What did I cook this weekend.....

Those look fantastic! That's exactly how I grill chicken

 

Ive made a couple batches of wings using a balsamic vinegar glaze. They are quite tasty. One of my favorite marinades for any wings is sweet rice wine such as mirin mixed with some ginger garlic paste. The sweetness helps balance the sour of the hot sauce but its hardly noticeable in the finished wings. They dont end up sweet and spicy, just better balanced.

 

Salad with chicken, home baked sourdough, Parmesan crisp and the usual.

 

My wife works Friday nights so I just feed myself something simple. Last night it was grilled pork ribeyes and brussel sprouts sauteed with garlic and fresh parsley.

 

Creme Brulee French Toast for breakfast this morning for my wife and one of the kids. Bobby Flay recipe. Went over very well.

 

Bacon eyebrows"

 

Bottom round, was served with mashed potato and a salad.

 

Gravy?

 

No, there were hardly any pan drippings, juices didn't flow much when I sliced it either, the rest was effective.

 

Made a vat of chili. YES, it has beans. I don't live in Texas!

That's a 6.75 quart oval Le Creuset pot that was my Dad's - I'm so glad to have it. My sister bought it for him but insisted I take it when he passed as she already had one. I think of him, and of her, every time I use it. I texted her a picture of the finished chili and she was thrilled that I'm using that big ol' pot!

Two pounds of coarse-ground beef (brisket and chuck) and 20 ounces of ground pork; 2 cans of pintos with jalapenos, 1 of black beans. Lots of other goodies. MMMM.

 

How in the heck do you cook a steak in a cast iron? Tried again and used oil this time. Come to find this cast iron which I think just says 12 in, china, on it, seems center high. Is that normal? All the oil runs off the middle to the edges. Wonder if that is the problem. Also turned up electric to high, I wonder. Any help much appreciated! I dod at least not ruin these and got a good sear on them. I had to put in oven to finish because they were getting to dark without finishing.

 

Looks good. How do you season? A sprinkle of course salt just before you put it down to sear helps to keep it from sticking. Is your pan new, pre seasoned, or heirloom?

 

Mine are flat. Oil stays put so long as the stove is level.

As far as steak in a cast iron, thats how I cook it. Preheat oven to 400 and get the cast iron on a burner on high. Add fat and set meat in once the oil just starts to smoke - around 4-500° depending on the oil. I usually use rice bran or grape seed for the 450+ smoke points.

Sear meat for 2-3 min per side, depending on the thickness. Then into the oven for 7-12 min depending on desired doneness. Once out of the oven, immediately transfer out of the pan to rest or it will keep cooking way past desired temp. (Ask me how I know)

 

Haha, I like mine with beans too.

 

Well I have found to cast iron a steak it is best to get your meat to room temp or the fancy souis de be or what ever. Reverse smoke also works well. Basically really hot pan to sear and that's it, not much cook in in the middle. I have done steak cold where I start the oven pre heat, throw steak on cast flip it then put it in the oven to finish. I vac seal my steaks in bulk so then fill sink up with hot water and I am ready to go in an hour.

 

^thats what I do and you want a dry steak before adding to the pan. So bring up to room temp, pat dry, add salt and immediately place on hot pan. If the steak is wet by adding salt long before cooking it whicks moisture to the surface and you won't get as good as browning.

Other factoid:
Here's an interesting test that found frozen steak on a skillet is better than defrosted.

 

Basting in butter seems to help my cast iron steaks go from seared (but ultra rare) to rare or medium rare.

 

Newish, came with some sort of preseason black enamel? Outside is red enamel. Not to worried about seasoning figured use would do that. But I would heat and rub with oil and repeat. Don't know if thats right but it was the directions for griddle. Think I messed up seasoning with too much heat on earlier use. Perhaps warped it? I thought these were supposed to be heated hot. Maybe the electric is too quick or hot. Seems like lower heat and longer preheat would be best. Arghh thanks.

Yeah came out pretty good though actually.

 

Thanks for the tips, long lower preheat, or powerful element on high? Idk. The element is 3600w but I don't know how that relates to oven preheat temps.

 

cooking in butter instead of oil i find i get much better browning. i pretty much use butter exclusively when using the cast iron. makes a dynamite crispy salmon.

however even the best cast iron steak doesn't seem to compare to even a simple grilled one. works in a pinch when the grill is iced over.

