Kitchen shortcuts

[ChickenSandwich 9,833]

25 minutes ago, Upgrayedd said:

The mayo and hidden valley ranch powder help?

Lol. Just read that recipe. Though was just a link to the storage method. 
 

No thank you mayo

[dcbc 14,472]

3 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

Now do it with smoked chicken.  Seriously, do it.  When I make a chicken and sausage gumbo, I quick smoke a bunch of dark meat quarters, and do exactly this: let it cool, pull the meat, use the bones and skin to make stock for the gumbo.  You can smoke the chicken yourself, or if you pick up a smoked chicken at a BBQ joint, use that.

Great advice!  It definitely hits harder (although not overly smokey), and the kitchen smells amazing.  I have done it with my smoked turkey from Thanksgiving. In fact, I'm reminded that I saved and froze the bones from my last smoked chicken. Hell, I even saved two pounds of shrimp shells and tails last week based on one of your stock posts. I just need to schedule a gumbo session soon.  Or, honestly, I need to just start making stock and freezing it to get off the boxed stock.

Edited August 4, 2022 by dcbc

[elfenix 34,231]

2 hours ago, ChickenSandwich said:

https://noblepig.com/2014/05/chunky-guacamole/

i never thought to do this without a layer of plastic wrap placed first. 

[ztejas 43,418]

My favorite shortcut when cooking is to make a roux from scratch and then smoke a bunch of my own chicken for a gumbo. 

[Deej 76,759]

My favorite kitchen shortcut...

 

[Sbbruin 21,844]

On 7/31/2022 at 12:44 PM, jimmyjazz said:

They sell mirepoix?  I swear I scoured the freezer section and couldn't find any.

 

Places rarely sell mirapoix, because onions have a much shorter shelf life than carrots and celery.  Once chopped, onions are on a pretty short clock.  Carrots and celery not so much.

[elfenix 34,231]

1 hour ago, ztejas said:

My favorite shortcut when cooking is to make a roux from scratch and then smoke a bunch of my own chicken for a gumbo. 

[Trey3216 15,346]

If you have left over turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes and dressing from thanksgiving:

1) ass a little chicken stock to the dressing and turn it into a masa like consistency

2) roll the good stuff into your masa 

3) wrap in corn husks

4) freeze 

5) steam at Christmas for some alternative tamales.  

[utee94 15,812]

12 hours ago, Sbbruin said:

Places rarely sell mirapoix, because onions have a much shorter shelf life than carrots and celery.  Once chopped, onions are on a pretty short clock.  Carrots and celery not so much.

Silly Californian, I pity you.

HEB sells a variety of pre-made cut vegetable kits, intended for same-day purchase and use.  Mirepoix kits, tortilla soup kits, single cut vegetable kits.  All available due to the Glory and Wonder that is HEB.

 

 

 

When they're open.

[ztejas 43,418]

8 hours ago, Trey3216 said:

1) ass a little chicken stock

[Trey3216 15,346]

27 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Typing late on the phone.  Didn't proof read.  

 

*add a little chicken stock   

[Celery Man 20,934]

8 hours ago, utee94 said:

Silly Californian, I pity you.

HEB sells a variety of pre-made cut vegetable kits, intended for same-day purchase and use.  Mirepoix kits, tortilla soup kits, single cut vegetable kits.  All available due to the Glory and Wonder that is HEB.

 

 

 

When they're open.

i know this is off topic but fuck you guys for having HEB, which is so much better than any other grocery store. Publix is bullshit. People in NC think Harris Teeter is fancy, and it is just fucking Kroger. Wegmans is aight but still falls vastly short of HEB in every department.

 

back on the garlic thing (because garlic really is the slowest thing for me and now you have piqued my interest in ditching the press) - I have the knife skills to do onions lickety split, but garlic just sticks to everything. Is there any trick there to getting a nice mince without spending most of the time scraping garlic off of the knife/your fingers/etc?

[dcbc 14,472]

21 minutes ago, Celery Man said:

i know this is off topic but fuck you guys for having HEB, which is so much better than any other grocery store. Publix is bullshit. People in NC think Harris Teeter is fancy, and it is just fucking Kroger. Wegmans is aight but still falls vastly short of HEB in every department.

 

back on the garlic thing (because garlic really is the slowest thing for me and now you have piqued my interest in ditching the press) - I have the knife skills to do onions lickety split, but garlic just sticks to everything. Is there any trick there to getting a nice mince without spending most of the time scraping garlic off of the knife/your fingers/etc?

