Cooking Questions II: The Master Speaks

[MercenaryChef]

trisky,

come over and i will show you how to handle the curve of the sausage.

[Yagathai]

Oh yeah, then you'll need oil. Not too much, just enough to keep it from sticking.

And yes, that is the challenge of cooking sausages whole on top of a pan. It's difficult and irritating and patience is a virtue. If you really want to eat them whole instead of slicing them up, you may want to consider pre-cooking as an alternative. Surely you own a pot, right? Boil or steam or microwave them, then you can brown them in the pan to finish if you want.

It's not fashionable, but I stand behind boiled sausage.

[MercenaryChef]

It's not fashionable, but I stand behind boiled sausage.

bullshit.

i am the versace of sausage fashion.

in my kitchen we will poach our maple breakfast sausage and our garlic sausage. it makes it so the cook only has to brown them and heat them through to serve.

the andouille and scotch bonnet get smoked until cooked through.

the chorizo never sees cooking. it gets hung for 4 to 6 weeks until it is dried and wonderful.

[Yagathai]

You don't cold-smoke the chorizo?

Hey, have you ever spit-roasted a lamb before? I'm considering doing something extravagant for my housewarming party later this year.

[MercenaryChef]

You don't cold-smoke the chorizo?

Hey, have you ever spit-roasted a lamb before? I'm considering doing something extravagant for my housewarming party later this year.

no. traditional spanish chorizo gets it's smokey notes from the paprika and that natural funk you get from aged pork. i have smoked these same sausages before for my own enjoyment and finished them on a grill. they were fucking wonderful.

yes i have roasted a lamb before. you should totally do it. you will need some serious hardware. the best i have seen was a motorized spit with a sort of hood over the lamb itself that captured the heat and redirected it towards the lamb.

i am also a huge fan of the goat buried in the ground. a mexican guy i cooked with in california would bury a goat in his yard for huge parties. it was really delicious.

[Seli]

Trust the master, for he is indeed the expert.

And always take your time with sausages. I believe 15 to 20 minutes is a reasonable time in the pan. But it will depend on the sausage as well.

The Chorizo I am familiar with is, just as a Salami, a nice cured sausage. Although I have seen younger (or mislabelled) varieties that ought to be cooked. and frying some slices of the cured variety like bacon can give nice results as well.

[Guest]

trisky,

come over and i will show you how to handle the curve of the sausage.

I don't doubt it.

[Yagathai]

Oh yeah, throwing a pig wrapped in wet burlap into a pit full of hot coals in the morning and digging it up at dusk was a staple special occasion meal back in AZ. I could do that wish a lamb, I guess, but then I would need a pit and my yard is poured concrete.

if I do it, I'll need to brush up on my butchery. Also I need to do the kitchen math to figure out how many people a 45-lb animal will feed.

[MercenaryChef]

Oh yeah, throwing a pig wrapped in wet burlap into a pit full of hot coals in the morning and digging it up at dusk was a staple special occasion meal back in AZ. I could do that wish a lamb, I guess, but then I would need a pit and my yard is poured concrete.

if I do it, I'll need to brush up on my butchery. Also I need to do the kitchen math to figure out how many people a 45-lb animal will feed.

dude, any help i can offer please ask. this is kind of my bread and butter.

[MisterOJ]

Whenever I cook Italian sausage (and I cook it a lot because it's a favorite at my house with spaghetti) I take a nice deep frying pan with a lid, add the links and then put a little water in the pan. Just enough to cover about half (or a bit less) of the sausage. Then I turn the heat up to medium-high and bring it to a boil. Once your water starts boiling, cover the pan and leave it about 5-6 minutes. Then turn the links over, recover and cook 5-6 more minutes.

Then I dump out the water and turn the heat down to medium or a bit below medium to allow the sausage to brown. Voila. Yummy Italian sausage.

I cook bratwurst the same way, only I use a bottle of beer instead of water.

