It helps to achieve the desired taste and aroma of ordinary dishes using interesting techniques of chemistry and physics.
Chicken is Britain's favorite bird, and famed molecular engineer Blumenthal shows you how to cook chicken to match all the characteristics of the meat in one of the Cooking Like Heston videos.
He defies traditional techniques and obtains excellent results, which he had to achieve through experience over many years of his life.
So why should you watch this video? In him:
- amazing recipe for chicken in the oven and more complex dishes
- all chicken secrets cooking
- how to butcher a whole chicken
- what parts of the chicken go to different dishes
- how to get a delicious broth with the taste of fried chicken, as well as a transparent consomme
- cooking famous english chicken pie with pork and leek
- how to enhance the taste of food with the help of third-party flavors caused by
If you are tired of pulling out oven tortured, cremated chicken with dried, crumbly meat, then here it is, Heston Blumenthal's signature oven chicken recipe.
Secret 1 - even baking
At the beginning, you need to untie the legs, although in Russia they don’t pack whole chickens in a bag like that. Therefore, you simply do not need to tie them, fearing that the chicken will lose its shape when frying. Otherwise, the heat does not envelop the entire chicken carcass, and some places will not be baked.
Secret 2 - increase the moisture content of the meat
To do this, you need to immerse the whole chicken overnight in saline solution - 60 g per liter. If you add more, the salt will dry out the meat. Salt water changes the protein slightly, and oven-roasted chicken retains more moisture, making it very juicy. Keep in refrigerator.
Secret 3 - baking temperature
Before baking, put thyme herb and a whole lemon inside, rub the chicken skin with softened butter, sparingly.
Bake a medium-sized chicken at a temperature of 90 degrees for 1.5 hours. To determine readiness, use a temperature probe or simply a meat thermometer, which must be inserted into the thickest part of the breast. The best option is 75 degrees.
In a very hot oven, the meat shrinks and literally squeezes out all the juices. And at a lower temperature, the chicken is perfectly baked and at the same time remains tender and juicy.
Aroma fried chicken won't fill your kitchen. But, according to Heston, this is even good, because the smell is a lost taste.
To keep the chicken tender and retain all of its fantastic juiciness, let it "rest" for 45 minutes outside the oven. Don't worry about it getting cold!
And to get a delicious crisp, you need to preheat the oven to a maximum temperature, for example, 260 degrees. And put the chicken back, pre-greased with melted butter, for 10 minutes.
Next in the video: Cooking chicken bouillon on powdered milk, crystal-clear restaurant consommé with jasmine flowers, delicate chicken pie in sauce and many secrets of cooking chicken dishes at home.
Hi all! Ciao a tutti!
I want to tell you about another experiment, the result of which shocked me! This time I made chicken broth according to the method Heston Blumenthal (Heston Blumenthal. It must be said that this gifted chef is one of the few holders of three Michelin stars in the UK and apologists for the scientific approach to cooking. He creates smart and interesting recipes, such as, super flavorful rich chicken broth. I want to note right away that the “genius” of this broth is not my merit, I just used all the secrets of Heston.
So we will need: chicken wings(I had ½ kg), dry skimmed milk(2-3 tablespoons), 1 carrot, 2 onions and water. Heston also recommends adding fresh mushrooms but I didn't.
Everything ingenious is simple- we take chicken wings, they are cheap and have a lot of gelatin. Roll them well in milk powder - this is necessary to reveal the taste of the chicken as a result of the Maillard reaction (during baking, the proteins react with sugar, forming a fragrant crispy crust). By adding powdered milk, we increase the amount of protein and sugar, and they are 36 and 52% in skimmed milk powder, respectively.
