Has anyone ever really noticed that Spider-man is truely busy? C'mon, the man has to help take care of an elderly aunt, works for a pittance selling photos to a newspaper, and woo a gorgeous redhead he one day ends up marrying. But, on top of all of that, he's still gotta find the time to take care of both petty criminals as well as supervillians with the power to melt your face off. I know that the city, county, and state of New York would be in vile danger while Spidey ever rested, but enough is enough people. The man needs a break....a chance to get away and just so something for him. He's not alone. Our Captain joins the ranks of the overworked, weary superhero as well. You won't be bored with the details, citizen. Just know that he's been tired lately.
So, Captain Gourmet actually decided to take some time for himself. He requested the services of a hero some 45 miles to the north of Austin, Tx.....A hero we only know as The Grandma. The Grandma agreed to take Cap's place on his patrol with Kid Ketchup for a short while so that our hero could enjoy time away. Without wasting a single minute, the adventurer locked up his secret headquarters and spirited away to San Antonio to attend the first Spurs playoff game for the year.
Our Captain arrives at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, and the place is packed--the energy level is amazing. He goes through the usual activities....getting a drink, stopping by the merchandise store, watching the Silver Dancers pregame show, talking trash with other Spurs fans, etc. Just then, hunger struck.
The Captain made his way around the common level surveying the assortment of nachos, hot dogs, pizza, cotton candy, and popcorn. Arena food. Appealing, but our hero has heard about some more eclectic choices down on the charter level. Down on the charter level, our Captain was quite amazed. Several buffets caught his eye with quite interesting fare. Shrimp, lobster, and even a polenta dish caught his eye. There was even a chefly looking gentlemen custom cooking burgers and steaks....and everything looked so incredibly tasty. Hunger was starting to worsen and the adventurer whisked away upstairs as fast as he could. He was in an arena, after all, so standard arena fare won out. An order of nachos and a hot dog later, the Captain settles down in his seat to await tip off.
The first quarter of the game started with a rough start for the home team who quickly fell eight points behind in the game and played a game that was not their characteristically stellar play. Our hero watched, but thoughts kept diverting to the variety of food he saw on the charter level. Who would have come to a sporting event and expect to find such a diverse offering of food?
Uh-oh. It was a food thought that required deep pondering....but our hero was in his civilian disguise. Could this issue be properly pondered? Could we gain some food insight? You're damned right we could, true believer. After all, if Clark Kent was able to discreetly use heat vision, and Peter Parker could throw a spider web without notice, then surely our hero could rise to the occasion as well and still protect his secret identity.
It seems that more and more, gourmet experiences are changing at professional sporting events. Why not, asks the Captain? They certainly draw alot of people for one. Prices for tickets aren't exactly a cheap option nowadays, either. Sure, there are ways to watch a professional sports event and stay on the cheap side, but with the option of spending cash is certainly there whether you're talking about getting better seats, enjoying too much beer, merchandise, or quite importantly---food.
While getting the parking break serviced on his patrol SUV a couple of weeks ago, our Captain talked to a gentlemen who was a recent transplant from Boston to the Austin area. This Bostonian citizen asked our Captain for a recommendation for a place to find a good hot dog in the Austin area. Our saddened hero had to inform this citizen that he really didn't have a recommendation for him, save for Lucky Dog, which was only slightly better than average. We don't have a Gray's Papaya, a Gene & Jude's, or an endless army of hot dog vendors manning street corners. So, the Captain had to ask why this Bostonian citizen was looking for a good hot dog, and he received long stories about countless summers spent at Fenway Park. Our Bostonian even grudgingly admitted that he felt the 2nd best place for a hot dog was Yankee Stadium. Yes, true believer, that touched the Captain's heart as well since you know that he fully understands how some foods carry sentimental value with them as well. The Captain felt for this poor, homesick citizen who would surely be let down at any of the hot dog venues in Austin. Yet, this citizen really helped show the Captain the value of food nostalgia, particularly in regards to sporting events. There are so many ways to enjoy a hot dog, and different cities and different arenas have each claimed their own. The Fenway Frank is first boiled, then grilled. The Dodger Dog is a footlong frank served on a steamed bun. The Milwaukee Brat is a pork and beef sausage grill and dipped into a sauce before getting served on a crusty roll. Take one part specialty recipe for a stadium or arena, add two parts love for the home team, and possibly even thrown on a huge helping of family time or bonding with your friends. That, good citizen, is the recipe for a lasting memory.