I did it last night, and while it wasn't quick, I just went back and forth in a quarter-moon pattern with my hand over the front/top edge of the knife and it didn't stick to my knife quite like the aroma has stuck to my hands through repeated washings.  YMMV.

Edited August 4, 2022 by dcbc

[52-80 19,150]

8 hours ago, utee94 said:

Silly Californian, I pity you.

HEB sells a variety of pre-made cut vegetable kits, intended for same-day purchase and use.  Mirepoix kits, tortilla soup kits, single cut vegetable kits.  All available due to the Glory and Wonder that is HEB.

 

 

 

When they're open.

 

 

[tigol 2,395]

i know this is off topic but fuck you guys for having HEB, which is so much better than any other grocery store. Publix is bullshit. People in NC think Harris Teeter is fancy, and it is just fucking Kroger. Wegmans is aight but still falls vastly short of HEB in every department.
 
back on the garlic thing (because garlic really is the slowest thing for me and now you have piqued my interest in ditching the press) - I have the knife skills to do onions lickety split, but garlic just sticks to everything. Is there any trick there to getting a nice mince without spending most of the time scraping garlic off of the knife/your fingers/etc?

Smash it flat first with your knife and the heel of your hand. It will still stick to the knife, but it makes it much easier to dice.

[Da Fino 2,780]

29 minutes ago, Celery Man said:

 Is there any trick there to getting a nice mince without spending most of the time scraping garlic off of the knife/your fingers/etc?

Are you using a santoku knife or a chef's knife?

[Gene Parmesan 4,005]

What's wrong with the garlic press again?  Is it destroying the flavor, or is it just the lack of yield that makes it suck?

[tigol 2,395]

That’s a good point. I use a large rocking chef’s knife. Makes it easier to control and then mince.

[tigol 2,395]

What's wrong with the garlic press again?  Is it destroying the flavor, or is it just the lack of yield that makes it suck?

http://urbanmonique.net/2014/10/anthony-bourdain-hates-your-garlic-press/

[Celery Man 20,934]

27 minutes ago, Da Fino said:

Are you using a santoku knife or a chef's knife?

I have a santoku but I basically use my chefs knife for everything. I haven’t been doing the smashing of the garlic, maybe that makes it easier - slicing the unsmashed garlic each slice just moves up the blade

[jimmyjazz 45,903]

My dudes, this is why you want to use the flash frozen garlic cubes (if you're actually cooking the garlic).

[Captain Ron 12,874]

6 hours ago, Celery Man said:

i know this is off topic but fuck you guys for having HEB, which is so much better than any other grocery store. Publix is bullshit. People in NC think Harris Teeter is fancy, and it is just fucking Kroger. Wegmans is aight but still falls vastly short of HEB in every department.

 

back on the garlic thing (because garlic really is the slowest thing for me and now you have piqued my interest in ditching the press) - I have the knife skills to do onions lickety split, but garlic just sticks to everything. Is there any trick there to getting a nice mince without spending most of the time scraping garlic off of the knife/your fingers/etc?

 

5 hours ago, Gene Parmesan said:

What's wrong with the garlic press again?  Is it destroying the flavor, or is it just the lack of yield that makes it suck?

On hack, if not a shortcut, is the ability to look at this shit up on the internet. And cutting garlic interested me, so …

 
I’m actually surprised that how you cut it makes such a difference. 

[Celery Man 20,934]

Posrep 

 

I’m realizing that all of my kitchen time saving hacks are cleanup related. And typically boil down to “rinse it off before it has a chance to dry”.

adding a some more salt to caramelizing onions at 10 minutes in helps pull more water out and move the process along. But this is not a time saving hack because the real message is that every recipe that talks about caramelizing onions in 5-10 minutes is bullshit. It takes a good 45 at least. 

[huge 3,793]

The end of the Honey Baked Ham (bone and end ham chuck)

any bean in the world

any way you want to spice it

90 minutes pressure cooker

clay davis

[bluto 4,916]

59 minutes ago, huge said:

The end of the Honey Baked Ham (bone and end ham chuck)

any bean in the world

any way you want to spice it

90 minutes pressure cooker

clay davis

Coffee bean?

