The General Chat Thread

beertons wrote: »

Is kosher salt, rock salt? Bought a salmon for smoking and making a rub to extract the moisture out of it.

No, Kosher salt is flakes of sea salt. Rock salt might do the job eventually but won't be as absorbent, also the rock salt will also tear the flesh as you rub it in.
Been there done that.

I have also used cheapo table salt for curing beef, not so easy to include flavours but the price makes it very easy to lay it on thick and get the moisture out instead of choking on the price of maldon.

Bassfish wrote: »

Thinking of getting a round bottomed wok with the metal ring for underneath so you can use it on a conventional hob.
Does anyone know if these are compatible with induction hobs? Just wasn't sure if pans needed to be touching the hob as they use an electrical current rather than a heated element.

Definitely not compatible.
Most woks are just slightly flattened on the bottom so they sit flat but are, in essence, round bottomed.

Bassfish wrote: »

Does anyone know if these are compatible with induction hobs? Just wasn't sure if pans needed to be touching the hob as they use an electrical current rather than a heated element.

There are stand things you can get, but they cost a lot and I doubt they work that well. It does need to be in contact so I reckon with the stand there is little contact.

I got myself a flat bottom salter brand wok in tk maxx. It is seasoned carbon steel, -i.e. there is no nonstick coating on it. I think it is the first time I saw one. Any with flat bottoms usually have a non stick coating.

Cooking in woks is meant to be done at really high temps, so no nonstick coating is ever going to last.

I have yet to use it, gets good reviews on amazon.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Salter-BW04196-Life-Carbon-Steel/dp/B013G96A96/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1528134936&sr=8-2&keywords=wok+salter+pan+for+life

note 26% give it 1 star, and many 5 star reviews rightly reckon they did not season it correctly, if at all. Many 5 stars have had pans requiring seasoning and say this one is great.

LirW wrote: »

I might give that one a try,

I am seasoning mine right now.

It is very thin steel so I hope it does not warp, I wondered if very slight warping matters with induction hobs, if close enough it might be ok. I had ones warp before, cheapo free ones with uncle bens. I stupidly put cold water in one while still hot which did one of them in.

That amazon sellers only sells to the UK,

It works out EUR 17,64 at checkout using my parcel motel account. So there would be another ~4euro using any of the main reshipping sites.

Mine was 23euro in tkmaxx, only 1 there.

25 in homestore and more https://www.homestoreandmore.ie/frying-pans/salter-black-wok-for-life-28cm/070194.html

38euro in argos!

Muahahaha wrote: »

Would anyone know the brand name of whats called sweet pickle relish? Im doing a recipe for a Big Mac sauce clone and it calls for this ingredient. Yesterday I bought a product called Branston Original Pickle thinking that would do the trick. Having just made the sauce now and tasted it is definitely not the right ingredient for this recipe.
https://topsecretrecipes.com/mcdonalds-special-sauce-big-mac-sauce-copycat-recipe.html

I believe, from looking at the pic of the sweet pickle relish that it is in fact grated gherkin relish.
A pickle in US is usually a gherkin.

Muahahaha wrote: »

Would anyone know the brand name of whats called sweet pickle relish? https://topsecretrecipes.com/mcdonalds-special-sauce-big-mac-sauce-copycat-recipe.html

Big Mac sauce was actually on sale in Canada for a while in shops, the ingredients can be found online, and can be found on the mcdonalds websites.

In your link it has a link to sweet pickle relish. If I am in doubt I check walmart online and search for items and check ingredients.

e.g.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Del-Monte-Sweet-Pickle-Relish-12-0-FL-OZ/10824446
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Vlasic-Squeezable-Homestyle-Relish-Sweet-Relish-9-0-OZ/10308930

wiki can help too but I like to see what is in actual shops in the US
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickled_cucumber#Etymology

Etymology
The term pickle is derived from the Dutch word pekel, meaning brine.[26] In the United States and Canada, the word pickle alone almost always refers to a pickled cucumber (other types of pickles will be described as "pickled onion", "pickled beets", etc.). In the UK pickle generally refers to ploughman's pickle made from various vegetables, such as Branston pickle, traditionally served with a ploughman's lunch.

