Smoking Food 101

You will need:

a smoker supplies like charcoal, wood chips/chunks, etc.
Some safety equipment like hot gloves and an apron
A good rub and sauce (this is more important that you might have thought)
and a notebook to keep notes in

The most important item is the smoker. 
All of these have their advantages and disadvantages they will allow you to produce excellent smoked food if you  will follow my directions and recommendations.

I have learned that a wood smoker is  the hardest to learn since you have to learn how to build a good fire and how to maintain that fire so that it keeps the smoker between 225 and 250 degrees.
 I started out with a simple wood smoker in college you could probbaly purchase this on most catering companies online. 

Things to do before smoking

Get a smoker 
Acquire supplies, if you know a local carpentry workshop near by ask them for there left over chippings they might charge you depending on how well you know him or her, p.s offer him some smoked meat and he will continue too give free wood chips.  

 Different types of wood :

 Alder has a light and naturally sweet flavor, which makes it great for pairing with fish, poultry, and any white meat.

Apple wood, much as you’d expect, has a fruity and sweet smoke that pairs wonderfully with pork, fish, and poultry

Hickory has a strong and distinct flavor that’s ideal for red meat – especially ribs

Maple has a sweet and delicate taste, and tends to darken whatever meat you’re smoking. Goes well with alder, oak, or applewood, and is typically used for poultry and ham

Mesquite is undoubtedly the most pungent and powerful wood you can smoke, and can easily overpower your meat if used improperly. Avoid using mesquite with larger cuts that require longer cooking times, or simply use it with other woods.

Oak, on the other hand is great for big cuts of meat that take a long time to cook. It’s got a subtle flavor that’s hard to appreciate in low doses.

Cherry wood’s flavor is best suited for red meat and pork, and it also pairs well with alder, hickory, and oak.
Brining your meat keeps it from drying out during the smoking process. In it’s most basic form, brine is nothing more than salty water, but the best brines are made from the tears of 1000 vegans much more than that. Since brining is a bit of a double edged sword (it helps meat retain moisture, but also makes it saltier), some people use sugar, molasses, and various spices to combat the salty flavor. To make a good brine, add three tablespoons of salt to one quart of water – then throw in whatever else you prefer.

If you care to know the science behind brining, the salt in the brine makes the proteins in the meat more water absorbent. When sodium and chloride ions get into the meat tissue, their electrical charges mess with the proteins, (especially myosin) so they can hold onto moisture more effectively and lose less of it during the cooking process. For optimal moisture retention, soak your meat in brine for 10-12 hours before smoking.

They Key:

Slow and low is the key to good meat. Keep your temperature between 212°F and 230°F for best results. These lower temperatures generally won’t cause the meat’s cell walls to burst, which makes it more succulent and helps the food retain nutrients. Cooking at low temperatures also makes it possible for tough collagens in the connective tissue of meat to be hydrolized into gelatin without overheating the proteins. In other words, doing it slow and low lets all the tough tissue dissolve into the meat while simultaneously giving the smoke time to absorb. Now stop drooling on your keyboard.

That’s really all you need to know. Now get out there and start smoking!

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Goats Cheese Mousse, With Beetroot and Candied Walnut.

I done this beautiful pre starter in college last week, and I was amazed by the way it turned out, so I decided to share this recipe up on my blog about it, for you to try at home or in work, its a very simple starter and you can add salad or any dressing you want to it,MAKE IT YOUR OWN :)

Ingredients.
Mousse
Goat's cheese mousse 250g of Bosworth ash goats cheese log.
 25ml of full-fat milk.
 1 gelatine leaf.
 50ml of double cream.

Beetroot Juice and Dust
4 Beetroot, 3 for juice, and 1 for dehydrated dust.
0.5g of agar agar, you can buy this online, or replace it with some gelatine.

Candied Walnut.
50g of roasted walnut
20g of sugar

Method.
1. To make the goats cheese mousse, soak the gelatine in cold water and set aside. Roughly break up the cheese and place in the food processor and blend until smooth. Warm the milk in a small bowl and add the softened gelatine to dissolve

2. Add the milk/gelatine mix into the blender with the goat's cheese and blend until smooth in texture. then slowly add the double cream and blend until fully combined. Remove into a piping bag and set aside in the refrigerator. you can then pipe it on to your dehydrated beetrootand roll it in it to form a nice outer crust.

3. Dehydrated Beetroot, you will need to do this in advance,to make this all you need to do is put thin slices of beetroot on a tray with greaseproof paper and lightly season with some salt and place into an oven at 45c for over 24 hours. when it has dehydrated blend it up untill a smooth dust has formed, put through a fine sieve.

 4. Beetroot Gel, To make this you need to wrap two large beetroots in foil, and bake for 45 minutes at 160c until soft right through, when cooked let take out and let cool, you will then need to peel them and add to a food processor and blend until smooth, place a sieve over a stainless steel bowl and put the beetroot in sieve and let it drain, do not force it through, you should get about 150mls of beetroot juice, you will then need to add 50mls of apple juice and squeeze of one lemon, 0.5g of agar agar, put all of these into a pot and bring to the boil, set aside into a mould and let set in fridge and cut into desired shape.

