Whacha Cookin' Tonight?

[civvver]

I struck out with a couple slow cooker pork dishes. I tried to make carnitas, and I think they turned out fine, but my family wasn't too impressed. Then I used the other half of the pork roast for pulled pork in the slow cooker (which any time pulled pork isn't smoked like cooked in an oven, it just lacks flavor to me) and it was bland but fam liked it more. Carnitas was just cumin, chipotle powder, salt, pepper, dash of cinnamon and a bunch of oregano. Toss that with some largely cubed pork butt roast, place into slow cooker on a bed of largely chopped onions and some whole garlic cloves, and some orange juice and zest and cook on high 5-6 hours.

The pulled pork just wasn't that good, I used brown sugar, cumin, chili powder, a little cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper and seasoned salt which may have been where I went wrong. Again large cubes, tossed/rubbed with spice, on a bed of chopped onions. Low for 8 hours.

But what I did make and loved, along with everyone else including the neighbors, was a great marinade for some chicken kebabs. So a more formal recipe. Just remember measurements are approximates, I just eyeball everything myself.

2 boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 1 inch cubes
A whole bell pepper (your choice on color but red tastes best imo) cut into 1 inch squares
A large or a couple medium onions cut into 1 inch squares. You can leave the middle parts with multiple layers like a wedge

Marinade:
3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil (you can sub olive if you want but the toasty flavor is great)
1/2 cup of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of garlic powder
1 medium orange
1 Teaspoon black pepper

To Finish:
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon Korean red pepper flakes (or regular crushed red pepper flakes)

Toss everything except the finishing garlic salt and red pepper flakes in a sealed bag. Zest the orange into the mix and squeeze the juice into the marinade, then throw the crushed fruit in as well. Shake to coat. Let marinate in the fridge overnight (a few hours is probably plenty but more will seal in more flavors).

Next day remove the chunks of meat and vegetables, discard orange and excess marinade. Put on skewers for kebabs.

Sprinkle garlic salt and red pepper flakes evenly over assembled skewers. I suggest sprinkling half your spices then flipping the kebabs over and using the remainder on the other side.

Preheat your grill to medium high. Grill the kebabs about 7-8 minutes a side until the chicken is done, flipping once. Don't worry if you have to flip it more cus it's not done on a side, that's fine too, but total cook time should be about 15 minutes, with the lid closed to it cooks more evenly.

How do you know it's done? You could use a thermometer but the small pieces of meat make it kind of hard to tell. What I do since it's a kebab is just pull a small end piece of meat off the stick and try it (don't burn your hands! use a prong or something). The meat should not be pink and the juices should run clear, but wait, that doesn't mean it's done! Chicken is done when the texture is no longer chewy (if you've ever had under cooked chicken you know what the texture is like, it's gross, but it might still be white throughout), but the meat should still be tender and moist.

Normally I'd let chicken rest to redistribute the juices as well, but these pieces are so small it will be fine just by the time you plate it.

Serve with rice or some mashed sweet potatoes for a really good meal.

Also I never have ginger on hand, but this recipe screams ginger with the other flavors in it. Might be good to add some grated fresh ginger to the marinade.

 

[onejayhawk]

We will be making BBT, Bacon, Basil and Tomato sandwiches. Judith bought a nice bunch of organic Basil, which we potted, see below. Tomorrow I will fry a half pound of thick cut bacon, toast a bunch of boring bread, and make BBT sandwiches to go with lentil soup.

Basil is a close relative of mint. It roots very easily and will survive in nothing but dechlorinated water and full sun. Add a few nutrients and it will thrive. I pick the large leaves and leave the small ones for the next usage.

J

 

[yung.carl.jung]

great post civvver, really enjoyed reading that

 

[civvver]

Thanks! Cooking is probably my 2nd favorite hobby right now behind gaming so it's fun to share, especially when people actually read it.

 

[yung.carl.jung]

I read almost every single post ITT, I mostly lurk and rarely post. I cook basically twice everyday, so would have a lot to post, but its a hassle to get everything from my cell to my PC. That being said, today Imma do it.

