Cooking Evolution

[glitchy]

Troutman You might be on to something with the over and over, that’s probably why I’m always looking at different cookers. It gives me (slightly) new ways to make the same old things.

[Troutman]

I love making sauces and pairing them with the appropriate protein. Not even close to being a saucier but I'm getting there. It ain't bbq but it sure makes bbq a better thing !!!

[Troutman]

My wife asked me for Troutman"s Country Chicken for the 500th time last night. I took all the ingredients out, told her there they are, have at it. I can't stand cooking the same thing over and over, I get bored too easily. Good news is she cooked it as good as I could have so now maybe I have a sous chef in training !!!

[Murdy]

STEbbq SimplY Recipes actually: https://www.simplyrecipes.com/

[Dan Deter]

STEbbq oh agreed. We're much more likely to use CI or Southern Living or similar...

[STEbbq]

I think I have outlined my research process fairly well already.

In terms of ideas, I get a lot from the SUWYC threads, and the recipes that are shared here. I don’t actively hunt around Serious Eats and YouTube for materials. I keep a running tally of stuff I want to make on my phone.

I also seek to make things that we love but can’t easily obtain from a local place that tastes good. Two prime examples would be Indian food and British fish & chips so I hope to work on those soon.

Since I have only really started cooking a lot more since the pandemic started, I kind of expect this list to whittle down over time and be replaced with making food that I have never tried before simply because it looks awesome. Pre-pandemic , I made brisket, ribs, pastrami, burgers, steaks, and carne asada but now I have made some Thai food, smoked a turkey, made pizzas, ground my own cervappi sausages etc.

I also bought a sauces cookbook so I can perhaps change up some of the things we make frequently with a new flavor profile while still allowing the family to leave the sauce on the side if they wish.


So I guess that is a evolution!

[STEbbq]

Murdy yep that is pretty much it. I will look at Simple Recipes.

Dan Deter I do see the comments for the super popular stuff but if the recipe is not very popular, we don’t get the same level of suggested improvements. Then the recipes are bad with no suggested improvements. It’s more of a pain to use versus other sites which have more thoughtful recipes.

[glitchy]

LOL, I feel for you...your post refreshed in when I hit post on mine below :-)

[glitchy]

I live among the land of people that are satisfied with calling a sandwich 2 pieces of bread with a little meat between, no cheese, mayo, butter, dressing, etc. I have a high schooler that has never even tried ranch dressing or bbq sauce and absolutely refuses and throws fits when asked to try anything. I love to try new things, so coming up with what to cook is just downright exhausting before even trying to add new recipes to the mix.

I do watch a lot of Sam The Cooking Guy as many of his recipes at least have a chance that I could make and family would eat (with girls likely leaving out all the accompaniments that actually make the dish good). The problem is he sure seems to do a lot of frying, which I typically steer away from. I try not to fry at home as I figure I get enough fried food elsewhere. Not that I won't heat up some oil on a rare occasion, just don't wish to fry even weekly. I also don't like the mess/smell that lingers when frying inside.

I also watch things here constantly for ideas and occasionally check out Jess Pryles, Chuds, Kent Rollins, and The Hillbilly Kitchen for ideas. Most of my evolution is so boring though and comes in the same thing over and over just changing rubs to get a different taste...and sometimes just on my own piece of protein to avoid gripes. The girls laugh and roll their eyes when they are going somewhere for the day and I get excited thinking what can I cook with them gone (which has been like twice in the last two years ).

[Dan Deter]

For sites like allrecipes we always include the modifications in the top 4-5 comments when we save it. Those are often the changes that make it worth while to try.

[smokin fool]

Agree with an above statement that I too am a boring cook and go back to the staples.
I am guilty of pigeon hole cooking, same things time and time again.
I have tried branching out but hit resistance all the time from my wife be picky or wanting her meal on the table not one minute late and/or my kids infatuation with Ubereats and Skipthedishes.
So I plug away at the same old boring dishes not wanting to up set the apple cart....it is my cross to bear.

[Murdy]

I haven't looked at AR for a while. Isn't it just a compendium of user-contributed recipes with no real oversight?

By the way, Simply Recipes is worth checking out. They really expanded over the last few years, so I'm not sure if the recipes are as well vetted as they used to be, but it's always been my number one for non BBQ, and they have some nice BBQ recipes too.

[STEbbq]

I didn’t know Milk Street had so many good international recipes. Very cool.

[Uncle Bob]

".......I'm a little off....", you're far too modest Steve.

[Troutman]

I’m currently planning on a new cooking series. Biggest challenge is adapting it to include bbq techniques.