An event's location also has impact on the type of food offered as well. The Food Network show, "Rachael Ray's Ballpark Cafe tells us about Maryland fans who enjoy steamed crabs. "Ballpark Cafe 2 describes how fans in Miami are treated to Cuban cuisine. These are just two of the accounts reported by the Food Network over the years describing food at sporting events. Other accounts describe full and gourmet menus offered to those of us rich (or lucky) enough to find ourselves in the exclusive club boxes at an event. The quality of the foods there many times rivals what we would find in a fine dining restaurant downtown.
Were there any major epiphanies to be gleaned from the Captain's contemplation of arena and stadium food? Not this time, citizen. Oh, sure, he could have explained how the evolution of food at these venues came about due to social, economic, or even technological changes. That, true believer, will have to wait for another entry in the Cap Files. For right now, the Captain was taking a break, and just exploring the different fare available was enough to satisfy his interest in the subject.
The food thought pondered deeply enough, our hero opens his eyes in time to see Manu Ginobilli land a three point shot causing the entire crowd of the AT&T center to stand up cheering. The Captain surveys the crowd right next to him. He rejoins the excitement of the game after he reasons that no one noticed him using the gourmet powers in his civilian identity. His secret is still safe.
By the way, the Spurs won in double overtime. Go Spurs Go!
Friday, April 18, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
Wine Pairing 101
Today, we find our hero brooding in the inner most sanctum of his secret headquarters. No, not that inner most sanctum. The other one---the kitchen. Our hero has been acquired a new bottle of wine, a very nice bottle of Bueno Vista Chardonnay, 2004. Alone, the Captain ponders the possible pairings such for such an exquisite bottle of this white wine. He is so lost in thought that nothing can distract him---not the low, steady buzz of the rotisserie oven slowly roasting a garlic rosemary chicken to crispy skinned perfection; not the roar of the power burner of the stove bringing water to a boil for the pasta accompaniment; not the kettle starting to whistle to signal that it's time to steep the Blood Orange tea he just got from family in California. No. Nothing breaks our hero's concentration during his mental combat with his repertoire of recipes trying to find the dish that will be be unleashed by the Bueno Vista treasure resting just mere feet away from him, almost taunting him. The casual observer would not be able to easily see the epic battle being waged internally within out hero, nor could they see how he almost falters before he snatches victory from the unfeeling jaws of defeat declaring this his fruit and pine nut stuffed roast pork loin with tarragon butter sauce recipe would be exactly what this wine calls for. Wiping the sweat from his brow and returning to the external world now heavy with the smell of roasting chicken, Captain Gourmet begins to plan when to prepare this pork recipe and whom should partake of it with him.
Knowing that the true culinary battle of rounding up ingredients and actually preparing the dish is yet to come, our hero is content to savor his recent triumph, and begins to reflect on what could be learned from it.
Now, we must be completely honest here with you, true believer. Though a hero of epic proportions, our beloved Captain Gourmet is certainly no expert in wine. Wine related battles such as this still prove to be rather difficult struggles for him, and dare it be said..... He has even lost a few precious battles. But our hero, once started learning how to defeat the vile villain of Wine Pairing somewhere. To keep the good citizens of our city from falling victim to similar dastardly plans of Wine Pairing, he begins to chronicle the very first tip in wine pairing as part of his sworn duty to protect innocent civilians from the pitfalls of bad gourmet experiences.
Brian Johnson, a catering chef in Columbus, Ohio, started our hero on the road to fine wine pairings several years ago. He taught our Captain to try to start slow and basic...keep things simple. Here, we can apply a rule of three.