I made hot sauce from these charred Habaneros. It just killed me. My nose has been running for 6 hours. My hands are in constant pain. I'm sneezing every other second and have gone thru almost an entire roll of toilet paper. Made the hot sauce with just vinegar and some salt.

I used this for a sweet potato chili with giant beans, creme fraiche and fresh baguette. My secret ingredient is cocoa, gives it a nice funk and some needed sweetness. For me Chili is usually ground chuck, onions, bell peppers, chiles and beans, but this time I went with additional sweet potato and corn and I liked it. In the end though it was worth it.

 

[onejayhawk]

I have a bush full of green habaneros that I hope will ripen before frost.

Several years ago i used similar habaneros for a practical joke. A friend was working at a package store (beer) that sold sausage wraps. One of the regular customers would get a 6-pack and wrap every evening--extra hot sauce, extra jalapenos on the sausage. I sliced up some green habaneros and heated them in jalapeno juice, to mingle flavors. My friend told the customer that he had some new extra hot stuff. All I know is that the customer came back for more.

J

 

[civvver]

I did it, I made two lasagnas from scratch, noodles, sauce, everything short of fermenting my own cheese.

The first one was tomato and four cheese. I made a simple tomato sauce with garlic and basil, used fontina, mozzarella, ricotta and parmesan on it. I didn't use fresh mozz because I read it's more watery and doesn't melt as nicely, but I did fresh grate everything. When you buy the pre-grated mozz it always has anti caking stuff in it and just doesn't get as nice and gooey.

Overall I was a little disappointed with it, I think I needed to bake it a little longer to get some crispiness to the edges, I used too much ricotta or not enough sauce, and it was a tad bland. I probably should've seasoned my ricotta with more salt, pepper and nutmeg or something. Friends said it was good though, I just prefer mine more saucy and those cheeses are not hugely flavorful ones outside of the parm. But the fresh noodles were awesome, I rolled very thin and made like 6 layers so it was different than any store bought one. Preference I suppose.

The other one was bolognese. I made the ragu the night before then assembled simply with a quick bechemel sauce and some grated parm. This lasagna was lights out good. Americans myself included are very accustomed to tomato sauce and garlic in everything. This one had neither and was a whole new world of flavors. It actually tasted almost more like a goulash to me in terms of flavors, very meaty with creamy notes from the bechemel.

I made both sauces the night before since they're the most time consuming part. The bolognese took about 1/2 hour of actual cooking and another 3 of simmering, the tomato is super fast 5-10 minutes but simmered for an hour. I will probably never assemble lasanga again though, it's just way too much work and fresh pasta tossed with sauce is just as good in my opinion. So next time I'll probably take the exact same ingrediants, toss the bolognese with fettuchini and top with a little bechemel to serve.

My bolognese sauce below if anyone cares. I made once before but with no pork and red wine and I massively over salted it cus I was watching a video and it said to do so and it tasted good but the salt ruined it on your palate. This time I used salt very sparingly since pancetta is already salty, and just did it to taste as I cooked. Way better.

Spoiler :

Very finely dice equal parts carrot, celery and onion. I did about 3/4ths a cup of each. If that seems like a lot in your pan don't worry it cooks down a ton and takes up little space in the end. I used a chopper that makes 1/8th inch dice. I want the flavor of these veggies, not necessarily the texture. You could even pulverize them into a paste in a blender and it'd be fine.

Fry the veggies in a large deep pan or stock pot over medium with a few tablespoons of olive oil and butter each, and a half cup of diced pancetta. Fry these until they are slightly browned and almost all the pancetta fat is rendered out, about 15 minutes. During this time season with a generous pinch of salt and black pepper. I used kosher/coarse salt but I'm not sure it matters cus this dish gets cooked so much the salt just dissolves.

Add 1 pound of ground pork and 2 pounds of ground beef. Don't use super lean of either! Both mine were 80/20. You can do other ratios as well, or use all pork or all beef or veal or whatever you want. But pork gives a different flavor which compliments the beef nicely.

Brown these meats a tad under usual. While I want the veggies super browned for flavor the meat will dry out and not be as tender if you over brown it. During this time also break the meat into small pieces, whatever suits you.

