Where my fellow cooks at???

[viva la ben]

Isnt it just pickling a brisket? Pretty much brine it and forget about it for a couple days in the fridge.

[mac5155]

going with wings since I got them for $2.49 a pound at the store. They're whole wings with the skin on. Should I break them apart and rip the skin off before cooking? I'm actually going to try to brine them first too.

[Ben Klingston]

Thanks for the salsa advice, 'tomato soup' is what I've ended up with in the past and what I definitly want to avoid this time around.

Just made a batch of my own, before even reading this thread. The reason I made it was b/c I needed to use up some ears of corn. This, IMHO, puts homemade salsa over the top, and I've been told many times mine is great, though there really is nothing special to the prep. I use a few cloves of garlic, tomatoes (romas preferred, but this time around I used regular vine-ripened tomatoes and it was fine), cilantro (separate most leaves from the stems), red onion, corn - prep by boiling water, then turning off heat and putting ears in for 5-7 minutes, then take out, let cool, and cut kernels off into salsa bowl with a knife. Fresh lime juice and salt and pepper to taste. The key is the corn, adds that sweetness. Oh, and to avoid soupiness, I always cut tomatoes on cutting board then transfer to bowl with ingredients with my knife - leave most of the tomato juice on the board. That definitely helps.

[shmenguin]

Isnt it just pickling a brisket? Pretty much brine it and forget about it for a couple days in the fridge.

People on cooking shows almost always use "pink salt" (aka sodium nitrate) for corned beef, in addition to the brine.

[OutofFoil]

I've been thinking about making my own corned beef.
Has anyone done that?

BadHands has a good recipe for this. I've had it and it is Deelicious!

[BadHands71]

I've been thinking about making my own corned beef.
Has anyone done that?

BadHands has a good recipe for this. I've had it and it is Deelicious!

Yep, I have a corned beef recipe that was passed down to me from my Grandmother who got it from a Jewish deli owner. Here you go:

Spoiler:

Corned Beef
2 quarts water
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 TB curing salt *see below*
2 cinnamon stick, broken into several pieces
2 tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp black peppercorns
10 whole cloves
10 whole allspice berries
12 whole juniper berries
3 bay leaves, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 pounds ice
1 (4 to 5 pound) beef brisket, trimmed

Optional:
1 small onion, quartered
1 large carrot, coarsely chopped
1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped


Put water into a large 6 to 8 quart stockpot along with salt, sugar, curing salt, cinnamon, mustard seeds, peppercorns, cloves, allspice, juniper berries, bay leaves and ginger. Cook over high heat until the salt and sugar have dissolved and then simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and add 2lbs of the ice. Stir until the ice has melted and the brine has a temperature of 45 degree F. Once it has cooled, place the brisket in a 2-gallon zip top bag and add the brine. Seal and lay flat inside a container, cover and place in the refrigerator for 10 days. Check daily to make sure the beef is completely submerged. Flip the plastic bag daily to ensure the brine stays mixed.

After 10 days, remove from the brine and rinse well under cool water. I usually do this in a colander covered in cheese cloth. Rinse for about 5 minutes, flipping a few times. Place the brisket into a pot just large enough to hold the meat, add the onion, carrot and celery if using. Cover with water so that the meat and vegetables are covered and there is approximately 1 inch of water on top. Use the smallest pan that you can fit everything in and don't add too much water. Set over high heat and bring to a boil. As soon as the water boils, reduce the heat to low, cover and gently simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until the meat is fork tender. Remove from the pot and allow to cool slightly. Shred or slice across the grain using the sharpest knife possible. The thinner the slices, the better it will be.

Some notes:
You can purchase curing salt at alot of hunting and fishing stores but I get mine from William's Sonoma. You don't need much and the quantities sold at hunting stores are far more than I could ever use. It's not absolutely necessary for flavor but it does impart the beautiful pink color of corned beef. If you don't want to purchase all of the individual spices, you can buy McCormick's pickling spice blend. If you do this, use about 1 1/2 TB of the spice blend. I've also made this using a beer to cook the corned beef and it turns out nicely. Don't use a stout or IPA, stick with a simple lager or pils. Yuengling is my go to for cooking corned beef in.

