The Cook Book

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Mr Nobody

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Re: The Cook Book
« Reply #270 on: December 08, 2012, 01:43:08 AM »
home made sausages.

Plenty of stuff about it on the web, but little for China. Read up on the net for other bits, follow this for china specific stuff.

OK, I make two main kinds, bratwurst and english sage.

They are simple.

First rule is everything must be kept very clean and very cold. If things are not really cold, the water that is in them comes out of the emulsion, which means it ain't a sausage no more, but meat floating in water.

First need several kilos of nice fatty pork like the neck, then add about ten percent backfat until the llot is between 20 and 30% fat. less than 15% fat and they are too dry. I like to work with it damn near frozen, cutting to size, pulling out ligaments and skin etc.

If you make less than 2kgs the flavour doesn't seem to blend right. I usually do 3kgs per batch of each type, 6 kgs total.

Mince the lot very coarsely and return to fridge to chill out again.

Spice mix - bratwurst. Bratwurst should have mace which I can't find, so I faked it with a mix of spices based on nutmeg. It works.
take about six spoonfuls of salt, one whole nutmeg, two cloves, finger sized bit of cinnamon bark and a coffeespoon ful of white peppercorns, or can mix in some black peppercorns. Needs mostly white.
Powder the lot finely with some kind of processor until fine very fine.

Use about 10g per kilo. to taste.

For English sausage, used about 3g sage, 5g salt, 2g black pepper and/or 1g white pepper per kilo finely blended.

Add about half a cup of water (or wine etc) per kilo. Mix thoroughly and put back in the fridge.

Mix thoroughly, and mix again you probably didn't do it enough.

Fry up a couple of patties to taste them, remembering they need aging etc. But adjust mixes accordingly. And mix thoroughly again and return to fridge, very cold fridge.

Wait a day for the taste to mull.

Run through sausage stuff attachment of mincer using thin sausage nozzle, into sausage casings. Can mailorder or just use pigs small intestines. Salt,clean and dry before use, turn inside out twice while washing, etc.

Make into 6 inch links by turning every second one, don't try to do each one, they unravel. Don't overstuff. needs two people to do it well.

put into 500 g or 1kg batches, and freeze in your ruddy great freezer. defrost and fry at will, put on home made bread with home made sauces, or whatever. serve with mashed spuds, bacon, fried onions egg and baked beans. Maybe some cheese. etc.

Home made bacon isn't hard either, but I am too lazy to do it much. And great country pate is like a ten minute job.
Just another roadkill on the information superhighway.

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AMonk

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Re: The Cook Book
« Reply #271 on: February 24, 2015, 12:26:18 AM »
*bump*
Moderation....in most things...

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Pashley

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Re: The Cook Book
« Reply #272 on: February 24, 2015, 05:10:21 PM »
As for any topic, Project Gutenberg has a lot of free downloadable books, nohing recent but lots of good stuff that is old enough copyright has expired. Here's their list for cookery:
http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Cookery_%28Bookshelf%29

The Whitehouse Cookbook, published in the 1880s and written by the presidential chef of the day, is a fine source for traditional American recipes:
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/13923
Who put a stop payment on my reality check?

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mlaeux

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Re: The Cook Book
« Reply #273 on: April 02, 2015, 03:08:40 AM »
My favorite recipe of the moment - http://kitteekake.blogspot.mx/2007/09/chickpea-flour-besan-pancakes.html (This link may be blocked, so I've posted the recipe below.)


In my notes below, you'll find my my substitutions. The base recipe is very forgiving. There's lots of wiggle room for creativity.


Here's the original recipe from the website:

Chickpea Flour Pancakes
Makes three large pancakes

1 cup besan/gram flour (Indian chickpea flour)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup water
1/4 lemon, juiced (about two really good squirts of lemon juice)
1 cup chopped veggies (I like 1/4 cup frozen peas, 1/4 cup chopped onion and 1/2 cup tomato)
a chunk of onion to season your skillet.

In a small bowl, mix together the besan, salt, baking soda, and spices.

Add the water and beat well. The besan tends to clump a bit, so you can sift it if you want, but I just beat the lumps out with a fork.

Beat in the lemon juice with a fork.

Stir in the mixed veggies (you can add some chopped cilantro and freshly grated ginger if you have it). Whatever you do, don't taste the batter. Raw chickpea flour tastes terrible!

The easiest way to make these, is to season a cast iron skillet with the cut side of an onion. This is an amazing trick for savory pancakes, and helps the pancakes to pop out of the pan--even if you make these without oil. You could also use a non-stick gizmo for good results. To season, just rub the surface of the pan vigorously with the cut side of an onion, you can also add a touch of oil if you want.

Ladle 1/2 cup of batter at a time into the hot seasoned skillet (cook over medium low heat) and spread the batter out so it's not too thick.

Cook until the bottom is brown and there are bubbles surfacing in the center of the pancake. Flip and cook the other side. These take considerably longer to cook than regular pancakes, so you want them on a lower heat to keep them from burning. I'd say they take at least 5 minutes to cook on each side.
 

My Notes

Due to ingredient limitations, I've had to make a few modifications. For instance, lemons are ridiculously expensive, shriveled and IMHO the yellow color just seems a little bit off (when you can find them), but little key limes are abundant and cheap, so I substituted the juice of fresh squeezed limes for lemon juice.

Additional suggested modifications:
Only use fresh quick cooking veggies, such as chopped spinach, diced onions and tomatoes, & minced ginger and garlic.

Try making the batter a bit thinner than what the recipe calls for. I followed the ratios to the T when I originally tested this recipe, and the batter was too thick. It didn't cook all the way through. So, I used less chickpea flour to thin the batter out.

Try using a blender to mix all the ingredients together except for the veggies. Pour the batter into a med/big bowl and then mix the veggies and batter up real good before ladeling onto a preheated pan.

Garnish with cut chives or cilantro before serving.

I haven't tried it yet, but if you don't have tumeric, you could try using yellow curry powder instead, as it generally contains turmeric as it's main ingredient.

BTW - I tried using the cut onion as an oil substitute, but it didn't work for me, even with one of those new fangled "green" pans I bought on a recent trip to Texas. However, I did use about a half teaspoon of avocado oil (obviously you don't have to use avocado oil, any cooking oil will do just fine) and then I smeared it around in the pan with a paper towel just to makes sure it was coated really well, as I've had issues with "sticking" before.
« Last Edit: April 02, 2015, 03:19:12 AM by mlaeux »

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AMonk

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Re: The Cook Book
« Reply #274 on: May 04, 2015, 03:44:50 AM »

Breakfast Biscuit - general purpose

2 cups Flour
4 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
4 Tbs Shortening (Lard)
3/4cup Milk


Preheat oven to temperature needed.
Sift together dry ingredients,
Add shortening ad mix thoroughly into flour mix.
Add milk until soft dough-ball is formed.
Turn out onto lightly floured board.

Biscuits - 475*F
Roll out 1/2-inch thick.  Cut onto rounds.  Place onto lightly greased sheet.
Bake about 12 minutes.

Pizza - 450*F
Roll out until slightly larger around than pizza pan,  Place onto (lightly greased) pan.  Tuck edges under.  Add toppings and cheese.
Bake about 15 - 20 minutes.

Meat Pies - 425*F
Divide dough into 2 unequal parts.
Roll out larger portion until it fits standard pie pan.  Place carefully over (lightly greased) pan.  Fill with your favourite (pre-cooked) meat+veg combo.
Repeat rolling procedure with second portion of dough.  Place on top of pie.  Cut 1-3 air holes onto crust
Bake about 20 minutes.
Moderation....in most things...