When meat is all browned, taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper as needed but don't overdo it because we're adding more salty elements later. Then add a quarter teaspoon of ground nutmeg. This don't taste for, just add and stir and forget cus if you can actually pick out the flavor of nutmeg you over did it. (for fresh grated you would use half the amount I hear cus it's stronger).

Add a cup or two of dry white wine. I used chardonnay. Reduce heat to low and simmer very gently. You should be simmering so low that it takes at least 30 minutes to reduce all that wine and it might take an hour or so. There should be almost no liquid when done. The time also depends on how wide your pot is. More surface area allows more moisture to escape.

Next do another reduction with whole milk, a cup or so. These measurements aren't exact cus all they do is affect how long you have to reduce. Reducing longer gives more flavor but takes longer and uses more ingredients thus costs more. So do what fits.

When the milk is done mix a can of tomato past (I don't know what a standard paste can size is but they're usually very small. It should only be about 5 tablespoons of the stuff) with a cup of broth or stock. I used chicken broth but you can use beef or stock if you want. Just be aware of the salt content. If you use unsalted broth or stock you will probably want to season with a bit more salt after. If you used salted then you may be good to go. That's why we left the meat a little under salted when browning.

Add the paste/broth mixture and again reduce. At this point I also throw in two bay leaves but these are optional. This reduction doesn't have to be completely gone, just til the sauce is the consistency you desire. Normal bolognese has barely any sauce in it at all though, it's almost like wet meatloaf. Very meaty. If you want a saucier bolognese you just don't reduce this as much or add a little more broth at the end.

And that's it you're done! Remove and discard the bay leaf then toss with your pasta. Be aware though this sauce is super rich, you won't drench pasta in it like you do with tomato sauce. If your pasta is a little dry you can add a little butter to it as well.

The main thing is don't use any garlic or herbs in this sauce as it obscures the meat flavors. I like a little bay leaf and some recipes call for oregano or thyme. But herbs are not the focal point flavor wise here unlike marinara or other sauces.

The second point is to cook low and slow to let all those flavors develop. This recipe is just like a guide more than an exact recipe. If you use those two points you really can't go wrong, you could skip wine or milk altogether and it'd turn out different but still be good.

 

[yung.carl.jung]

I'm a pants-on-head crazy ragu bolognese enthusiast. I have genuinely tried out dozens of recipes and probably 50+ ingredients. From your description it sounds like yours was perfect - You are not looking for a saucy consistency like a tomato sauce has, it should be closer to goulash as you said. Honestly, your recipe is extremely close to (my personal vision of) culinary perfection. There are a few small, optional steps I do differently:

Frying the tomato paste in oil together with the vegetables causes additional mailard reaction, gives you deeper complexity of flavors and (iirc) releases more natural glutamate that is in the tomato.

Using a small peace of (finely chopped) liver gives you some of that much desired "dark meat" taste, it fits extremely well with the dish, especially if you use a very small amount as to avoid having your ragu taste like liver. Same you mentioned with the nutmeg, you're not supposed to taste it, but it still does something.

Replace a small amount of salt with a hint of fish sauce. It gives the ragu an incredible funky taste that uplifts the whole dish, "cuts through the richness" of the meaty ragu and fits thematically very well, I always imagine the ancient romans using their fermented fish as a "secret ingredient" in every dish

Lastly, after the bolognese has simmered for 2 or 3 hours, I prefer putting it in the oven instead of continuously simmering it. First with lid on, then lid off. By using indirect heat instead of contact heat there will be more broiling and the meaty flavours will intensify, it also means you don't have to stir much and everything will be cooked evenly. I noticed a slightly different consistency when doing it this way, too. Seems the final product is less watery.

Really though, hands off to your recipe. Ours are incredibly similar, especially the little details like adding milk, using white instead of red.

Most of these "tips" aren't from me, but from Michelin star chefs 1,000,000 times more qualified than I am, I just soak everything up and try to incorporate it into my cooking.

