What's for dinner?

Joe Bass said:

@kwtoxman is there a reason you only use uncooked in the shell shrimp?

Click to expand...

I get the frozen packs of shrimp and have tried all iterations; I found through much experience that raw shelled shrimp is simply the best way to have great shrimp at home.

Raw shrimp cooked at home provides a much better texture; when cooked properly shrimp should be soft and supple, but not mushy, think al dente or a bit of firmness that gives way in a bite. Cooked shrimp reheated at home can't replicate the texture and it ends up notably tougher, granular and essentially overcooked.

Shelled shrimp provides a very effective barrier against the effects of the direct pan heat without adversely affecting its texture (again). It also helps to maintain the light but important shrimp flavour in a cook (as miggs posted).

Additionally, cooking raw shelled shrimp is also very quick, so it really isn't any more work than the other options. This makes it even more sensible to go with raw shelled shrimp.

Most people overcook shrimp, notably, so first thing to do is avoid this. I typically thaw shrimp out quickly in water (shelled shrimp also helps keep the flavour in the shrimp defrosted this way). After thawing, I heat up a skillet on less than half heat then add oil (I like peanut, but most cooking oils will do). I then put the shrimp in and cook them; even the gigantico shrimp I use typically only take 1.5-2 minutes per side, so don't get distracted. Small shrimp can be half that time; shrimp cook very quickly. After that I let the shrimp cool a bit and deshell them if a dish asks for or people prefer them out of the shell. The shrimp flavours and texture just ends up amazing. I found that this was great for next level shrimp cocktail too. Cook shrimp this way and let them cool for a few minutes longer before deshelling and serving. Don't rinse the shrimp after cooking (or deshelling); that removes flavour and the oil. Serve with seafood sauce (shrimp cocktail sauce) and enjoy.

I typically buy the larger shrimp because they are easier to cook well (not overcook) and are more forgiving in a cook. My previous posts used the 16-20 per pack size.

http://www.seriouseats.com/talk/2008/08/how-do-you-describe-texture-of-perfectly-cooked-shrimp.html
http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/08/how-to-pick-shrimp-varieties-freshness-guide.html

Hope it helps. With all of this I can now cook shrimp as well as I've ever had eating out at restaurants. And I can now really notice when a restaurant overcooks the shrimp.

Thanks guys! Will try that the next time.

sent from my Purple LGG4 on the GTAM app

Plus they taste a little better knowing that you had to open them and "earn" them. Kind of like crab legs.

Got to that turkey. :agave:

And it was hot out (86F)! :agave:Grilled a Butterball frozen turkey (great after easter sale) on the weber summit rotisserie on gas. That ceramic rotisserie burner is king. Collected the drippings for mashed potatoes and gravy.


I wasn't in a big mood for turkey, never done a summer turkey before, but that didn't matter. LOL. What a great cook and meal. Best I've turkey I've cooked for both great skin and moist turkey. Even the wings had that great combination.




Here's the grill in action.





Here's the turkey on the table. Came out great great great.







Made some homemade stuffing too. Perfect amount of crunch to softness. :agave:





Cheers.

Finally got around to one of my favorite meals, beef back ribs :agave:.

These were grilled with the weber summit on gas low (230 F or so near the meat) and slow for around for 3.5 hrs, and under water trays. Dry brined overnight before the cook and used a beef-style dry rub. I also did two smoking sessions with a combination of hickory, apple and cherry wood. I finished the cook with a national competition award winning BBQ sauce. Came out great! Here's a few pictures and lots of detail with click and zoom. Cheers.

This picture is after 3.5 hrs of grilling and just before the BBQ sauce was added

Did another smoked picnic ham on the weber summit grill (on gas). Used hickory, apple and cherry wood in the smoker box for a little fresh smoke. Finished with a scratch spicy apricot glaze. Awesome. :agave:


Served with scalloped potatoes. Here's some pics, click to zoom.














Another wok vegetable cook as well. Chinese broccoli, some garden chinese veg and asparagus. Cooked in peanut oil, oyster sauce and some chinese 5 spice. Really great.

my biggest challenge lately is what to do with the other 3/4 of the ham or the turkey. Yeah I know there are hundreds of recipes and leftover ideas, I just loath leftovers. Converting it to an entirely new meal helps a bit, its a mental problem for me.

This is certainly a first world problem

crankcall said:

my biggest challenge lately is what to do with the other 3/4 of the ham or the turkey. Yeah I know there are hundreds of recipes and leftover ideas, I just loath leftovers. Converting it to an entirely new meal helps a bit, its a mental problem for me.

This is certainly a first world problem

Click to expand...

Uh, give it to me?
And what exactly are these "leftovers" that you speak of?
Fat guy problems.

sent from my Purple LGG4 on the GTAM app

crankcall said:

my biggest challenge lately is what to do with the other 3/4 of the ham or the turkey. Yeah I know there are hundreds of recipes and leftover ideas, I just loath leftovers. Converting it to an entirely new meal helps a bit, its a mental problem for me.

This is certainly a first world problem

Click to expand...

Ham and turkey yes but I've never heard of left over bacon.

Smaller turkeys and hams make it easier to not have a ton of leftovers.

No such leftover problems for me. I love some leftovers as they are a quick meal and good food. I always considered it a nice bonus. No major cooking for a little while. I got 3 leftover meals out of the turkey. Went so fast, a little too fast. I did save some to make Instant pot turkey carcass soup in a month or so.