Enjoy!!!!

[BadHands71]

I also need to add that once you make your own corned beef, you'll never buy the stuff from the supermarket again. It's not that hard to make but the flavor is incredible.

[mac5155]

I dont know why I waited so long to brine chicken. The wings I made yesterday were phenomenal.

[columbia]

Yes, that's what I was looking for, bh71.
Thanks!

[columbia]

On Saturday, I used a chuck roast to make some stew (which was excellent), but can't begin to describe how much it improved since then.

[tifosi77]

It has arrived!



I think I'm just going to do random prep when I get home tonight. The balance of the knife is much further forward than I'm used to (it feels like it's perhaps a full inch ahead of the ferrule/bolster, whereas my old knife was balanced right at that point), so it will be fun to see how working with the blade differs.

[count2infinity]

Had a super simple one for dinner tonight. The fiancee and I are trying out meatless Mondays. Tonight's dish: Marinated tofu, broccoli slaw, soba noodles and ginger all sauteed in a wok with a sauce that was made of Wegmen's Thai peanut sauce, veggie stock, and a splash of OJ. It was pretty darn good.

[BadHands71]

It has arrived!



I think I'm just going to do random prep when I get home tonight. The balance of the knife is much further forward than I'm used to (it feels like it's perhaps a full inch ahead of the ferrule/bolster, whereas my old knife was balanced right at that point), so it will be fun to see how working with the blade differs.

Enjoy tif!!!

[blackjack68]

Got a half bushel of large Honeycrisp apples at the farmers market this weekend and cut a bunch into quarters and rolled them in cinnamon and sugar. Grilled until they began to soften.

So simple but very tasty.

[canaan]

Had a super simple one for dinner tonight. The fiancee and I are trying out meatless Mondays. Tonight's dish: Marinated tofu, broccoli slaw, soba noodles and ginger all sauteed in a wok with a sauce that was made of Wegmen's Thai peanut sauce, veggie stock, and a splash of OJ. It was pretty darn good.

savage.

[columbia]

"Okonomiyaki style" tater tots, anyone?
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blog ... andwiches/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[BadHands71]

Tif, how is the knife working out for you?

[viva la ben]

Kewpie mayo is so good...if only they produced smaller bottles of it. I could never finish a whole bottle before it goes "bad"

[OutofFoil]

Kewpie mayo is so good...if only they produced smaller bottles of it. I could never finish a whole bottle before it goes "bad"

Just sit down in front of the TV in your bathrobe and eat it with a spoon. That oughta help get rid of it.

[viva la ben]

If I was inclined to do that I wouldn't need a spoon.

[OutofFoil]

Ha!

[tifosi77]

"Okonomiyaki style" tater tots, anyone?
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blog ... andwiches/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Sounds tasty, I'd eat 'em.

Tif, how is the knife working out for you?

To be honest, I'm almost afraid of it.

I don't get to cook during the week anymore (my evening commute is usually over 90 minutes now, so it's home and then straight into some prepared foods), so I won't get to take it for a test spin until Saturday or Sunday. We're going to a ramen festival this weekend, so it depends what day we do that. However, the guys that run the ChefSteps school/site want people posting 'action' shots of their gear. So I think I might do something basic like peel an apple with one single cut. (keeping the skin in one piece)

[Shyster]

"Okonomiyaki style" tater tots, anyone?
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blog ... andwiches/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Sure; I love tater tots.

[Shyster]

On a whim, I bought a jar of a what I understand is a popular British foodstuff called Branston Pickle. My understanding is that it's a sweetish gunk made of pickled vegetables. I haven't yet tried it, because I'm unsure of how exactly it is supposed to be consumed. Does anyone have any experience with this substance?

[blackjack68]

Sounds like relish.