Gravy's Cooking Thread

Joeboo · Jan 21, 2016

It's ok Noodle, I did the same thing with Flour tortillas once. I occasionally try different brands of them and apparently I once bought a bag of them that were uncooked(had no idea)

I made up an entire soft taco and took a big ol bite of it...and had to run to the sink to spit the whole thing out. I thought the tortilla was just bad or something so I grabbed the package to check for a "use by" date, and noticed the bag had directions on it for cooking the tortillas.

God damnit. I cooked a few that time just so we could finish our taco dinner, and then pitched the rest of the bag.

Aintnobodygottimeforthat.gif

The Master · Jan 21, 2016

Mrs. Gravy_sl said:
You didn't even heat it? Note to self - give Noodle better instructions about tortillas...
Incidentally I was taking you baby steps towards a tastier taco since it was clear you were uninitiated in the way of the Masa.
I like oaxaca or chihuahua (or menonita if you can find it) for a softer meltier cheese and think of cotija as Mexican parmesan. All delicious suggestions.
Poblanos are a step up from bell peppers so that was a good suggestion for you.
Carnitas fucking rock and is my go to at any Mexican restaurant that and rellenos.
I would love to find fresh-made tortillas as I suck at making them.
Soygen makes me laugh but I should probably not encourage that.
I have had too much coffee...am working from home but got more done in 4 hours here than in 6 at the office. Yay for wfh. Hey - I'm on lunch.

Nearly every american city has a tortilla factory that will happily sell directly to consumers. They are nigh impossible to find with the internet, because they don't really need websites. But go and ask at a local Mexican place and they'll usually be happy to direct you. Very few of them make their own tortillas, it is cheaper to pick up a batch every day.

Ao- · Jan 21, 2016

Most of the local mexican restaurants work through them and will tell you who they get their tortillas from.

Hekotat · Jan 21, 2016

I'm now intrigued and want to make Carnitas or at least the meat. Didn't you guys have a legit pulled pork recipe on here awhile back?

Joeboo · Jan 21, 2016

Hekotat_sl said:
I'm now intrigued and want to make Carnitas or at least the meat. Didn't you guys have a legit pulled pork recipe on here awhile back?

Since I don't have a smoker, I occasionally make carnitas/pulled pork the ghetto way.

Crock pot it on low for 8-10 hours, then after I pull it all apart I put it on a baking sheet under the over broiler for like 10-15 minutes just to crisp up the tips & edges a bit to simulate the bark you'd get from a real smoker.

You can usually get a 3-4 lb pork shoulder to fit in a 6 qt crock pot.

I greatly prefer this method to a lot of recipes out there that will brown the shoulder on all sides in a skillet before adding to a crock pot for the slow cooking

Mrs. Gravy · Jan 21, 2016

The Master_sl said:
Nearly every american city has a tortilla factory that will happily sell directly to consumers. They are nigh impossible to find with the internet, because they don't really need websites. But go and ask at a local Mexican place and they'll usually be happy to direct you. Very few of them make their own tortillas, it is cheaper to pick up a batch every day.

Ao-_sl said:
Most of the local mexican restaurants work through them and will tell you who they get their tortillas from.

Thank you - good ideas and I will check with the local guys first and if they don't have fresh I will head to "the city".

(Hey - I figured out how to multi quote...this a feat for me; 3 year-old toddlers are savvier with technology than I am.)

The Ancient_sl · Jan 21, 2016

Khane_sl said:
Powerful advice. I can't tell you how many times I made nearly inedible food when trying to put my own twist on things. The payoff comes when you make something that is way better than the original recipe and you are lauded with the greatest affection.

I can't go into detail about what sort of affection. This is the grown up forum.

What did you do, put Marinara on your pizza rolls?

Noodleface · Jan 21, 2016

Nah he cooked them

Falstaff · Jan 21, 2016

Noodlemod_sl said:
The peppers and corn in my tacos did spice it up a bit, but I'm still missing something. You'll never sell me on lettuce and tomatoes so it's not that. I might try onions even though I'm not a big fan. Maybe I'll make my own taco seasoning and hit it with some spice to make it hotter

What about pickled onions?

BrutulTM · Jan 21, 2016

Noodle has the palate of a 5 year old, no way he is going to eat pickled onions.

chaos · Jan 21, 2016

Bros I am so psyched for stew. STEW!

Himeo · Jan 21, 2016

Decided to buy a grill and fuck around with steaks. It's amazing how good food can taste if you cook it right.