 

[yung.carl.jung]

Some original content.. My girlfriend does voluntary food service in order to collect money for supporting refugees in border crisis situations. For one of the events we made ~300 Tacos, everything by hand of course.

bottom: salsa amarilla made with yellow (!) beets, onion, garlic and lime juice. beans roasted with ginger, potato wedges coated in hot sauce and cocoa, a topping of cole slaw, spicy mayo and obligatory coriander

bottom: purée of fennel, oven-roasted purple haze carrots and burnt leeks (just for the smokey taste, peeled of course, dont wanna get cancer), crisp salad, pickled radishes and onion and tomato topping

b to t: chili sin carne with eggplant, zucchini, carrots, then a layer of salad, then pico de gallo made with small radishes, cucumber, onion and tomato

we handed out about 250 tacos, rest of the tortillas were frozen and are subsequently enjoyed (((by me))) as homemade nachos!

 

[civvver]

I'm a pants-on-head crazy ragu bolognese enthusiast. I have genuinely tried out dozens of recipes and probably 50+ ingredients. From your description it sounds like yours was perfect - You are not looking for a saucy consistency like a tomato sauce has, it should be closer to goulash as you said. Honestly, your recipe is extremely close to (my personal vision of) culinary perfection. There are a few small, optional steps I do differently:

Frying the tomato paste in oil together with the vegetables causes additional mailard reaction, gives you deeper complexity of flavors and (iirc) releases more natural glutamate that is in the tomato.

Using a small peace of (finely chopped) liver gives you some of that much desired "dark meat" taste, it fits extremely well with the dish, especially if you use a very small amount as to avoid having your ragu taste like liver. Same you mentioned with the nutmeg, you're not supposed to taste it, but it still does something.

Replace a small amount of salt with a hint of fish sauce. It gives the ragu an incredible funky taste that uplifts the whole dish, "cuts through the richness" of the meaty ragu and fits thematically very well, I always imagine the ancient romans using their fermented fish as a "secret ingredient" in every dish

Lastly, after the bolognese has simmered for 2 or 3 hours, I prefer putting it in the oven instead of continuously simmering it. First with lid on, then lid off. By using indirect heat instead of contact heat there will be more broiling and the meaty flavours will intensify, it also means you don't have to stir much and everything will be cooked evenly. I noticed a slightly different consistency when doing it this way, too. Seems the final product is less watery.

Really though, hands off to your recipe. Ours are incredibly similar, especially the little details like adding milk, using white instead of red.

Most of these "tips" aren't from me, but from Michelin star chefs 1,000,000 times more qualified than I am, I just soak everything up and try to incorporate it into my cooking.

That's awesome, I'm glad someone approves. Last time I used red wine and it ends up having a wine flavor. I think white's better for letting the meat shine. It gives acid and body without over flavoring it.

I had read about putting a dash of fish sauce in it but thought that seemed weird. This chef also suggested adding gelatin sprinkled into your broth. I guess the idea is that a homemade beef stock is made with bones so it gets natural gelatin from those. I thought this seemed overly complex for what should be a relatively simple dish so I omitted both. If I have some on hand I'll try it next time.

If I can find liver in the meat case where I can get a very small amount I'll try it but I don't like liver so I'm not buying a whole pound or whatever of it. I had the same thought on pancetta, but pancetta is sold in small portions around here, probably cus most people don't use much of it. It wasn't cheap though by any means, like $4 for 5 ounces. Overall this was not a cheap sauce! I think I put about $20 into it. But portion wise it made about 6 servings of lasanga so not bad on a per person level. Pasta is super cheap so it evens out I guess. People just seem to have this notion that spaghetti is a super cheap meal cus they throw a dollar package of it with a $4 jar of sauce. If you want really good sauce you need quality ingredients. Tomatoes are cheap but good cheese, fresh herbs (cus you can't just buy a sprig of everything, which is why I try not to mix fresh oregano, basil and thyme but use just one per dish and lots of it) and large quantities of meat can cost you.

Do you use beef liver or chicken or something else? I have seen bolognese recipes call for chicken livers.

The oven idea is interesting. About the lid I simmer very low and without a lid and it doesn't splatter any cus it's so low and I have a deep 6 quart pan. Works better than a stock pot for this. Do you use the lid during your simmer? I'd imagine it takes a lot longer if you do.

Do you use bay leaf in yours? I think it has a great flavor that goes with meat but I may omit next time just to see how it is with literally no herbs.

Good looking tacos too!

 

[onejayhawk]

I did it, I made two lasagnas from scratch, noodles, sauce, everything short of fermenting my own cheese.

