What's on tonight's menu?

[Shift-4]

last night was baked sockeye, quinoa with lime juice and red peppers and good old peas. Should have taken a picture. It looked good, tasted great and was very satisfying.

[Monty]

Burgers tonight with these bad boys I just pulled out of the oven:

 

[-DLC-]

Those look AMAZING up there ^^^^.  I'd love the recipe.

I'm making my family famous bacon jam.  Made with coffee, maple syrup, rosemary, etc.  Usually make some at Christmas for the men in my life.   Sounds scandalous, but really just my Dad, son, brother, whoever....

[Monty]

1 hour ago, debluvscanucks said:

 

Those look AMAZING up there ^^^^.  I'd love the recipe.

In bed now, but I’ll post it tomorrow for you (and everyone).

 

I have now made it with and without seeds on top. Tastes about the same. However, the poppyseeds make it look a tad more “fancy” and restaurant quality. 

 

Either way, I’ll post the last step either with seeds or without tomorrow.

[Monty]

10 hours ago, debluvscanucks said:

Usually make some at Christmas for the men in my life

Before I post the bun recipe, this made me smile, and sad at the same time. While I love cooking, would be nice if my wife made breakfast/lunch/dinner for birthday or Father’s Day sometime. But, that’s life.

 

Bun Recipe:

 

- 1 cup lukewarm water

- 1 tablespoon instant yeast

- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks

- 1/4 cup sugar

- 1 1/4 teaspoons salt

- 1 egg

- 3 1/2 cups Unbleached all purpose flour

 

*Assuming you have a KitchenAid (or alternative mixer)*

 

1. Pour water and yeast into mixing bowl. I use a fork and mix for 15-20 seconds. Then I let sit for 5 minutes.

2. Add in and mix (with dough hook on machine) the rest of the ingredients at the same time, except the flour, on the lowest mixing setting on your machine.

3. Add in your flour 1/2 cup at a time, adding each portion every 20 seconds (roughly). If you’re more comfortable adding 1/4 cup, it works all the same. I wouldn’t add more than 1/2 cup at a time, though. I’ve done that and the dough doesn’t turn out as well (ie: I’ve thrown it out).

4. Once all the flour has been adding in, continue mixing on lowest setting (with the dough hook) for 8 minutes. 

5. Take dough out and shape into a ball, making it smooth. Place back into your mixing bowl, cover with a dry towel and place in a warm(ish) place for 2 hours to rise. I put mine in the oven (turned off of course).

6. Before taking dough out, deflate the air out with your hands. Lightly dust counter with flour and place dough down.

7. This step is done however you choose. I find that making the buns a uniform size is to roll the dough out, like a log, about 8-10 inches. I don’t measure the length, just eyeballing it. Using a serrated knife, I then cut about 10 buns worth from the dough.

8. Roll into circles and then flatten down with the palm of your hand, sort of like a hockey puck. Tuck the edges underneath (if you’ve never made buns before, just look up on YouTube about this step, all bun recipes show this).

9. Place the buns on a baking sheet lined with partment paper and lightly cover with serran wrap for 1 hour. Lightly covering really means lightly covering. Just drape it over.

10. This step I’ll do in two parts, depending if you want seeds or not:

a). With seeds (poppyseeds/sesame seeds). Lightly brush your buns with an egg wash (1 beaten egg to 1 tablespoon water) then put on your desired amount of seeds.

b). Without seeds. Take 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter and melt in microwave. Brush each bun with butter.

11. Place buns in the oven for 12-18 minutes at 375. I do mine for 15 minutes, so I guess it depends on your oven.

12. When done, if you’ve done the recipe without seeds, brush the buns with the remaining butter once you’ve pulled out of the oven.

13. Done!

 

Seems like a lot of steps, but it’s super easy. I was just very detailed. Some people add all the ingredients together right away, and I DO NOT recommend that, especially the yeast and flour part. Your yeast needs time to thicken a tad in the water, and your dough will not come together if you add all of it at once.

[Monty]

Not sure what’s been better about today. The fact that my daughter took her first steps, that I’m down to 166lbs (24 pounds down), the fact that I’m in the middle of making cheese crackers (will post pictures later), or that I also made chocolate-almond biscotti.

 

 

Probably the biscotti.

[Monty]

Cheese Crackers

 

Sooooo good. Taste light (airy), but is definitely not healthy. Could destroy this entire thing myself. Would be dynamite on top of Tomato Soup. But are incredibly tasty by themselves.

