TIPS & TRICKS!
Hacks!
There are a lot of dishes that take time to develop with a depth of flavor you’re looking for. However, if there’s a shortcut that gives you a flavor bomb, I say take it!
New Techniques!
I’ve been working on trying new techniques recently. These are the ones that changed my life. Okay, that may be a little extreme but they were impactful.
Kitchen Hacks!
Pickle Fan?
Do you have a favorite pickle and you wonder how they made it? I’ve tried to make dill pickles and failed miserably. Here’s my hack!
1) Buy some cucumbers, English or the mini cucumbers I’ve found work best and cut them to the size of pickle you want. If you have a garden you can absolutely use cucumbers from your garden! (we had a batch of cukes one year that were a little tart and this saved them!)
2) Add cucumbers to your leftover pickle brine and shake every couple days for 7-10 days. After that enjoy!
I’ve done this with the Klaussen and Vlasic brands so far and they turned out great!
Noodle Stir Fry Shortcut
I would often order Chinese takeout because I couldn’t get the noodles right at home. Now this isn’t an exact match but definitely closer than what I could do before. Maybe it was just my technique.
1) Start your stir fry as you usually would, but don’t add any sauces yet. (oil is welcome) While that cooks, start a small pot of water on high and bring to a boil.
2) Five to seven minutes before you are done with your stir fry add some ramen noodles to the boiling water. You can use the instant ramen (no seasoning packet) but I have switched to the regular ramen that cooks a little longer and has fewer additives.
3) Take the noodles out just before they are fully cooked, add the noodles, your sauce and cook a few minutes on high heat to absorb the flavors of the sauce. Remove from heat and serve! Jazz it up and top with some cilantro, lime juice and sesame seeds.
Love Caramel Sauce? Try Dulce de Leche
I have tried to make caramel a couple times and it may just be me, but the process seems a little finicky, requiring a candy thermometer and burnt caramel isn’t edible. This tastes so much like caramel and it’s cheaper.
1) Open two 14 oz jars of sweetened condensed milk and pour them into two pint mason jars or three half pint jars and close the lids tightly.
2) Place jars into crock pot, and cover completely with water, about an inch above, if possible. Turn on low and leave set for 8-10 hours. For a thicker, darker result, let cook for the full 10 hours.
3) It will become a light brown color, similar to caramel. Remove from water carefully (with tongs or remove water with a ladle until you can lift out with a thick towel) and let cool to room temperature.
4) Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks (mine did last longer but keep food safety in mind) and enjoy on ice cream, cheesecake, with apples or any way you would typically use a caramel sauce.
New Techniques!
Brine All the Time!
Allow me to back peddle just a bit on ‘all the time’, You can brine any meat. Different meats respond better to wet vs. dry. I wet brine poultry/pork and dry brine other meats, unless I am marinating, then I won’t brine. This section is about wet brining, dry brining to be added later.
Why brine? It allows flavor to absorb into the meat and helps it retain moisture. You can even overcook it some and you’ll still have a juicy hunk of meat!
If you want to understand the science of how brining rearranges the muscle structure and all that which I can’t explain there are a lot of great sites with information and some have contradictive information, To save some Googling time, I’ll share what I’ve learned so far.
It appears brining isn’t an exact science (or not one that is agreed upon) and it doesn’t have to be! The science is cool, yet some simple guidelines can help you get the result which may surprise your most particular critic.
Keep these things in mind:
•Safety first! Be careful when moving the brine and anything out of it. That liquid now has been mixed with raw meat. Please take all safety measures to clean anything that comes in contact with the brine and/or meat!
•Not all salts are the same! I use Morton’s kosher salt in my recipes but not everyone has that. If you are using table salt cut the amount of salt in half. If yo are using a different brand of kosher salt, look up the weight difference—it matters!
•Time has an impact! If you are brining a whole bird you can let it set overnight, if you have just the parts cut that time down to an hour per pound because it will absorb faster and you don’t want it too salty.
•Cool the brine before adding the meat. Bacteria is more likely to form at certain temperatures, get the brine below 40° F and then add meat.