My Italian wife considers lasagna to be quick, easy, clean out the leftovers food.

Unrelated, which of you does hot spiced apple cider for parties this tome of year? How do you spice it? My current recipe is 4-5 sticks of cinnamon, a spoonful of whole cloves, 2" or so of fresh ginger quartered lengthwise, and 4-5 corns of black pepper. Put everything in a gallon of cider. Heat until the whole house smells good. the pepper and cloves can go in a tea infuser if desired.

J

 

[Sofista]

Civver, jung.carl: I myself prepare ragù alla bolognese very much like you do. Although I eat it with tagliatelle only.

A couple things:

1: give health fanatics the rub: butter, not oil!

2: the original beef cut used would be (I hope I don't bungle terminology here) the one used for hanger/skirt steak. Worth a try if you haven't, trust me on this.

3: the food industry offers so-called ragù alla bolognese with >50% tomato in for a very specific reason: it's supercheap. When I do it at home, tomato is there to give color, and a spoon of triple concentrate is more than enough.

4: livers. Reading directly from the BIBLE (aka Anna Gosetti della Salda's 1967 book on Italian regionasl cuisine), I translate: "today ... to make [ragù] richer it can see the addition of: chicken liver, cubed ham and dried mashrooms, softened and chopped".

Cheers!

 

[yung.carl.jung]

That's awesome, I'm glad someone approves. Last time I used red wine and it ends up having a wine flavor. I think white's better for letting the meat shine. It gives acid and body without over flavoring it.

I had read about putting a dash of fish sauce in it but thought that seemed weird. This chef also suggested adding gelatin sprinkled into your broth. I guess the idea is that a homemade beef stock is made with bones so it gets natural gelatin from those. I thought this seemed overly complex for what should be a relatively simple dish so I omitted both. If I have some on hand I'll try it next time.

If I can find liver in the meat case where I can get a very small amount I'll try it but I don't like liver so I'm not buying a whole pound or whatever of it. I had the same thought on pancetta, but pancetta is sold in small portions around here, probably cus most people don't use much of it. It wasn't cheap though by any means, like $4 for 5 ounces. Overall this was not a cheap sauce! I think I put about $20 into it. But portion wise it made about 6 servings of lasanga so not bad on a per person level. Pasta is super cheap so it evens out I guess. People just seem to have this notion that spaghetti is a super cheap meal cus they throw a dollar package of it with a $4 jar of sauce. If you want really good sauce you need quality ingredients. Tomatoes are cheap but good cheese, fresh herbs (cus you can't just buy a sprig of everything, which is why I try not to mix fresh oregano, basil and thyme but use just one per dish and lots of it) and large quantities of meat can cost you.

Do you use beef liver or chicken or something else? I have seen bolognese recipes call for chicken livers.

The oven idea is interesting. About the lid I simmer very low and without a lid and it doesn't splatter any cus it's so low and I have a deep 6 quart pan. Works better than a stock pot for this. Do you use the lid during your simmer? I'd imagine it takes a lot longer if you do.

Do you use bay leaf in yours? I think it has a great flavor that goes with meat but I may omit next time just to see how it is with literally no herbs.

Good looking tacos too!

Agree on the gelatin. I think Gelatin is highly unecessary, if you wanted that kind of texture you would add demiglace instead of stock, but that's not how this ragu is made

I use a single calf liver, they're small and don't have a very strong taste. Though chicken would work, too. I suppose cow livers might be a little too.. Livery.

I'm actually in the same boat as you.. I specifically get good quality mince from my local butcher instead of buying supermarket quality. which is just that much cheaper. Usually spend around 20-25€ for one huge pot of bolognese and I always end up freezing some. I experimented so much with ratios, but ended up with something like 3 meat : 2 veg. Having an equal ratio or more veg than meat means the sauce is not meaty enough and the texture is off. Having a 2:1 ratio of meat to vegetables gives you an awesome taste, but I found the texture lacking and was really missing the sweetness of the carrots and the celery, which is prolly my favorite ingredient in italian "sauces".

Honestly, whether you do or do not use a lid on stove top will make little difference with the final product I think. Do keep in mind that every single time your food smells great you're actually losing flavor: The molecules are absorbed in the air. It's sort of tragic, isn't it?

