#EdenCooks - Beef Stew OR Pho Bo - Mon. Jan 16 at 8pm EST

Contributor: Sir Sir
Quote:
Originally posted by Ansley
I *think* it's just crystalized sugar in big chunks with food coloring. Remember the experiment in school where you had to grow sugar crystals on a string? Same theory.
Ahh, alright! Thank you!
01/16/2012
Contributor: Ansley Ansley
Quote:
Originally posted by Starkiller87
You got to grow sugar on a string! Thats awesome. We got to watch movies in every single class through out all of high school which sucked.
It was pretty awesome. We also made playdoh, silly putty and blew things up. But I would have rather watched the movies. Then I could have slept without anyone giving me hell.
01/16/2012
Contributor: Antipova Antipova

All right! We've got our ingredients ready. Now let's extract the flavor from our meat.

Here's one basic thing: if you have meat, you don't have to give your simmering pot quite as much attention. If you have bones, there are some random not-delicious things in the marrow (nothing dangerous, just not-delicious), so you'll want to either skim it frequently, or par-boil the bones and still wind up skimming a fair amount.

I par-boiled the bones this time. Put your bones in your pot, fill them up til a half-inch past the top bone with cold water straight from the tap, and bring them to a boil over high heat. Let them boil for 3-5 minutes.




All the gross foamy stuff that has floated to the top is not delicious, so dump the whole pot into your sink, rinse the bones off with warm water, and then wash the residue out of your pan.

What other sorts of foods do you par-boil?

01/16/2012
Contributor: Ansley Ansley
Quote:
Originally posted by Rossie
You'll find it in Asian markets, it's slightly yellowish in color, sometimes they're really chunky, I whack them with a hammer to break them apart!
I know what rock candy is. It's a Southern staple.
01/16/2012
Contributor: Ansley Ansley
RIBS!
01/16/2012
Contributor: Starkiller87 Starkiller87
Quote:
Originally posted by Antipova

All right! We've got our ingredients ready. Now let's extract the flavor from our meat.

Here's one basic thing: if you have meat, you don't have to give your simmering pot quite as much attention. If you have bones, there ... more
I do that with chicken sometimes. Let all the fat and stuff float to the top and skim it or dump the pot and put the chicken in a with new stuff.
01/16/2012
Contributor: ellejay ellejay
Quote:
Originally posted by Antipova

All right! We've got our ingredients ready. Now let's extract the flavor from our meat.

Here's one basic thing: if you have meat, you don't have to give your simmering pot quite as much attention. If you have bones, there ... more
I've hear of rice being par-boiled, but I've never done it myself. Seems a lot easier than constant skimming re: bones!
01/16/2012
Contributor: geliebt geliebt
Quote:
Originally posted by Antipova

All right! We've got our ingredients ready. Now let's extract the flavor from our meat.

Here's one basic thing: if you have meat, you don't have to give your simmering pot quite as much attention. If you have bones, there ... more
I had never heard of parboiling! Just looked it up. I usually cook really simple things that don't require it, I guess!
01/16/2012
Contributor: Antipova Antipova
Quote:
Originally posted by Ansley
RIBS!
I am going to have to rope you into hosting a guest-lecture on ribs sometime, ma'am, because I know next to nothing!
01/16/2012
Contributor: Darklyvan Darklyvan
I am surprised, I thought that since I did not get home till 8:30 I would miss everything
01/16/2012
Contributor: Rossie Rossie
Quote:
Originally posted by Antipova

All right! We've got our ingredients ready. Now let's extract the flavor from our meat.

Here's one basic thing: if you have meat, you don't have to give your simmering pot quite as much attention. If you have bones, there ... more
Chicken feet!
01/16/2012
Contributor: Ansley Ansley
Quote:
Originally posted by Antipova
I am going to have to rope you into hosting a guest-lecture on ribs sometime, ma'am, because I know next to nothing!
I'd totally be down with that!
01/16/2012
Contributor: Antipova Antipova
Quote:
Originally posted by geliebt
I had never heard of parboiling! Just looked it up. I usually cook really simple things that don't require it, I guess!
It's not really an issue if you're cooking anything other than bones... but we want that flavor, right!?
01/16/2012
Contributor: Antipova Antipova
Quote:
Originally posted by Rossie
Chicken feet!
Ooooh, and I've got lots to learn from you too, I see!
01/16/2012
Contributor: geliebt geliebt
Quote:
Originally posted by Antipova
It's not really an issue if you're cooking anything other than bones... but we want that flavor, right!?
Indeed!! We want alllll the good stuff
01/16/2012
Contributor: Antipova Antipova

Now that that pre-step is out of the way, it's time to enhance our flavors with a bit of heat.

