Showing posts with label Cooking Techniques. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cooking Techniques. Show all posts
I love potatoes. They are my favourite vegetable. I could live without chocolate. I could live without cake. I could live without cookies . . . I could not ever live without potatoes. Oh sure, I've tried low carb . . . but the potato is my downfall every time. I just can't get on for very long without them!
I like em steamed. I like em mashed. I like em fried. I like em roasted. I like em hot. I like em cold. I even like em raw . . . but the way that I like em most of all . . . is baked!
You just can't beat a good baked potato. Rough on the outside, crisp even . . . and explodingly fluffy on the insides. Big and fat and round . . . and eaten so hot that you have to blow on every forkful you bring to your mouth . . . you just can't wait for them to cool down . . . you have to eat them NOW!
Not just any potato will do. You don't want a waxy potato. (A waxy potato is perfect for potato salad because it holds up it's shape in cooking.) You want a nice fluffy potato, big and round . . . like a King Edward or Maris Piper, or in North America . . . a Russet.
You can't hurry a baked potato. It's not something you can rush. The perfect baked potato takes a long slow roasting in a hot oven. Some people like to wrap them in foil. Foil wrapped baked potato = soggy icky baked potato. Some people like to wet them and roll them in salt. That works quite well I suppose. Some people like them rubbed with oil, or with butter before they are baked.
Me??? I just wash em, and prick them all over (a necessity unless you want to be clearing off exploded bits of baked potato from all over the insides of your oven) and then I lay them in the hot oven right on the rack. No pan. No foil. Just hot air wrapping itself around that potato and baking it until it is crispy and nutty on the outside and fluffy on the inside. In short perfect!
Don't cut into your baked potato . . . that only mashes the potato together and compacts it. Nigel Slater swears by the Karate Chop! (And you know how much I love Nigel Slater!) He recommends just a llight sharp tap on the side of the potato, like a karate chop . . . not so hard that you smash the potato to smithereens . . . just hard enough to slightly crack open the potato and let all the air out in a whoosh, leaving behind a tasty fluffy pile of snowy potato, just begging for a big pat of butter and your fork!
A steak is not a steak without a baked potato on the side, but a good baked potato deserves so much more than to be merely an accessory to the main course . . . a good baked potato is like having a blank canvas that you can paint a most beautiful picture on. It can be the whole meal and for me it often is.
- With tasty Baked Beans ladled on top and lotsa lotsa cheese.
- Topped with scrummy coleslaw, or tuna salad, or both!
- Lotsa cheddar cheese and lashings of crispy bacon
- a bit slab of goats cheese, or even better . . . some tasty Brie!
- With a Meaty Bolognaise Sauce ladled over top, or the best . . . Chili And Cheese!
- Bits of steamed broccoli and cauliflower and then a tasty cheese sauce ladled over top
- Leeks braised in butter with lots of grated Fontina cheese
Baked Potatoes with Rocket, Broad Beans and Blue Cheese.
Jacket Potatoes with Chili and Cheese
Rarebit Jacket Potatoes
Baked Potato Pizza
Jacket Potatoes with Cream and Walnuts
So what are you waiting for??? Grab a potato and start baking!!
Note: If you click on the recipe name at the bottom of each photo, it will take you to a link for that recipe, which will open in a new window! (Ahh, the beauty of modern technology . . . just wonderful!)
Last week the kind folks at Abel and Cole quite generously sent me a beautiful piece of rolled sirloin. If there is one thing that is done really well here in the UK, it's beef. We have some of the nicest beef in the world and the people at Abel and Cole have made it their job to source out some of the best of the best. It arrived in a compact returnable cool box, filled with ice packs and came right to my door along with my weekly vegetable box delivery. (I do have to say that their delivery people are polite and very personable, or at least that's been my experience. That says a lot in my books . . . ) I've already put in my order for my Christmas Turkey and my Christmas Vegetable box. I'm taking the year off this year! There's no way I'm battling my way through the crazy line ups in the grocery store in the few days before Christmas! I'm having it all delivered right to my door from the good folks at Abel and Cole. I know . . . you might think I am taking somewhat of a chance, but in all honesty folks, they haven't let me down yet!
