Gravy's Cooking Thread

Lanx

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The cost I just kind of ho hummed about. In this case it was more the service that finally irritated me enough.
making burrritos is really about mise en place, imo
26b77549b6dd02b076346197175ec313.png

put everything in a container and youre good to go, hell, half the ingredients come in their own containers, sour cream/shredded cheese,

i'm sure the number1 reason ppl don't make their own tacos is theyve got some sort of anaylsis paralysis from the amount of ingredients, but just chop it up, put it in a container and youre golden, imo

only issue i see would be "red sauce", you can either try enchilada sauce
b22c36bcf0e3db40579a87c3ad0d7db3.png

or try copycat recipe

 
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pharmakos

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actually i think pharmakos pharmakos did a taco stint, maybe he can give you more tips
Really one of the simplest things you can make. Get a can of beans. Heat them up on the stove. Season them to taste. Warm up a tortilla in the microwave or on the stove if you're feeling ambitious. Slap some beans in it. Top with cheese and other toppings. Wrap it up.

Wrapping it up is I suppose the hard part. The Taco Bell method involves putting all the toppings on one side of the tortilla (with the tortilla laid flat, imagine where the diameter line sits, put all toppings on YOUR side of that line). Take the right and left sides of the tortilla and fold them on top of the ingredients. Then while holding then in place with your fingers, grab the "bottom" (edge closest to you) with your thumbs and start rolling towards the far edge. Once you get it rolled most of the way up you may need to tuck the sides of the "top" of the tortilla under the roll to keep ingredients sealed. Let rest for a moment as the tortilla cools so that it retains shape. And serve.

Probably videos out there but if you can't find one, I could record one for you later.
 
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pharmakos

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making burrritos is really about mise en place, imo
26b77549b6dd02b076346197175ec313.png

put everything in a container and youre good to go, hell, half the ingredients come in their own containers, sour cream/shredded cheese,

i'm sure the number1 reason ppl don't make their own tacos is theyve got some sort of anaylsis paralysis from the amount of ingredients, but just chop it up, put it in a container and youre golden, imo

only issue i see would be "red sauce", you can either try enchilada sauce
b22c36bcf0e3db40579a87c3ad0d7db3.png

or try copycat recipe

Yeah Mexican is actually one of the easiest things for casual eating. The only toppings that need to be heated are your meat / beans. Can just cook up a bunch of the beef at the beginning of the week, leave all your cold toppings in sealed containers. Then you've got easy tacos the rest of the week... Just microwave the beef and the tortilla, grab toppings out of the fridge, and serve.
 
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pharmakos

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For seasoning my Mexican I avoid the premade packets. I use Lawry's seasoning salt, garlic powder, and chipotle chili powder as my seasonings.
 

moonarchia

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Yeah I will give that a try. I think I might can even make the sauce. If not for my daughter loving the bean burritos so much I would not bother. Its a once a week thing we do on Sundays and have for the last 13 years. The service and cost have gotten to be an issue to the point that I want to just give it go and see if I can replicate them close enough.
They sell the sauce now too. You can find bottles of their "hot" sauce at your nearest walmart.
 

Dr.Retarded

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Mahes Mahes I think you've gotten plenty of good advice already.

I worked at Taco Bell all through high School, and you really get proficient at wrapping burritos. Follow pharmakos pharmakos instructions. The more pliable the tortilla the easier it is to wrap. We used to keep tortillas in the warming cabinet where they were constantly steamed, which makes them easy to use.

The beans themselves were dehydrated and you added boiling water, stir them up and then let them sit in a warning cabinet for so many hours to rehydrate.

Like others have said just buy a can of refried beans and heat it up on the stove. I think you can actually buy the Taco Bell red sauce at the grocery store, too.
 
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Lanx

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HEB was selling some Mexican brand for a while. I bought a few bags of it over the course of maybe a half a year, and the quality was great and they were nice big chunks in there, but then one bag or two would have just little turd pieces. Can't remember the name but I had a cowboy or something on it. I don't even think they sell it any longer. For what I was paying it was worth it but it was a role of a dice on whether or not you were going to get the best bang for your buck out of a full 25 lb bag or whatever.

Burned all right and I think it was mesquite-based, but the better brands definitely have more consistency with what they throw into the bag. B&B is always been consistent though.