[jimmyjazz 45,903]

14 hours ago, Celery Man said:

adding a some more salt to caramelizing onions at 10 minutes in helps pull more water out and move the process along. But this is not a time saving hack because the real message is that every recipe that talks about caramelizing onions in 5-10 minutes is bullshit. It takes a good 45 at least. 

Yeah, that's my biggest beef with online recipes.  They either aren't precise, or if they are, they aren't accurate.

[Tonesky 934]

23 hours ago, huge said:

The end of the Honey Baked Ham (bone and end ham chuck)

any bean in the world

any way you want to spice it

90 minutes pressure cooker

clay davis

HBH sells frozen bones with lots of meat on them. 

[burns_312 353]

Coffee bean?

South Austin’s moms bean?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Trey3216 15,346]

On 8/4/2022 at 11:51 PM, huge said:

The end of the Honey Baked Ham (bone and end ham chuck)

any bean in the world

any way you want to spice it

90 minutes pressure cooker

clay davis

Edit….Gotta read ahead.   Burns beat me to it.   

Edited August 6, 2022 by Trey3216

[Chewbacca 7,773]

This is a very handy implement. Haven’t tried garlic on it but will. I use it mainly to zest lemons and limes and grating Parmesan. If you don’t have one get one.

Yeah, parm and nutmeg still the fuck of of them. Need to replace every so often.

[Zepol87 9,185]

On 8/4/2022 at 12:50 AM, Trey3216 said:

If you have left over turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes and dressing from thanksgiving:

1) ass a little chicken stock to the dressing and turn it into a masa like consistency

2) roll the good stuff into your masa 

3) wrap in corn husks

4) freeze 

5) steam at Christmas for some alternative tamales.  

My grandma made turkey tamales for us all the time with leftover turkey. 

[hornmpa96 2,618]

 

All this garlic talk and no one uses Paulie’s method

Edited August 7, 2022 by hornmpa96

[Trey3216 15,346]

1 hour ago, hornmpa96 said:

 

All this garlic talk and no one uses Paulie’s method

Paulie is the greatest garlic cutter of all time.  We don’t stand a chance trying to emulate.  

[jimmyjazz 45,903]

. . . and Cook's Country (America's Test Kitchen) vindicates my advocacy of Dorot frozen garlic cubes:

https://www.cookscountry.com/videos/4921-fresh-garlic-substitutes

 

[tigol 2,395]

15 hours ago, hornmpa96 said:

 

All this garlic talk and no one uses Paulie’s method

It's a very good system.

[tigol 2,395]

30 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

. . . and Cook's Country (America's Test Kitchen) vindicates my advocacy of Dorot frozen garlic cubes:

https://www.cookscountry.com/videos/4921-fresh-garlic-substitutes

 

I might check that out.  Good video.  I've had success with buying peeled garlic from HEB and freezing it.  I pull out a clove or two as needed.  No issues thus far.

[Mo Horn 8,832]

38 minutes ago, tigol said:

I might check that out.  Good video.  I've had success with buying peeled garlic from HEB and freezing it.  I pull out a clove or two as needed.  No issues thus far.

I've done the same, after the same series talked about doing it. My only issue is that you can't really slice the garlic when you take it out. At least in my case, I can only smash it, or put it through a press. 

[tigol 2,395]

7 minutes ago, Mo Horn said:

I've done the same, after the same series talked about doing it. My only issue is that you can't really slice the garlic when you take it out. At least in my case, I can only smash it, or put it through a press. 

If you have a sharp enough knife, it can be sliced frozen.

[Mo Horn 8,832]

11 minutes ago, tigol said:

If you have a sharp enough knife, it can be sliced frozen.

Which I do, but it still disappears in what I'm cooking, instead of having sliced garlic in the finished dish. I still do it, and not really a big deal, but a personal annoyance. 

[tigol 2,395]

13 minutes ago, Mo Horn said:

Which I do, but it still disappears in what I'm cooking, instead of having sliced garlic in the finished dish. I still do it, and not really a big deal, but a personal annoyance. 

My dude.  That is a good system.  It liquifies in the pan.

[Mo Horn 8,832]

56 minutes ago, tigol said:

My dude.  That is a good system.  It liquifies in the pan.

The majority of the time yes, but in an olive oil, or light tomatoe sauce, I like sliced garlic. 

