Gravy's Cooking Thread

joeboo_sl said:

Lasagna Cupcakes Recipe : Aarti Sequeira : Food Network

Saw this recipe a couple years ago, really want to try it sometime

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These need to go on the first post. I did a test batch today in prep for the StuporBowl.

I went a different route, though. I used a light white sauce, spinach, garlic, caramelized onions, ricotta, and mozzarella. I can provide the recipe if arsed. They were fucking fantastic with wanton wrappers as the noodles. Light and crispy on the edges so mine tasted like a really good spanakopita.

Recipe is required, Gravy! (PS - Thanks)

Hoss_sl said:

Allright cooking bros, I need some information. A couple times in my life, I've had stew where the meat was stringy. Like it had cooked so long it fell apart or something. The first time it was venison, and I thought it was just something venison did when you put it into stew. But yesterday it was beef. How the fuck do you do that? Is it a certain cut of meat that will fall apart like that? Are they just making a roast and pulling it apart like you do for pulled pork?

I'm going to try to ask the cook, but I don't like the odds of that working out because I really don't like talking to people.

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Just put about any meat in a slow cooker and forget about it for 10 hours and you will get it stringy. I'm sure someone will follow up with science and shit but that's basically how you do it.

Stringy meat comes from overcooking, you've put it under so much pressure for so long that most of the moisture has been wrung out, the proteins have been denatured, and it can't hold its shape anymore. Pretty simple. Very easy to do with a pressure cooker. You essentially have tight little curds of everything that isn't water or fat. You can see a similar thing in eggs if you overcook them, big pile of water underneath a bunch of dry tight little curds. Try it.

Congratulations Master, you've made slow cooking meat which comes out delicious sound absolutely horrifying.

I always thought stringy pot roast versus grainy pot roaster, when talking in terms of texture was entirely determined by the cut of meat. Must be fucking magic!

Barraco Bisi_sl said:

Going to try making this tonight

Food Wishes Video Recipes: Chicken Tikka Masala God Save the Curry

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My wife made this for dinner tonight. It was incredible. Thanks. Now we'll need to find the Butter Chicken recipe. That's my wife's favorite indian dish.

Some light reading and a vid from Jacques Pepin on garlic.

The Best Way to Mince Garlic | Serious Eats

TLDR version: the more you mash it, the stronger it tastes.

That would explain every interaction I've had with venison, since it is basically always lean leaning towards there is no fat whatsoever.

When you do slow cooking with lean meats, you gotta take the term "slow" and apply it logically to the problem. Slow cooking for 10 hours should be reserved for meats that tend to have a high fat content, such as a brisket (corned beef) for example. The idea is that you are cooking them at a low temp but you are basically rendering fat while doing so. Lower fat content: lower cooking time. You can still pop your lean cuts into a slow cooker, but realize that you gotta take them out quite a bit earlier or you end up with connective tissues for a meal. Take a lean cut and try it at 5 hours with a range of 220-250, and it shouldn't go into string-mode. This of course depends on the weight et al, but it's a good benchmark.

Also with venison and leaner beef cuts the muscle strands tend to be long. Cut across the grain/string after cooking and it really helps the end product. Shredding won't work near as well.

Rezz_sl said:

That would explain every interaction I've had with venison, since it is basically always lean leaning towards there is no fat whatsoever.

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Correct. Venison is one of the few red meats I'll actually brine.

Never personally prepared venison, but apparently my coworkers are terrible at it. I've worked with elk a few times, so I'm not unfamiliar with super-lean beasts. Just something that requires a bit of extra care when preparing. I haven't had to brine any as generally my experience was involving various types of seared cuts. But I'd always go on a bias against the grain because you can physically see how difficult that would be to chew just looking at if it was cut with the grain.

Normally I'm a purist when it comes to seasoning (salt, pepper, maybe a hint of garlic) but man, a decent cut of elk at medium with a nice demi glace straight from the remains is freaking awesome.

I need to make friends with some hunters. And move to Canada. Neither of which is going to happen.

I have a close friend who hunts like crazy. I don't think he ever eats any meat he doesn't capture himself. He and I have a reciprocal agreement - I do minor house repairs for him, we get his second deer of the year every year. Keeps the first for himself, but then he does bow hunting, muzzle load, and regular shotgun hunting, and maxes out his allowed limits on each. I absolutely love cooking venison, and I save bacon fat in which to cook it sometimes. Works well.

Xarpolis_sl said:

Recipe is required, Gravy! (PS - Thanks)

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Sorry it's taken awhile, it's been a busy week.

Spinach Cupcakes- for lack of a better name

1 onion
1 package frozen chopped spinach
1 jar of Alfredo sauce, or any white sauce you like
1 container of ricotta cheese - 16oz?
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
Garlic powder
salt
Wanton Wrappers

Chop and brown the onion in a large skillet with 1 Tbs. Olive oil. Add chopped spinach and HALF of the jar of Alfredo sauce.

Mix ricotta, mozzarella, garlic powder and parsley flakes (optional) in a bowl.

Place one wanton wrapper in the bottom of each muffin tin opening. Spoon in one TBS of spinach mixture. Place another wrapper on that, turning it 1/3. Press down firmly, then add 1 TBS of the cheese mixture. Place your last wrapper on top of the cheese, again rotating it 1/3, then one more TBS of the spinach mixture. Then top that last bit of spinach mixture with another TBS of the leftover Alfredo sauce.

Sprinkle with Parmesan, bake at 375F for 20 minutes. If the edges start to get too brown before 20 minutes is up, just lay a piece of aluminum foil on top.

This made 18 'cupcakes'. Pretty easy, and they were all gone before halftime.

BrutulTM_sl said:

IMO the only good use for venison is jerky or sausage. There's just no reason to eat it any other way if you have access to beef.

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I would tend to agree. It has a slightly gamey flavor that some people absolutely love, but for personal use it is just one of those "well, I -have- to use this" type decisions I think. My neighbor/coworker will regale me with stories about how awesome his kill was and then provide me with some seriously rangey cooked meat. Not quite jerky but jerky would like to have words with it for copyright infringement. I've asked him occasionally (since hey, gifts are gifts, you know?) to just give me the raw shit and I'll work magic with it, but he patently refuses and refers to my cooking methods as "too specific" when he has witnessed me prepare an entree and that it requires his "personal touch" to get it into borderline jerky form. I won't tell him that he's basically cooking his shit wrong, because I enjoy free meats. But goddamn if it isn't kind of annoying.