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I Like ChefSteps But....

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    I Like ChefSteps But....

    I have been watching a lot of ChefSteps videos lately, and they have some great ideas. But some things are way beyond the average kitchen. I mean who has all that space, and all those gadgets? Do YOU have a fridge that you can hang a chicken in to brine for three days? I sure as hell don't! I also don't have an oven that goes to 560 degrees that I can hang a chicken in. And I am sick of hearing about Joule. I don't get having a device that you can ONLY set using wifi.

    Okay, rant over. Back to your regularly scheduled BBQ. 😜

    #2
    Our ovens will hit 550. But I've yet to pry one out of the PBC for that.

    My thing is some of the ingredients I'd have to have connections in Tibet to get.

    I really want to try the eggnog.

    Comment


      #3
      While I am considering a SV and Joule is one of my options... I completely understand and agree with what you are saying. I would venture to say that the vast majority of everyday folks who like to cook at home don't have access to a number of toys, ingredients, and equipment that these folks do. Heck I would love to try and even attempt to make some of the Modernist Cuisine stuff but the folks that do that have kitchens that look more like science labs.

      Comment


      • Thunder77
        Thunder77 commented
        Editing a comment
        Nate, I am also looking at SV. I am NOT considering Joule for the reason I mentioned above.

      #4
      @jgjeske , agreed!!
      I do, however, have considerable more fridge space in th' winter, where t'morrow's smoker meat is presently waitin', or thawin', variously...
      Click image for larger version  Name:	IMG_2638.JPG Views:	1 Size:	2.07 MB ID:	263544

      Comment


      • Shane Rakow
        Shane Rakow commented
        Editing a comment
        the ole' garage keeps a chilly beer too, Mr. Bones!

      #5
      There are recipes that are clearly targeted to the Chef in ChefSteps. I'm just glad quite a few would also work on a HomeChefSteps site.

      Comment


        #6
        Shane Rakow
        the ole' garage keeps a chilly beer too, Mr. Bones!
        So I hear, Brother...

        Click image for larger version

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        So I hear!!!

        Hope th' ice misses y'all in NE!!!!

        Comment


        • Shane Rakow
          Shane Rakow commented
          Editing a comment
          Mmmmm, Extra Stout. One of my faves! It's not looking good on the ice issue though. Hmph.

        • Mr. Bones
          Mr. Bones commented
          Editing a comment
          @ShaneRakow Thanks neighbor! I use mostly Guinness t' regulate th' amount of blood in my Alcohol System, although bourbon is oft' applied when my BAC plummets dangerously!!! ;-)

        #7
        Shane Rakow
        We'll all be fine. Ain't nuthin' new under th' Sun. Winter is not a recent invention!!! Modern times winters is at least 5X milder than in my youth.
        I figger I got:
        Lotsa great food.
        A way t' cook it all with no electricity.
        Plenty of water, coffee, fruit juices, milk, teas, etc.
        Beer, Bourbon.
        Plenty of blankets an' comforters.
        Plenty of warm clothing.
        An incredibly reliable 34+ yr old truck that can go through most anything.
        Determination, and experience.
        Nuthin' in th' fridge gonna spoil, it'll jus' end up in th' garage...

        Be safe, Brother!!! It'll be a'ight!

        Comment


          #8
          Yeah, I have a huge problem with this as well. It's not the fact that they use these sophisticated techniques and specialized tools. It's that they apparently don't realize that they're using them. It's one thing to be a professional chef and do a cooking show. But when you specifically say your audience is people cooking in their homes, that's when I get angry.

          ChefSteps is for people who love to cook. Get recipes, tips, and videos that show the whys behind the hows for sous vide, grilling, baking, and more.

          At ChefSteps, we don't tell you how to cook, we show you—with recipes designed to inspire and educate, tested techniques for successful results at home.
          One of the reasons I love Meathead's site so much is that he does precisely this: doesn't assume you're working in a fully stocked professional kitchen. I remember not long ago going to the Kenji site for a recipe and bam, the first step is to pull out some specialized tool that nobody has, called a mandolin or something. He didn't even bother to wait to the middle of the recipe, it's the first thing he tells you. He then tells you to use a salad spinner. Sure, everyone has one of those lying around! Sheesh.

          It's just the total lack of self-awareness that gets to me. I suppose a lot of their audience are well-off people with enormous kitchens who don't mind buying a tool just to use on a single recipe. It's worse for me, because I can't just run out to the chef supply store or amazon.com to order things, so I suppose I'm hyper-sensitive to it.

          I just found out today when trying to cook some cornbread at 425 that my oven totally lies about how hot it gets. The numbers printed on the dial have no relation to the actual temperatures inside. With it cranked all the way up, 250°C, it maxes out at 419°F. More limitations, as if I needed any more.

          Comment


          • Steve Vojtek
            Steve Vojtek commented
            Editing a comment
            Just use a sharp knife instead of the mandolin and dry your salad leaves using paper towel or a clean teatowel. Improvising - that's what cooking is all about my friend. If your oven doesn't reach the high temperature required just cook it longer - you will still get great results. That's what I do.

          #9
          Aw man, I don't know. There are a hundred thousand websites that will tell you how to make a grilled cheese sandwich with Velveeta, but Chef Steps will tell you how to make Velveeta.

          Its not for everyone, including me a lot of the time. But these people are fighting the good fight, and in the right way, with enthusiasm. I could make processed cheese at home, all I need is sodium hexametaphosphate and the energy to go find it somewhere.

          Comment


          • JCBBQ
            JCBBQ commented
            Editing a comment
            I totally agree Mosca! I love their nerdy enthusiasm and find their videos hilarious. I don't worry about the recipes I can't make but I still enjoy watching them or reading about them.