Now we will send the wings to the oven at 200C until they turn golden. It took me about 30 minutes to get these tanned fellows:
For further cooking, it is better to use a pressure cooker, but I do not have one, and I began to cook in a heavy saucepan with a thick bottom and a tight lid. We shift the wings, add carrots and onions:
Fill with cold (!) Water. Heston also recommends throwing a little water into the container where the chicken was baked, using a spatula to collect all the burnt, let it boil and add it all to the pan. If you have a pressure cooker, the cooking time is 2 hours. I cooked for a little 5 hours on low heat - I just folded everything, poured it, covered it with a heavy lid and forgot it for five hours! Then she cooled, carefully strained and here it is - genius broth with the concentrated taste of real fried chicken! And note that I did not use a drop of oil:
I immediately poured part of the broth into small containers and ice molds and froze, but I put this ½ liter jar in the refrigerator. This amount was enough for two 3-liter pans fragrant soup!!! By the way, after standing in the refrigerator, the broth gelled perfectly:
I think that good housewives do not need to be told what else such a strong broth can be useful for, how many sauces, cereals, vegetables and the most different dishes can be cooked on its basis.
This is the most delicious broth I've ever had, and I'm a big broth fanatic! I highly recommend you make it too!
Everyone Bon appetit! Buon appetito a tutti!
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This is the most delicious of all broths, of all existing broths! And how many sauces, cereals, vegetables and a variety of dishes can be prepared on its basis ...
So, chicken broth according to the Heston Blumenthal method ( Heston Blumenthal) - a gifted chef, one of the few owners of three Michelin stars in the UK and apologists for the scientific approach to cooking.
Ingredients:
chicken wings (I had ½ kg),
skimmed milk powder (2-3 tablespoons),
1 carrot
2 onions and water.
Heston also recommends adding fresh mushrooms, but I didn't.
Everything ingenious is simple - we take chicken wings, they are cheap and have a lot of gelatin. Roll them well in milk powder - this is necessary to reveal the taste of the chicken as a result of the Maillard reaction (during baking, the proteins react with sugar, forming a fragrant crispy crust). By adding milk powder, we increase the amount of protein and sugar, and they are 36 and 52% in skimmed milk powder, respectively. 
Now we will send the wings to the oven at 200C until they turn golden. It took about 30 minutes to get these tanned fellows: 
For further cooking, it is better to use a pressure cooker, but I do not have one, and I began to cook in a heavy saucepan with a thick bottom and a tight lid. We shift the wings, add carrots and onions. Heston also advises mushrooms, but I did not ... 
Fill with cold (!) Water. Further, Heston recommends splashing some water into the container where the chicken was baked, using a spatula to collect all the burnt, let it boil, and add it all to the pan. If you have a pressure cooker, the cooking time is 2 hours. I cooked a little less than 5 hours on low heat - I just folded everything, poured it, covered it with a heavy lid and forgot for five hours! Then I cooled it, strained it thoroughly and here it is - a brilliant broth with a concentrated taste of real fried chicken! And note that I did not use a drop of oil: 
I immediately poured part of the broth into small containers, into ice molds and froze, but I put such a ½ liter jar in the refrigerator. This amount was enough for two 3-liter pots of fragrant soup!!! By the way, after standing in the refrigerator, the broth gelled perfectly: 
P.S. Bones behave very well in this technique chicken breast with minimal meat residues on them.
Bon Appetit everyone!
Fats for cooking: Risotto is a regional dish, and depending on the region, Italians use either olive oil or butter to fry rice, onions and garlic. I fry rice and onion with garlic on the bone marrow because it gives the risotto its unrivaled flavor.
Boiling Liquid: Don't despair, risotto broth doesn't need to be boiled. Yes, the “purity” advocates insist on chicken broth because the chicken broth doesn’t overshadow the flavor of the rice. However, it is quite possible to use vegetable broth from any available vegetables, or water mixed with juices left over from frying meat, canned broth, tomato juice or (oh, horror!) a bouillon cube.
To enhance the flavor, you can add trimmings of the main product used in risotto to the boiling water. Whatever you use, remember that the liquid should be at the boiling point, but not bubbling. You need to add it to rice little by little.
Boiling Time: Many recipes say 18 minutes for risotto, but this is very approximate. Cooking time depends on many factors, such as how long the rice is toasted, type of rice, amount of rice, stirring speed, etc. It also depends on your personal taste - whether you prefer rice al dente or well-cooked.