My current recipe is:

1) 2 Tablespoons (roughly) of Olive Oil to coat both sides.
2) Montreal Steak seasoning (liberal use)
3) Let the steaks sit at room temp for about an hour.
4) Four minutes per side on highest temp to sear.
5) Turn heat to medium- low, and turn every 2 minutes while checking internal temp with a thermometer.
6) Take off the grill at 135 degrees F, (medium rare).
7) Let sit 5 minutes, with a tablespoon of grass fed butter melted on top.
8) Mouth orgasm.

My question is, can I improve on this? Any advice as far as herbs / seasonings etc?

chaos · Jan 21, 2016

1) put salt and pepper on the steak. Put more thany ou would think is appropriate.
2) buy a sous vide and cook the steak to 130
3) sear the shit out of it
4) enjoy

Alternately to the sous vide, just sear the shit out of it. 135 is a little too well done for me but it isn't ruined or anything.

Joeboo · Jan 21, 2016

Alternately:

1)Salt the steak(pepper just burns when the steak hits high heat, don't pepper your raw steak). Occasionally I add some garlic powder. Sometimes.
2)sear the shit out of it on a grill that is as hot as the sun. Roughly 2 minutes per side per inch of thickness
3)Remove from heat, let it sit under foil for 10 minutes

Thats it. Done. You have the perfectly awesome rare to medium rare steak.

Whole process takes 15 minutes

chaos · Jan 21, 2016

I would be more concerned about the garlic burning than the pepper. Pepper makes a nice crust, I like.

I also don't understand why you're resting it under foil.

Ao- · Jan 21, 2016

joeboo_sl said:
Since I don't have a smoker, I occasionally make carnitas/pulled pork the ghetto way.

Crock pot it on low for 8-10 hours, then after I pull it all apart I put it on a baking sheet under the over broiler for like 10-15 minutes just to crisp up the tips & edges a bit to simulate the bark you'd get from a real smoker.

You can usually get a 3-4 lb pork shoulder to fit in a 6 qt crock pot.

I greatly prefer this method to a lot of recipes out there that will brown the shoulder on all sides in a skillet before adding to a crock pot for the slow cooking

I found this serious eats recipe FROM THIS THREAD and it's fucking awesome. The one time I tried in a slow cooker rather than an oven it was mixed results because I improvised with the meat (bone in and not diced up).
No-Waste Tacos de Carnitas With Salsa Verde | Serious Eats

I am going to try the same recipe with sous vide though, and some small modifications. 158 for daaaaays.

Mrs. Gravy_sl said:
Thank you - good ideas and I will check with the local guys first and if they don't have fresh I will head to "the city".

(Hey - I figured out how to multi quote...this a feat for me; 3 year-old toddlers are savvier with technology than I am.)

I do technology for a living and my 5yo & 3yo STILL teach me shit.

Joeboo · Jan 22, 2016

chaos_sl said:
I also don't understand why you're resting it under foil.

I find the steak retains a little bit more heat if you're resting it while covered, and foil is the easiest thing to use. Keeps the steak from going all the way back to room temperature in the 5-10 minutes it rests

Joeboo · Jan 22, 2016

chaos_sl said:
I also don't understand why you're resting it under foil.

I find the steak retains a little bit more heat if you're resting it while covered, and foil is the easiest thing to use. Keeps the steak from going all the way back to room temperature in the 5-10 minutes it rests

Adebisi · Jan 22, 2016

Himeo_sl said:
Decided to buy a grill and fuck around with steaks. It's amazing how good food can taste if you cook it right.

My current recipe is:

1) 2 Tablespoons (roughly) of Olive Oil to coat both sides.
2) Montreal Steak seasoning (liberal use)
3) Let the steaks sit at room temp for about an hour.
4) Four minutes per side on highest temp to sear.
5) Turn heat to medium- low, and turn every 2 minutes while checking internal temp with a thermometer.
6) Take off the grill at 135 degrees F, (medium rare).
7) Let sit 5 minutes, with a tablespoon of grass fed butter melted on top.
8) Mouth orgasm.

My question is, can I improve on this? Any advice as far as herbs / seasonings etc?

Bring to room temp before you add the spice blend or oil. I'm pretty sure that spice has salt which is going to draw water out of your meat.

Also sous vide

The Ancient_sl · Jan 22, 2016

No, what you do is salt it right out of the fridge, then let it sit the 30 minutes to let it get to room temperature and let the moisture reabsorb. What you don't want to do is salt it just before cooking.

Seeing how some of you cook steaks, I'm not surprised the sous vide is so popular.

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