          • Potkettleblack
            Potkettleblack commented
            Editing a comment
            This one remains a favorite.

          #10
          I have watched only one Chefsteps video, so I don't have a frame of reference for your comment.

          I will say that I LOVE the equipment section in Kenji's book, The Food Lab, much like we love the Awesome equipment reviews section here at AmazingRibs. He rates equipment, gives you advise on which gadets are really needed and which ones are less so.

          I'm a better kitchen cook from The Food Lab and my kitchen equipment list is better, and I haven't spent that much.

          Lastly, I'm still a holdout on the SV thing. I'm sure it's great, but call me still in love with Reverse Sear!

          Comment


            #11
            I think if all food websites were geared to the lowest common denominator with respect to kitchen (or BBQ) gadgetry, it would be more difficult for the average home cook to aim for the stars. Besides, what would I spend my money at Amazon on?

            Lost in China , I can see where you're coming from, but I think that sites like ChefSteps and Kenji's Serious Eats provide such good information that it's worth using a little ingenuity to sleuth out that a mandolin is just a food slicer, as is a more precisely-wielded knife, or that salad spinners are great for getting the water out of salads or herbs so that the dressings can have a bigger voice. I may not have every tool that these guys use, but I do know how to translate then innovate. If a salad spinner is used, then I know that perhaps doing something else to make sure the surface water is minimized in the ingredient will work well too. For me, the translate/innovate aspect is part of the fun of cooking.

            Now, Thunder77 's "rant" is a little more fundamental--who has a fridge big enough to hang a chicken? I do, if I take half the stuff out of one of mine. That's not happening. In that instance, I know that I'll still get nice crispy bird skin if I let it sit on a rack over a jelly roll pan, or cookie sheet with sides.

            I still have a lot of fun watching old Alton Brown Good Eats episodes, where he jury-rigs stuff all the time. I love to see what he does, but 90% of the time I won't be going down that particular road to get to his good eats. I'll figure out another (more mundane) way and get there just the same.

            Kathryn

            Comment


            • Atalanta
              Atalanta commented
              Editing a comment
              LOL AB had an episode where he built a cardboard smoker.

            • Thunder77
              Thunder77 commented
              Editing a comment
              Kathryn I think I get where you're coming from. I have acquired any number of gadgets and know how. I just think Chef Steps is a bit extreme. 😱😀

            • fzxdoc
              fzxdoc commented
              Editing a comment
              Thunder77 , I totally get where you're coming from too. There's no way I could do many things as shown on Chef Steps. Perhaps they should suggest alternatives now and again for us mere mortals.

            #12
            As I say in many of the comments/complaints on ChefSteps Facebook posts, ChefSteps is a site about largely modernist techniques and approaches. It you want something cooked traditionally, there are sites from Tasty to Martha Stewart to Joy of Cooking and beyond. If you like the sciencey approach, there's SeriousEats, AR and ChefSteps.

            ChefSteps is largely intended as a structured course site. So you learn a technique, like Sous vide, with a dozen dishes that use it in different ways. Or Sous-BCue. Or Coffee making. Or Whipping Siphon use.

            I'm never making a Peking Duck. For a lot of reasons. But I will revisit this recipe once a year, and it requires nothing more weird tools than a microplane and nothing harder to find than jarred red peppers.

            ChefSteps is here to make cooking more fun. Get recipes, tips, and videos that show the whys behind the hows for sous vide, grilling, baking, and more.


            (oh, and I replaced the pistachios with macadamias and it was insanely good. And the microplane is essential. Wife messed up a batch with the fine grater).

            as long as you recognize what the site is about, you're fine.

            Last, because they are very precise recipes, they can be fussy recipes. JKLA's recipes can be a bit more forgiving.

            Real last: they and Kenji SV things at hotter and shorter temps than I recommend.

            Comment


            • EdF
              EdF commented
              Editing a comment
              Any speculations as to why?

            • Potkettleblack
              Potkettleblack commented
              Editing a comment
              A combination of personal preference and possibly liability. Though I note that the Joule app offers a steak setting lower than I ever considered.

            #13
            The thing I like about both chef steps and serious eats is that they challenge me to take my skills to another level. They introduce new techniques, tools, and ideas. They are both like AR in the sense that they use science to allow you to replicate success. Being an old science teacher, I guess it just appeals to that side of me.

            Comment


            • Thunder77
              Thunder77 commented
              Editing a comment
              I like that aspect as well. It's just that they are over the top sometimes. I have used them to advance my knowledge.

            • Dr ROK
              Dr ROK commented
              Editing a comment
              I used to feel that way and now I'm making my own melting cheese

            #14
            This is a great debate! Keep up the good work guys/gals. This is what The Pit is about!

            Comment


              #15
              What I like bout Being a poor man cook is to look at the equipment that I can't afford and make something like it
              for instance..the salad spinner
              instead of that why not get some panty hose, tie some fishing string after loading it up ,tie it off,and spin it around in a circle.(but I would recommend doing it outside, then ya can water the grass at the same time)
              cost of salad spinner? I dunno 10 bucks?
              cost of panty hose? Dunno. Depends how well you can sweet talk a woman outta em?..priceless
              cost of fishin string? Dunno...I just walk around some trees by the lake....ill find some hung in the branches.
              Total price? A good conversation with a gal and a nice walk....another win win

              Comment


              • vandy
                vandy commented
                Editing a comment
                I like the way you think Nuke em

              • fzxdoc
                fzxdoc commented
                Editing a comment
                The visual image of you slinging pantyhose filled your salad around over your head cracks me up, Nuke em . As for the rest of the story, you're obviously an incurable romantic. Good for you!

                Kathryn

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