Cooking thread: Have a question?

[W1LL]

I never cooked with Gator personally, did try it... Best stuffed. It is very lean, not much flavor...What people do down in Lafayette LA is stuff it with seafood. Baste the beejesus out of it, even on the grill, if you can avoid drying it out.

When done right? think of a very mild fish, with texture of chicken...Creoles think of Gator and turtle as seafood for a reason.

Interesting stuff, I'll certainly have to try some someday. Don't even think I could order in a gator dish in the UK.

[billeau2]

I feel that the only reason to avoid pork is for religious purposes. But, even then some might want to be open minded.
One of my chefs in culinary school was a Muslim from Turkey and he felt that the reason for avoiding swine in scriptural times was disease, and that now it's safe. I've always respected religious folks with that kind of logical, forward thinking approach.

Pork is such a brilliant meat to use right now. Prices are great, even for lean cuts. You can make a lot of things with it. It's healthy if you are mindful of the fat. And, for animal welfare minded people (like me), the humanely raised stuff isn't too pricey and the yield of portions per animal slaughtered is high.

It amazes me that you can get great pork cuts for $3.50/lb while the equivalent in beef is about $10.

With eating habits there can be a lot of reasons. My own philosophy is that I want to eat a few things, and avoid eating others...We know of the ancient Biblical dietary laws...BUT even in the ancient Aboriginal culture of Australia, the whole social network of this culture was based on "Totems and Taboos"...

What it amounted to was when you hailed from a certain area, there were totemic animals you could not eat, and other animals you could eat that others could not eat!! So if you were of the crab, that was your brother animal, and you could marry a girl who was of the "crock" and she could not eat crock. This society had incredible social cohesion: Dietary habits were a way of showing order, respect for animals they lived with, and religious reverence.

I really respect this understanding and do the same thing in my own way: In my case? I don't need to try "dog" or even bush meats....I would rather abstain and only eat the animals that I eat... And I find this gives one a sense of order and grace...I can't stand the cultural chauvanism that makes one think animals are only here to be consumed... It is why the oceans are overfished, among other problems. This does help nutritionally because it teaches people to be aware about what they consume.

Finally, things like keeping kosher helps creativity in cooking by giving a chef fewer ingredient combinations, so the chef must be creative to make the dishes...I have eaten in stuffy restaurants in LA for older Jews and had really nicely prepared food, prepared kosher...

Pork is an incredible source meat. It is cheap, tasty, and nutritionally dense with protein. You can use all of the pig as well...We used to make "cracklins" with the fat and pork skin down in Louisiana...

In Baltimore as we speak and OFTEN you can literally find a giant ham that would be 50 odd bucks sometimes for a ten spot!

I would encourage people who buy processed pork products to take the plunge and pay extra for no Nitrates. Nitrates have been found to be really bad for us! As Red has said, even premier quality is relatively cheap and you get to know there is a humane treated animal and no nitrates which are apparently very bad for us.

[billeau2]

Interesting stuff, I'll certainly have to try some someday. Don't even think I could order in a gator dish in the UK.

You can order these exotic meats on line. There is good info on line about how they taste and how they are sourced...Crocodile meat is big in parts of Australia and is apparently more flavorful compared to gator. Neither meat has much fat, so usually this is added in the form of butter, oil or even pork fat.

If yoou want to try something incredibly tasty that is an exotic, venison andoulle sausage, with pork fat... One of my favorites for gumbo...

I will start to add sources, a link for the cookbook I wrote, etc, as things progress so people can order stuff they may like.

[billeau2]

As Promised will check in occasionally

If you hit a snafu with that roast! lol. Don't overcook lamb guys...

And as Red says: Pork! sub a pork roast for lamb, a shoulder for example, and just cook cook cook at slow and low, Or

In a pinch?

Get a pressure cooker and cook anything quick.

[GhostofDempsey]

Best way to cook a steak, so that it comes out the way they are served at upscale steakhouses? Nice crust on outside, juicy and tender on inside. Some swear by broiling, while others pan fry or grill. Some insist on aged meats, while others have gone to this new method of cooking meat in a plastic bag....”sous vide”. What say the chef?

[Mooshashi]

Two words:

Air Fryer.

