Cookin again

[Dannyalcatraz]

Additional note on that Deliciously Dill seasoning mix: instead of just using it dry, I sometimes mix it with olive oil, and maybe some vinegar and/or mustard to make a vinaigrette that works great on subs or salads. When I use that concoction on a sandwich, it’s often the only condiment I use.

 

[Jahydin]

A trick I picked up while attempting to learn Latte Art:
Never say what it is before you pour.

I've impressed more than one individual with my assortments of snowmen, turtles, slimes, and jellyfish art... all made up on the spot.

 

[overgeeked]

Just made a soup for the first time tonight that's now one of my favorite soups. So good.

Cream of Chicken and Rice Soup.

3 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp oil.
1 1/2 lbs of chicken, cubed or otherwise cut into small bits.
One onion, 2-4 carrots, and 4-6 celery ribs, diced.
1 1/2 cup uncooked rice.
6 cups of stock or broth.
1 tsp each of thyme, salt, and pepper.
One cup of heavy cream.
One tomato, diced.

Cut up the chicken and dredge in flour to coat. Add fats to pan or pot. Cook until it starts to brown a little. Add onion, carrots, and celery. Cook for another 2-3 minutes. Top with everything else except the cream and tomato. Cook for 12 minutes in a pressure cooker or 2 hours on high in a slow cooker. Let the pressure cooker naturally release for 10 minutes before opening the vent. Add the cream and tomato. Stir it up, give the tomato 2-3 minutes to soften, then serve.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Sounds tasty!

 

[Jahydin]

@overgeeked
That looks really good!

When you buy your chicken, do you go for store brand, basic name brand, or fancy organic name brand? Where I'm at, chicken ranges $2lb. to $8lb. depending.

 

[overgeeked]

@overgeeked
That looks really good!

When you buy your chicken, do you go for store brand, basic name brand, or fancy organic name brand? Where I'm at, chicken ranges $2lb. to $8lb. depending.

Nothing fancy. Store or basic brand. $2-4/pound.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Been binging on meals made with my beer-braised corned beef.* I cooked two 3lb ones for St. Patrick’s Day, and they disappeared by that Sunday (some to my paternal aunt’s house). So as soon as I could, I went to the store and bought and cooked four more. One got eaten, one we gave to a neighbor we occasionally swap meals with. The other two were cut into halves, carefully wrapped up and frozen.

Here’s some of what we had:

https://i.*****.com/6egT5du.jpeg
Mom’s St. Patrick’s meal: corned beef, oven-roasted cauliflower, and half of a baked potato topped with green onions, butter, sour cream, and American cheese.


https://i.*****.com/afTQiTe.jpeg
I basically had the same meal, but I crammed everything except the cauliflower into my potato.


https://i.*****.com/GSrde54.jpeg
This is a sandwich, opened to show the innards. It featured beer-braised corned beef on toasted sourdough, with Cotswold cheese, diced green onions, dill pickle slices, mayo and yellow mustard.


https://i.*****.com/VPurzin.jpeg
On this one, the Cotswold cheese was replaced by onion Monterrey Jack, the green onions by radish sprouts, and the yellow mustard by spicy brown mustard. Also, there was mayonnaise involved.


Edit: forgot to include what the asterisk was for…THE TECHNIQUE!

* I typically soak my corned beef a few hours to reduce its saltiness, then braise two at a time for 9 hours at 220degF. The result is tender enough to cut straight down like a wheel of cheddar: no sawing motion required. I’ve braised corned beef at higher temps (350degF) for shorter times (3-3.5 hours) and gotten similar results, but I think the low & slow results in a tenderer end product. I can literally cut this straight down like a hard cheese as opposed to (gentle) sawing.

The braising liquid for a pair of corned beef slabs is typically 2 beers, a half can of beef broth, and a beef bouillon cube.

Besides the braising liquid, the briskets were topped with the seasoning packets, ground thyme, ground black pepper, while 4 bay leaves and some black peppercorns were added to the liquid.

 

[prabe]

@Dannyalcatraz What kind/s of beer do you usually use for that? The beer-nerd in me can see options, just curious what you've setting on.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

@Dannyalcatraz What kind/s of beer do you usually use for that? The beer-nerd in me can see options, just curious what you've setting on.

My first rule of cooking with alcohol, I always use something I would drink.

In this case, I’ve been beer braising corned beef for about 5 or so years now- it’s the only way I’ve found that makes it taste good to me*- and I’ve tried a variety of beers. Almost always, it was something I had on hand. Pretty much every beer I’ve tried has worked, BUT I have consciously avoided those with strong fruit or other sweet notes.

The first 2 times I beer-braised corned beef, it was Kirin. The next was some Newcastle Brown Ale. Than Killian’s Red, Guinness, Asahi, Shiner Bock and Shiner Blonde.

Because of circumstances, these last 2 batches were an oddball mix of Kirin and Shiner Bock. I only had 3 Kirins and 1 Shiner Bock in the fridge, so I mixed them 1.5 Kirins and half a Bock to keep the flavors consistent across the batches.

And the resulting flavors are probably pretty much what you’d expect: the darker, heavier beers resulted in a flavor closer to what most would call “beefy”. The lighter flavored beers seem to let the more herbal flavors from the other ingredients shine forth a bit more.

I’m still experimenting with this recipe, but clearly, it’s pretty forgiving & flexible. I want to do more research on traditional, “from scratch” corned beef seasonings, and try to pair that with a beer like Kirin or Asahi to see if I can get a really strong herbal taste.

And of course, the next time I try braising a traditional brisket or chuck roast, etc., I’m grabbing Bock or something similar.







* a story in itself

 

[prabe]

My first rule of cooking with alcohol, I always use something I would drink.

In this case, I’ve been beer braising corned beef for about 5 or so years now- it’s the only way I’ve found that makes it taste good to me*- and I’ve tried a variety of beers. Almost always, it was something I had on hand. Pretty much every beer I’ve tried has worked, BUT I have consciously avoided those with strong fruit or other sweet notes.

I would recommend--though you have like seen/heard this elsewhere, apologies--also not using particularly hoppy beers for something slow-cooked like this. Anything malt-focused seems likely to work, as honestly would something like a witbier. I'd think something like a dubbel would also work, but those tend to have some fruit at least around the edges and they might drift your corned beef in a Carbonnade-ish direction that might not work with corned beef.

Here ends Beer Nerd Corner.