•You only need salt and water but can add a variety of other flavors you want.
•Sugar isn’t needed but it clings to the surface which can help you achieve browning on the outside.
•You don’t have to use water, you can use other liquids, please do a little research before using anything too acidic in a brine, you will have to decrease the brine time. Acidic liquids are more for marinades in my opinion.
Preparation
Utensils Required
Measuring cups
Small saucepan
Spoon (for stirring)
Knife/cutting board(for herbs/ginger)
Large container for brining
Prep Time
2-3 Min
Cook Time
10-15 Min
Ingredients
1 whole chicken
3/4-1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup sugar
Additional flavor (garlic, ginger, lemon, etc.)
2-3 bags of tea
Other Times:
If you are making something else, here are some guidelines from:
https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/this-is-everything-you-need-to-know-about-brine/
Shrimp or scallops:15 to 30 minutes
Fish fillets:10 to 30 minutes
Whole fish:1 to 3 hours
Boneless or bone-in chicken pieces:1 to 2 hours
Whole chicken:4 to 12 hours
Cornish game hen:1 to 2 hours
Whole turkey:12 to 24 hours
Boneless or bone-in pork chops:30 minutes to 1 hour
Whole pork tenderloin:1 to 2 hours
Whole pork loin:2 to 12 hours
My Whole Chicken Brine
In general, it’s about 4 Tbsp of kosher salt per 4 cups of water. I sometimes use a little less because I’ll often brine more than 12 hours. You can go ahead and use just water and salt without heating it, if you do, mix your salt solution in a container large enough to hold the water and your meat and place in the fridge for specified time.
You can do this your own way with (almost) any flavors you want to add. (don’t add anything salty, you have enough – i also don’t suggest using honey instead of sugar because honey loses nutritional value when you heat it)
1) In a small saucepan over high heat, add 4 cups of water, 3/4-1 cup of kosher salt (cut amount in half for table salt), 1/2 cup of white or brown sugar, any fresh herbs lying around (great way to use the stems), 2-3 garlic cloves and 1-2 inches of ginger sliced horizontally and a 2-3 single serve bags of tea. (I have a blackberry sage tea that gives a very subtle, yet beautiful flavor)
2) Stir the solution over heat until dissolved, once it is boiling, reduce to a simmer. Continue to simmer for 5 minutes, this helps pull the flavor out of the other ingredients you’ve added.
3) Remove from heat, remove tea bags and pour into the container you plan to hold your meat and brine. This container should be big enough to hold your meat and a gallon of water.
—You can take out the rest of the ingredients from the brine at this point but don’t have to. I leave them in just in case any additional flavor will be released. I do remove the tea so it doesn’t add a bitter flavor from over-steeping, I’m not sure if it would since this becomes a cold solution, just erring on the side of caution.
4) Add some ice to the solution or let set until room temperature. Once cooled, add your meat and cover with 10-12 cups of water, depending on how much ice was added. If your met isn’t fully submerged add more water.
5) Place in the fridge for 8-12 hours.
6) Remove from brine and pat dry, you do not need to rinse unless you brined it too long, then rinsing won’t hurt but clean up the area really well if you do.
7) Cook however you please. You can cut it up and cook individually, spatchcock it or roast it as is! Enjoy!
Pasta Water is Your Friend!
Pasta water just gets dumped out right? NO! Well, some of it but don’t waste it all. It has some advantages!
Skip the direct straining of noodles into a colander where the water goes down the drain and use a spider strainer to move your noodles into your sauce. If you don’t want to do that, you can reserve a cup or two before straining.
1) Season your pasta water with salt right before you add the pasta, a tablespoon or two is about right for each pound of pasta. I don’t measure, I just throw it in. I also add garlic and onion powder. It does add flavor to your pasta!
2) Use it in your sauce. Add a few tablespoons of pasta water to your sauce and it will act as a thickening agent. It does have some starch leftover from cooking the pasta so will loosen at first and then thicken.
3) Make bread or pizza dough with your pasta water. Replace the water in your recipe with your pasta water. Remember if you added salt, you may want to reduce the amount of salt if your pasta water is decently salty, give it a taste.