“Temperature can’t hold sway over density and conductivity.”
Lost? About a year ago, I would have been. But thanks to the brilliance of Alton Brown, I understand thermo dynamics–and you can, too!
Thermo-wha?
Here’s the deal: If you’re looking to thaw/defrost something and a microwave is either unavailable or, well it pretty much ruins your food so I wouldn’t bother, what would you do? I won’t try to explain it because I can’t do a better job than Mr. Brown himself.
This is a snippet of the Good Eats episode, “What’s Up, Duck?” but I’m not interested in the duck part–today. Fast forward to 5:00 into the video for the most important cooking lesson every amateur chef needs to know. You can stop at 9:35 if you’re too aren’t into duck for the time being.
I will only add that at this very minute, I’m trying this technique by myself for the first time, and it’s working like a charm. (I’ve seen Frank, who introduced me to this, do this over and over again, but I wanted to give this a shot on my own.)
As loyal readers of this blog know, Katie and I each gave up all meat for Lent. Needless to say, this is takes a lot of willpower, and there are definitely a lot of temptations along the road (I suppose that’s the point of Lent, but I’m not a theologian, merely a cook). With that said, we both agreed that over the course of Lent we could allow ourselves one indulgence, especially if it made for a good Foodventure. St. Patrick’s Day seemed like a logical time to break down, and the plan for the Great Corned Beef Experiment was hatched.
There are plenty of critics of St. Patrick’s Day. Some say that its not really Irish, others bemoan the fact that corned beef and cabbage is about as Irish as lasagna. To those people I say this: get over yourselves. Corned beef is delicious, and St. Patrick’s Day is an opportunity to celebrate the Irish in America, Katie and myself included (25% each).
Like I said, to justify breaking our Lenten commitment, the St. Patrick’s Day meat Foodventure had to be pretty over the top. Corned beef was obviously going to be on the menu, but that somehow seemed too easy. For those who have never cooked it, corned beef is the easiest thing on earth: put it in a pot, cover it with water, and boil slowly for a few hours until it falls apart. In our minds, this was selling out, plain and simple. Read more »
Just like last week, I was confronted with some highly perishable leftover fish. Knowing that he seldom leads me wrong, I turned to Alton Brown.Read more »
Tips and Tricks | Katie | 
June 11, 2009 12:03 pm | 
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