In no case should the liquid itself boil, but be only at the boiling point. For getting good risotto it is necessary to cook rice in such a way that the process is a combination of absorption of liquid by rice and the gradual release and breakdown of starch. On the one hand, the liquid should not evaporate quickly. On the other hand, if the temperature of the liquid is not high enough, then the starch will not stand out well.
It is very important that when the risotto is removed from the heat, the dish is thinner in consistency than expected. Having beaten butter into the finished risotto, leave the risotto in the pan to “rest” for 2-3 minutes - hot rice absorb excess liquid.
Finishing touches: the traditional name for this finishing process is “mantecare”, when butter and parmesan are whisked into the risotto and the risotto is allowed to “reach” by removing the pan from the heat. The main thing here is to continue intensive stirring, which will release an additional amount of starch, thereby creating the necessary viscosity and oiliness of the dish. Lightly whipped cream or mascarpone cream cheese, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper can also be added to the risotto.
And the main thing - before you start cooking risotto, prepare your workplace. All the ingredients should be at hand, then you can concentrate on the risotto itself.
RISOTTO - BASIC RECIPE
BASIC RISOTTO
This is the simplest risotto in terms of taste, but it is best to start mastering the cooking technology with it.
For 4 servings
400 g rice for risotto
150 ml white wine
100 ml vermouth (preferably Noilly Prat)
2 onions, very finely chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced into a puree
1 liter broth / water / any liquid to taste
75 ml olive oil
75g parmesan
1 dl lightly whipped heavy cream (or cream cheese mascarpone)
salt and pepper to taste
Pour the cooking liquid into a saucepan and bring to a boil over very low heat. In a separate thick-walled saucepan, heat the olive oil well, add the rice.
Mix thoroughly and keep stirring. The rice will begin to crackle and a subtle nutty flavor will emerge. At this point, add onion, garlic and 25 g butter. Reduce the heat to very low, fry for another 5 minutes, continuing to stir and making sure that each grain of rice is covered with a layer of olive oil.
Pour in the white wine and, stirring, reduce by half. Add vermouth and boil again, stirring constantly. Now you can start adding liquid, in small portions - with a ladle. As soon as the rice absorbs the liquid, add the next ladle of liquid, stirring constantly. Rice should never stick to the sides or bottom of the pan. After about 15 minutes, test the rice for doneness. If the rice is still undercooked, add another ladleful of liquid. By the way, if at some point it seems to you that the broth for cooking is running out, immediately boil a little more water (you can add it to a saucepan with low-boiling broth and bring to a boiling point). When the risotto is done, whisk in the grated Parmesan and remaining butter. If desired, add lightly whipped cream, salt and pepper to taste. Let stand a few minutes before serving.
RISOTTO WITH CAULIFLOWER
CAULIFLOWER RISOTTO
This risotto is delicious served topped with raw grated cauliflower and… cocoa powder. Honestly
For 6 servings
Velute Cauliflower Puree
Veloute of cauliflower
450 g cauliflower florets
200 g raw cauliflower (grated and sprinkled over risotto before serving)
1 pinch curry powder
90 ml chicken broth (or water)
90 ml heavy cream
90 ml milk 2% fat
Decorate
2 tbsp finely chopped chives
Boil the inflorescences in lightly salted boiling water for 3 minutes, drain in a colander, pour over with ice water. Bring chicken broth to a boil, add cauliflower and curry powder, boil until soft.
Pour the contents of the saucepan into a food processor, let cool for 5 minutes, grind into a puree, gradually pouring in the cream and milk. Rub the resulting puree through a fine sieve, pour into a saucepan, boil over very low heat for 5 minutes, until the taste of raw cream leaves.
Prepare risotto according to the main recipe, add cauliflower puree to it 2-3 minutes before the end of cooking. Drive into the risotto parmesan and butter, as in the main recipe, but without adding cream. Add finely chopped chives, salt well and add freshly ground black pepper. When serving, sprinkle with grated cauliflower and sprinkle with cocoa powder.