Mind you a good piece of meat is only as good as the method used to cook it. If you don't prepare it properly, well . . . it wouldn't matter if it was organic, non organic, an expensive cut, or a cheap cut . . . badly cooked meat, is badly cooked meat. And very unappetizing and unappealing all round! Who wants to eat a dry, tasteless piece of leather . . . not me!!! It's taken me years and a lot of experimentation to come up with this fool proof way of cooking my roasts. If you follow my directions to the letter, you will be rewarded with a beautifully cooked piece of meat, full of flavour and tender, tender . . . tender . . . EVERY time! Trust me.
*Perfect Roast Beef*
Printable Recipe
This is more of a technique than it is a recipe. There is a lot more to cooking a roast than just banging into an oven. Whilst it is also very simple to cook, there is a proper way to do it and helps and tips that can produce the perfect roast every time. (if you follow them!) First of all, allow approximately 350g or 12 ounces of meat per portion.
8 to 10 pound wing, rib or strip loin roast of beef
2 TBS prepared English Mustard
1 TBS maple syrup
4 TBS water
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 TBS of beef dripping
I think it's best to cook meat always from room temperature so plan ahead and take your meat out of the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before you plan on cooking it. Pre-heat your oven to 250*C/480*F.
Mix together the water, mustard and maple syrup. Massage this mixture into the meat on all sides. This concoction will help to flavour and colour your meat. (Trust me here.) After you have massaged most of it in, or as much as you can, season your meat liberally all over with the salt and pepper. The fat will largely wash off a large portion of it so more is better. Always season just prior to cooking it as well, to prevent the salt from drawing out the blood and juices.
Heat a heavy based roasting tray over high heat with the dripping inside. (If you have no dripping a knob of butter will do.) Once the fat is hot, lower the beef into it to commence the browning process, lightly browning it on all sides.
Lower the oven temperature to 220*C/425*F. Roast the beef in it for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and baste with the pan juices. Lower the temperature to 180*C/350*F. Return the beef to the oven and roast for a further 15 minutes per pound of beef, plys an extra 15 minutes. The end result will be a perfectly cooked joint, pink in the middle without being overdone.
Once the meat is cooked allow a further 30 minutes resting time in a turned off oven or a warm place.
This resting time is very important. This helps the juices and the temperature of your meat to stabilize and relax, which helps to make the meat much more succulent and easier to carve. When you cut into hot meat alot of the delicious juices escape, and we really don't want that.
I often roast my meat on a bed of root vegetables . . . chunky carrots, parsnips, onions. This helps to raise the meat above the fat in the roasting tin and prevents it from frying instead of roasting, not to mention it gives a lovely flaour to the juices and the gravy!
To make a delicious gravy, add some liquid to the pan, once the meat has been removed and set aside to warm. (leave the vegetables in the pan) Your liquid can be some beef stock, or even a bit of red wine. It's your choice. Cook and stir, scraping up from the bottom to get all your brown bits etc. Strain this into a saucepan, removing all the solids. Skim any fat off of the top. I then shake some flour together with some water in a jar until it's smooth and I strain this back into the pan juices in the saucepan. I then cook it over medium heat, stirring constantly until it thickens. Leave to cook over low heat for at least five minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Place in a gravy boat and pass with the meat.
A lot of people are quite intimidated when it comes to cooking steak. Cooking a steak to perfection is not really all that hard . . . as long as you follow a few rules.
I'm really lucky to live in the UK, where the beef is considered to be some of the best in the world. Top quality meat, marbled with plenty of fat for beef and lamb is essential for successful broiling, grilling and pan frying.
It goes without saying that, if you want the perfect steak, you have to first start out with the perfect cut of meat.
For panfrying, broiling or grilling, I wouldn't recommend anything less than a good quality sirloin, rib eye or filet steak. Steak that has been properly aged on the bone will give you the best flavour.
