Articles are occasionally updated and expanded for clarity and accuracy.
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| Kitchen Science |
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| Why kitchen science? |
| Salt brines are an inexpensive way to tenderize and moisturize a tough cut of meat. But do they work as advertised? |
| And how long should you brine? Visualizing the answer depends on measuring fish pee.... |
Smoke rings are a badge of honor among barbecuers, but how and why these rings form are lost in a cloud of mystery.
In the first of three articles, I explain why moisture is the key to a deep smoke ring.
In a second article, why more smoke does not always lead to more flavor.
In a future third article, we uncover the chemistry of the smoke ring
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| If you like to barbecue and always wondered why the meat's internal temperature stalls midway through smoking, the answer requires an experiment smoking wet sponges and a ball of fat... |
| In praise of the braise- baking in a foil pocket traps juices and speeds up cooking- but exactly what is going on inside? Is it a steam sauna, a low simmer, or just moist heat? |
Humidity plays a key role in cooking. In the first of three articles, I explain why a humid kitchen oven is a better way to bake.
Future articles will discuss humidity in the smoker, and the value of a water pan in the grill. |
| Spraying water while barbecuing is a common sense way to add moisture. Or is it? |
| When you grill above an open fire, how far away do you have to move the food to lower the cooking temperature? To discover the surprising answer, we don't need any math, just a modern LCD TV and an old camera light meter. |
| Replacing water with vodka in a pastry shell results in a flaky crisp dough- which curiously stalls during cooking just like barbecued meat. What is the connection? |
| Baking stones help develop a crisp crust. But will their thermal mass also improve oven temperature control? |
| Pizza dough also stalls, but the perfect crust depends more on heating rates than evaporative cooling. |
| Is peeking while cooking merely a bad habit, or does it rob valuable heat from the meat? |
| How to make a simple, reliable salt brine based on Archimedes's Principle. |
| How to dry age steaks at home, using parts from an old Dell Computer and a broken AT&T cordless phone. |
| RECIPES |
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| Most commercial bagels are simply "rolls with holes". Try this recipe if you prefer the real deal. |
| Two novel, but effective and flavorful smoked pork tenderloin recipes. |
| Two approaches to cooking Turkey- one brined, one not; one smoked, one oven roasted; one whole bird, one deconstructed. |
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