The Captain encourages you, good citizen, to try starting simple as well and begin with your wine. Describe it with three qualities you feel that wine has. For instance, you might say that a given wine is light, acidic, fruity. Then, take those qualities and find something that matches well with it. For lightness, contrast it with something heavy, like a cream. Saltiness works well for acidic wines. Fruity? Well, the Captain has always been a fan of pairing pork with fruit. So, what does that give? Perhaps a Roast Pork Loin, stuffed with candied fruits and proscuitto with a Cream Sauce. What's more, our beloved hero would even suggest that you can go simpler. Pick just two qualities of the wine to match with. If you're feeling particularly daring and adventurous, pick a single quality of the wine and try to pair that quality with something that would really enhance it. Of course, the Captain needs to remind you that sometimes simple can be too simple.
Not everyone is going to have the same sense of taste or smell. So, Captain Gourmet does encourage you to try anyhow, good citizen. Make the wine rating experience into something that is personal to you, and be damned with what experts and sommeliers say. Who's to say that they're right? Not the Captain. However, some smaller wine stores provide some of this information for you. Our Captain purchases his wine from a local store to him, Vino 100. Now, it's important to note that the Captain trusts the folks at Vino, so it's easy for him to accept the word of those fine citizens. So, if you can find a place like this, it actually is quite possible to prepare a meal or come up with a wine pairing without ever having tasted the wine.
The Captain's very first tip in wine pairing is quite simplistic, but it was enough to get him started. Our hero feels that it will certainly help you as well, true believer. As your skill progresses, perhaps you may end up locked within the grips of internal struggle over how to serve a fine quality bottle of wine. The right basics and foundations in wine tasting and pairing will help you, too, to be victorious in such endeavers.
Warm weather has already started to make recurring appearances, and clear blue skies are covering the Captain's beloved home city of Austin, Texas. All of you civilians know what that means....BBQ weather. Stay tuned to as soon the Cap Files begin to chronicle our Captain's epic adventures with grilling and smoking. Captain Gourmet plans a campaign of eclectic gourmet BBQ this summer. Let's see what types of interesting recipes he can create in his pursuit, of truth, justice, and the gourmet way.
Knowing that the true culinary battle of rounding up ingredients and actually preparing the dish is yet to come, our hero is content to savor his recent triumph, and begins to reflect on what could be learned from it.
Now, we must be completely honest here with you, true believer. Though a hero of epic proportions, our beloved Captain Gourmet is certainly no expert in wine. Wine related battles such as this still prove to be rather difficult struggles for him, and dare it be said..... He has even lost a few precious battles. But our hero, once started learning how to defeat the vile villain of Wine Pairing somewhere. To keep the good citizens of our city from falling victim to similar dastardly plans of Wine Pairing, he begins to chronicle the very first tip in wine pairing as part of his sworn duty to protect innocent civilians from the pitfalls of bad gourmet experiences.
Brian Johnson, a catering chef in Columbus, Ohio, started our hero on the road to fine wine pairings several years ago. He taught our Captain to try to start slow and basic...keep things simple. Here, we can apply a rule of three.
The Captain encourages you, good citizen, to try starting simple as well and begin with your wine. Describe it with three qualities you feel that wine has. For instance, you might say that a given wine is light, acidic, fruity. Then, take those qualities and find something that matches well with it. For lightness, contrast it with something heavy, like a cream. Saltiness works well for acidic wines. Fruity? Well, the Captain has always been a fan of pairing pork with fruit. So, what does that give? Perhaps a Roast Pork Loin, stuffed with candied fruits and proscuitto with a Cream Sauce. What's more, our beloved hero would even suggest that you can go simpler. Pick just two qualities of the wine to match with. If you're feeling particularly daring and adventurous, pick a single quality of the wine and try to pair that quality with something that would really enhance it. Of course, the Captain needs to remind you that sometimes simple can be too simple.
Not everyone is going to have the same sense of taste or smell. So, Captain Gourmet does encourage you to try anyhow, good citizen. Make the wine rating experience into something that is personal to you, and be damned with what experts and sommeliers say. Who's to say that they're right? Not the Captain. However, some smaller wine stores provide some of this information for you. Our Captain purchases his wine from a local store to him, Vino 100. Now, it's important to note that the Captain trusts the folks at Vino, so it's easy for him to accept the word of those fine citizens. So, if you can find a place like this, it actually is quite possible to prepare a meal or come up with a wine pairing without ever having tasted the wine.