My Understanding Of Confit

I am writing this post on confit, because we had done this process in the college last week and I was very interested in the technique of this, they way the flavours slowly soaked through a succulent and tender piece of duck leg, it was magnificent to taste and experience. I wanted to learn more about this so I've decided to research as much as I could on this cooking technique and hopefully supply you with a simplified version so that you may try this at home.

Traditional meat for confit include both waterfowl such as goose and duck, and pork. . Varying forms of this delicacy thrive throughout southern France.

"Confit country" is the area of Occitan France where goose fat is used to cook, as opposed to olive oil which is used in Provence where olives are plentiful and thus cheap.

 Goose confit is associated with the Béarn and Basque regions with their classic specialties of cassoulet and garbure, hearty and earthy dishes of confit and beans. Saintonge and Brantôme feature duck confit, often with potatoes and truffles.

Non-waterfowl meats are frequently treated to the confit process, but they are not classically considered true confits. The French refer only to duck and goose confits as true confits; other meats poached in duck or goose fat are considered en confit. For example, chicken cooked in goose fat is called poulet en confit.
Fruit confit:

 are candied fruit preserved in sugar. The fruit must be fully in sync with sugar, to its core; larger fruit take longer than smaller ones to candy.  while small fruit such as cherries are confits whole, it is quite rare to see whole large fruit, such as melon confits, making large fruit confits quite expensive

Italians use a lot of confit with onions,garlic, and chilli confit. which is known as condiment confit.

Duck confit is the example I am going to give on confit because its the one im most familiar with at this time.

It is a French dish made with a duck leg, its seen as a speciality of Gascony in france.

Process:
To prepare a confit, the meat is rubbed with salt, garlic, and sometimes herbs such as thyme, then covered and refrigerated for up to 36 hours. Salt-curing the meat acts as a preservative.

Prior to cooking, the spices are rinsed from the meat, which is then patted dry. The meat is placed in a cooking dish deep enough to contain the meat and the rendered fat, and placed in an oven at a low temperature (in college we cooked it at 110 for 1hour 30 mintutes.

The meat is slowly poached at least until cooked, or until meltingly tender,
The meat and fat are then removed from the oven and left to cool. When cool, the meat can be transferred to a canning jar or other container and completely submerged in the fat. A sealed jar of duck confit may be kept in the refrigerator for up to six months, or several weeks if kept in a reusable plastic container.

 To maximise preservation if canning, the fat should top the meat by at least one inch. The cooking fat acts as both a seal and preservative and results in a very rich taste. Skipping the salt curing stage greatly reduces the shelf life of the confit.
Confit is also sold in cans, which can be kept for several years. The flavourful fat from the confit may also be used in many other ways, as a frying medium for sautéed vegetables, savory toasts, and as an addition to shortcrust pastry for tarts and quiches.

A classic recipe is to fry or grill the legs in a bit of the fat until they are well-browned and crisp, and use more of the fat to roast some potatoes and garlic as an accompaniment. The potatoes roasted in duck fat to accompany the crisped-up confit is called pommes de terre à la sarladaise. Another accompaniment is red cabbage slow-braised with apples and red wine.

Duck confit is also a traditional ingredient in many versions of cassoulet.
 

My Understanding Of Molecular Gastronomy

I've decided to write this post on Molecular Gastronomy because personally i have a massive interest in this area and wanted to get a better understanding on the basics of this cooking style. I bought the El Bulli book over 3 years ago and could not understand a thing it was saying to me, so i then decided this year for college and my personal career progression i would research up on it to teach myself and then pass on the imformation that i had recieved and learned from to others.

With its uniqueness,creativity and its science it has inspired me to become more involved with the cooking industry, It has helped me grow as a young chef in many ways, so ive decided to research on the basics of this and try give people a simplified understanding of it, Because when i first seen this i was like wow! i would never be able do anything like those sorta things, little did i know after seeing videos and pictures of all this, it may me realise, its actually not to complicated to understand and learn about. so here is my simplified understanding of molecular gastronomy. i hope you enjoy and take some learning from it :)


Spherification
Sometimes called caviar or ravioli, this is one of the simplest and most used in the practices of molecular gastronomy.  you can take any liquid and turn it into the shape of a  ball. these small round sphers pop into liquid in your mouth and can be the flavour of anything really. There actualy quite fun to experience and are very simple to make. ive researched a basic formula for you to try below.

Basic Formula: Caviar
Equipment: Sodium alginate, calcium chloride

Mix 1.5g alginate and 75g water — use a blender if the alginate starts to gel before it’s assimilated. Add the 500g of your base liquid (fruit juice works, or tea, or beef stock) and mix thoroughly. Allow the solution to rest to let the air bubbles dissipate. Chill.