[Brew 3,049]

On 8/4/2022 at 3:43 PM, Celery Man said:

i know this is off topic but fuck you guys for having HEB, which is so much better than any other grocery store. Publix is bullshit. People in NC think Harris Teeter is fancy, and it is just fucking Kroger. Wegmans is aight but still falls vastly short of HEB in every department.

 

back on the garlic thing (because garlic really is the slowest thing for me and now you have piqued my interest in ditching the press) - I have the knife skills to do onions lickety split, but garlic just sticks to everything. Is there any trick there to getting a nice mince without spending most of the time scraping garlic off of the knife/your fingers/etc?

Remove Spice World minced garlic jar from fridge, stick spoon in to get minced garlic out, dump in pan, rinse spoon, replace bottle in fridge. 

[jimmyjazz 45,903]

26 minutes ago, Brew said:

Remove Spice World minced garlic jar from fridge, stick spoon in to get minced garlic out, dump in pan, rinse spoon, replace bottle in fridge. 

Except it tastes like ass.

[Brew 3,049]

5 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

Except it tastes like ass.

I haven’t noticed any taste difference in normal recipes since switching. If it’s a heavy garlic recipe, I still go fresh. If it’s a clove or two, bottled,

[Captain Ron 12,874]

21 minutes ago, Brew said:

28 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

Except it tastes like ass.

I haven’t noticed any taste difference in normal recipes since switching. If it’s a heavy garlic recipe, I still go fresh. If it’s a clove or two, bottled,

Because you're used to the taste of ass by now. That stuff tastes like garbage and isn't worth the time saved (which isn't much).

[Captain Ron 12,874]

On 8/6/2022 at 10:17 PM, hornmpa96 said:

 

All this garlic talk and no one uses Paulie’s method

It was in this video (4:47)

On 8/4/2022 at 11:17 PM, Captain Ron said:

 

On hack, if not a shortcut, is the ability to look at this shit up on the internet. And cutting garlic interested me, so …

 
I’m actually surprised that how you cut it makes such a difference. 

Liked that it melts into your sauces and keeps the flavor mellow (4/10), a little less than a rough chop (6/10).

Edited August 8, 2022 by Captain Ron

[Jerry Callo 8,700]

Biggest kitchen shortcut - vacuum sealer.  I cook a lot on the weekends.  I was using the kamado yesterday to make some bacon-wrapped stuffed jalapenos.  Whenever I fire that thing up, I try to cook as much on it as possible.   Ended up smoking 4# of burgers at the same time.  Vacuum sealed 12 burgers to freeze for future meals.  Really nice having smoked burgers in 15 minutes on a weeknight.  Same with pulled pork, pork ribs, brisket, taco meat, fajita meat, picanha, etc.  Vacuum sealer is great with avocados and other fruit as well.

Edited August 8, 2022 by Jerry Callo

[jimmyjazz 45,903]

I've been thinking about getting a vacuum sealer for a while now.  We're going through a bit of a culture shock right now, as our younger two have moved out for college over the past year.  I've gone from cooking for as many as 7-10 people (depending on guests and hangers-on) to cooking for just my wife and me on many nights, and it's frustrating how often we just default to some bullshit carry out.  I need to learn how to cook in bulk and freeze for later.

[Jerry Callo 8,700]

Another kitchen shortcut - keeping a list of what is in your freezer(s).  When planning meals for the week, it's easy to identify sealed and stored meats for the main course.  It also helps by avoiding buying raw meat that you already have.

[Jerry Callo 8,700]

9 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

I've been thinking about getting a vacuum sealer for a while now.  We're going through a bit of a culture shock right now, as our younger two have moved out for college over the past year.  I've gone from cooking for as many as 7-10 people (depending on guests and hangers-on) to cooking for just my wife and me on many nights, and it's frustrating how often we just default to some bullshit carry out.  I need to learn how to cook in bulk and freeze for later.

It pays for itself in no time.  I'll smoke a pork butt for dinner.  Vacuum seal 3-4 packages of leftover pork for later.  Easily make green chili pork stew, carnitas, pulled pork sliders, etc.  Just seal in quantities that work for a meal for two.

Yesterday, I thawed out 3/4 pound of brisket.  Used it in the stuffed jalapenos, brisket queso, and in some of the burgers.  Tonight we're having smoked turkey Caesar salad and later this week were having smoked buffalo wings.  Wings were smoked and sealed.  Will be thawed and finished in the oven at 425.

Edited August 8, 2022 by Jerry Callo