The Captain's very first tip in wine pairing is quite simplistic, but it was enough to get him started. Our hero feels that it will certainly help you as well, true believer. As your skill progresses, perhaps you may end up locked within the grips of internal struggle over how to serve a fine quality bottle of wine. The right basics and foundations in wine tasting and pairing will help you, too, to be victorious in such endeavers.
Warm weather has already started to make recurring appearances, and clear blue skies are covering the Captain's beloved home city of Austin, Texas. All of you civilians know what that means....BBQ weather. Stay tuned to as soon the Cap Files begin to chronicle our Captain's epic adventures with grilling and smoking. Captain Gourmet plans a campaign of eclectic gourmet BBQ this summer. Let's see what types of interesting recipes he can create in his pursuit, of truth, justice, and the gourmet way.
Friday, April 11, 2008
What About the Next Generation of Foodie?
It's a Tuesday night. All is seemingly calm as our Dynamic Duo heads out for culinary patrol. Captain Gourmet pulls up to a Mexican restaurant called Zuzu with his sidekick, Kid Ketchup fast asleep in the back of their patrol SUV. The captain surveys the surroundings and a dark, unsettling feeling sets in. Our heroes are supposed to meet up with long time friend Tiffany tonight, but the parking lot is quite devoid of her tell-tale red beamer. Something is amiss. The Captain wakes his sidekick with the news that they would be on stake out awaiting Aunt Kiki's arrival. The stake out proves to be uneventful, save for the smells of Mexican food wafting through the air, and after some time passes, our heroes break out the Cap Phone to call Tiffany to find out just where the hell she was. It's a sad fact, but a hero's life can be rough. For the lack of a properly delivered email message, she thought that the rendezvous with the pair of adventurers was cancelled, and other plans were made. Yes, our heroes were stood up.
At least our heroes would be able to make their way onto the evening's true objective....dinner. After having had Mexican food for lunch, and no longer being obligated by a dinner appointment, the Captain opted for Italian. Several places came to mind, but Primizie on East 11th street won out for our heroes.
The hero and sidekick arrive and the restaurant and are promptly seated by the staff. It was then that our Captain was hit with his profound thought. The waitstaff pointed out the children's menu to the Captain, and he was immediately impressed with that. You simply don't see that at too many restaurants that serve gourmet quality foods and arent' chains. Furthermore, when Kid Ketchup's pepperoni pizza showed up, even more praises needed to be sung. Primizie incorporated their own style into the pizza making a thin crusted pizza using the delicious flatbread that they serve with their meals. Quality ingredients were used as well. Captain Gourmet quickly noticed that the pepperoni wasn't the standard store bought or bulk fare that you would find, but appeared to be a higher deli-style pepperoni. That's not the end of it, though, true believer. This child's dish was plated with a very simple, yet elegant, arrangement of fruit (raspberries and melon). It was just as visually appealing as it was delicious....and it was a children's dish. (priced appropriately, by the way.)
Now, our hero is not here to review this restaurant. For that, you can read two accounts of this restaurant by Mariah and her friend Laura, some of the resident foodies here in Austin.
No, the Captain is here to point out how his eyes were opened by this experience at Primizie about the ease of putting together a children's menu. A child's palette isn't going to be as developed quite as much as an adult. Alot of the tastes are going to be more simplistic and will be focused around foods which will one day become comfort foods for them. For instance, there was no way that the Captain would have expected his sidekick to dive into the Braised Rabbit with Garganelli Pasta dinner that he partook of. However, that should have been no reason to deny a well behaved child like Kid Ketchup a chance to broaden his palette along lines that are comfortable for him....via a children's menu.
The Captain simply can not see why more upscale restaurants do not offer a children's menu given how simple it can be to implement. Now, granted, the captain does understand that some restaurants seem to have their target audience, which may not include children. However, we live in a free market economy. What sense does it make to exclude a foodie from the ranks of your clientelle simply because they can not find a sitter? The captain believes that a children's menu at restaurants such as this would help to encourage a large customer base, and would encourage restaurants to use this to their advantage.
