Interesting interview with Kenji. Gives some insight into how his thinking, writing, and cooking has changed over the years. I didn't know he pioneered the reverse sear.
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Wow, I didn't know either he was the one who came up with reverse sear. But wait! There's more!
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I believe history shows that Ogg, while smoking Wooly Mammoth steaks, had one fall into the fire. By the time he retrieved it, it had developed a dark crust. Instead of throwing it away he took a bite and liked it so much he shared it with one of the wolves prowling near camp. Thus the invention of the reverse sear, while a happy mistake which his clan enjoyed for years, is also credited with the beginning of the evolution of dogs and why to the day they beg for scraps at the table.Comment
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To be fair, Kenji doesn't claim he invented the reverse sear. Here's a quote from the article --
"...There’s a competition barbecue team, Iron Pig BBQ, who were doing a similar technique, but it wasn’t published anywhere. After we published it at Cook’s Illustrated, some people were, like, "Oh, yeah, this chef is doing it." There were people concurrently doing it. The more generous claim would be that I independently came up with the idea, and certainly Cook’s Illustrated popularized it...."Comment
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Very interesting - thanks.Comment
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A terrific read. Interesting where he is going with his life & his changed outlook of his work. I am looking forward to his new book. It should be a lot of fun. His appreciation for Pepin is cool! Thanks Old Glory!Comment
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No surprise for people to comment about Kenji's humbleness etc. Just from reading the first chapter of THE FOOD LAB you can tell where his heart is. (Food Lab is highly recommended. Kenji and Meathead are the only two books we keep on our coffee table)
Somehow we knew before we clicked the link that Helen Rosner would be the writer. Her stuff is fantastic to read, and occasionally super entertainingly funny. One of her claims to fame is "hair dryer chicken", that became such a big deal that OTHER publications had to write about it: https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2018/3...eme-life-cycleComment
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He has been busy with interviews lately, as his new book "The Wok" is out, or at least I think it is now. I get mine tomorrow and can’t wait for it.
He has his on YouTube channel that is pretty good. He has been cooking recipes from the new book, and it’s as raw as can be, being in his home and no fancy setup but a few cameras and his wok! And he’s also had a number of writers with him lately for various interviews. I think GQ Magazine was another one that was just with him.
thanks for the link on this article. Appreciate it!Comment
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Cool interview. Thanks for posting it Old Glory , Add me to the list of folks who didn't know Kenji pioneered reverse sear.Comment
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That was a great read. Thanks for posting.Comment
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Did another good interview in GQ: https://www.gq.com/story/gq-hype-kenji-lopez-alt
I love how his thinking has changed a bit over the years and how he is willing to admit that rather than being stubborn and doubling down on his old ways of thinking.
When I was strolling through Costco last week his Wok book was out there. Not sure if that was a mistake or not since it is supposed to come out tomorrow but I picked up a copy and it is excellent so far as expected. Going to cook up our first recipe from it tonight!Comment
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My daughter got me "The Wok", and tickets to see/hear Kenji at Town Hall in Seattle.
That was Saturday night. An interesting give and take with two Seattle area bloggers (I can't remember their names).
SWMBO is making crispy chicken recipe tonight.
also he didn't seem like an a**hole!Last edited by bardsleyque; March 7, 2022, 01:15 PM.Comment
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Excellent read!Comment
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I really should follow Kenji - he's been going around and trying teriyaki places and commenting on them and I love teriyaki. For those who don't know, teriyaki is somehow a very Seattle thing with lots of small, strip mall kinds of places. Most of it is fine but a few are amazing.
On his past as an asshole.... Yeah. We had an, er, exchange years ago on vegan issues (specifically why some of us find it annoying to have so many vegan products that bill themselves as 'meat' etc). He didn't like it when, after telling me how cruel even egg production was and did I know what happened to male chicks, I pointed out that he was about to open a restaurant in SF (The Wursthall) that literally ground up animal flesh.
I think he's been good for food and his forays into WHY some things are so and whether certain myths (don't salt beans before cooking) are true have a lot of value but, like all of us, he's not a perfect saint.Last edited by rickgregory; March 8, 2022, 11:49 AM.Comment
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Grilbird isn't his, he just really likes it. https://www.seattletimes.com/life/fo...reluctant-one/ -
Thanks, rickgregory I will edit my post. Not sure how I got my misinformation.
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Cool for him to be humble about it.
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