Ferocitus
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I'm Lithuanian and a communist Get over it.
Also, Russia is not the USSR.
What'cha Cookin' Tonight II
- Thread starter onejayhawk
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Also, Russia is not the USSR.
Sarin
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Tell that to Vlad. His wet dreams are about that very flag.
Ferocitus
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Sure.
BTW, Lithuania is not Ukraine.
You can use Google maps to verify that for yourself.
Synobun
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Are there any alternatives that match the flavour/texture profile of ground beef? My patented spaghetti recipe involves ground beef, but I'm going to be making it in the future for someone who would prefer to eat no meat. Rather than make just any old recipe ripped from the internet, I'd like to try and theory-craft an alteration to what I already make first. I managed to get it right with pork instead of beef (for a friend who doesn't eat beef), but I've never gone the vegetarian route and don't have any experience with things like tofu or meat alternatives.
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I've made a few dishes that call for ground beef (or a combination of ground beef and ground pork) with vegetarian alternatives. I typically using either Morningstar Farms Veggie Grillers (sometimes their Italian flavor, though that one's harder to find) or Beyond Meat's alternative for ground beef, and am more or less equally satisfied with them. The Beyond Meat one is, IMO, slightly closer to ground beef, but I'll buy whichever one the store I am at has in stock (many don't carry both).
One of the two dishes I've made the most with them is spaghetti bolognese, using a recipe that calls for 0.75 lbs each of ground beef and ground pork. I think I used the Beyond Meat one with that? My parents are vegetarian, and found it convincing; to me, having eaten ground beef more recently as an omnivore, it's not a 100% match but I was surprised how well it worked as a substitute. The texture is very similar; there are slight differences in the flavor but at least in the recipe I make, the rest of the seasonings were already prominent enough that it still works well.
The other dish I've used ground beef alternatives in extensively is mostaccioli, and in that case I now prefer the vegetarian version; I usually use Morningstar in that one (the Italian variety if it's available). With that recipe, I've successfully fooled an omnivorous friend into not realizing that it wasn't made with ground beef, so it does a pretty good job. That dish is also heavily seasoned (more than the bolognese, probably), which likely contributed to masking any differences. But again, in texture it's a pretty good match, and it's not that far off in taste.
Disclaimer: I am not a huge fan of beef in general, I usually prefer pork, chicken, or fish. Omnivores whose favorite meat is beef may be less impressed.
The gold standard right now is arguably Impossible, of Impossible Burger fame. I tried the Impossible Whopper with a friend; we also ordered a traditional beef Whopper, and split them 50:50 each to do a taste test. I couldn't tell the difference (whereas a few years before than, with the first-gen Impossible Burger, it spread out too much, giving itself away as not a beef one, though even the Gen 1 was otherwise surprisingly close). Again, all the toppings were probably covering any taste differences... but it wasn't obvious like if they'd put a chicken patty on a Whopper, or made it with tofu. But while you can find the Impossible Burger at many stores now, I don't think they have a crumble equivalent. Still, it might work pretty well ground up in a bolognese. If I hadn't just bought some ground pork to use in my next bolognese, I'd probably try that next.
(And if you're wondering why I'm using pork next time, it's variety. I just used a package of the Morningstar crumbles in my last improvisation pasta, so it's time to switch things up, just like sometimes I use ground turkey in my chili, and other times beef or pork. I do like that unlike with real meat, there's no need to defrost the crumbles - when I was hungry last night and decided to throw things together from what was in stock, it was super convenient to add the crumbles to a chopped-up onion, some olive oil, and some spices in a skillet)
I'm not the right person to ask about tofu, not having cooked with it. But from having eaten it at restaurants, my impression is it can work halfway decently as an alternative to chicken in dishes where you will be flavoring the chicken/tofu, and it's an element of a dish; the local Americanized Korean restaurant has both chicken and tofu as options in their bibimbap, and I alternate between them. I wouldn't try to use tofu (or other "traditional" vegetarian alternatives such as tempeh or seitan) as a substitute for ground beef - stick with the newer "crumble" products.
