Seriously, for me food prep is the essential, and most fun, part of the process. Chopping, slicing and dicing, choosing the herbs and spices, etc. give me time to think and make adjustments as I go. I feel that's where our love, our fruit of labor, shines through with our final presentation.
Cooking is easy, everyone does it, preparing is where the magic happens. Enjoy it!
Come to think of it, Julia Child’s hub had everthing built for her elevated cuz she was such a tall gal.
Learnt the stool trick sittin over the sink with shrimp.
> Weber Genesis EP-330
> Grilla Grills Original Grilla (OG) pellet smoker with Alpha/Connect
> Grilla Grills Pellet Pizza Oven
> Pit Barrel Cooker (gone to a new home)
> WeberQ 2000 (on "loan" to a relative (I'll never see it again))
> Old Smokey Electric (for chickens mostly - when it's too nasty out
to fiddle with a more capable cooker)
> Luhr Jensen Little Chief Electric - Top Loader circa 1990 (smoked fish & jerky)
> Thermoworks Smoke
> 3 Thermoworks Chef Alarms
> Thermoworks Thermapen One
> Thermoworks Thermapen Classic
> Thermoworks Thermopop
> Thermoworks Square DOT
> Thermoworks IR-GUN-S
> Joule Turbo Sous Vide Circulator
> Searzall torch
> BBQ Guru Rib Ring
> WÜSTHOF, Dalstrong, and Buck knives
> Paprika App on Mac and iOS
That said, maybe I can help with those who struggle a bit with things like carrots. The Japanese use a technique called "rangiri" for such things.
Here's a good how-to write-up: https://www.justonecookbook.com/rangiri/
If nothing else, it helps me keep my finger tips intact.
22” Blue Weber Kettle with SnS insert
Kamado Joe Jr with Kick Ash Basket
Char-Broil Smartchef Tru Infrared Gasser
Anovo Hot Tub Time Machine with Custom Hot Tub
When doing chokes I slice the top off and don't bother snipping thorns on leaves. Easy peasey. I assume you slice in half and scoop the choke for grilling, try it after steaming them whole first.
I don't do any of that cutting of the tips. Just steam whole, slice in half, scoop the choke out, then grill. They taste just the same without all the hassle of cutting the tips off that you won't eat anyway.
Large Big Green Egg, Weber Performer Deluxe, Weber Smokey Joe Silver, Fireboard Drive, 3 DigiQs, lots of Thermapens, and too much other stuff to mention.
To me it's just part of the process to the finished product. I really don't stress over any of it, I actually enjoy it. Not all the jobs are easy or fun but I don't mind any of it. I get frustrated over some mechanical procedures due to lack of space or totally stupid engineering.
For me, it's a love-hate thing: roasting, peeling, deseeding, and chopping green chile peppers as we do a couple of times a year. HATE having to do all that work but LOVE the outcome, so I keep on keepin' on...
Jim White That's the same site where we buy our chiles now. I saw those, but a full pound of frozen is not good for us. We always divide it out into 1/4c/60ml portions in itty-bitty ziplocks and freeze those (did the same when we bought from Chuy's, because it wasn't frozen). Rarely use more than one of 'em in any given dish. I wouldn't want to thaw and refreeze, which we'd have to do with pound-sized portions...
My toys:
Weber Summit Charcoal Grilling Center (WSCGC) aka Mr. Fancypants
Pit Barrel Cooker (which rocks), named Pretty Baby
Weber Summit S650 Gas Grill, named Hot 'n Fast (used mostly for searing and griddling)
Weber Kettle Premium 22" named Kettle Kid, eager to horn in with more cooks in the future
Camp Chef Somerset IV 4-burner outdoor gas range named AfterBurner due to its 30kBTU burners
Adrenaline BBQ Company Gear:
SnS Low Profile, DnG, and Large Charcoal Basket, for WSCGC
SnS Deluxe for 22" Kettle
Elevated SS Rack for WSCGC
SS Rack for DnG
Cast Iron Griddle
Grill Grate for SnS
Grill Grates: five 17.375 sections (retired to storage)
Grill Grates: six 19.25 panels for exact fit for Summit S650
gasser
Grill Grates for 22" Kettle
2 Grill Grate Griddles
Steelmade Griddle for Summit gas grill
Fireboard Gear:
Extreme BBQ Thermometer Package
Additional control unit
Additional probes: Competition Probes 1" (3) and 4" (1), 3 additional Ambient Probes. 1 additional Food Probe
2 Driver Cables
Pit Viper Fan (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Pit Viper Fan new design (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Thermoworks Gear:
Thermapen MK4 (pink)
Thermapen Classic (pink too)
Thermoworks MK4 orange
Temp Test 2 Smart Thermometer
Extra Big and Loud Timer
Timestick Trio
Maverick ET 73 a little workhorse with limited range
Maverick ET 733
Maverick (Ivation) ET 732
Grill Pinz
Vortex (two of them)
18" drip pan for WSCGC
Ceramic Spacers for WSCGC in Kamado Mode: 2 sets each 1/2", 1", 2". The 2" spacers work best with the 18" drip pan. The 1+1/2 inch spacers work best with the 14 inch cake pan.
Two Joule Sous Vide devices
3 Lipavi Sous Vide Tubs with Lids: 12, 18 and 26 quarts
Avid Armor Ultra Pro V32 Chamber Sealer
Instant Pot 6 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Instant Pot 10 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Charcoal Companion TurboQue
A-Maze-N tube 12 inch tube smoker accessory for use with pellets
BBQ Dragon and Dragon Chimney
Shun Classic Series:
8" Chef Knife
6" Chef's Knife
Gokujo Boning and Fillet Knife
3 1/2 inch Paring Knife
Handling raw chicken. Even with gloves on. Then decontaminating everything the chicken and its yukky chicken juice touched in the chicken prep process. 🐔🐔🐔
That's one reason I opted for a huge single bowl kitchen sink with commercial grade pull down faucet. Dump chicken into 11 in. deep sink and run a gentle stream of water to wash the juice off the chicken and down the drain. Clean up is a breeze.
Richard Chrz - I got the Vevor brand at Walmart and had it delivered (free if you have a Walmart account). Just go to their website and type in Vevor french fry cutter. It's a well-made piece of equipment.
PS - the blades are really sharp. Ask me how I know this...
Cutting french fries. I was always so scared of slicing myself.
And with the blood thiner I take, the result would not be pretty.
So I spent $70 on a professional vertical fry cutter.
It's a charm!
Another thing you can do with this fry cutter is dice carrots.
Run the carrot through long-ways first, turn the carrot on it's side and run through again.
I like everthing about food prep, even the things I don’t like.
There is one thing though, I have a rilly hard time preppin fer meself. Don’t give much of a rip. But, if I git passed that lack of moto, I am in my element once again. Now cookin fer some of my friends, watch out, I can be like the Tasmanian Devil.
Peeling boiled eggs. I can’t remember how many videos I’ve watched on the subject. I’m still an amateur at it. If I try for deviled eggs I’ll end up with egg salad.
Purc What a great idea! I will eat deviled eggs for breakfast! I don’t care if I eat more than I would have otherwise. I love them anytime I can get them
Comment