Cooking without lid will take less time for the water to evaporate, cooking with a lid simply saves energy and (I suppose) preserves some flavor.

I have used bay leaf for previous iterations, right now I'm testing without. Personally I think I prefer with bay leaf. I've tested the same with garlic, parsley, basil, anything really

 

[yung.carl.jung]

Civver, jung.carl: I myself prepare ragù alla bolognese very much like you do. Although I eat it with tagliatelle only.

A couple things:

1: give health fanatics the rub: butter, not oil!

2: the original beef cut used would be (I hope I don't bungle terminology here) the one used for hanger/skirt steak. Worth a try if you haven't, trust me on this.

3: the food industry offers so-called ragù alla bolognese with >50% tomato in for a very specific reason: it's supercheap. When I do it at home, tomato is there to give color, and a spoon of triple concentrate is more than enough.

4: livers. Reading directly from the BIBLE (aka Anna Gosetti della Salda's 1967 book on Italian regionasl cuisine), I translate: "today ... to make [ragù] richer it can see the addition of: chicken liver, cubed ham and dried mashrooms, softened and chopped".

Cheers!

Good post I, too, have switched from using actual tomatoes to using concentrate, mostly because 1) it doesn't leak tons of water 2) it packs more glutamate 3) it's easier to roast and "activate" its deep flavor, whole tomatoes need hours

Personally I rarely use virgin olive oil for anything that isn't cold anyway. I prefer lard or homemade fats to butter, though. However 90% of my cooking is either clarified butter or a vegetable oil like sunflower seed or rapeseed.

I've also tried out the mushroom idea previously. It gives the sauce even more depth, even more of an earthy, savory taste. I don't think ragu needs that imho, I use this technique of adding finely chopped mushrooms and slow frying them for all my meatless sauces, specifically because this way you can sort of replicate the depth of flavor a meat dish gives you in, say, a tomato sauce.

Finely chopped garlic, mushrooms and onions are the base for my pizza sauce, for example.

I will however try out your suggestion of getting skirt steak minced. I have read lots of old italian recipes and am still unsure about the meat component. Some even call for 10% or 20% veal mince. I suppose back then people just put everything in, makes sense

Don't worry my man, I almost exclusively eat it with freshly made tagliatelle. Only when I'm lazy and desperate I use Penne, but almost never Spaghetti. They don't hold the sauce well, they just don't fit.

These recipes are the basis of my bolognese, what do you think?

https://culinariaitalia.wordpress.com/2008/06/29/ragu-alla-bolognese-authentic-recipe/

http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/12/the-food-lab-slow-cooked-bolognese-sauce-recipe.html

 

[civvver]

How much difference is there between tagliatelle and fettuccine? My pasta rollers have a fettuccine cutter and it's wide enough for me. I have done a super wide pappardelle before, like an inch wide noodle but had to cut by hand.

Civver, jung.carl: I myself prepare ragù alla bolognese very much like you do. Although I eat it with tagliatelle only.

A couple things:

1: give health fanatics the rub: butter, not oil!

2: the original beef cut used would be (I hope I don't bungle terminology here) the one used for hanger/skirt steak. Worth a try if you haven't, trust me on this.

3: the food industry offers so-called ragù alla bolognese with >50% tomato in for a very specific reason: it's supercheap. When I do it at home, tomato is there to give color, and a spoon of triple concentrate is more than enough.

4: livers. Reading directly from the BIBLE (aka Anna Gosetti della Salda's 1967 book on Italian regionasl cuisine), I translate: "today ... to make [ragù] richer it can see the addition of: chicken liver, cubed ham and dried mashrooms, softened and chopped".

Cheers!

I used butter and oil, seemed fine. Could probably leave oil out, add more butter, plus the rendered pancetta was plenty of grease for browning.

For hanger steak how do you get it ground though? Or do you mince yourself? Specialty butcher?

Yes most mass produced things are done for the sake of cost. If you ever buy an off the shelf bottle of alfredo it's like 80% oil and tastes awful. I love a lot of processed food like velvetta cheese in dips and oreo cookies and ramen noodles but pasta sauces or something that should be fresh.