 

[brilac]

1 hour ago, Monty said:

Not sure what’s been better about today. The fact that my daughter took her first steps, that I’m down to 166lbs (24 pounds down), the fact that I’m in the middle of making cheese crackers (will post pictures later), or that I also made chocolate-almond biscotti.

 

 

Probably the biscotti.

That is so precious! 

[brilac]

9 minutes ago, Monty said:

Cheese Crackers

 

Sooooo good. Taste light (airy), but is definitely not healthy. Could destroy this entire thing myself. Would be dynamite on top of Tomato Soup. But are incredibly tasty by themselves.

 

Oh god I love food! 

[Monty]

4 minutes ago, brilac said:

Oh god I love food! 

Right? I’ve been eating much better quality food over the past several months due to making most of it myself, but have lost a bunch of weight because, fortunately, I’ve been excerising a lot of will power.

 

After making the biscotti and crackers today, I actually feel lazy, because I feel like I should make one more thing to make it the trifecta. It’s nearly 8pm in Manitoba, so I’m not sure what else I can make. I’m missing an ingredient to make my ice cream, so that’s off the menu.

[Shift-4]

Thanksgiving dinner

Mmmmmm

[luckylager]

Had Thanksgiver turkey Saturday and Sunday. Was a nice night so I made my last round of bbq'd gnarburgers for 2017.

 

That's an 8oz patty, just so ya know. Sorry for the juicy plate, but it carried 3 other (smaller) burgers in from the deck.

 

[Monty]

10 minutes ago, luckylager said:

Had Thanksgiver turkey Saturday and Sunday. Was a nice night so I made my last round of bbq'd gnarburgers for 2017.

 

That's an 8oz patty, just so ya know. Sorry for the juicy plate, but it carried 3 other (smaller) burgers in from the deck.

 

That. Looks. Amazing.

 

I make my paddies 2oz, smash burgers (If I double up), or 3oz if I’m only having one paddy. Perhaps in a few months I’ll work at perfecting 4-6oz paddies. It’s just that I’m such a fan of the hard crust on smash paddies and cooking in a cast iron right now.

[luckylager]

11 minutes ago, Monty said:

That. Looks. Amazing.

 

I make my paddies 2oz, smash burgers (If I double up), or 3oz if I’m only having one paddy. Perhaps in a few months I’ll work at perfecting 4-6oz paddies. It’s just that I’m such a fan of the hard crust on smash paddies and cooking in a cast iron right now.

I get my bbq up to a minimum of 600 before dropping the burgs. Gets that nice amber coloured sear and a nice crunch, but still dripping and juicy.

 

I'll be back on the cast iron pan very soon though. (my grill is cast iron too but..) BBQ is getting its annual cleaning next weekend, will get moved off the deck and into the shed for winter. No, I won't and don't ever use soap on the grill, just the guts.

 

Larger patties need to be worked longer and much wider. It’s also critical to put a large, 3 finger dimple in the middle so it doesn't get "pregnant" on the grill. 

 

 

[Monty]

6 minutes ago, luckylager said:

I get my bbq up to a minimum of 600 before dropping the burgs. Gets that nice amber coloured sear and a nice crunch, but still dripping and juicy.

 

I'll be back on the cast iron pan very soon though. (my grill is cast iron too but..) BBQ is getting its annual cleaning next weekend, will get moved off the deck and into the shed for winter. No, I won't and don't ever use soap on the grill, just the guts.

 

Larger patties need to be worked longer and much wider. It’s also critical to put a large, 3 finger dimple in the middle so it doesn't get "pregnant" on the grill. 

 

 

There are several reasons I don’t use my BBQ anymore, one of them being that my BBQ is awful. I bought it 12 years ago. My wife and I did not have a lot of money at the time, so it’s a bare bones crap BBQ from Canadian Tire. I have thought about getting a stainless steal flat top grill (see pic below), as I like cooking on flat surfaces (to soak up the juices). This is why I now cook in the cast iron, both for burgers and steak.

 

 

Alternatively, I have thought about getting The Big Green Egg. Just not sure I want the flat top or grill. Then, it’s also a decision that comes down to not only surface, but also propane vs. charcoal.