[wolverine]

In my ring or cased sausage cooking experience, grilling adds exceptional flavor. As long as your sausage is not too dry, grilling is the best option IMO. Most of my experience with sausage is our own recipe of half pork and half venison, occasionally smoked, but usually not. Even if I am making a pasta with the sausage I still grill it first as it tastes awesome.

EDIT: I used to boil and finish by frying but not anymore. Our patty sausage from the same recipe, gets some heavenly brown gooey stuff when fried though.

[RaceBannon42]

I love grilling sausage. We have some great options for them here in the Twin Cities.

[MisterOJ]

I've had my best results grilling sausage when starting them on the stove as I mentioned above and then transferring them to the grill for browning.

[RaceBannon42]

I've had my best results grilling sausage when starting them on the stove as I mentioned above and then transferring them to the grill for browning.

I used to start Brats by boiling in beer. Now I just grill them. Just easier and they turn out fine as long as you keep watch on them.

My favorite sausage right now is the smoked pork sausage from Pep's pork. It comes in a big old 1 lb spiral.

[wolverine]

I used to start Brats by boiling in beer. Now I just grill them. Just easier and they turn out fine as long as you keep watch on them.

My favorite sausage right now is the smoked pork sausage from Pep's pork. It comes in a big old 1 lb spiral.

The pure pork sausage, like a brat, has a much higher fat content than the sausage I usually grill (50% Minnesota venison combined with 50% Minnesota pork). So it does take more careful watching when grilling. The leaner stuff does not flare up as much, yet the pork keeps it juicy and delicious. When lazy/unprepared I can throw a frozen ring on and come back in 10 minutes to rearrange/flip without any problems.

[Arbor Gold]

Question for chef and kair and anybody else who has made the ad hoc fried chicken: any tips or things to look out for? I'm going to attempt this tomorrow and I'm nervous because this will include some firsts for me. First and foremost, I've never actually battered and fried anything before. I've also never broken down a whole chicken nor have I ever brined anything. I've watched like 6 youtube videos of how to cut a whole chicken and I think I have an ok grasp on that although my knives probably aren't very sharp.

Do you have a preferred method for cutting up a whole chicken? The videos I watched and the pictures in the ad hoc book all have slight variations (wings first! Legs/thighs first! Use scissors for the backbone! Use a cleaver for the backbone! Use a boning knife for the backbone!) I don't have poultry shears or a cleaver so my method will largely be dictated by what tools I have on hand.

I'm unsure about my cookware situation. The book says to use a six-inch-deep pan for frying. Can I just use a sturdy pot?

I bought a new thermometer to measure the temp of the oil - is it difficult to maintain the correct frying temps?

I'm glad I studied yesterday because I didn't realize the brine needed to be boiled, then cooled to room temp, then cooled in the fridge. Would have totally screwed my plan for tonight had I not read that ahead of time!

[Yagathai]

1) Sharpen your knives!

2) there is no One True Way to butcher a chicken. I find shears easiest for the backbone, but I've done it with a cleaver too. Whatever works for you, as long as you use sharp knives. The chicken is already dead. It doesn't care if you take the wings or legs first.

3) You can use a sturdy pot if necessary, but unless it's really wide you only want to fry one piece at a time. You put too many in there too close to each other and they will steam, not fry. Also, make sure it's a sturdy pot. A thin-walled pot loses too much heat too fast. A good heavy wok is ideal, I've found.

4) No. When it's too cold, turn up the heat. When it's too warm, turn down the heat. It's pretty basic.

[Arbor Gold]

Hmmm. I do actually have a good, heavy wok.

[Guest]

This has actually reminded me that buying a wok has been on my to-do list for a while. I currently do stir-fry in the stainless steel pan, but I need to go wok finally.

Is there anything I should be looking out for? Is a wok is a wok is a wok?

[Yagathai]

Round bottom, no non-stick garbage. Handles on both sides, one straight and one basket handle. Good solid weight, but not so heavy you can't easily manipulate it with one hand.

You'll probably need to buy a collar for it.