've seen many similar products over the years, but they either never showed the bottom crust, or they showed a bottom crust that was pale and sad looking. Top crust doesn't have any char (I assume because of all the escaping steam is throwing off the temperature), but I can try using the heat gun I bought to see if that helps.
Use the oil from a ton of anchovies if you want a browned crust with a delicate salt frost
How much yeast, by volume or weight, is in a packet of dry instant yeast? Like the Fleischman brand.
Democrats Abroad! || Vote From Abroad
The one in my fridge says 8g.
You are my sunshine, thank you!
Democrats Abroad! || Vote From Abroad
It seems a bit thick. Add some more milk, then add a bit more, and cook a few. Something is defiantly up.
Only then do I realize I was looking at.the baking soda, 3 1/2 tsp, and mistakenly put in 3 1/2 cups flour instead of the called for 1 1/2. Whoops. Added more bs, salt, sugar, butter and milk, foregoing a SecoND egg since we had used about half the batter.
They salvaged ok. But I can't think of anytime I've cooked that I've ever goofed like that.
Also weirdly, crispy chicken skin tastes like pork rinds.
Confit
Fry stuff in it! It's really good for making fritters, rissoles and home fried potatoes.
You could also make gribenes
Schmaltz is awesome for most applications where you use a fat. One of my faves is at a local restaurant here in Chicago. https://www.jamesbeard.org/recipes/schmaltz-smashed-potatoes-with-chicken-fat-gravy
Edit: If you want to go all out and do confit some chicken, use that to make the ultimate hearty french dish Cassoulet https://www.seriouseats.com/2014/10/how-to-make-cassoulet-chicken-food-lab-french-casserole.html
Make biscuits with it, subbing in up to half the butter (or even all of it if you really like that fat).
Use it in place of butter when scrambling or frying eggs.
Just some simple things if you still have fat left over after the more dedicated uses (which you will if you make confit as that often adds more to your fat supply.
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Thanks for the ideas folks! I've been cutting the skin up to make rendering easier, but not as small as need for gribenes (I cut the skin into 3-4 pieces tops). I might have to freeze it first then cut it up next time so I can make some of those. They look really tasty!
I've also been growing a scoby, and my kombucha jug produces about two liters (half a gallon?) per week. Very tasty too, and since it's bloody expensive in stores, much more convenient. I've noticed that jasmine green tea makes a very mellow kombucha. I've also been making some kvass equivalent, since it's a great summer drink with a bit of lemon juice mixed in.
One large skillet
One small skillet
One medium pot with lid
One ceramic 6in chef's knife
One steel 6in chef's knife
One plastic double-ended mixing thing
Two bamboo food-poking utensils
One tongs
One spatula
One can opener
One cutting board
paper plates
silverware
aaaaand that's it...
I'm convinced that when I move my most commonly used gear absolutely must go in the car with me and not the moving truck. Hell, a few weeks ago when I went out of town to a place lacking in food options nearby I packed some of my own silver ware and knives and a personal picnic to eat in my hotel room.
I could almost make do with what you have with you but the lack of a strainer or colander for pasta and other noodles, lack of a wire rack or roasting pan for keeping oven prepared meat from getting soggy in its own fat, and lack of thermometer to sanity check some stuff would be an issue and this is me speaking as a single guy and not you with a family with broodlings.
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Also it's surprising how many people avoid grocery stores for supplies or even premade/deli food when they are on travel. The food is on par with most restaurant food and is roughly 75% the price (or less).