Your branston stuff has other veg in it. I make my own burger sauce, and do like big mac sauce and would recommend just getting pickled gherkins, draining them and liquidising them. I prefer the ones with dill.

Your copycat recipe has no tomato listed (I was wrong see edit at the bottom), which is correct there is no tomato in it. I do like ketchup on big macs though and usually add it to my ones. There is enough sugar in ketchup that I do not bother adding sugar even though that sweet pickle stuff would be loaded with it.

I also often liquidise in pickled onions with gherkins too (rather than raw onions, I figure the pickled ones will keep longer). This can be kept in a jar on its own, and use it to add to other small jars to make test recipes.

You're linked recipe.

1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons French dressing
4 teaspoons sweet pickle relish
1 tablespoon finely minced white onion
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt

has no mustard or garlic in it (though the other ingredients might have some). The big mac sauce has garlic powder and I would recommend that over fresh garlic or garlic paste. It is low on the ingredients list, which is listed in order of greatest first.

I think this one was the limited edition one sold for charity


and this is the one in canada


this is US
https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/product/big-mac.html
BIG MAC SAUCE

Ingredients: Soybean Oil, Pickle Relish (Diced Pickles, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sugar, Vinegar, Corn Syrup, Salt, Calcium Chloride, Xanthan Gum, Potassium Sorbate [Preservative], Spice Extractives, Polysorbate 80), Distilled Vinegar, Water, Egg Yolks, Onion Powder, Spices, Salt, Propylene Glycol Alginate, Sodium Benzoate (Preservative), Mustard Bran, Sugar, Garlic Powder, Vegetable Protein (Hydrolyzed Corn, Soy and Wheat), Caramel Color, Extractives of Paprika, Soy Lecithin, Turmeric (Color), Calcium Disodium EDTA (Protect Flavor).

My current mix is liquidised dill gherkins & pickled onions, ketchup, frenchs mustard, garlic powder, onion powder. I will sometimes mix it with mayo on the bun, but do not add mayo to my mixtures as I think it is will not last as long.

also


EDIT: just looking up french dressing and it the US do have a different idea of it than us. 5 are listed on tesco, and none of them have tomato in them.

While the US ones do, the one linked from the recipe does. So it is not really a good copycat at all. I have looked at many sites about copycat big mac sauces and its the number one rule to strike one off the list.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_dressing

French dressing is a term originally used for any oil-and-vinegar-based salad dressing.[1] Today, it refers to a creamy ketchup-based dressing which varies in color from pale orange to bright red. It can be made by blending olive oil, vinegar, tomato paste, ketchup, brown sugar, paprika, and salt.

most if not all the ones on walmart appear to be red, presumably from tomato. https://www.walmart.com/search/?query=french%20dressing&cat_id=0

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

I had trouble finding it too, but this is the one I eventually got.

That one has mustard and onion already, so you might want to adjust the recipe.

https://nuko.lv/spilva-salati-gurku-sinepju-390g.html

Salad from chopped fresh vegetables with added mustard and spices. It is recommended to use hot breads and will be a great addition to different types of second courses. Ingredients Cucumber 40%, SINEPES 20% (SEEDS seeds, water, sugar, vinegar), onions, pepper salt, modified maize starch, spices, flavors, preservatives (potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate), acidity regulator (citric acid), antioxidant (ascorbic acid ), colorants (beta-carotene, riboflavin).

The "SINEPES" is mustard.

A lot of people who claim to hate gherkins really just hate the texture of the slices. They will pick them off in disgust in mcdonalds or BK, but most know you can ask for the burger without them -which actually ensures you get a freshly made one too. But I guess most like the lingering taste.

B0jangles wrote: »

Any germans around?

You might be interested to hear that the huge sack of peanut flipps is back in Lidl next week (as part of American foods week, obviously!)

YaaaaaaaaaaaaaaY!!!

*starts looking through the house for possible places to hide these from husband*