Random Food Questions Thread

Originally Posted by HORNS

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This is what I do.
If you are going to cook them in water first, you might as well just drop them in something that is like 170 deg and leave them there for awhile, then take them out and brown them. When you have meat in boiling water, it never ends up giving the kind of texture it ought to. It is just too hot, and it dries the meat out.

Originally Posted by HORNS

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This is what I do.

Why is there such a aversion to the skin bursting. Never bothered me.

Originally Posted by jpeirpont

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Why is there such a aversion to the skin bursting. Never bothered me.

1)It looks ******
but much more importantly
2) sausage is a carefully planned out ratio of fat to meat, and a very carefully produced distribution of the two. Breaking the casing releases all the fat and juice, basically drying the meat out and giving it a bad texture and ruining all the hard work the sausage maker did.

That must be why Kosher sausage doesn't taste as good... it's circumsized

Pretty much every response in this thread regarding sausage besides iammatt's is silly. Sausage won't 'dry out' if the casing is broken (that's a matter of temperature and cooking time). Broken casing doesn't matter (a lot of makers don't even make convenient links and usually just fill a whole intensinal casing/pork skin/whatever at a time), and aside from sausage sandwiches a lot of usages for sausage involve breaking the casing to purposely release the extra fat content.

Scraps from butchering are usually fat, so the fat is added for sausages. Only in the US (land of $17.99/lb head cheese) do people purposely buy fat to add to sausage.

.... I wonder if people realize that more often than not, sausage is actually removed from the casing for use in a dish....

Originally Posted by iammatt

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If you are going to cook them in water first, you might as well just drop them in something that is like 170 deg and leave them there for awhile, then take them out and brown them. When you have meat in boiling water, it never ends up giving the kind of texture it ought to. It is just too hot, and it dries the meat out.

I'm hesitant to warm up ground meat so slowly. Also, the sausages are more steamed than boiled in the technique I use - the amount of water is maybe a 1/4 cup for a 10-12 pan. After steaming them (I turn the sausages a few times as well) I then let the water boil off and brown.

Originally Posted by HORNS

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I'm hesitant to warm up ground meat so slowly. Also, the sausages are more steamed than boiled in the technique I use - the amount of water is maybe a 1/4 cup for a 10-12 pan. After steaming them (I turn the sausages a few times as well) I then let the water boil off and brown.
I'm new to the game, but I actually prefer cooking them at a slower temperature for a longer duration. I've found that I can get a more even browning, keep the meat juicier, and achieve the desired internal temperature with less heat. Edit: No water.

Can somebody give me the scoop on imported (from Greece) farmed Branzino which is showing up a bit at local fish markets?

Originally Posted by iammatt

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Can somebody give me the scoop on imported (from Greece) farmed Branzino which is showing up a bit at local fish markets?

+1. It's all over NYC now, too. $5/lb in chinatown or $10 at Whole Foods. WF apparently "finally found a sustainable source for this delicious fish". I do love Bronzino, but there has been a Bronzino conflagration at the markets as of late, and I'm not quite sure why.

Originally Posted by why

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Pretty much every response in this thread regarding sausage besides iammatt's is silly. Sausage won't 'dry out' if the casing is broken (that's a matter of temperature and cooking time).

true dat. here's a question: when you poach a sausage, do you ever see fat in the water? uh, yeah. the skin is permeable. i poke holes in the sausage to keep it from bursting (because, as kwilk said, it's ugly), then poach gently until just about cooked through. if cooking in the same pan, the water should be just about gone and i'll brown it in its own fat. if not, i'll take it to the grill and finish it with a sear.

Originally Posted by iammatt

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Can somebody give me the scoop on imported (from Greece) farmed Branzino which is showing up a bit at local fish markets?

pretty much what you said. that and Tai snapper are about the only whole ocean fish you can reliably find at most non-asian markets in SoCal. It's a perfectly nice fish, but i've never had one that rocked me.

Anyone see the creminelli meat sale on gilt? I have some gilt credits and was wondering if it was worth me getting? I have access to probably better stuff at formaggio kitchen here in cambridge but can never bring myself to buy it. Easier to do with gilt credit http://www.giltman.com/s/creminellimeatman If it is worth it (6week shelf life it says but i wonder if that's from the sale now or from the date of receiving 4/20-4/25) considering the dates which selection should i get?

Why would a bread recipe require dry milk? I'm not using a bread machine or anything.

Originally Posted by chronoaug

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Anyone see the creminelli meat sale on gilt? I have some gilt credits and was wondering if it was worth me getting?

looks nice, but in general all cured meats look tasty to me.