CW,
slow cooking does wonderful things for flavour, my Spanish chicken casserole I slow cook for at least 4 hours, so that the meat just falls away from the bone, just two small bay/laurel leaves give a wonderful undertone to the meal. Same goes for beef casserole, the longer the better.
I'd like opinions from those who have stumped up for one of the new hot air friers. The idea of frying without oil is very appealing - does it work and what does it do for flavour?
slow cooking does wonderful things for flavour, my Spanish chicken casserole I slow cook for at least 4 hours, so that the meat just falls away from the bone, just two small bay/laurel leaves give a wonderful undertone to the meal. Same goes for beef casserole, the longer the better.
I'd like opinions from those who have stumped up for one of the new hot air friers. The idea of frying without oil is very appealing - does it work and what does it do for flavour?
Bought two "smokeboards" today - some kind of exotic wood onto which you place what ever you want to have smoked and place covered up on a grill.
Want to smoke some salmon as the fish shop sells VERY TASTY smoked salmon but at $30+ a kilo.
Have to find a way to do this job and I fear the local authorities will ban making fires due to the dry and warm weather.
I'll be back ...
Today: herrings i various gravy with fresh potatoes (the small ones are tastier) with real butter, a beer and a drop of vodka ...
Want to smoke some salmon as the fish shop sells VERY TASTY smoked salmon but at $30+ a kilo.
Have to find a way to do this job and I fear the local authorities will ban making fires due to the dry and warm weather.
I'll be back ...
Today: herrings i various gravy with fresh potatoes (the small ones are tastier) with real butter, a beer and a drop of vodka ...
Best thing we have done with our air-fryer, a Cuisinart, is breaded eggplant -- slice eggplant in 1/8 to 1/4" slices, season, dredge in egg wash, dip in a combination of panko and Parmesan cheese. Air fry until just tender.
This is much better than frying in vegetable or olive oil, much faster and crispier.
jackinnj & CW,
OK I'm sold and yes big is always best. for over 30 years now we have always steam cooked all our veg. We managed to find a big double aluminium steamer, cooking for two or for friends the size of the steamer only becomes relevant then.
I cannot understand why here in Europe you can only buy a double steamer for use on a gas stove but all the electric steamers are always triples - bizarre.
For the first time in decades I got suckered into buying a 5 L bottle of rapeseed oil, because it was cheap (bad mistake). my wife lambasted me because when washing up she could'nt get rid of the bloody oil, never been a problem cooking with olive oil.
Kaffiman - grapeseed oil is common in southern Europe and is what it says. Brussels sprouts, my wife loves them but after spending two winters in Rotterdam and having to endure the stench of all the Dutch cooking them - I call it 'aversion therapy'.
soundbrigade - if your into smoking (food that is) do you or have you ever thought about smoking herrings to make kippers?
The world has heard about Loch Fyne and Isle of Man kippers but both blown away by the kippers produced by a small French company in Boulogne and what surprised me was to find that they use beech wood for the smoking. Absolutely juicy,sweet and succulent, not cheap but worth every penny. Then they sold out to a big French company who promptly stopped the production and all they do now is kipper fillets.
OK I'm sold and yes big is always best. for over 30 years now we have always steam cooked all our veg. We managed to find a big double aluminium steamer, cooking for two or for friends the size of the steamer only becomes relevant then.
I cannot understand why here in Europe you can only buy a double steamer for use on a gas stove but all the electric steamers are always triples - bizarre.
For the first time in decades I got suckered into buying a 5 L bottle of rapeseed oil, because it was cheap (bad mistake). my wife lambasted me because when washing up she could'nt get rid of the bloody oil, never been a problem cooking with olive oil.
Kaffiman - grapeseed oil is common in southern Europe and is what it says. Brussels sprouts, my wife loves them but after spending two winters in Rotterdam and having to endure the stench of all the Dutch cooking them - I call it 'aversion therapy'.
soundbrigade - if your into smoking (food that is) do you or have you ever thought about smoking herrings to make kippers?
The world has heard about Loch Fyne and Isle of Man kippers but both blown away by the kippers produced by a small French company in Boulogne and what surprised me was to find that they use beech wood for the smoking. Absolutely juicy,sweet and succulent, not cheap but worth every penny. Then they sold out to a big French company who promptly stopped the production and all they do now is kipper fillets.
I did not know about Grapeseed oil, by looking at the chart I do not see any immediate advantage.
Flavour profile is probably different, like anything else, but is it worth going out of your way to try this thing?
Vegetable oil - Wikipedia
Flavour profile is probably different, like anything else, but is it worth going out of your way to try this thing?
Vegetable oil - Wikipedia
I am totally overstocked with Pollack right now. An underrated fish, IMO.
Never grows up to the size of a 40 pound Cod. In fact my Brother Chris holds the record for a Pollack. Around 4 pounds.
Imagine my surprise when my mate Alan delivered a small pair of 1 pound Pollack tonight. Gutted them, toptailed them, put them in the Freezer, and a good Dinner tomorrow.
I think Fishing is Cruel. But a Man has to eat.
Oven-cook them in oil and vinegar, under tin foil for twenty minutes and 200C, and you won't have an unhappy time. With Chips.
Never grows up to the size of a 40 pound Cod. In fact my Brother Chris holds the record for a Pollack. Around 4 pounds.
