Weekly Cooking (and related issues) Thread

[Jamestown1630]

I think we’ve only ever done two or three things in a crock pot that really turned out well; my crock pot has gotten the most use as a way to carry to a party and warm up dishes that have already been cooked otherwise. But one of the things we’ve found that the crock pot does pretty well is pulled pork. (Don't laugh, Texans - we're currently apartment dwellers ;-)

We’ve tried several recipes that turned out OK, but I wanted to make pulled pork in the crockpot like the Carnitas that we get at Chipotle (again, don't laugh! I just like it). A few months ago, I ordered what looks like a lifetime supply of Juniper Berries, because someone online had insisted that they were the key – but for us, they were not; and now I’m stuck with a huge vacuum-packed jar of berries that I’ll probably never use up in the remaining time that the Lord has allotted me.

But: I think I found the recipe last weekend. My husband signed up to receive email recipes from Cooks Country, and a recent one was for ‘Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas’; we tried it, and it was excellent. The secret seems to be citrus, which you don’t really taste AS citrus; but somehow, it adds that elusive 'je ne sais quoi'.

A slight variation of the recipe is available at the Mels Kitchen Cafe website; the Cooks Country recipe suggested crisping the final product in a fry pan, but Mels Kitchen does it under the broiler, and I think that makes a better product:

https://www.melskitchencafe.com/slow-cooker-pork-carnitas

After about a year of ‘window-shopping’ pressure cooker options, we have decided to purchase an Instant Pot. We are going for the 8-quart ‘Duo’, because that seems to offer the most versatility. I became interested in this product because of all the reviews on how well it does hard-boiled eggs (makes them very easy to peel, even very fresh eggs) bone broth, and yogurt-making. Husband is interested in the fast-cooking of meats.

Do any of you who have an Instant Pot have favorite recipes/uses for it?

-JT

[CottonBall]

Well, I don’t know if it helps :-) it’s more than I ever thought about with respect to getting dentures. Ouch! I guess I never thought about how the whole process works. I just thought somehow I’d be all healed up get the dentures and that’s about it. But you have to have the dentures on while you heal? That sounds painful. Did they tell you to start eating right away? LOL, That sounded odd. I don’t mean that they told you not to eat it all, but are you supposed to start using the dentures right away, not just soups and stuff.

So did you only get the top ones since you have the bottom teeth? My worst part is the bottom, which I hear is harder to have the dentures fit right. Figures.

[umgud]

I think I paid $139 @ Khols, 8qt name brand Insta Pot. My problem was 6qt was the most common size, but they had the 8qt so I bought it.

[Yaelle]

Is the instant pot the air fryer? They do seem tempting.

I use my crockpot every week. Almost everything turns out pretty good. Last week it was a nice beef stew in red wine. Right now I have yesterday night’s roasted chicken carcass in it, with filtered water and a big splash of apple cider vinegar, in order to get the most minerals and gelatin from the bones. It’s been in there 24 hours, and the next 24 will be with sliced leeks and a bit more vinegar. Then I cool it and freeze it in red solo style cups, slice the cups once frozen and save the frozen 1.5 c portions in freezer bags. Best bone broth ever. Practically free.

[Yaelle]

My young teen son with special needs was craving KFC today so I got him some for lunch. After schoôl he was craving it like crazy again. I had to explain how much msg they put in it to make people crave it. It makes me sad. Fried chicken is good on its own; they don’t need to add that much flavor enhancer to rope people in.

[Yaelle]

Feel better! You’ve got that Jewish penicillin, so you will be better in no time.

[Yaelle]

Ok, I’m starting to want one of these pots. Would need to get rid of something else though to have room for it. The deep fryer? Hmmm.

[Yaelle]

I tend to use coconut oil as my pareve cooking fat. But if cooking a meat meal, I dream of using duck fat... one day... for every day coconut oil works quite well and heats without becoming rancid.

[EinNYC]

I tend to use coconut oil as my pareve cooking fat.

My dietician told me to use grapeseed oil to saute stuff, not olive oil. I haven't tried coconut oil yet, though it seems to be all the rage now.

[be-baw]

I have an instant pot but only used it once to make sure the pressure vent works. At the same time I got an Anova Precision Cooker which I’ve used a few times and really like a lot.

[Yaelle]

Grape seed can be rancid as can any seed oil. I use coconut oil for cooking and extra virgin olive oil for cool stuff like salads or lightly, quickly sautéed food. And butter for fish, mmmmmmm!

[be-baw]

Thanks looks like a good simple and straightforward recipe. I think I would be inclined to try it with chicken thighs instead of breasts.

[EinNYC]

Grape seed can be rancid as can any seed oil.

I have not experienced rancidity of my grapeseed oil. It is not sitting around long enough for that. I use EVOO for any salad dressings or where any vegetable oil is called for. You remind me that I just baked some salmon the other day, with a dribble of lemon juice, EVOO, and a sprinkle of dill, wrapped in foil. THAT was mmmmm! And the pumpkin streusel cake I baked for Yom Tov, OMG was that mouth watering. It was hard to limit myself to 1 piece per meal, but I did.

[be-baw]

How to peel a hard cooked egg without peeling:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN2gYHJNT3Y

[Yaelle]

You have been cooking up a storm. Sounds delicious! Pumpkin streusel would have been perfect in the sukkah.

[pugmama]

I just got a new kitchen toy-an airfryer.I am just starting to use it. So far it has been an amazing device. Facebook has a group devoted to users. They are posting some awesome recipes and photos.
I have always used a pressure cooker and crock pot mostly for fall stews/soups etc.

[IamConservative]

Crock Pot Italian Beef.

- 3lb or so beef roast. Chuck, sirloin and rump all work well. The only roast I would avoid is eye of round.
- 1 can of beer (or water)
- 1 package of Italian dressing mix
- 1 jar of pepperoncini peppers.

Add the beer, dressing mix and peppers (including vinegar) to your crock pot and stir up. Place the beef in on top. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or until 165 degrees internal temp. Remove beef from crock pot and let cool. Leave the jus in crock pot. You can skim the fat or not. I use a set of tongs and fish out all the pepper stems from the jus. When cool, shred the beed and add back to the jus in the crock pot. Stir, cover and warm back up.

Serving: I like it as a sandwich on a good crusty roll, giardniera and provolone cheese sauce. You could use it with some of the jus for French Dip. You can grill it with cheese. My son likes it plain in a bowl.

I oft times use the last of the beef, jus and add some mushroom and onions to make a nice dirty rice.

[Jamestown1630]

No, the Instant Pot is a combination slow cooker/pressure cooker. Here’s a good little intro to it:

https://skillet.lifehacker.com/the-first-seven-things-your-should-make-with-a-new-inst-1790730616

[Jamestown1630]

I’ve been curious about the air fryer - does it get things crispy?

[Jamestown1630]

It can take the place of a lot of things - rice cooker, yogurt maker, slow cooker; but it’s not for deep frying. You can saute in it, but it’s built to cook with water and steam. And you’d never want to try pressure frying.

[pugmama]

Yes it does a great job. You have to do certain steps and use certain temperatures.I am just learning about this. I did some bone in chicken thighs with panko topping/spices in about 12 minutes and they were very crisp.
I bought a small one at Ollies to try it out. If I like it and use it a lot, I will get a bigger one someday. People have done whole turkeys in the bigger ones.