The leftover ham is just so good. I've been eating much of it like finger food, cold out of the fridge. You immediately notice the smoke, then the saltiness (not too strong) and great ham taste. So tender, and outside slices have the sweetness and spiciness of the glaze. For a change I did a sandwich with hot mustard too, tasty. I was going to make an omlette or frittata too but I may run out before that. Same thing with ham, lettuce and mayo buns, and a chef's salad with ham. I did save some ham for split pea soup (with ham) down the line as well as a tasty looking ham noodle soup recipe I found online. This quality of ham is so easy to use up a variety of ways.


The raspberry patch in the back yard has been very productive this year. Here's some raspberry scones I made. Very easy. I cooked them on the grill to keep from heating up the house on a hot day. They didn't rise that much, but I'll tweak the burner configuration next time and know what to do to fix that. They are great, very tasty :agave:. And much healthier than muffins.

kwtoxman said:

Smaller turkeys and hams make it easier to not have a ton of leftovers.

No such leftover problems for me. I love some leftovers as they are a quick meal and good food. I always considered it a nice bonus. No major cooking for a little while. I got 3 leftover meals out of the turkey. Went so fast, a little too fast. I did save some to make Instant pot turkey carcass soup in a month or so.

The leftover ham is just so good. I've been eating much of it like finger food, cold out of the fridge. You immediately notice the smoke, then the saltiness (not too strong) and great ham taste. So tender, and outside slices have the sweetness and spiciness of the glaze. For a change I did a sandwich with hot mustard too, tasty. I was going to make an omlette or frittata too but I may run out before that. Same thing with ham, lettuce and mayo buns, and a chef's salad with ham. I did save some ham for split pea soup (with ham) down the line as well as a tasty looking ham noodle soup recipe I found online. This quality of ham is so easy to use up a variety of ways.


The raspberry patch in the back yard has been very productive this year. Here's some raspberry scones I made. Very easy. I cooked them on the grill to keep from heating up the house on a hot day. They didn't rise that much, but I'll tweak the burner configuration next time and know what to do to fix that. They are great, very tasty :agave:. And much healthier than muffins.

Click to expand...

Scones remind me of biscuits and gravy. Healthy they're not. Flour and fat covered by a sauce made from flour and fat with just a little sausage meat. I like them but the Mrs. gives me the disapproval evil eye if I even mention them.

nobbie48 said:

Scones remind me of biscuits and gravy. Healthy they're not. Flour and fat covered by a sauce made from flour and fat with just a little sausage meat. I like them but the Mrs. gives me the disapproval evil eye if I even mention them.

Click to expand...

Southern white gravy? sausage bits and 9,000 cal in a spoonful. We used to get that at crackerbarrel , delicious if you want to look like the rest of the customers at crackerbarrel.....

Haha.

I ended up getting some fresh out-of-the-oven sourdough bread. So I had to do some ham, garden onion and hot mustard sandwiches on that . Oh so great :agave:. Had some fresh picked garden cherry tomatoes and snow peas on the side.

crankcall said:

Southern white gravy? sausage bits and 9,000 cal in a spoonful. We used to get that at crackerbarrel , delicious if you want to look like the rest of the customers at crackerbarrel.....

Click to expand...

I have to stop at Crackerbarrel at least once when road tripping in the States.

crankcall said:

Southern white gravy? sausage bits and 9,000 cal in a spoonful. We used to get that at crackerbarrel , delicious if you want to look like the rest of the customers at crackerbarrel.....

Click to expand...

Stopped at a Bob Evens for breakfast and the banana pecan pancakes sounded good. I would have put sliced banana and chopped nuts in the batter but B.E. laid down a large standard pancake, 3/4" of artificial banana cream filling, a second pancake, a handful of chopped nuts and about a quart of syrup. Looking around I was in awe of the strength of their chairs.

Between WaffleHouse, Bob Evans, and Crackerbarrel on a search to the find the most food for the least money, we hit a spot called Lone Spur in AZ, its not chain place, my girlfriend ordered the cowboy combo, the waiter said 'miss do NOT order the large, it will feed a family of four. She ordered the regular that would still feed a family of four, polar bears.....

We used to go to Wally's European Restaurant on Dundas near Kipling (Six Points).
Our nickname for it was Wally's Volume Eating. Schnitzel's that filled a large plate, with awesome potato salad, and more.
Sadly it's gone now.

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.6440...4!1svwMxgjV7Wu26ydapLjXN8A!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Made some more bourbon baked beans in the Instant pot. You can see it in earlier pics here.

And Instant pot broccoli, potato and cheese soup with chives and bacon .

Baggsy said:

We used to go to Wally's European Restaurant on Dundas near Kipling (Six Points).
Our nickname for it was Wally's Volume Eating. Schnitzel's that filled a large plate, with awesome potato salad, and more.
Sadly it's gone now.

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.6440...4!1svwMxgjV7Wu26ydapLjXN8A!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Click to expand...

Wally sold out to someone who wrecked it, then it went back to Wally and then something else, fading into obscurity.

We found a Polish place, Kovalskis, on the Queensway East of Royal York that is good. Limited but good menu, reasonable prices and intelligent portions.

Garden has been producing lots. And the chinese vegetables are doing very nicely. I did some mid year planting of onions and more peas. We'll see how that goes.