I've also never had to split pieces of lump charcoal, just have a big enough smoker. If you got to split your charcoal, well....
yea, so the b&b competition cylinders go on forever. (but are almost impossible to light lulz)

i don't use the chimney to light the coals in the hibachi, just a paper towel soaked in canola oil is enough to light and hold most anything (i also have some premade cotton ball firestarters i made a while ago)

and i hold my torch over it for a few minutes, logs were saying fuck you, haha.

anyway, i just tested out a few skewers of shrimp, 1/2 with 2logs and the other w/ briquettes and lump.

when i was done, the logs almost didn't decrease in size (but did not burn as hot as briquette/lump mix) while the briquettes were gone and the lumps were tiny pieces.

cant wait to test out the logs for smoking long term next
 
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pharmakos

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I used to make this really simple dish as my go-to "reheat through the week for lunch at work" option and I've been craving... 2 pounds of ground venison cooked in butter and seasoned with Lawry's, garlic powder, and chipotle powder (or ground beef not cooked in butter but it's better with venison), brown rice (a measured cup precooked), a can of black beans, and a bag of shredded cheese. Mix it all together after cooking and reheat through the week. Top with sour cream and crumbled Doritos if eating it too many days in a row gets boring. Was straight up power fuel when I was working in the factory. Been eating strictly vegetarian for Lent but maybe I'll make some up after Easter 🤔

Works well as burrito filling too if you'd rather go that way.
 

mkopec

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Re: taco Bell copy pasta, you can try to recreate the shit but it will never taste like the bell. You can buy the taco bell seasonings, the taco bell sauces, whatever the fuck, it will never be a taco bell burrito. Sorry. IMO it will be better, better ingredients, taste better, but your daughter will scoff at it because its not a taco bell tasting burrito trash.
 
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Lanx

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I used to make this really simple dish as my go-to "reheat through the week for lunch at work" option and I've been craving... 2 pounds of ground venison cooked in butter and seasoned with Lawry's, garlic powder, and chipotle powder (or ground beef not cooked in butter but it's better with venison), brown rice (a measured cup precooked), a can of black beans, and a bag of shredded cheese. Mix it all together after cooking and reheat through the week. Top with sour cream and crumbled Doritos if eating it too many days in a row gets boring. Was straight up power fuel when I was working in the factory. Been eating strictly vegetarian for Lent but maybe I'll make some up after Easter 🤔

Works well as burrito filling too if you'd rather go that way.
by my estimates i use 1 40oz of lawrys a year for brisket,

i use less now that that i pepper first, then use lawrys, doing it reverse had way too much lawrys sticking to meat
 
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pharmakos

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by my estimates i use 1 40oz of lawrys a year for brisket,

i use less now that that i pepper first, then use lawrys, doing it reverse had way too much lawrys sticking to meat
I actually prefer the taste of the low sodium Lawry's. They replace some of the sodium with potassium, gives it a rounder flavor.
 

pharmakos

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Lawry's is gnarly with grilled cheese. Sprinkle some on the outside of the sammich, after you butter it, before you grill it. Gives it a nice little crunchy crust.
 

Deathwing

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I was waiting for the dollop of cottage cheese at the end. Which got me thinking of actual food: ricotta gnocchi. I like making them for how simple they are compared to potato gnocchi. But I have a problem where the texture is just too samey. I've tried pan frying them to put a crust on it but they just start sticking to the pan and falling apart. A fool's errand or is something else I can try?
 
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Deathwing

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Some good suggestions. I was thinking panko and sticking them in the air fryer. Baking might be more straight forward but I bet they would stick, might require silpat.

Is there a ricotta gnocchi recipe without flour to begin with? That flour suggestion implies so.
 
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Lanx

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I was waiting for the dollop of cottage cheese at the end. Which got me thinking of actual food: ricotta gnocchi. I like making them for how simple they are compared to potato gnocchi. But I have a problem where the texture is just too samey. I've tried pan frying them to put a crust on it but they just start sticking to the pan and falling apart. A fool's errand or is something else I can try?
try it gyoza style
a72308a8c37db3310854b1b1af01a9d1.jpg


well seasoned carbon/cast iron steel pan with lid. get the pan hot, a tsp of oil and a tsp of butter, put em in and drop a tbls of water and cover for a few mins and turn down heat.

it'll form a nice crust and will be separated when you lift the lid.

if you have a really well seasoned pan you don't even need the oil/butter

this is how i do frozen, gyoza/mandu/potstickers/dumplings
60468494799966c2bd9e1f17baef3678.png


in fact just buy a bag of frozen gyoza and try it out, my local kroger has that brand cheaper than asian markets now for some reason.


i remember doing it this way a few years ago when white ppl thought chicken and dumplings was just lumps of dough, tha fuck? and thats what gnnoci is, lumps of dough
 
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Edaw

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Some good suggestions. I was thinking panko and sticking them in the air fryer. Baking might be more straight forward but I bet they would stick, might require silpat.

Is there a ricotta gnocchi recipe without flour to begin with? That flour suggestion implies so.
I think it just means additional flour but there is an interesting 'no flour' recipe it spat out.

Screenshot 2023-03-21 at 09-36-22 ChatGPT.png
 
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