Recipe of the Day

[Spirit of Guernsey]

https://www.theguardian.com/food/201...e-not-tom-hunt

[steelemonkey]

https://www.theguardian.com/food/201...e-not-tom-hunt

I have been experimenting lately with hot smoking but I doubt scallops will be used this way, they are so tasty anyway and do not need anything other than a quick saute. I suppose if I had a more constant supply like you, I would do some thing else, but at the moment....

[Tim Digger]

Just to revive this thread and make steelemonkey happy. But mostly as food is a universal comfort in difficult times.

Is there a recipe of the Day Thread ? Obviously. If not I could start one, not looked extensively so may be. I have dim memory.
Yesterday I Opened a Christmas present box from daughter1 containing a weird mix of Chinese ingredients.
I was aiming for a Black and White Chinese Dish.
So Some dried Haricot beans (of indetermined age) soaked overnight cooked until reasonably tender (kept tasting).
From the box "Dried Black Fungus" that's what it was called! Soaked in hot water for an hour and chopped (would recommend finer than I did).
Start with oils and fry some onion and celery and well chopped red pepper add two (fairly old) dried birds Eye Chillies.
Add a bit of Chinese 5spice powder (SWMBO does not care for strong Star Anise flavour) some Oyster sauce (happened to catch my eye in the cupboard) Black pepper and some red wine and red wine vinegar together with The Second Item From Daughter's box sweet Black bean paste. simmer gently for a bit.
Ah I forgot to mention the garlic (only two cloves) chopped.
Then add the cooked beans for about 30mins, may need a bit more red wine if to thick too soon.
I served this with Egg Noodles which we have not yet been able to replace.
I would love to say the Black Fungus was delicious but I have to give this dish only 8/10 mostly for appearance. It is Black and White and definitely Chinese.

[steelemonkey]

Just to revive this thread and make steelemonkey happy. But mostly as food is a universal comfort in difficult times.

Is there a recipe of the Day Thread ? Obviously. If not I could start one, not looked extensively so may be. I have dim memory.
Yesterday I Opened a Christmas present box from daughter1 containing a weird mix of Chinese ingredients.
I was aiming for a Black and White Chinese Dish.
So Some dried Haricot beans (of indetermined age) soaked overnight cooked until reasonably tender (kept tasting).
From the box "Dried Black Fungus" that's what it was called! Soaked in hot water for an hour and chopped (would recommend finer than I did).
Start with oils and fry some onion and celery and well chopped red pepper add two (fairly old) dried birds Eye Chillies.
Add a bit of Chinese 5spice powder (SWMBO does not care for strong Star Anise flavour) some Oyster sauce (happened to catch my eye in the cupboard) Black pepper and some red wine and red wine vinegar together with The Second Item From Daughter's box sweet Black bean paste. simmer gently for a bit.
Ah I forgot to mention the garlic (only two cloves) chopped.
Then add the cooked beans for about 30mins, may need a bit more red wine if to thick too soon.
I served this with Egg Noodles which we have not yet been able to replace.
I would love to say the Black Fungus was delicious but I have to give this dish only 8/10 mostly for appearance. It is Black and White and definitely Chinese.

There are quite a few dried fungus/mushrooms used in Chinese cooking. Dried shiitake mushrooms have a full flavour, you will find these in Asian shops. Soak well and cut out the hard stems. Wood ears need quite a bit of soaking but give a crunchy bite to dishes. They don't have a lot of taste though.

[steelemonkey]

There are quite a few dried fungus/mushrooms used in Chinese cooking. Dried shiitake mushrooms have a full flavour, you will find these in Asian shops. Soak well and cut out the hard stems. Wood ears need quite a bit of soaking but give a crunchy bite to dishes. They don't have a lot of taste though.

By the way, shiitake is not pronounced shit ache, as my friend found out when visiting an Asian shop.

[notdeadyet]

Got asked about jerky making on another thread so here goes...

