General Chat Thread II

awec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121340475#Comment_121340475

What you reckon, just a crappy ham?

the beer revolu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121340495#Comment_121340495

Suspect so.

Muahahaha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121334485#Comment_121334485

thats a pity, Im rarely over that way and not sure its worth the trek especially given the traffic I faced around town yesterday, it was horrific. Think Im gonna have to find a way to buy specialty food items either online or outside of the city

The Black Oil

Did a brilliant pasta and tiramisu class today in Milan.

rubadub

I was looking for dripping or lard at a good price and was about to ask here, but found it showing in supervalu. It is not 100% beef fat but close

Beef Fat (94%), Vegetable Oil (Rapeseed) (6%)

https://shop.supervalu.ie/sm/delivery/rsid/5550/product/supervalu-cooking-fat-250-g-id-1021676000

I know it is in Dunnes in James Whelans but is €10 per kilo, while tesco uk have lard at £2 per kilo.

I could not find it on any other supermarket websites and suspected it might be going under a different name, so googled beef fat site:.ie

the beer revolu

Tesco used to do a pork lard but I haven't seen it in a few years.

rubadub

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121431858#Comment_121431858

yeah, I found it on the uk site while searching.

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/300346570

tesco here have 2 types of duck fat, and 2 goose fat. I would have thought beef dripping and lard would have been more in demand these days. They might have the other 4 mainly for christmas but I am pretty sure they have at least 1 all year round.

In the uk the have a blended goose and beef fat. https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/312834671

Gloomtastic!

Let’s talk about hard boiled eggs (hbe).

Making a fish pie for dinner and Mary Berry’s recipe called for hbe.

I usually ignore the egg bit but I had six that needed using up.

We have one of those great little plastic things that you put in the water with the eggs and it tells you whether it’s soft, medium or hard boiled. All good.

When done, into freezing cold water and left to cool. Then the bit I dread - peeling.

Of the six eggs; two were good, two not so and two disastrous.

How you peel a hbe without butchering it?

igCorcaigh

Argh, my nemesis!

HBE are the one thing I cannot eat, or to be exact, the egg whites.

Is it the slimy wobbly texture, the sulphurous smell, or just the sight of them? Nope. Not for me.

As a kid I used to love toast and soldiers, but only the yellow goey part, not the white!

oscarBravo

How you peel a hbe without butchering it?

Tap tap tap the shell all over to shatter it gently. Peel some of it away, then get a dessert spoon in between the white and the shell. Loosen it bit by bit and pull the shell away as you go.

Takes a bit of practice but works for me.

Recliner

I roll them gently to crack the shell all over and they just slide out.

Recliner

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121429032#Comment_121429032

I started using James Whelans a few years ago, and I won't go past it now. I know it might be a pricier option, but it honestly makes the best roast potatoes. And I find a little goes a long way.

igCorcaigh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121435106#Comment_121435106

I'd be a bit wary of the cheap lard, could be hydrogenated (trans fats) which are not healthy, it seems.

Hotblack Desiato

I thought trans fats were banned in the EU?

WIki: From 2 April 2021 foods in the EU intended for consumers are required to contain less than 2g of industrial trans fat per 100g of fat.

As for hard boiled eggs, boil for ten minutes (yes, ten) then place in cold water, remove when still slightly warm, roll to crack the shell and peel.

New Home

I put the eggs in boiling water, then 6.5/7 mins later I take them out, put them in cold water, wait until they can be touched without burning myself, slightly crack the shell and stick them back into cold water. The water will sneak between the shell and the egg through the cracks making it easier to peel it, but keep in mind that the fresher the eggs the more difficult it'll be to remove the shells.

Black Sheep

My kids are big boiled egg fans, and this is the method I use:-

For hard-boiled - Room temp egg lowered into boiling water and boil for 1 minute with the lid on. Then remove from the heat, and leave sit, with the lid still on, for 9 minutes.

If you want it semi-hard or more soft, just reduce the 9 minute time.

Works very well.

As regards getting the shell off, I find that if you gently crack a good chunk of the shell exterior and can then catch the membrane/shell cleanly you can lever most of the shell off in one or two gos. There is a practice aspect to it, I think.

the beer revolu

On the topic of fat and lard, I recently bought a hunk of Parma ham in Lidl. There was a lot of fat to be cut off which I didn't want to waste so I rendered it down. I have a ramekin of lovely looking pure white fat for cooking with.

I'll often render down chicken or pork fat if I have it to get rid of. It has reduced the amount of cooking oil we buy considerably.

Black Sheep

For roast potatoes, I wouldn't claim it's the same as beef drippings, but duck fat is very readily available, particularly at this time of year, even in Lidl and Aldi, and it's a good option.

rubadub

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121437111#Comment_121437111

I have been doing similar. I was getting cheap high fat mince and cooking at 80C in an airfryer in a foil container. It is only €2 for 500g, the fat comes off very clear at that low a temperature. Pork belly can often have a lot too, I have a container in the freezer that I put fat offcuts into to save up to get a reasonable amount.

the beer revolu

Also, when rendering chicken skin and fat, you end up with delicious chicken scratchings as a by product!

the beer revolu

Loads of really cheap food this week, albeit quite a lot of work.

I got over 2kg of beef tendons for half nothing which I cooked and trimmed. Most will go in noodle soup, the rest kept for slicing and marinating like this

https://www.seriouseats.com/the-nasty-bits-beef-tendon-offal-recipe.

For the soup I got some chicken carcasses for free and some pork bones and along with whatever bones I had in the freezer, I made a stock. After straining, I realised there was loads of pork meat that still tasted good! So, Mrs beer picked off all the soft pork and I seasoned it, added a few bits, made patties and breadcrumbed them to make rissoles! Got 8 decent sized rissoles.

I didn't have room in the stock pot for the vegetables so I ended up straining the stock, then adding my spices and vegetables afterwards . As a result, the veg wasn't completely overcooked so they were kept and Mrs beer will use them up in her breakfast concoctions.

Patsy167

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121434461#Comment_121434461

Baking powder is the missing trick.

https://www.delish.com/kitchen-tools/a52231/genius-hard-boiled-egg-hack/

Gloomtastic!

Thank you.

Hack says baking soda which I would assume to be bicarbonate of soda. Baking powder is bicarbonate of soda plus something else.

Hotblack Desiato

They say to start the eggs in boiling water but that very often leads to cracked or burst eggs.

New Home

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121484513#Comment_121484513

Not if they are fresh and at room temperature. The thermal shock (fridge to boiling water) makes them crack, as well as the fact that the heat makes the air bubble inside it expand, so the older the egg, the bigger the bubble, the more the air inside it and the pressure when it expands. Or something along those lines.

Hotblack Desiato

Yeah but they also said to have the eggs at fridge temperature...

New Home

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121485356#Comment_121485356

Then just make sure the temperature of your fridge is about 18⁰C. 😁

Did you smash it

If you’re buying an oven proof skillet does it need a lid? Place I’m buying one sells without a lid 🤔. What dishes do you need a lid for?

Gloomtastic!

A splash guard might be better for a skillet than a lid. There’s usually a lot of spitting going on.

New Home

A lid might come in handy for baking/ roasting.