Culinary Conversations

[worth1]

I decided I wasn't going to eat Mexican food for the holiday weekend so I bought some ground chuck, cilantro, avocados, tostadas, lettuce, tomatoes, shrimp, canned baby clams and corn tortillas.
Mayocoba beans have been soaking since yesterday.

[worth1]

This showed up in the news feed.
Something I've been saying all along.
If I've been drinking water and sweating profusely and feel sick to my stomach I'll just take a pinch of salt.
It goes away pretty fast.
This is because I control almost all the salt in my diet and don't buy salty snacks.

https://www.axios.com/local/austin/2023 ... -dont-work

[worth1]

How on earth did I end up eating like they do in Germany or how most people eat in Germany.
What I mean is I cut my food with my right hand and eat with my left hand.
And my left arm is on the table not in my lap.
In America it seems people swap the right hand from fork to knife all the time.
There are other odd eating habits I have as well.
What I was raised up not to do is gobble my food down.
Instant scolding over that one.

[worth1]

I don't often do this but this is an exception.
First it's a product you can't possibly make at home unless you grow a ton of chilies.
Next they are red ripe chilies from Hatch New Mexico.
Next it's enchilada sauce.
Lastly you can order the sauce on line for around 9 dollars or something.
But if you watch the video the owner of the company says it's concentrated because he doesn't want to ship or sell water.
So the sauce really isn't that bad in price if you factor all this in.

[karstopography]

I had New Mexico stacked cheese enchiladas just recently on my trip there. I had the green chile sauce and they had the two eggs over easy on top. Super good.

[worth1]

Since we're on the subject of chilies.
The rooster brand Sriracha sauce is nowhere to be found.
The rattlesnake stuff out of Austin is too garlic forward.
Low and behold a new one hit the store.
I like it just as well if not better than Huy Fong rooster brand.
I did all the research, this stuff is made in Thailand.
The Lady in the boat is supposedly the founder.

It's only $3.48 for 15.38 ounces.
The Guy Fong on the left the J-Lek is on the right in my hand.

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[worth1]

My wife hates you.
That's what a guy at work said to me one year after he bragged about his beloved Washington State made cheese.
Y'all know what brand I'm talking about.
I said really, I'll bring you some good cheeses.
So I brought him some aged cheeses from across the pond and told him to let his wife try them and he did.

Now she's hooked on this imported more expensive cheese.
Thus the reason she hates me.
Well she actually doesn't hate me it's just a figure of speech.

[worth1]

A little cooking wisdom I learned many years ago.
When the dish, 'or at least most, is completely finished and ready to eat and you taste it.
The best thing you can say is, 'It needs salt.

[bower]

I could do with some cooking advice (as usual).
I am planning a cook-ahead picnic style meal for a party on Friday.
Explainer: This is a (belated) birthday party for my friend who told me she was jonesin to do some textile creative things. We are full steam ahead to be dyeing and ecoprinting outdoors, with buckets of fabric already soaking in mordant, and the LR-DR is already a sewing setup to boot, of course we can clear a space to eat or we can take plates outdoors. BUT I don't want to be doing any cooking whatsoever on the day, because there's a lot, really a lot happening, including getting stuff on ya (motto of the art department: don't get any on ya, but in fact you always do and may as well expect it ). So the only food handling is going to be everything made in advance.
So today I picked up a half dozen bone-in chicken breast and also some thighs, bearing in mind that husbands, children, extra friends may turn up I want plenty on hand.
My question is: what is the best method for such chicken parts, to cook ahead in the oven expecting to quickly reheat them when we eat, without losing any juicy tenderness which of course we must have. I will have potato salad and other sides that are easy make ahead. But I'm mulling over how to do the chicken for best result.

What I'm currently thinking: since I'm a day ahead here, I could get the chicken into the pan tonight with some suitable marinade seasoning applied and refrigerated, with the plan to roast them tomorrow afternoon, cool and refrigerate evening before the day.
Oven temperature?? I usually roast bone in chicken at 400F/40 minutes to get a good sear on the outside and cooked through. Just wondering if there is any merit to going with a lower temperature/longer time for something you plan to keep and reheat. As I understand it the crispy skin at 400 is also locking in moisture, so maybe it is the best regardless?
Post-roast procedure?? My thought is to remove from the roasting pan and place them into a clean pan covered with foil. Put that in the fridge ready to stick in the oven whenever the time comes. Clean up the roasting pans in the best way possible (make rice with the drippings of course ) and reduce the dish load on the day.
I roast and freeze chicken all the time, and I never use foil so IDK. Does foil over top make a difference? On or off for juicier result?

I know we have lots of meat expertise here, but I'm hoping we can get past the gold standard optimum of 'never reheating' and help me to the middle ground. (I can personally eat boot leather as long as there's a dinner bell, but I still appreciate the difference and would like to do my best for guests.)