Synobun
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I've never heard of this Morningstar grillers thing. I'll need to look into that. (I see. It isn't in Canada. Boooooo.)
For some reason, I thought Beyond only had actual patties.
Their ground beef seems to be the winning solution.
Thank you! That is very helpful!
For some reason, I thought Beyond only had actual patties.
Their ground beef seems to be the winning solution.Thank you! That is very helpful!
For texture textured vegetable protein does a reasonable job. However it tastes like cardboard. One can try to add stuff to compensate, mostly adding amino acids to provide umami (soy sauce, sources of hydrolysed vegetable protein), but nothing really replaces meat, cow in particular is a powerful flavour in cooking.
How do I cook tongue when it still has the papila on it? I have some bits of meat like the below image, I am fairly sure they are tongue of a cow (or perhaps a pig), and they have the surface still on them. I am guessing that it will be tough, and I will need to do some long and slow cooking, but I really have no idea. Does anyone else?
Spoiler My dinner :
How do I cook tongue when it still has the papila on it? I have some bits of meat like the below image, I am fairly sure they are tongue of a cow (or perhaps a pig), and they have the surface still on them. I am guessing that it will be tough, and I will need to do some long and slow cooking, but I really have no idea. Does anyone else?
Spoiler My dinner :
None at all but these people do.
https://commonsensehome.com/how-to-cook-beef-tongue/
Since the recipe says to peel it when its cooked I assume thats when you remove the papila. Takes 2-3 hours to cook apparently.
Tonight I'm eating beer can chicken wings, with fresh green beans and oyster mushrooms, sautéed in fresh garlic, ginger, peppers and herb infused lamb fat, with boiled corn. Nobody hunted jack **** that I ate tonight. All that squeeze was farmed... and it is delicious.
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So many comments, and no photos of people's actual dish.
So what does the beer can do? I saw this recipe, and it looks like a way to waste beer to me.
Its not really about the beer... or the can, as much as it is about the spices. The notion is that the can of beer infuses moisture into the meat with some of the hoppy flavour, but again, the spice blend is what its really all about.
It sounds good, but I stand by my "waste of beer" point. With all those herbs, are you going to be able to detect the hoppy flavour that just evaporates from the beer? I reckon I would drink the beer and put the can with water in up the chicken.Its not really about the beer... or the can, as much as it is about the spices. The notion is that the can of beer infuses moisture into the meat with some of the hoppy flavour, but again, the spice blend is what its really all about.
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Tonight I made clam pasta, or linguini alla vognole for the Italians among us. Recipe (including pictures): https://anewsletter.alisoneroman.com/p/clam-pasta-video?s=r
It turned out pretty tasty! I'd probably up the red pepper flakes a bit next time (I didn't use as many as in the picture, but maybe should have), and the lemon rolled away from me in the grocery checkout line so I had to use the lemon juice I had in the fridge, but it turned out well nonetheless. I'd make it again. More frequently if I knew where to find clams at as good of a price as mussels; for some reason the latter are much more available and less expensive this far inland.
It turned out pretty tasty! I'd probably up the red pepper flakes a bit next time (I didn't use as many as in the picture, but maybe should have), and the lemon rolled away from me in the grocery checkout line so I had to use the lemon juice I had in the fridge, but it turned out well nonetheless. I'd make it again. More frequently if I knew where to find clams at as good of a price as mussels; for some reason the latter are much more available and less expensive this far inland.
Oerdin
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Hmm, linguini with clams sounds good.
I am super lazy, feeling a bit ill so dgaf!
Pancakes, cheese, ham, brown sauce!
Pancakes, cheese, ham, brown sauce!
Zardnaar
Deity
Butter chicken pie cooked in the air fryer. Turned out quite nice.
How's an air fryer like? Much washing up?
Zardnaar
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Na as long as you don't do anything that drips to much eg cheese.
Anything that is roasted, or fried can generally be done in the air fryer.
Generally a quick rinse and scrub it out once or twice a week.
I did chicked strips last night 20 minutes at 180. Coated and into burgers.
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