[luckylager]

13 minutes ago, Monty said:

There are several reasons I don’t use my BBQ anymore, one of them being that my BBQ is awful. I bought it 12 years ago. My wife and I did not have a lot of money at the time, so it’s a bare bones crap BBQ from Canadian Tire. I have thought about getting a stainless steal flat top grill (see pic below), as I like cooking on flat surfaces (to soak up the juices). This is why I now cook in the cast iron, both for burgers and steak.

 

 

Alternatively, I have thought about getting The Big Green Egg. Just not sure I want the flat top or grill. Then, it’s also a decision that comes down to not only surface, but also propane vs. charcoal.

I'm not opposed to flat tops, however, if they're not hot enough you actually kinda stew your meat... But if you don't get your grill hot enough, everything will be dry and tough. Downsides to both.

 

No matter how you choose to cook your burgers or steak, brutal hotter than the sun heat is key. I won't put a steak or burger down until 600 degrees or hotter. Searing the juices in almost instantly, cooking hot and fast with precision timing, then a rest, makes the best beef. Caramelizing the fat..mmmm.

 

Well unless we're doing a brisket, ribs or roast, which is entirely different, except I still sear the s#!+ outta those too. Lock those juicy flavours in there. It's like a delicious prison for meat juice.

 

 

Edited October 10, 2017 by luckylager
And I'm outta rep, sorry Monty.

[Monty]

1 minute ago, luckylager said:

I'm not opposed to flat tops, however, if they're not hot enough you actually kinda stew your meat... But if you don't get your grill hot enough, everything will be dry and tough. Downsides to both.

 

No matter how you choose to cook your burgers or steak, brutal hotter than the sun heat is key. I won't put a steak or burger down until 600 degrees or hotter. Searing the juices in almost instantly, cooking hot and fast with precision timing, then a rest, makes the best beef. Caramelizing the fat..mmmm.

 

Well unless we're doing a brisket, ribs or roast, which is entirely different, except I still sear the s#!+ outta those too. Lock those juicy flavours in there. It's like a delicious prison for meat juice.

 

 

That’s probably the problem with my grilling skills. I’ve had such a terrible BBQ for So long, that it never really cooked as well as it deserved. That’s not because I didn’t learn or was particularly bad at it, but just the limitations of my grill: no temp gauge, small surface, each corner/side have drastically different temperatures. I know having hotter spots on a BBQ is “normal”, but mine is particularly awful. 

[luckylager]

13 minutes ago, Monty said:

That’s probably the problem with my grilling skills. I’ve had such a terrible BBQ for So long, that it never really cooked as well as it deserved. That’s not because I didn’t learn or was particularly bad at it, but just the limitations of my grill: no temp gauge, small surface, each corner/side have drastically different temperatures. I know having hotter spots on a BBQ is “normal”, but mine is particularly awful. 

I've gotta say, I've been really happy with "Broil King". My Dad swears by them and he taught me almost everything I know about rocking a grill. I swear by them too, great bang for the buck. 

 

Got a sweetheart deal at Rona a few years ago in early autumn... $600 after the 40% off.

 

It's fit to broil for a king, and his family.

 

60000 btu, 3 burner, two stage, spit compatible. No side burner, but I've thrown cast iron pans on the 3rd burner to sautee. Really only ever need the 3rd for hosting parties or if I decide to grill the corn.

Edited October 10, 2017 by luckylager

[Monty]

1 minute ago, luckylager said:

I've gotta say, I've been really happy with "Broil King". My Dad swears by them and he taught me almost everything I know about rocking a grill. I swear by them too, great bang for the buck. 

 

Got a sweetheart deal at Rona a few years ago in early autumn... $600 after the 40% off.

 

It's fit to broil for a king, and his family.

 

60000 btu, 3 burner, two stage, spit compatible. No side burner, but I've thrown cast iron pans on the 3rd burner to sautee. Really only ever need the 3rd for hostile parties or if I decide to grill the corn.

Good to know. I’m still likely a year or two away from buying another one. My daughter is only a year old, so no rush to get anything for larger groups.

[luckylager]

Just now, Monty said:

Good to know. I’m still likely a year or two away from buying another one. My daughter is only a year old, so no rush to get anything for larger groups.

I hear ya. The deals come around a few times a year, and cast iron still kicks butt.

I'll be on the pan until April or May.

 

Love my bbq though, love it. My wife loves it too - less fat and dishes to wash. My 4yr old daughter could care less, because she doesn't really like eating, anything, ever.. but my son will be sad to see me putting the bbq away.