What's more, one day the Captain realizes that he may very well end up in a superhero's retirement home. Who will be making his strained peas and mashed carrots? It will probably be someone from the next generation. So, let's start broadening the palettes of the next generation of foodies so that those peas and carrots won't be bland mush, but tastefully prepared mush presented with a gourmet flair. Yes, there are places like the Young Chefs Academy, but bringing them to nicer restaurants to experience food of the same qualities that a true foodie would appreciate is quite important as well.
Captain Gourmet and Kid Ketchup call up you, good citizen, to take note of the existence of a children's menu at restaurants you enjoy. If you have kids, bring them. If you don't, still ask why the establishment doesn't have one. The Captain believes that the we can, indeed, instill an appreciate for great food in the next generation of foodie, but he needs you, good citizen, to join in the cause.
At least our heroes would be able to make their way onto the evening's true objective....dinner. After having had Mexican food for lunch, and no longer being obligated by a dinner appointment, the Captain opted for Italian. Several places came to mind, but Primizie on East 11th street won out for our heroes.
The hero and sidekick arrive and the restaurant and are promptly seated by the staff. It was then that our Captain was hit with his profound thought. The waitstaff pointed out the children's menu to the Captain, and he was immediately impressed with that. You simply don't see that at too many restaurants that serve gourmet quality foods and arent' chains. Furthermore, when Kid Ketchup's pepperoni pizza showed up, even more praises needed to be sung. Primizie incorporated their own style into the pizza making a thin crusted pizza using the delicious flatbread that they serve with their meals. Quality ingredients were used as well. Captain Gourmet quickly noticed that the pepperoni wasn't the standard store bought or bulk fare that you would find, but appeared to be a higher deli-style pepperoni. That's not the end of it, though, true believer. This child's dish was plated with a very simple, yet elegant, arrangement of fruit (raspberries and melon). It was just as visually appealing as it was delicious....and it was a children's dish. (priced appropriately, by the way.)
Now, our hero is not here to review this restaurant. For that, you can read two accounts of this restaurant by Mariah and her friend Laura, some of the resident foodies here in Austin.
No, the Captain is here to point out how his eyes were opened by this experience at Primizie about the ease of putting together a children's menu. A child's palette isn't going to be as developed quite as much as an adult. Alot of the tastes are going to be more simplistic and will be focused around foods which will one day become comfort foods for them. For instance, there was no way that the Captain would have expected his sidekick to dive into the Braised Rabbit with Garganelli Pasta dinner that he partook of. However, that should have been no reason to deny a well behaved child like Kid Ketchup a chance to broaden his palette along lines that are comfortable for him....via a children's menu.
The Captain simply can not see why more upscale restaurants do not offer a children's menu given how simple it can be to implement. Now, granted, the captain does understand that some restaurants seem to have their target audience, which may not include children. However, we live in a free market economy. What sense does it make to exclude a foodie from the ranks of your clientelle simply because they can not find a sitter? The captain believes that a children's menu at restaurants such as this would help to encourage a large customer base, and would encourage restaurants to use this to their advantage.
What's more, one day the Captain realizes that he may very well end up in a superhero's retirement home. Who will be making his strained peas and mashed carrots? It will probably be someone from the next generation. So, let's start broadening the palettes of the next generation of foodies so that those peas and carrots won't be bland mush, but tastefully prepared mush presented with a gourmet flair. Yes, there are places like the Young Chefs Academy, but bringing them to nicer restaurants to experience food of the same qualities that a true foodie would appreciate is quite important as well.
Captain Gourmet and Kid Ketchup call up you, good citizen, to take note of the existence of a children's menu at restaurants you enjoy. If you have kids, bring them. If you don't, still ask why the establishment doesn't have one. The Captain believes that the we can, indeed, instill an appreciate for great food in the next generation of foodie, but he needs you, good citizen, to join in the cause.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
The Captain is back
Wouldn't it just figure? Seems like there's always someone trying to keep a good superhero down. Spider-man had to deal with J. Johan Jameson. Bruce Banner had to keep hashing it out with the U.S. Military every time he turned into the Hulk. Well, seems like Captain Gourmet had already found his arch-nemesis....Blogger.com. Just days after the first post here, Cap got flagged with a terms of service violation. Nice, huh?