So have you guys ever made stuffed pasta like ravioli? Can't be much more work than lasagna, would using bolognese as a filling be the worst idea?

 

[yung.carl.jung]

I've attempted stuffed pasta before and while it is time consuming it is not exactly "hard" to do. A bolognese filling sounds good, but I personally prefer something lighter like pine nuts and ramson, ricotta and spinach, something like that, pan fried in butter and lots of fresh sage. When doing filled pasta its the pasta that should be the star, not the sauce or the filling. Its taste and texture can be appreciated more if its highlighted, I think.

 

[Sofista]

Good post I, too, have switched from using actual tomatoes to using concentrate, mostly because 1) it doesn't leak tons of water 2) it packs more glutamate 3) it's easier to roast and "activate" its deep flavor, whole tomatoes need hours

Personally I rarely use virgin olive oil for anything that isn't cold anyway. I prefer lard or homemade fats to butter, though. However 90% of my cooking is either clarified butter or a vegetable oil like sunflower seed or rapeseed.

I've also tried out the mushroom idea previously. It gives the sauce even more depth, even more of an earthy, savory taste. I don't think ragu needs that imho, I use this technique of adding finely chopped mushrooms and slow frying them for all my meatless sauces, specifically because this way you can sort of replicate the depth of flavor a meat dish gives you in, say, a tomato sauce.

Finely chopped garlic, mushrooms and onions are the base for my pizza sauce, for example.

I will however try out your suggestion of getting skirt steak minced. I have read lots of old italian recipes and am still unsure about the meat component. Some even call for 10% or 20% veal mince. I suppose back then people just put everything in, makes sense

Don't worry my man, I almost exclusively eat it with freshly made tagliatelle. Only when I'm lazy and desperate I use Penne, but almost never Spaghetti. They don't hold the sauce well, they just don't fit.

These recipes are the basis of my bolognese, what do you think?

https://culinariaitalia.wordpress.com/2008/06/29/ragu-alla-bolognese-authentic-recipe/

http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/12/the-food-lab-slow-cooked-bolognese-sauce-recipe.html

Yes on concentrate! As Bressanini says (more about him below), we've been toiling to get rid of the water in the meat and the vegetables, and we add it back with the tomatoes? That's, uh, going in the opposite direction!
I love EVO oil, the stronger the better, but to feel it you have to add it just before eating your dish (example, classic pasta with tomato sauce: I make it with oil, add the pasta in the pan and sauté a minute, move it over to the dish and then sprinkle it with further oil).

It's common for Italian recipes to have a variety of meats: in central Italy for instance they make a ragù part beef, part pork, part rabbit. I would think that it all depends of what was available to the farmers/common people in the area way back then (while French cuisine was created by chefs, Italian cuisine is the child of housewives).
Veal was always common in Italy, as it was popularly thought better for children, and today fits better with the whole "light" humbug. Me, I only ever use veal when I'm making myself liver - and the price reflects that! Here it costs 150% of beef liver!

Here you can find fresh, egg pasta penne also. Costly, but lovely.

I read with gusto the Food Lab post: I thoroughly approved of the first part (veal: yes, it's usually fatter than beef, but that's why you don't try this recipe with sirloin: you want the sort of cut that's right for long cooking; maybe the restaurant found it easier to pick grade-A beef and then mix it when needed), noted down the suggestion for liver (an immersion blender! How could I never have thought of it?), was interested in the oven section and... the fish sauce... I reacted like the day Ned Stark was beheaded on Game of Thrones. I've lived in Bologna for 10 years, and if there's a fish food tradition there, it simply escaped me completely.
The second link, it translates the most "official" recipe around. It also mentions skirt, but leaves out the possible alternatives mentioned (belly, shoulder).

Me, here's my doses of meat/vegs and equipment:
Ideally, 300g of skirt/hanger
150g of pork sausage meat (I live 20 minutes away from the language border with German, our sausages are a deal spicier than the usual Italian ones: this way I simply stop worrying about spices later, except for nutmeg - must have nutmeg)
150g of soffritto vegs - and a couple slices of garlic.