For the stew, we will sautee the venison or beef in 3T of oil, and turning it just until the meat chunks have a nice crisp edge to them. Keep the drippings! They are delicious and you'll use them to thicken the stew later.



For the pho, you can bring out extra flavor from your onions and ginger by charring them (with the skin on). I didn't have a charcoal grill so I just put them down on my cast-iron griddle. If you have any pan that you can dry-fry something in, that will be fine too. Just turn the onions a lot so they don't burn. Leave the onion papers and ginger skins on while you do this. (I used tongs to keep from burning my fingers.)


01/16/2012
Contributor: Ansley Ansley
You don't dredge the meat in flour first? That's how my grandmother did it and it was so thick and delicious!
01/16/2012
Contributor: Jul!a Jul!a
I can't say that I've ever par-boiled anything really.
01/16/2012
Contributor: geliebt geliebt
Ohh man beef and onions. Heaven!
01/16/2012
Contributor: ellejay ellejay
Quote:
Originally posted by geliebt
Ohh man beef and onions. Heaven!
Tell me about it! I wish I could smell what's cooking in Antipova's kitchen.
01/16/2012
Contributor: Rossie Rossie
Quote:
Originally posted by Ansley
You don't dredge the meat in flour first? That's how my grandmother did it and it was so thick and delicious!
I also do that, when I remember to, forgot that step when I browned my lamb earlier! Darn it!
01/16/2012
Contributor: Antipova Antipova
Quote:
Originally posted by Ansley
You don't dredge the meat in flour first? That's how my grandmother did it and it was so thick and delicious!
I add the flour later---but both ways would probably work! I'm'a try that next time!
01/16/2012
Contributor: geliebt geliebt
Quote:
Originally posted by ellejay
Tell me about it! I wish I could smell what's cooking in Antipova's kitchen.
For real! It looks awesome even now. I think I might faint when she's finished lol!
01/16/2012
Contributor: Ansley Ansley
Quote:
Originally posted by Rossie
I also do that, when I remember to, forgot that step when I browned my lamb earlier! Darn it!
It makes such a huge difference in my roast and I do it for my vegetable soup, which I guess is more like a stoup (damn you Rachel Ray!).
01/16/2012
Contributor: Antipova Antipova
Quote:
Originally posted by ellejay
Tell me about it! I wish I could smell what's cooking in Antipova's kitchen.
Charring the onions and ginger smelled like kebab... it was wonderful. And when I split the ginger open later... gosh, I could have eaten it just like that!
01/16/2012
Contributor: Ansley Ansley
Quote:
Originally posted by Antipova
I add the flour later---but both ways would probably work! I'm'a try that next time!
Good deal, I'll try your way first!
01/16/2012
Contributor: Antipova Antipova

We've got everything ready---now let's get down to business! For the herbs and spices you don't want to eat, wrap them up in cheese cloth and tie the tip off with kitchen twine so you can take them out later. (You don't want to eat bay leaves, or anise stars or cinnamon bark, right?)

Put your accompanying vegetables (mirepoix if you want to be Classic French about it), and your herbs/seasonings ( boquet garni for you Escoffier-lovers) into your pot.



Then cover your vegetables and herbs with your bones or meat. In the stew, the order doesn't matter at all because you're going to serve straight from this dish. Because you're using meat and not bones, you won't have to do a bunch of skimming.

For the pho, since you're using bones, you will be straining this broth after you make it and you'll be skimming as it simmers. You don't want the onions or boquet garni to float (that would get in the way of skimming) so try to anchor them at the bottom of the pot by plunking bones on top.

Now fill the pot with cold water (or broth, for the stew---this is like making a double-rich broth. Peasants couldn't have done this, but since you're living in the Modern Era this rich flavor is a good way to show off how much you're not a peasant.) til about 2 inches above the ingredients.





Now, put your pot on the stove and bring it to a simmer!

01/16/2012
Contributor: Antipova Antipova
Sigh. Strait of Gibraltar, straight out of the pot. Sam, can you fix my typo?
01/16/2012
Contributor: ellejay ellejay
Quote:
Originally posted by Antipova
We've got everything ready---now let's get down to business! For the herbs and spices you don't want to eat, wrap them up in cheese cloth and tie the tip off with kitchen twine so you can take them out later. (You don't want to eat ... more
Ungh, so colorful. It looks excellent!
01/16/2012
Contributor: Darklyvan Darklyvan
Hold the onions lol, I can not stand the taste of onions
01/16/2012