[billeau2]

cooking gets u all the hoes. good trade

Knowing how to prepare a meal is DEFINITELY a way to score. I got me a Japanese model while in grad school because she wanted to know how to cook a certain Chinese dish... Yes it is good policy!

[billeau2]

Best way to cook a steak, so that it comes out the way they are served at upscale steakhouses? Nice crust on outside, juicy and tender on inside. Some swear by broiling, while others pan fry or grill. Some insist on aged meats, while others have gone to this new method of cooking meat in a plastic bag....”sous vide”. What say the chef?

Ok lets prioritize in order of importance to get that great steak.

1) GRADE. Steak cuts are Prime Choice and below.... Most supermarkets will get you "Choice" which means relatively well marbled meat, with decent fat content. Prime is starting at restaurant quality, above that is going to a butcher, or ordering on line aged meat.

Aged meat seems expensive however, in all aged beef, sausages, etc because water is drawn out you are paying for more product. For example, if I buy Andoulle sausage in Louisiana it is heavy, dry and tasty...the sausages have been cured and smoked so all the water is evaporated out. Dry aged beef, you get a heavy product, but it is all protein and fat...again, all the water is out.

Finally one can buy specialty beef according to species, and breeding processes. Angus Beef tends to be leaner, grass fed, and is a favorite now. It refers to a breed of cattle..personally I find it too dry, but that is just me. Grass fed beef will not generally have the fat content of grain fed beef.

Then we have Waigyu and or KObe beef. These are Japanese beef cattle, the Kobe refers to being bred and fed to have an exhorbinant fat content. Waigyu refers to a producer and is actually very rare to find. In either case this beef is handled so it is just seared, the fat melted gently, and pink in the middle... an actual steak would be too rich for most, and very very expensive! About 1000 bucks! for a porterhouse (sirlion with lion on bone).

2) Process: here is a trick: Take corn starch with a little salt, cover steak gently and put in freezer until just starting to get frozen...When ready to cook put this steak on a hot griddle and sear. The cornstarch and temperature will allow the meat to sear nicely and not dry out the middle of the steak.

As far as the best way to cook a steak, if it is a decent cut (Sirlion, etc) then you want to sear in a pan, both sides, and gently bring it to temperature after you get the sear. Charbroiling sounds good but it dries a good steak out. Some of the other more exotic methods make little differences but there is not really a consensus on the best way, rather it is the technique.

You want to get a hot pan and sear. Then some finish in the oven, others just cover a minute, or just take it off in about five minutes a side (for about an inch thick sirlion cut) and you will get usually just cooked through.


Dempsey here is a recipe I used for catering... I actually had one guy in tears about how he never had a steak this good...Lol.

I bought a side of Costco Filet Mignons the tenderlion piece. They have great quality for the price...You can even get prime meat I believe! Take the lion and cut into steaks an inch or so thickness... Take a pan and melt a stick or so of butter, take off the flame, add garlic, onion, (you can use powder or dehydrated spices) a touch of cayenne pepper, parsley, balance with salt and sugar. Put steaks into container with half the marinade mix together. As people want a steak, throw on a grill, in a pan, sear gently and cook a few minutes per side (you can cook several at once but pan will not be as hot be aware of this)... then take a container with the other half of the marinade and dip done steak spoon on a bit and serve. You can use ribeyes for this as well.

So use the best quality meat you can find, sear the meat, season after the sear...If given a choice better to pan fry, than put on a chargrill, (you can put a pan on a chargrill) BUT can chargrill as long as you watch and don't burn, dry out the meat.

[billeau2]

Two words:

Air Fryer.

Pray tell! Do you get the nice flavor? I have not tried air frying.

[Mooshashi]

Pray tell! Do you get the nice flavor? I have not tried air frying.

Its the greatest invention since the rubber condom. I bread the meat (flour, eggs and breadcrumbs), then air fry the meat. All the flavor remains, assuming you havent cooked it too long. I usually then baste it in my secret recipe of mushrooms, white wine, heavy cream and chicken broth.

Delicioso.

Works on any meat...pork, steak, fish. I had been using a vegetable oil fish fryer but the air fryer is just as good and certainly healthier.