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Jake
Jake
10 years ago

Not gonna listen before lunch. Nope. Will just make me too hungry. Sounds awesome though 🙂

ChrisJ
10 years ago

Got to get my wife to listen to this one.

Jim
Jim
10 years ago

Great show, lots of old simple cajun style recipes, but:

roux id not pronounced like breaux (bro) it is pronounced like the word street in french, rue (roo).
Next time you see that word just think rue de Spirko.

I’m from South Louisiana and couldn’t help myself….

Regards

(The New) Mike Cornwell
Reply to  Jim

Where do you live at Jim and why have we not connected up yet!?

Jim
Jim
10 years ago

I’m from a small town north of Lafayette (Opelousas) but have lived in the Houston suburb of Missouri City for 37 or so years….

ChefJeff
ChefJeff
10 years ago

Lots of solid tips and ideas in this episode.

However, little fast and loose with terminology.

You don’t “braise” in fat. You braise in stock. You confit in fat, but that is a totally different technique, which for protein, is preceded by a simple curing technique–IE: confit duck legs.

Also, I assume Jack meant to say “sear” instead of braise in a handful of these suggestions. You sear meat before you braise it. Searing = what our grandmothers called “browning.”

Lastly, careful with salting sauces prior to reducing them. It might work for Jack, but that ain’t the way she’s done in a pro kitchen. You reduce your sauce and then season it prior to serving. Also, a pat of butter in most any sauce Jack mentioned here will elevate it in both flavor and appearance. That shine a sauce has in a restaurant is due to the cook “mounting” it with butter–monte au beurre in French 😉

I do wholeheartedly agree with the idea that technique trumps recipes. Learn techniques and then recipes don’t matter. Also, proper technique allows you to recognize and be able to fix what might go wrong when you come across a crappy recipe that looks better than it is actually written.

For example, the braising technique that jack touches on, although short of a few steps that most pro kitchens would employ, is easily translated across nearly every tough, fatty cut of animal protein. In addition to beef short ribs, brisket, shins that we are all familiar with; you can braise rabbit and duck legs, lamb shanks, veal breasts (although supper pricey..lol), lamb neck (especially delicious and cheap), veal shanks (osso bucco), etc. It’s a great technique to transform tough, usually inexpensive cuts.

Good show…

Sherry J
Sherry J
10 years ago

Please consider making cooking demonstration videos. Then we can cry over the visual goodness while we learn. 🙂

ChefJeff
ChefJeff
10 years ago

I didn’t suggest anyone bitches about your food.

Why not relay the information in a way that is technically correct?

And you row a boat. A roux is pronounced “roo.”

But you know everything about everything, so I’ll yawn right back at ya.

Steve
10 years ago

Great show, subject dear to my heart. I was in Burundi and Rome recently. Awesome food. It was the quality of ingredients. The fruits in Burundi were unbelievable, so much flavor, good beef and goat. I soon realized that everything I was eating had been growing or grazing in the valleys below us within the past 24 hours. There’s no refrigeration. The salads in Rome were likewise the best. Again the ingredients are so good. What I realized is the food we have to work with in the US is crap.

Also, couldn’t agree more with your comments on technique and simplicity.

sherry
sherry
10 years ago

incapable of being corrected is just conceit

George
George
10 years ago

Jack, I’m surprised you got offended by ChefJeff’s comments. His comment and others like his are why I read the blog posts. The comments add to your show a lot of times and having other people’s input on what you say is pretty valuable. Like you say, this community is pretty awesome. I’m just surprised you responded the way you did. He was just adding to your show from a professional point of view. He wasn’t trying to make you feel bad.

Ethan L.
Ethan L.
10 years ago

Beer, burned animal flesh and presents under the Christmas tree. How can anyone possibly hate the holidays? Well, aside from the 120 pounds we all gain during them.

Looking forward to the chicken recipes. Chicken gets so boring sometimes. Hard to keep it interesting.

Jon
Jon
10 years ago
Reply to  Ethan L.

My favorite chicken is grilled thighs seasoned with McCormick Chicken Rub ($4-5/3oz.) or Weber Kickin’ Chicken ($2-3/5oz.)!

TruckerTim
TruckerTim
10 years ago

Sounds to me like Someone doesn’t like being corrected. Thanks ChefJeff for the added input, I appreciate it even though some don’t. Despite this, Great podcast Jack.

David in MN
David in MN
10 years ago

There’s always a weird friction between trained chefs and great home cooks. If you’ve made a living cooking these terms are like a religion. I get how “cooks” feel beat up by “chefs”. It took my father in law some time to get used to working with me in a kitchen. He called me a “phenom with a knife” and had to ask why I kept telling him times “to the window”. He got irritated when I would reply “yes, chef!” or “working!” to any requests. We’ve since gotten along better in the kitchen. Truth is that he does some things better than me.

I like Jack’s method of conceptualizing a dish. Take the basics and lend your own twist. To me a great cook is the person who looks at their meat, produce, and staples and immediately knows to lean Moroccan, Thai, French, Mexican, etc. If I’m doing a 11 course molecular gastronomy meal (yes, I’ve done that) I sweat the small stuff. Otherwise I like the loose framework. I know Jack doesn’t cover roux from white to brick but most folks don’t need that stuff.

Capnmatt
Capnmatt
10 years ago

For a few years a friend and myself have split a side of beef, he had no need for soup bones , and gave me all that the processor included in our 1/2 side. Along with neck and other soup bones are the most beautiful 1” thick shanks I have ever seen. I won’t clame credit for the recipe because it’s amazing and to refined for most of our cooking skills…Emeralds ” Braised beef shanks with mushrooms and red wine sauce” now one of my favorite Sunday meals.

Leslie AK
Leslie AK
10 years ago

GREAT SHOW!! Really, I loved sheppard’s pie as a child, so I ate it often. However, my mother rarely made the same way when it came to the potato… Sometimes it was a red tater or purple tater and on occasion sweet tater or mashed pumpkin or butternut squash. She once made a “rainbow” sheppard’s pie-with different taters and mashed squash, including acorn. How did we end up using squash? We were short or out of tater & we only went shopping once a month. As a result, I prefer it made with squash over tater. It’s different, but enjoyable and I hope you try it one day. Thanks for the great show! Even though it made my lunch seem dull in conparision. 🙂

PSYOP SGM
PSYOP SGM
10 years ago

Great show. My mouth watered from beginning to end. Can’t wait to try several of your techniques, especially the the beef shanks. Thanks