Imagine my surprise when my mate Alan delivered a small pair of 1 pound Pollack tonight. Gutted them, toptailed them, put them in the Freezer, and a good Dinner tomorrow.
I think Fishing is Cruel. But a Man has to eat.
Oven-cook them in oil and vinegar, under tin foil for twenty minutes and 200C, and you won't have an unhappy time. With Chips.
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grapeseed oil is relatively neutral, has a high smoke point, and is inexpensive in half gallon jugs at Costco. It's good for deep frying and spritzing on air-fried foods. It is a by-product when wine is made from grapes, a little extra revenue for the grape processor.
rapeseed oil (called Canola oil on many labels) is also relatively neutral, also has a high smoke point, and isn't sold in convenient size containers at my local Costco store.
rapeseed oil (called Canola oil on many labels) is also relatively neutral, also has a high smoke point, and isn't sold in convenient size containers at my local Costco store.
Saw an article the other day - 90% of all big fish have been fished out, every day 5 million fish are caught. What idiots don't understand is that when a fish species reaches a critical low level, that's the end, they disappear. I remember seeing a newsreel at the end of the 60s' it showed enormous chilled warehouses in England and Scotland filled with prime fish up to roof level. For human consumption no, to be used to make fish meal - 5 pounds of superior protein to make 1 pound of inferior beef protein - la genta es muy stupido. Beam trawling should be made a criminal offense.
I well remember growing up on the south coast of England and at the end of the summer the sea would turn molten silver with shoals of mackerel. The local fishermen would go out in small boats and small nets and sell their haul on the beach to women who would take them home to cook fresh for their husbands coming home from work. Fast forward and scumbag fishermen in Cornwall sold their licences to the Spanish who promptly hoovered up the lot - gone for good.
Of course this is just another example of what over population is doing to the planet. Some moron on an English language forum in France posted ' the world population will begin falling by the end of the century, we'll be alright then'.
I never buy any fruit or veg grown in 'Plasticland' aka Andalucia/Murcia - loaded with banned chemicals. Sadly Spain lives and breathes corruption in virtually everything, that's why we left. They are illegally sucking the life out of the world heritage Donana wetland national park to grow tasteless strawberries. It's nice to know that as I'm picking the last of my strawberries now which are lovely and sweet and no chemicals were used in their production.
I well remember growing up on the south coast of England and at the end of the summer the sea would turn molten silver with shoals of mackerel. The local fishermen would go out in small boats and small nets and sell their haul on the beach to women who would take them home to cook fresh for their husbands coming home from work. Fast forward and scumbag fishermen in Cornwall sold their licences to the Spanish who promptly hoovered up the lot - gone for good.
Of course this is just another example of what over population is doing to the planet. Some moron on an English language forum in France posted ' the world population will begin falling by the end of the century, we'll be alright then'.
I never buy any fruit or veg grown in 'Plasticland' aka Andalucia/Murcia - loaded with banned chemicals. Sadly Spain lives and breathes corruption in virtually everything, that's why we left. They are illegally sucking the life out of the world heritage Donana wetland national park to grow tasteless strawberries. It's nice to know that as I'm picking the last of my strawberries now which are lovely and sweet and no chemicals were used in their production.
100% agree!
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Steve, I worked at a fishery in my early years.
Once there was two ling that had gotten into a trout mare, they had to be bigger than 60kg, huge fish! Well past 2 meters.
In the wild they can get to 45kg.
Common ling - Wikipedia
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This is supposed to be about food. What is ineluctable is that the one-child policy is now permanently engrained in the most populous country on the planet. That nation is faced with diminishing expansion of arable land and acute shortage of water.
Back to food -- we made the previously mentioned air-fryer eggplant this evening. It takes about 7 minutes in the Cuisinart air-fryer, flip once after 4 minutes.
I had to think about this.
I think Brother Chris won a prize for the 3.5 Lb record Pouting from the Angling Times!
Seen one fish, you seen them all IMO. Horrible slimy things. But good with chips.
CW - I was wondering about size, I've seen 2 on AliExpress, one @ 10L and one @ 12.5L, both Chinese made of course. It's almost impossible to find anything not made in China. Until the late 19th century it was almost impossible to find any manufactured product that was'nt made in Britain but then the emerging manufacturers, USA and Germany put massive tariffs on all British made products. I don't agree that anything Chinese made is rubbish, you just have to be careful.
jackinnj - my point is that fish will soon become an expensive delicacy. As a boy I used to go beach fishing on the south coast of England and plaice and Dover sole were common and large and there is no comparison to catching and eating truly fresh fish. The price now in France of Dover sole (and it's never large) is €25 per Kilo. In my later teenage years I would take a girlfriend to a fish and chip take away and restaurant where a Dover sole, chips, bread and butter and a cup of tea was 2 shillings and 9 pence, that's about 13 new pennies - so it goes.
jackinnj - my point is that fish will soon become an expensive delicacy. As a boy I used to go beach fishing on the south coast of England and plaice and Dover sole were common and large and there is no comparison to catching and eating truly fresh fish. The price now in France of Dover sole (and it's never large) is €25 per Kilo. In my later teenage years I would take a girlfriend to a fish and chip take away and restaurant where a Dover sole, chips, bread and butter and a cup of tea was 2 shillings and 9 pence, that's about 13 new pennies - so it goes.