Well, anyhow, never fear good citizen, the Captain is back and ready to post about gourmet adventures in the last couple of weeks. Ahh, but there have been two weeks worth of heroic antics, so where do we begin?
Let's start out with Sous-Vide, a cooking technique which essentially uses plastic bags submerged in hot water to cook foods. The method was developed in the mid-70's, but lately, Captain Gourmet has noticed that it's hinting at being a possible trend in cooking. Several blog entries, a quick spot on FoodTV, and the emergence of tools for Sous-Vide cooking seem to be popping up everywhere. Obviously, we needed to discover if the technique would prove to be friend or foe to the every day culinary citizen.
When our beloved hero stumbled upon the Sous-Vide scene, he quickly tried to assess this method and deduced that it could be broken down into a very simple combination of items, a plastic bag capable of an airtight seal, food, water, and something to heat the water. It sounded simple enough, but the Captain couldn't be fooled. There had to be more than this. Indeed. Temperature of the water as cut and texture of any meat had to be taken into consideration. Well, the Captain opted for the first couple of passes to try to factoring this in to keep it simple while he learned any techniques that existed.
So, our captain decided to try this method of cooking using a few different cuts of meat. He rounded up a very delicious looking New York Strip steak, a pork shoulder, baby back ribs, and a veal shank. Obviously, each cut of meat had to be seasoned. So, our hero figured that were Batman to try a similar experiment, he would keep things simple. The Captain decided to follow Batz's example and kept seasoning to a very modest combination of salt, pepper, and paprika for each cut of meat. Our clever adventurer also included a pat of butter as well to provide some flavorful love.
Next, the Captain needed some plastic bags capable of maintaining a seal. The problem was solved quite easily by using a handy dandy vaccuum sealing gadget that he picked up off a Ronco infomercial a few years ago. It worked like a charm until the machine broke on sealing the last item, the steak. Captain Gourmet had to pause and mourn the passing of his faithful companion, but shortly afterwards, he moved on to heating the water.
The Captain was shocked to find out exactly how low the water temperature needed to be. Different foods required different temperatures, of course, but 160 degrees seemed to be the average mark. Maintaining that temperature was going to be difficult, but not impossible. Few of you true believers may know this, but even our hero's alter ego is that of a software engineer, he's had some experience with electrical hardware as well. So, off to radio shack and a few other stores for our hero in his guise of a software engineer. Let's make this long story short. He's know how to solder, but he sucks at it. So, kiss one mangled slow cooker and a handful of parts good-bye and the Captain is back to a tricky dance of maintaining the ideal temperature for water on his stovetop.
The Captain then proceeded to cook the selected cuts of meet Sous-Vide style until they were done, which at 160 degrees, the Captain warns you can take quite a while. In the end, though, our Captain was less than impressed with his moderate victory over Sous-Vide.
The meats were not very consistent all the way through. For instance, while the pork shoulder was very tender, it was very dry in some places and reminiscent of the turkey dinner from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. The steak was tender as well, but the process had cooked it all the way through. With Captain Gourmet being a big fan of a rare steak, this just didn't go over well. The steak also lacked brownness as well as that certain degree of flavor you get from pan searing. Even a quick sear after the cooking process to add color didn't do the job. The veal shank started off promising, but was very gamey. It seems that the fat that melts off of the meat during the cooking process didn't have a chance to cook off and continued to add the gamey flavour upon serving. The ribs did turn out quite well, given the limited seasoning they started off with. The ribs did not get dry like the other meats. It did lack color, but that's nothing a little sauce and quick pass under the broiler couldn't handle. The thing is that it took hours to cook the ribs. If that much time if going to be put into it, just BBQ the damned things.
Well, good citizen, the Captain is still trying to decide upon the merits of Sous-Vide cooking, but currently is not impressed. Hopefully, another chef might provide more insight into the process. Perhaps, it's best suited for particular recipes our Captain is not aware of. Regardless, a hero's work is never done. So, he will continue to examine this more to protect you, rightful law-abider, from suffering from the pits and perils of a partially dry Sous-Vide style pork shoulder.
Stay tuned. Same Cap time! Same Cap channel! The captain will return with more chronicles of culinary adventures.