[worth1]

Sometimes I don't remember what I'm looking for but I'll know as I wonder up and down the isles.
This is one that jumped out at me today in Austin.
Bought two bags of them.
I see a homemade hot curry powder in the future.
Plus I have never tasted these things before.
....,....
I just did, what a weird flavor.

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[karstopography]

There’s a maple syrup fragrance note to fenugreek, plus something a little bitter.

[worth1]

There’s a maple syrup fragrance note to fenugreek, plus something a little bitter.

I didn't get that, my first impression was bounce dryer sheets but not in a bad way.
I'll toast some and see.

[bower]

I hate fenugreek. Really disagrees with me.
Cardamoms otoh are fantastic. Finding some whole cardamoms has really upped the ante on my curry flavor.
You may like it, it's very personal the spice that agrees or disagrees with you.
Chamomile is another thing I can't stand. Some people love it.

[pepperhead212]

That's a lot of fenugreek seeds! One thing you can do, to use some up, is sprout them. Usually only a small amount of seeds are used in curry powders, or any of those other masalas I make, and almost all of them are toasted.

Another thing fenugreek seeds are used for in Indian cooking is giving the idlis or dosas a boost of fermentation - sort of like a sourdough type of thing. Only a small amount is needed.

[Sue_CT]

Bower, regarding the chicken, I would do a combination of methods. I would bake with the foil on until it is warm through then remove it to finish, to crisp up the skin, maybe brush with a bit more BBQ or whatever type of sauce you use once the skin is crispy. I personally don't care for soft, limp, steamed or moist chicken chicken skin. The foil will help keep the moisture in while you are reheating it, and if needed you can even stick it under the broiler for a couple of minutes to make sure the skin is what you want. The other thing you could do is remove the skin you are done baking them the firt time, put some type of sauce, like tomato sauce or a green salsa or something you like on top and reheat them in the oven with the foil on, then when just about done, remove the foil and top with some type of cheese and allow it to melt over the top. Then the skin isn't an issue. It does help keep the meat moist when initially cooking it so I personally would just prefer to remove it if you are going to once the chicken has been cooked. You could also top them with seasoned breadcrumbs when you remove the foil so they get golden brown and crunchy and not soggy. Your options are as numerous as your imagintion.

[worth1]

Scored big time.
No it's not marijuana it's Mexican oregano.
3.5 ounces of it.
Almost all buds.

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[bower]

Common oregano is a rampant weed in my garden. Leaf flavor isn't great but the flower buds are awesome. Makes an amazing herb vinegar, the texture is a bit too coarse to put directly in a dish.

@Sue_CT thanks so much for the advice! I agree about the skin, it should be crispy not soft, so I'll try reheating under foil and then brush and broil for the finish this time. Love the crumbs idea too, maybe I'll do some with crumbs and some with parmesan.

[worth1]

@bower
First and foremost this is just my opinion.
I never eat mass cooked chicken breast because it is always dried out.
Next re heated chicken breast is even worse.

Skin and foil do not lock in moisture.
There is no way it could physically do it.
Resting meat does not allow the juice to go back into the meat.
I prefer a slow low heat cook with a constant eye on the internal temperature.
But not too low.
Maybe 250F.
This allows the food to cook more evenly.
It helps to keep residual heat from cooking too much.
Chicken breast and thighs are done at different temperatures.
Thighs need to be at 165F for one or two reasons one is bs if you know your science.
The main reason is the 165F temperature breaks down the collagen to make it tender.
165F kills bacteria instantly.
So long before that meat got to 165F the bacteria was long dead.

Next breast is best cooked to 150F.
I personally let it coast to 150 or 155 from about 145.

If you allow the meat to cool off well before you reheat it you may possibly get the meat to not dry out.
That's when you want to blast the skin with high heat.

Here's a salmonella chart time and temperature from a sous vide site.

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[Sue_CT]

Skin does not "lock in" moisture but it can baste the meat as the fat renders. It also prevents the meat from direct exposure to the heat which dries the surface of the meat out more. I have found bone in meat does not dry out or over cook as easily as boneless and skin on makes the surface of the meat moister. If you don't over cook it it should be fine. I also have had bad dried out mass cooked chicken. That does not mean it is always dried out and over cooked.

Bower specifically asked us "I'm hoping we can get past the gold standard optimum of 'never reheating' and help me to the middle ground". That was what I was trying to do. You are right about the legs and breasts cooking to different temps so I would also consider placing them on two different pans so you can monitor each seperately and remove just the breasts if they are done first. Breasts cook faster but they also tend to be much larger. Just cook each to its optimum temp and then remove.

[worth1]

These were all things I've heard in my life and experiences I've had.
I think they invented ranch dressing for dried out chicken breast.