Pick some meat, you want something with as little fat as possible because fat spoils long before the meat will. For beef, I usually go silverside or topside, whatever is cheapest. Usually get around 2:1, 1kg of meat will make 500g of jerky (1kg pretty much fills my dehydrator). Or most chunks of venison tend to be quite lean. I've heard varying reports on whether or not chicken is safe so I tend to stay away from it and commercial chicken jerky I've tried isn't particularly nice. I'll sometimes do salmon but you need to leave the skin on to hold it together which means you can't get rid of the fat which means it's more likely to go off.

1. Trim all the external fat from the meat.
2. Freeze it solid. I'm told freezing helps make it safer from parasites but the main reason I freeze it is because it loses a lot of water in the thawing process.
3. Let it defrost until it's about 2/3's of the way done. When it's still got some solidity to it you can cut it easier.
4. Slice it. You need a long, very sharp knife. Cut into 2-3mm slices. Texture is different if you cut across the grain or with it. I like both and cut it depending on what's going to give the best shaped slices. You'll probably massacre your first attempt. I did.
5. Let the slices drain for a few minutes.
6. Throw them in a plastic box with some brown vinegar. I usually leave it for about an hour and give it a shoogle every 10 min or so.
7. Drain the vinegar. Add your flavourings of choice. For beef I generally go with dark soy sauce and some worcester sauce and a splash of cider vinegar and a little brown sugar. Whatever you like, make it about 3 times stronger than you think. Don't try to be subtle, you won't taste it in the end result. I tend to avoid chilli as I find it overpowers the flavour of the meat. Some liquid smoke is good too but use less than you think you need.
8. Leave it in the marinade for a few hours, longer the better.
9. Let the meat drain on some paper towels.
10. Put in the dehydrator and run on the high setting until it's as done as you want. It should be at least to the point where you see white fibres when you bend it. I take mine on multi-day camping trips so I like to dry the shit out of it just to be safe so run it over night. Nothing smells better than drying jerky.
11. Stuff it in your face, preferably with beer.

I don't know how long it lasts without refrigeration. I'd imagine a while. I leave mine in the freezer in ziploc bags with all the air squeezed out (keep promising myself a vacuum sealer). If it is dry enough then you can eat it straight from the freezer with no issue. Just let it warm in your hand for a minute. Also good turned into pemmican for fuel on winter days out.

You can do it in the oven. Some fancy ovens have a dryer setting but mine is just a plain fan oven and even on the lowest temp it still cooks it. It makes it more like cold, very old doner kebab. It's worth getting a proper dehydrator, they aren't expensive and really useful if you do a lot of outdoor stuff. This is the one I got: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Food-Dehydr.../dp/B07HB6PZ1Z The end result is much nicer. I also use it for drying leftovers for making into camping meals.

I've also done various DIY driers and biltong boxes but the cost of parts and inconvenience isn't far off just buying a dehydrator.

[steelemonkey]

Thanks for that NDY. I have a vacuum sealer and would not be without it. I vacuum most stuff before freezing, the texture stays much better. I also keep my hops and beer yeast vacuumed.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Andrew-Jame.../dp/B001HBP7HW

[jamesp]

Rather than low oven, try the defrost setting on the fan oven.

+1 for the vacuum sealer, wife thought it was a complete gimmick; changed her mind soon enough, it gets used a lot.
Not expensive, £24 from Lidl.
Makes packing the freezer easier, saves on freezer burn, and I use the bags a lot for marinades; saves having bowls taking up the fridge space, and no spills when sealed.
Which reminds me, need some more large sleeve material for it.

[notdeadyet]

Rather than low oven, try the defrost setting on the fan oven.

I'd still use a dehydrator over an oven. It doesn't take a lot of heat to screw up a batch of jerky, it just ends up like overcooked roast beef. It should still be kind of translucent when done. You get the perfect texture with a drier. Or if you have an old fridge in the garage then just salt it and hang it for a few months. I've got some air dried duck that's a couple of months old that's very good.

I quite fancy having a go with the breathable vacuum bags for doing some salami. Supposed to be good for dry ageing cheap supermarket meat too.

[Tim Digger]

Just getting a dehydrator for expedition meals wanted one for ages. Doing southern 2 thirds of Cape Wrath Trail n May. Any recipes particularly good for 1 pot meals for 4 much appreciated and tips reading so far better to dry vegetable ingredients and cook then dry grains and meat? Mix to taste?