Well, anyhow, never fear good citizen, the Captain is back and ready to post about gourmet adventures in the last couple of weeks. Ahh, but there have been two weeks worth of heroic antics, so where do we begin?
Let's start out with Sous-Vide, a cooking technique which essentially uses plastic bags submerged in hot water to cook foods. The method was developed in the mid-70's, but lately, Captain Gourmet has noticed that it's hinting at being a possible trend in cooking. Several blog entries, a quick spot on FoodTV, and the emergence of tools for Sous-Vide cooking seem to be popping up everywhere. Obviously, we needed to discover if the technique would prove to be friend or foe to the every day culinary citizen.
When our beloved hero stumbled upon the Sous-Vide scene, he quickly tried to assess this method and deduced that it could be broken down into a very simple combination of items, a plastic bag capable of an airtight seal, food, water, and something to heat the water. It sounded simple enough, but the Captain couldn't be fooled. There had to be more than this. Indeed. Temperature of the water as cut and texture of any meat had to be taken into consideration. Well, the Captain opted for the first couple of passes to try to factoring this in to keep it simple while he learned any techniques that existed.
So, our captain decided to try this method of cooking using a few different cuts of meat. He rounded up a very delicious looking New York Strip steak, a pork shoulder, baby back ribs, and a veal shank. Obviously, each cut of meat had to be seasoned. So, our hero figured that were Batman to try a similar experiment, he would keep things simple. The Captain decided to follow Batz's example and kept seasoning to a very modest combination of salt, pepper, and paprika for each cut of meat. Our clever adventurer also included a pat of butter as well to provide some flavorful love.
Next, the Captain needed some plastic bags capable of maintaining a seal. The problem was solved quite easily by using a handy dandy vaccuum sealing gadget that he picked up off a Ronco infomercial a few years ago. It worked like a charm until the machine broke on sealing the last item, the steak. Captain Gourmet had to pause and mourn the passing of his faithful companion, but shortly afterwards, he moved on to heating the water.
The Captain was shocked to find out exactly how low the water temperature needed to be. Different foods required different temperatures, of course, but 160 degrees seemed to be the average mark. Maintaining that temperature was going to be difficult, but not impossible. Few of you true believers may know this, but even our hero's alter ego is that of a software engineer, he's had some experience with electrical hardware as well. So, off to radio shack and a few other stores for our hero in his guise of a software engineer. Let's make this long story short. He's know how to solder, but he sucks at it. So, kiss one mangled slow cooker and a handful of parts good-bye and the Captain is back to a tricky dance of maintaining the ideal temperature for water on his stovetop.
The Captain then proceeded to cook the selected cuts of meet Sous-Vide style until they were done, which at 160 degrees, the Captain warns you can take quite a while. In the end, though, our Captain was less than impressed with his moderate victory over Sous-Vide.
The meats were not very consistent all the way through. For instance, while the pork shoulder was very tender, it was very dry in some places and reminiscent of the turkey dinner from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. The steak was tender as well, but the process had cooked it all the way through. With Captain Gourmet being a big fan of a rare steak, this just didn't go over well. The steak also lacked brownness as well as that certain degree of flavor you get from pan searing. Even a quick sear after the cooking process to add color didn't do the job. The veal shank started off promising, but was very gamey. It seems that the fat that melts off of the meat during the cooking process didn't have a chance to cook off and continued to add the gamey flavour upon serving. The ribs did turn out quite well, given the limited seasoning they started off with. The ribs did not get dry like the other meats. It did lack color, but that's nothing a little sauce and quick pass under the broiler couldn't handle. The thing is that it took hours to cook the ribs. If that much time if going to be put into it, just BBQ the damned things.
Well, good citizen, the Captain is still trying to decide upon the merits of Sous-Vide cooking, but currently is not impressed. Hopefully, another chef might provide more insight into the process. Perhaps, it's best suited for particular recipes our Captain is not aware of. Regardless, a hero's work is never done. So, he will continue to examine this more to protect you, rightful law-abider, from suffering from the pits and perils of a partially dry Sous-Vide style pork shoulder.
Stay tuned. Same Cap time! Same Cap channel! The captain will return with more chronicles of culinary adventures.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)