Over the last two days I have been making something I used to give others heck for.
Beef stew from scratch. When I was a young man, beef stew was Monday evening food, the result of Sunday's roast beef dinner.
They had finger meat on for a very good price. As many of you know, finger meat is one of, if not the best, meat to braise. Cubed and fried in it's own fat and then into the Instapot and pressure cooked for an hour. Allowed to cool overnight, fat skimmed, then back on, add the veggies for 5 minutes of pressure, seasoned, thickened and then thoroughly enjoyed.
Can't say I've had a better beef stew. I guess sometimes you have to let go of some of the feelings you have about food and go back to the simple enjoyment of not only the kitchen therapy, but the result.
Cheers
Beef stew from scratch. When I was a young man, beef stew was Monday evening food, the result of Sunday's roast beef dinner.
They had finger meat on for a very good price. As many of you know, finger meat is one of, if not the best, meat to braise. Cubed and fried in it's own fat and then into the Instapot and pressure cooked for an hour. Allowed to cool overnight, fat skimmed, then back on, add the veggies for 5 minutes of pressure, seasoned, thickened and then thoroughly enjoyed.
Can't say I've had a better beef stew. I guess sometimes you have to let go of some of the feelings you have about food and go back to the simple enjoyment of not only the kitchen therapy, but the result.
Cheers
Now why do that? You can give me heck if you want I stick with old school, Dutch oven all day. For some reason WF in Orlando had local grass fed shanks probably my most memorable dinner of the year. Broken down veg and sheer reduction are all the thickener you need, 3/4 the way through strain out the liquid and remove all the fat then add fresh veg to finish.
Yikes! Cal that sounds awful. You should be on a beach someplace warm (the rum is better and cheaper in those places, too). I agree with Ed, it sounds like you are in good hands. Hang in there!
Never heard of it. What part of what animal is this? (I notice you didn't call it opposable thumb meat, so not too worried.)
In principle I am with Scott when it comes to braising, but stew, with a bit of flour-based thickening, is its own thing and comfort food. I usually dredge the beef in seasoned flour before browning, and that provides enough thickener. One can use a nice dark roux but that seems a bit over the top for stew; at the other end of the spectrum a late addition of beurre manier, but that doesn't have the colour or depth of flavour I want in a stew.
It's all about the onions, anyway.
New toy!
I love the convenience of a gas (propane) grill, and I use mine a lot, even most winters, though not so much this winter for some reasons. However, I have always liked cooking over charcoal, for the flavor, the even heat, and maybe something primal about it. I have a portable charcoal grill that we (used to) take camping, but we do less of that than we used to, and it is a "table top" unit which I don't really have a spot for at home. I prfer cooking standing up rather than crouching.
So today I picked up a decent stand-up charcoal grill/smoker. It's like a barrel grill, but with an outboard "smoker box", so can either be used like a regular grill, or one can burn wood in the smaller box and smoke the food in the barrel. It is marvel of cheap Chinese powder-coated steel. A brand- name unit that looks like the kind of cheap round or square charcoal bbq we had when I was a kid in the sixties, costs as much as this thing. It's not built like my Broil King gas grill, but it's not supposed to be.
Construction quality is far from brilliant but frankly much better than I expected for the price. Assembly went quickly and easily, and a few things impressed me, like captive nuts, the way the handles mount, and a few other things. I have not sparked it up yet and based on weather forecast I might not this week. One downside I see is that the offset dmoker box is pretty small, I doubt I could get a stick of hardwood >12" long in that firebox, so I'll have to saw some short lengths or stick with wood chips.
I'm looking forward to burning some charcoal in the near future, and am open to tips, suggestions, or recipes to make the most of it (keeping in mind I can't make pulled pork every night!).
I love the convenience of a gas (propane) grill, and I use mine a lot, even most winters, though not so much this winter for some reasons. However, I have always liked cooking over charcoal, for the flavor, the even heat, and maybe something primal about it. I have a portable charcoal grill that we (used to) take camping, but we do less of that than we used to, and it is a "table top" unit which I don't really have a spot for at home. I prfer cooking standing up rather than crouching.
So today I picked up a decent stand-up charcoal grill/smoker. It's like a barrel grill, but with an outboard "smoker box", so can either be used like a regular grill, or one can burn wood in the smaller box and smoke the food in the barrel. It is marvel of cheap Chinese powder-coated steel. A brand- name unit that looks like the kind of cheap round or square charcoal bbq we had when I was a kid in the sixties, costs as much as this thing. It's not built like my Broil King gas grill, but it's not supposed to be.