 

I've never really used ground coriander much, but I've been kinda grooving on it lately. I like to shake it on tater tots with salt, as soon as they come out of the oven. I shake it on fairly heavily too. No pics cuz, well, they're tots; everybody knows what tots look like. I'm just wondering what some of your fav recipes that use coriander are? I'd like to explore the use of coriander a bit more. Regards, GF.

 

Hands down for me is harissa. It's a small component in the sauce but makes all the difference. It works amazingly well on fried eggs, grilled vegetables, and everything in between. If there's a better smell in the kitchen than freshly ground and toasted coriander, caraway and dried mint leaves I don't know what it is.
https://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2012/03/harissa-once-you-go-tunisian-other-hot.html

 

It's used loads in indian cooking too. Although mainly in combination with lots of other spices too

 

@applescrap
Cast iron, always and forever!! It’s all I use on steaks. I start with a real thick rib eye, heavy salt and pepper, and then a ripping hot cast iron pan. Your problem (although your steak looked pretty good to me!) might be that your pan is not hot enough. I use my outdoor burner, outside of course, to get my pan really hot. In about 4 minutes a side I have the sear that I’m looking for. Then I finish cooking the steak in the oven, basting it with bone marrow butter.

 

Don't move it once it's on the pan until you flip it. I'm with apple tho. I like my steaks grilled. I don't baste my steaks in the pan tho. And sous vide comes in third for my preferred method. I'm thinking the basting in the pan may match the smoke and drippings I believe that the grill puts it in the lead

 

Sous vide steak is a really great way to begin to learn how flavorless most meat really is on its own. The majority of the flavors we perceive when eating meat are from browning, salt and other seasonings. Sous vide might made for a consistent internal temp, but it’s super bland for beef. And if you have to get out a hot pan to cook it again, why bother?

 

Here is a piece of deer back strap done one cast iron. Since it was small went from freezer to plate in less than 2hours. Of course it could be less but had other stuff going on.

 

The deer and the ribeye look awesome. Thanks for all the great tips. @lakeside the beautiful side sear didnt go unnoticed. I put those top sirloins on their side too. I like the idea of basting. I see Gordon Ramsay cook steaks and he gets after it pretty intensely with the spoon. He starts with oil and then when he flips it he adds knobs of butter around the steak and garlic and herbs in a pool of grease in the middle. He lets the herbs cook a little then gets after it with the spoon. Turning the pot upright to pool the grease and then splashing it.

What about the hump in the middle, and also ceramic cook top? It seems that I need a good cast iron to start with. And this one should head to the camping box.

 

My cast iron 12" skillet was a gift to my MIL from my FIL when they got married. KOTC is now 67 so it's about 68 years old. It's flat as can be and nothing pools around the sides or anywhere for that matter.

Get a good made in the US of A pan if you can find one. Lodge SAYS theirs are US-made. Mine is a Wagner; I also have a couple smaller Lodge pans and they're nice and flat as well.

 

+1 on buying a good cast iron pan, like a Lodge. I’m lucky to get to cook an a Erie that is over 100 years old. It was my wife’s Great Great Grandmother’s. It is my favorite thing in the house to cook with.

 

Lodge would be most common to find. Or look at thrift store but they have caught on and charge a good price. Pan needs to be heavy enough to hold heat

 

This is on my Christmas list...

https://smitheyironware.com/product/no-12-cast-iron-skillet/

 

First snow today, nice to have the oven on roasting a chicken.

 

Amazon has a 12" pan (no handle) on sale right now for $20. That's a pretty good price. They also had one with the handle for $19.

I saw that smithy on sale for $100 a week ago

 

10/21 onion, green beans, celery, bell pepper and garlic with my previously finished hot peppers as a starter.


Today

 

$200?! Yikes! Are they gold-cored or what?

 

I just scrolled through some of the items above and they are restaurant-quality. Very nice.
Made some grilled cheese sandwiches--a very reliable comfort food. Restaurants don't generally do this staple justice (and quite a few others).
I have 95% of the holiday menu purchased. The only thing of note is that I'll be deep frying the turkey.
The Thanksgiving menu leaves me feeling a bit handcuffed with regard to variety but that's okay because this holiday seems more about expectation than variety. As a result, I end up making the same five or six dishes.

 

mmm glistening cheese grease. yum.

 

Do you folks remember some of Bennigan's appetizers?
I saw a nice wing process up above which reminded me. The Bennigan's wing recipe is super easy (so is TGI Friday's, by the way as is their french fries). I worked at both places.
The best thing about the wings is that they are fool-proof. The potato skins are quite good also.

 

Peconic Bay scallops sautéed in butter and olive oil. A local delicacy freshly harvested this time of year.