I prepare the meat first (with lard... just in case), in a large steel pan: it heats fiercely, and the larger surface helps the fluids evaporate earlier. Then I brown the butter in an earthware pot, add the vegs and later the meat: that's where everything will end until the end (oh! with a bit of brandy I deglaze the steel pan and add it as well! NO flavor shall be left behind!)

The basic procedure I use is presented in a highly renowned blog, run by an amateur chef who in real life teaches chemistry in college. I ran it in Google translator, hilarious effects aside (ex.: "We have sanctioned Maillard's reaction many times in this blog..." - for sanctioned read sanctified, but overall it's readable) it's maybe worth a look - and controversial, judging by the 450 replies it got:

https://translate.google.it/translate?sl=it&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=it&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fbressanini-lescienze.blogautore.espresso.repubblica.it%2F2011%2F06%2F13%2Fle-ricette-scientifiche-il-ragu-alla-quasi-bolognese%2F&edit-text=

How much difference is there between tagliatelle and fettuccine? My pasta rollers have a fettuccine cutter and it's wide enough for me. I have done a super wide pappardelle before, like an inch wide noodle but had to cut by hand.

I used butter and oil, seemed fine. Could probably leave oil out, add more butter, plus the rendered pancetta was plenty of grease for browning.

For hanger steak how do you get it ground though? Or do you mince yourself? Specialty butcher?

Yes most mass produced things are done for the sake of cost. If you ever buy an off the shelf bottle of alfredo it's like 80% oil and tastes awful. I love a lot of processed food like velvetta cheese in dips and oreo cookies and ramen noodles but pasta sauces or something that should be fresh.

So have you guys ever made stuffed pasta like ravioli? Can't be much more work than lasagna, would using bolognese as a filling be the worst idea?

Tagliatelle and fettuccine: apparently it's all a matter of width:

tagliolini 1-2 mm
fettuccine 3-5 mm
tagliatelle 5-10 mm
pappardelle 2-3 cm

Bear in mind that I had to look it up: in my experience, in many cases the words fettuccine and tagliatelle are used interchangeably (Italian pasta makers never got around to establishing a common designation system; add to that regional variations, and you have chaos. Just imagine, when you read maccheroni on a menu you can't even be sure if you'll get long or short pasta).

Oh, I didn't mean to say that oil won't cook well. It's just that, as I said above, such a long preparation means you won't get any flavor out of it.

I had to go to the butcher. I go to the regional cattle raisers' outlet, where on specific days they have it. asked them, and they told me the right days AND to come around closing time, because by Italian law they would have to clean the grinders afterwards: they then cure the piece, and grind it right there. I figure a large enough butcher to have entire beasts in the cell would be happy to help.

You can definitely try ravioli with ragù. This said, I think I found something for you...

 

[yung.carl.jung]

awesome post sofista and thanks for the feedback. ill make sure to post next time I make another bolognese, for me its usually a 6 hour process with cutting and everything

glad you like the food lab, I am always interested in the chemistry behind cooking so if you have any other ressources be sure to post them - reading the blog later after I make myself diner

 

[BvBPL]

This morning was a great breakfast. French omelet with chives and shallots turned into a breakfast sandwich by placing it between an English muffin spread with chevere. So good.

Last night was Greek-style flatbread pizzas made on naan and topped with spinach, tomato, feta, and kalamata olives, all drizzled with some balsamic.

Tonight the plan is a for a caramelized orange and sage pork tenderloin.

 

[civvver]

Honestly are shallots overrated? They're so darn expensive compared to regular red or yellow onions, is the flavor difference that important?

I recently discovered another crockpot meal my family loves and it's the simplest thing I've ever made in the crockpot I think.

can of black beans
frozen corn
taco seasoning
salsa
raw chicken breast (not frozen, you can use frozen just thaw it first)

Place chicken in crockpot, drain beans, then pour everything on top of chicken and mix. If your salsa is very watery use less, if not use more or add a few tablespoons of water so your meal doesn't dry out and burn. Cook on low about 6 hours, shred chicken with a fork and stir up before serving. Serve or white or mexican rice, top with whatever you want like cheese, green onions, sour cream, crushed up tortilla chips, salsa, hot sauce- let your imagination go wild! Queso fresco and green onions are really good though.