Construction quality is far from brilliant but frankly much better than I expected for the price. Assembly went quickly and easily, and a few things impressed me, like captive nuts, the way the handles mount, and a few other things. I have not sparked it up yet and based on weather forecast I might not this week. One downside I see is that the offset dmoker box is pretty small, I doubt I could get a stick of hardwood >12" long in that firebox, so I'll have to saw some short lengths or stick with wood chips.
I'm looking forward to burning some charcoal in the near future, and am open to tips, suggestions, or recipes to make the most of it (keeping in mind I can't make pulled pork every night!).
No bathroom troubles ? Tramadol is the best obstipation agent.
I use stewed beef leftovers together with minced meat for a variation of Bolognese sauce for pasta.
GE stock poised to crash 50%
That's funny over the last two weeks we have been trying to get a GE fridge delivered that actually works. First one never turned on, they took it away and simply replaced it, the second one leaked all over the floor and after the repair guy looked it over they gave us a third one, the third was lucky and works perfectly. So that's 3 ~3K fridges in two weeks to get one that works, we use COSTCO so no charge and immediate response on everything. In fact since we wanted all the appliances to match if the third one failed they offered to replace stove, fridge, and dish washer with another brand.
That's funny over the last two weeks we have been trying to get a GE fridge delivered that actually works. First one never turned on, they took it away and simply replaced it, the second one leaked all over the floor and after the repair guy looked it over they gave us a third one, the third was lucky and works perfectly. So that's 3 ~3K fridges in two weeks to get one that works, we use COSTCO so no charge and immediate response on everything. In fact since we wanted all the appliances to match if the third one failed they offered to replace stove, fridge, and dish washer with another brand.
To start with for sure, but the body adjusted and it's smooth sailing now.
My wife doesn't like that because she took such delight in telling me I am full of ****.Amen to that. I swear I use twice as many onions as anyone else I know.
Then again my affinity to "peasant dishes" done right is documented throughout this thread.
I'll give you a tie at best. The saying in these parts is: Give Cal a beer and an onion and dinner will be ready in hour.
Are you sure we're not related? Brother from another Mother?Then again my affinity to "peasant dishes" done right is documented throughout this thread.
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Real charcoal and a chimney or blowtorch starter is important. Briquettes and lighter fluid are a no-no IMO.
@Cal best wishes that you get back to some normalcy ASAP.
I believe it is the rib meat without the ribs.
I normally have at least two sacks of onions in the refrigerator, one sweet onions, one cooking yellow onions.
Yes, I had a feeling when I started this thread it wasn't a group of mac 'n' cheesers here.It's all one big happy family here, Cal!
Much appreciated Scott.
hehe. Maybe I am secretly a bush meat fan.
Yes, and I wonder if they try and sneak some of the cap in there as well. Still, it is hard to beat and yes it's also as good if not better than chuck when making 'hamburger'
We usually buy the 50 pounders when they have them on sale, so is this is what you do too? If so, you win with two at a time.
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That is a lot of onions. I can't buy in those quantities as nowhere to store them where they wont germinate. And I am barred from making onion chutney until I can find a way to make it outside. So we average 1kg of onions a week. As the experiments grow I expect that to double.
I am a rank amateur compared to you lot!
SWMBO and I also average about a kilo/week of yellow onions, supplemented with sweet onions, red/purple onions, shallots, and the odd leek on an as needed basis. More if The Child is home.
A couple years ago my wife was out of town and my daughter allowed as how she had never had onion soup. A few pounds of beef ribs, two pounds of red onions, and a couple hundred grams of comte cheese later, we had onion soup for dinner!
A couple years ago my wife was out of town and my daughter allowed as how she had never had onion soup. A few pounds of beef ribs, two pounds of red onions, and a couple hundred grams of comte cheese later, we had onion soup for dinner!
Meanwhile my LG range, which I have loved since I took delivery, is getting flaky. One of the burners, and of course it is the largest and dual-size one so most used, will not reliable turn on. I always hear the relays click, but about 80% of the time nothing happens. As a guy who pretends to understand basic electronics I feel like I should be able to fix it.
I have been living with that for a while but recently the convection fan in the oven was getting noisy. Until tonight, when it got very quiet (because it wasn't turning). I can live fighting with an opprobrious burner, but I can't live without a convection oven, even with summer theoretically approaching. It's probably an easy repair if I order the part. There is an associated heating element, but I bet it's just the fan bearings shot. Maybe I should order a relay board at the same time. Or maybe I should call a pro.
I have been living with that for a while but recently the convection fan in the oven was getting noisy. Until tonight, when it got very quiet (because it wasn't turning). I can live fighting with an opprobrious burner, but I can't live without a convection oven, even with summer theoretically approaching. It's probably an easy repair if I order the part. There is an associated heating element, but I bet it's just the fan bearings shot. Maybe I should order a relay board at the same time. Or maybe I should call a pro.