I feel like I learn some of the coolest shit here, I'll be doing this with my cast iron pretty quickly. It makes perfect sense, I'm just a little annoyed I didn't think of it before I saw the video. Thanks Nett.
Oh, something you might know Nett regarding cast iron. I saw a chainmail scrubber on amazon which is supposed to be great for cast iron and preserve the seasoning. Have you or anyone reading used this type of product? Does it work? According to online reviews it is like magic it works so well, but if I buy it it and it fucks up the season on my pans, I might do something criminal.
I've never tried it, but I find I don't generally have to scrub to clean my cast iron... I leave it hot, then pour some water into it to help deglaze and clean it... worst case I light rub with a scotchbrite pad.
That's a good point. The seasoning is such that I don't need to scrub much. I had a little onion that stuck when I made chicken phillys the other night but it sounds like our cleaning techniques are the same. No soap, lots of hot water, wipe out with a paper towel, and reoil before I put it away. I was obsessed with the idea of the chainmail scrubbers when I discovered them, but that was before I had my cast iron and had no use for it at the time. Then I suddenly remembered the item when the subject came up again. I got lucky....my mom is a picker/thrifter/hoarder and when I expressed a desire for my own cast iron, she pulled out a whole spare, seasoned set from her oven. Done and done!
Is this a dirty redneck thing? Because I think I know a few people who do this with their cast iron. Also the bottoms of mine are pretty greasy (shame on me), and I even scrubbed them all over and re-seasoned them when I got them. I keep mine pretty well oiled up so I store them one inside each other with a layer of wax paper between each pan in the oven.
If I have something burned on, I pour about a tablespoon of table salt in the pan, wad up a papertowel and use that to scour the burned shit off. Seems to work well without harming the seasoning.
I usually just use the scratchy back of the sponge and with as few gentle movements as possible hit whatever is stuck on there. No soap. I will use the salt method next time now that I know about it. Thanks!
The thing works pretty well. Only had issues sealing when there was either too much liquid with the meat to get a good seal or we cut the bags too short and had issues getting the end of the bag in the sealer right. Either way it made the whole process a lot easier and cleaner, not to mention better for longevity in the freezer too.
Pro tip is to pack the meat into the bags and freeze it first then vacuum seal it without sucking all the blood into the reservoir. If you have enough room double seal each side. I'd say half of my bags end up unsealing at some point and I'll just use them as soon as I see them.
We double sealed when possible. The pre-freezing is a really good idea, thanks. My plan is to go and check on them next week and just re-do whichever ones weren't properly sealed.
I recently found a rather popular YouTube channel called Food Wishes, and I'm kind of hooked on it. The way the guy talks is weirdly hilarious, and he does a good job providing content. In case you haven't seen it, I recommend it (from what I've seen while digging through it over the past few days, anyway) For example, a corn pudding he just posted... makes me want to go buy some corn.
I got a new gas range this weekend. I am breaking it in this week...by cooking Thanksgiving dinner. I've officially lost my mind.
Yep. Not bad, but a bit overpriced in my opinion. Better than what you would get a regular grocery store, not as good as what you would get at a nice steak house. If youre thinking of it for a Holiday dinner or something its decent, especially when they start having sales around this time of year.
A friend of mine just gave me a new Sous Vide as a gift, it's a Sous Vide Supreme Water Oven, if that helps. I'm knowledgeable about the process but I need more info on marinading, injecting, brining... Any good sources or books I should read?