Cooking thread: Have a question?

[billeau2]

Actually...

Gotdamn bro.. instead of offering your expertise here for free, you should just come out with your own cook book, I'd buy it.

You just casting pearls before swine on these boards...

As a gift to my first boy I wrote him a cookbook for college. Ill post the link to the PDF up here, just have to find it.

[billeau2]

More like how can I help you lol I'm an excellent cook

Joking but I'd say I'm above average, always get good reviews. Plus I genuinely like cooking, it's very relaxing

But since you asked.... Chicken Wings? KFC like chicken wings?

I don't know how KFC does wings but good chicken wings and bad chicken wings are as different as night and day. Bad wings are always "wet." I like juicy for some things but wings should be dry and crisp, with any seasoning cooked in, but lets get to that in a moment. Doing wings well is in fact a challenge, make no mistake about it, ok here we go:

The Chinese really have it down. best wings I ever had come from San Francisco old ChinaTown. What they do is first, Dry the wings, dry dry dry... Try to get a decent flame and a wok is great, but any thin bottomed pan, Copper all the better, you want as much BTU's as you can get here.

Don't season the wings, (more on this later) don't oil the wok/pan... throw them in there and "chow" (kick them around the pan) as you start to get a little smell of the chicken, put in an oil with a good flashpoint...Peanut is divine, canoli, great, walnut oil expensive but good...stay away from olive oil.

Put in very little bits of oil and keep shaking, eventually the wings will start to brown a bit, probably in about ten minutes or so, at this point put in a little water, (maybe a 3rd cup and cover for about five minutes.

When you uncover, take both pieces out, the pieces the joint should turn easily, and come apart...this is when you can season, and if need be, brown some more.

Chinese style would be to add Green chiles, green onions and salt and chow (kick around) another few minutes or so...add enough oil that things don't stick...Be careful because wings have a lot of fat and can stick to the pan, spatula off if this happens. Oh and soy sauce will burn and smoke out. If you want to add, best to make a dipping sauce really (2 parts soy, garlic crushed, a pinch of sugar, 1 part rice vinegar, or chinese wine vinegar, and if you want to kick it up Chinese Hunan Black Bean sauce with chilies in oil.

Yu can also add hot sauce at this point, I would balance with a little sugar to carmalize... Any spice is alright. You add now because you want to cook the wings but not burn the spices.

Give this a try. Again: wings can be put in the deep fryer as well. They won't taste quite as fragrant but a lot better than the wet, slimy stuff most people pass off.

[billeau2]

The flavor of pozole is really in the pork fat. You can make a good one with chicken, but it's going to taste like chicken soup, not pozole. I'd make it with pork but just skim the fat off the top at the end. An easy way to do this is to let it cool first.

If you're trying to eat healthy, no reason to skip pork. It's actually one of the better choices. Just remove the fat from any meat/chx/pork, in any meal, and you'll be good to go.

Old kitchen maxum: "Fat equals Flavor"

Geez I always forget and have to edit... What Red says about Pork? Lets just say the last case of worm poisoning in pork occured in the 1920's.

[Szef]

I don't know how KFC does wings but good chicken wings and bad chicken wings are as different as night and day. Bad wings are always "wet." I like juicy for some things but wings should be dry and crisp, with any seasoning cooked in, but lets get to that in a moment. Doing wings well is in fact a challenge, make no mistake about it, ok here we go:

The Chinese really have it down. best wings I ever had come from San Francisco old ChinaTown. What they do is first, Dry the wings, dry dry dry... Try to get a decent flame and a wok is great, but any thin bottomed pan, Copper all the better, you want as much BTU's as you can get here.

Don't season the wings, (more on this later) don't oil the wok/pan... throw them in there and "chow" (kick them around the pan) as you start to get a little smell of the chicken, put in an oil with a good flashpoint...Peanut is divine, canoli, great, walnut oil expensive but good...stay away from olive oil.

Put in very little bits of oil and keep shaking, eventually the wings will start to brown a bit, probably in about ten minutes or so, at this point put in a little water, (maybe a 3rd cup and cover for about five minutes.

When you uncover, take both pieces out, the pieces the joint should turn easily, and come apart...this is when you can season, and if need be, brown some more.

Chinese style would be to add Green chiles, green onions and salt and chow (kick around) another few minutes or so...add enough oil that things don't stick...Be careful because wings have a lot of fat and can stick to the pan, spatula off if this happens. Oh and soy sauce will burn and smoke out. If you want to add, best to make a dipping sauce really (2 parts soy, garlic crushed, a pinch of sugar, 1 part rice vinegar, or chinese wine vinegar, and if you want to kick it up Chinese Hunan Black Bean sauce with chilies in oil.

Yu can also add hot sauce at this point, I would balance with a little sugar to carmalize... Any spice is alright. You add now because you want to cook the wings but not burn the spices.

Give this a try. Again: wings can be put in the deep fryer as well. They won't taste quite as fragrant but a lot better than the wet, slimy stuff most people pass off.

Very nice, thanks man

Will definitely give this a try and let you know how it went

[blue_dolphin]

cooking gets u all the hoes. good trade

[W1LL]

Did you ever cook any gator-based dishes in Louisiana?

[Motorcity Cobra]

Air fryers.

Yea or Nay?

My main concern is flavor and texture. I want it to taste & feel like i cooked it the regular way

[Redd Foxx]

Old kitchen maxum: "Fat equals Flavor"

Geez I always forget and have to edit... What Red says about Pork? Lets just say the last case of worm poisoning in pork occured in the 1920's.

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.

[billeau2]

Did you ever cook any gator-based dishes in Louisiana?

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.

[billeau2]

Air fryers.

Yea or Nay?

My main concern is flavor and texture. I want it to taste & feel like i cooked it the regular way

Not tried them. Will say this:

One way to help with frying and health is to fry properly. On this account, although I do not like gadgetry as a rule, a nice LARGE fry box cannot be beat... Fry at a "crackle" to seal in and the food should not be greasy. Fry boxes are great the way they control the temperature.