I also like to start with meat that is at room temperature, so take your steaks out of the fridge at least half an hour before cooking or longer if possible.
Some cooks eschew seasoning the meat prior to cooking.
I am a firm believer, however, in salting the meat prior to cooking, as the heat helps to seal in the salt, allowing it to penetrate and really flavour the surface of the meat. That old idea about the salt drawing out the moisture and meat juices, is just hoaky to me.
If pan frying, which is my preferred method, you want to use a really heavy skillet, heated to a hot temperature. Brush your seasoned meat with some butter, and then place it in the hot pan.
Cook for several minutes to sear the first side, and then flip over and finish searing it on the second side.
Don't turn your steak any more than once. Turning it over and over, is what causes the meat juices to release and your steak ends up stewing instead of frying.
I prefer my steaks medium rare.
This finger test is a simple way to judge the doneness of a piece of meat. The further your thumb has to move across your hand, the more resilient the ball of the muscle becomes.
The amount of resistance felt by your opposing finger when compared against the same finger pressed onto your meat is an excellent gauge in guessing as to how done your meat is.
First finger stage: for blue meat and lightly cooked fish.
Touch your thumb to it's opposing first finger and press the ball of your thumb with the tip of a finger of the other hand, the ball will offer no resistance. The surface should be seared in steak, and firm, and the beads of meat juice not yet risen to the surface. The meat is rare to almost blue when cut with a mild flavour.
Second finger stage: for rare meat.
Touch your second finger to your thumb and press the ball of your thumb. The ball will feel spongy. The meat should be well browned and spongy when pressed in the centre. It should be firm at the sides and any beads of juice on the surface should be deep pink. The meat when cut is read, juicy and aromatic.
Third finger stage: For medium cooked meat, game or duck, or well done fish.
Touch your third finger to your thumb and press the ball of your thumb. The ball will feel resilient. The surface should be crusty brown and the meat should resist when the centre is pressed. Firm at the side, the juices on the surface should be pink, and when cut the meat is juicy, deep pink and well flavoured.
Fourth finger stage: For well done meat, or poultry.
Touch your fourth finger to your thumb and press the ball of your thumb. The ball will feel firm. The surface of the meat will be crusty brown and dry and the meat will feel quite firm when touched in the centre. Beads of juice on the surface of the meat will be clear and when cut no pink juices will be visible.
You may also be interested in learning how to cut tri tips into your perfect eating steak. For tips on how to cut tri tips there is a really great tutorial for you to follow. I love trip tip steak. Its filled with flavour, but there can be a bit of confusion in knowing how to handle it properly.
I like to serve my steaks with some tasty fried mushrooms. Very easy to do.
Just slice the mushrooms, melt a knob of butter in the pan and then add the mushrooms. Don't agitate the pan at all. Allow the mushrooms to sear and brown. In short leave them alone.
Stirring releases to much of their juices and, once again, they stew. If you leave them alone and only stir them once they have begun to really brown, you will be rewarded with nicely browned, juicy and flavorful mushrooms. I wait to season them at the end.
Following these few simple rules and techniques should help you to cook the perfect steak every time, and if you still manage to mess it up, well . . . here's the perfect sauce to serve with your steak, whether you have cooked it to perfection . . . or not.
It is delicious can enhance a really well cooked steak or cover a multitude of sins!
*Classic Steak Au Poivre Sauce*
Serves 2 generously
This classic sauce is not only delicious when you have a perfectly cooked steak to serve, but is also an excellent cover-up for beef that is overcooked, tough, or lacking in flavour.
2 TBS whole black peppercorns
175ml good red wine
174ml double cream
1 TBS cognac
salt to taste
Place the peppercorns in a heavy ziplock bag and crush with a rolling pin. Place in the saucepan and add the wine. Cook and boil until reduced to 2 TBS. Whisk in the cream and cognac and heat until quite warm. Season to taste with salt
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