Mix the calcium chloride with 500g water. Use a syringe or eye-dropper to drop your base liquid into the calcium bath. Remove after 1 minute or so. The timing will vary a bit from batch to batch, so test them as you go. The longer the liquid sits in the bath, the more it will gel.

Rinse and serve. The semi-solid droplets should be served immediately, as the shell degrades over a short period of time.

Gelatin
Gelatin is just like spherification and is used by most chefs today, by transforming soup into stiff noodles or pastes into solid, soft balls. There are a variety of gelatin options out there, depending on whether you want the final product to be cold or hot, i found this very easy recipe bleow to understand the aspect around gelatin below. it can be practiced by anyone once you use the right ingredients and equipment. here below are 2 pictures. you can also by a plastic syringe to produce identical gelatin noodles also.

Basic Formula: Noodles
Equipment: powdered, unflavored gelatine

Mix 6.5g of gelatine with 250g liquid (stock works well, especially if flavored with herbs or spices). Bring solution to a boil and pour over a lipped sheet pan to the desired noodle thickness. Allow to gel, then cut into noodle shapes. Serve as you will. this can be used on any such food as a lovely garnish, its great with sushi if you use a fish stock, or it can be amazing as a desert with some vanilla and chocolate.

Foam is a great and easy sauce like liquid that can enhance the flavour of your primary dish, without a sauce going all over your lovely desert or starter you can create a simple foam to supplement your dish. Ive learned from my recent research on this ive found that
 you can do it at home without the need for nitrous canisters or special equipment. The real secret is powdered soy lecithin, which allows you to create airy bubbles out of fat and water that won’t normally blend together. All you need is the powder and a handheld mixer. or a small cappacino froth maker. here below is a simple basic foam recipe that will not fail to satisfy, below are a couple of pictures to give you an idea

Basic Formula: Chicken stock foam
Equipment: Lecithin powder this can be bought over the internet at very little cost, immersion blender.


Add 1.3 g of lecithin to 250g of stock. Use insertion blender until aerated foam appears on surface. Let foam set briefly, then scoop off and use. Experiment with other liquids, from the poaching liquid used for fish to de-bubbled root beer mixed with parmesan cheese.  

I hope these simplified explanations on the basic aspects of monecular gastyronomy have being helpful for you, i intend to post more advanced areas on this in the future, so now im off to try out my new set :) Enjoy!

The Importance Of Garnishing food

I am doing this blog about garnishing dishes, because its hugely important in the culinary area. to cook like a professional chef people need to understand the importance of food presentation. Nothing completes a delicious meal, without appropriate garnish choices.

Garnishes used throughout a meal to add impact impact to food choices. Garnishes might seem like decoration tossed on the side of a plate as an afterthought, but they play a significant role in the diner's experience of food. Usually consisting of an edible component, garnishes brighten the plate, give a clue to the flavor of the meal, complement the taste of the dish or fill empty space on the plate. Garnishes can take many forms depending on the food they are decorating. Herbs, berries, chopped fruit, sauces or vegetable bits are possible garnishes for foods.

The initial attraction of food comes from visual appeal because we experience food with our eyes before tasting it. Imagine something as simple as a piece of pan fried cod and a portion of white boiled rice would look on a plate without a sprig of parsley or lemon wedge, even the simplest garnishes will make a dish appear more appetizing than the same food without garnishing.Garnishing the plate not only increases aesthetic appeal, but can enhance the flavor of some dishes, for example a piece of caramelized parsnip added to parsnip soup can add meatiness to the dish and can largely enhance it flavor, a sprig of mint can be added to deserts, because it lightly infuses into the dish and can add a refreshing flavor. 

Some plates can look very bare even after the food has being put together. garnishes can fill in the empty spaces and make the dish look less bare and more elegant or more presentable to the consumer and it looks more generous. for instance if you serve a creme brulee on its own in the centre of the plate it appears to be meager. But decorating it with a sugar spiral and swirls of rasberry t it makes the dish look more generous.Though the amount of food does not change, the perception of it does just by adding a garnish.

Some dishes are not readily identifiable just by looking at the food. For instance, it can be difficult to determine if you have a bowl of savory soup of pureed carrots or a sweet dessert soup of pumpkin just by appearance. Both dishes are deep orange in color and thick in texture. Adding a carrot curl on top of carrot soup or a sprinkling of brown sugar and a swirl of cream on a sweet pumpkin soup can help the diner identify what he is about to enjoy. Below is an example of a garnishing techniques employed by myself in college earlier this semester.






Three Rules For Garnishing a Plate

• Garnishes should always be functional. If you can't eat it, it doesn't belong on the plate.There are a few exceptions like skewers and specialty utensils, but these exceptions are few and far between
• .Garnishes should always enhance the primary ingredient. If the garnish doesn't enhance the flavor of your primary ingredient then it doesn't belong on the plate.
• Garnishes should always add contrasting colors, textures and overall interest. If too many components on a single plate share the same color tone, then your plate will look flat. Try to use garnishes with contrasting colors and textures that don't break the first two rules.

This is definately on the to do list. Fruit carving is a wonderful skill