RISOTTO WITH PEA
PEA RISOTTO
If you're lucky and you find fresh peas straight from the garden, nothing could be better. Unfortunately, almost everyone has to use store-bought "fresh" peas, the taste of which leaves much to be desired - the path of peas from the garden to the store takes from 3 to 7 days. But don't despair - frozen peas (particularly from Birds Eye) are frozen within a few hours of picking, and they retain their freshness and sweetness. There is no shame in frozen green peas – most professional chefs use them regularly. A few minutes before the end of cooking, add to the risotto cooked according to the main recipe, pea mash, prepared according to the recipe below (at the rate of a tablespoon per serving), beat in Parmesan, a piece of butter and a little lightly whipped cream, salt and pepper. Before serving, you can add a little bit of chopped bacon fried in olive oil with shallots, or a little finely chopped fresh mint to the risotto.
For 4 servings
Pea mash
400 g frozen green peas (if possible, Birds Eye, but not small young (petits pois) - pea skins will make the puree grainy)
75 g unsalted butter
salt and pepper to taste
Defrost peas - do not cook. Transfer the defrosted peas to a food processor and puree on full speed for at least 5 minutes. If you have a vegetable press, that's even better because the pulp goes through the press, but the skin doesn't.
The food processor, unfortunately, copes with the task unsatisfactorily. After 5 minutes of grinding, it is recommended to pass the pea puree through a fine (silk) sieve.
Transfer the puree to a small saucepan and heat it over very low heat, adding butter. Salt and pepper to taste (I, for example, believe that this puree should be heavily salted and peppered). It is very important not to overheat the puree, otherwise it will be lumpy and lose its delicious bright green color. Let cool. If the puree is not intended for immediate consumption, cover it with plastic wrap so that it touches the surface of the puree so that it does not wind or discolor. The puree will keep in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Before use, it must be gently heated over very low heat and added to the risotto according to the main recipe, along with butter, salt and pepper, before serving. Salting technology has existed for more than one century: not just keeping the product in salt, namely salting in brine, with the addition of spices, often acid and sometimes sugar.
SALTED DUCK
PETIT SALE OF DUCK
For 6 servings
For brine
2 liters of water
200 g table salt
10 cloves of garlic
half a lemon
half an orange
3 star anise
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
1 cinnamon stick
7 cloves
1 pinch of nutmeg
3 bay leaves
5 juniper berries
For glaze
4 egg yolks
100 ml soy sauce
100 g honey
TWO FISH BRINE RECIPES
185 g salt
260 g sugar
3.75 liters of water
Pepper marinade
50 g black peppercorns
175 g green pepper
1 liter of water
To complete the meal
peanut butter, for frying
lemon slices
Preheat the oven to 350 C. Bring all the marinade ingredients to a boil, cool. Boil the fish in the marinade according to the above recipe, remove, dry. In an ovenproof skillet, heat a little peanut butter until “smoky”. Dredge the fish in flour, shake off and place cut side down in the pan. After two minutes, turn over and fry the second slice, then transfer to the oven for another two minutes. Remove, place on a serving dish, sprinkle lightly with lemon juice. Let stand 1-2 minutes before serving. Salting technology has existed for more than one century: not just keeping the product in salt, namely salting in brine, with the addition of spices, often acid and sometimes sugar.
Sometimes the brine is injected directly into the product. Every day we come across all kinds of salted products, from ham and pickles to all kinds of smoked meats, salmon, salmon, herring, aged in brines with added sugar or all kinds of marinades of various concentrations.
Now for some science. Salt and sugar solutions act as food preservatives through a process called osmosis, that is, the penetration of a liquid in one direction through a semi-permeable membrane. In other words, the liquid seeps through a kind of filter film, which passes through only small molecules. The cell walls of fruits, vegetables, and meats are such semi-permeable membranes.
The liquid contained in meat or fish contains, in addition to water, various salts and sugars. Their concentration is usually lower than the concentration of brine. As a result, the water contained in the product turns into a brine, as it is attracted to a liquid with a higher content of salts or sugars. This process is called osmotic pressure, which removes water from the cells while not allowing water to be obtained from the brine. Thus, salted meat or fish contain less water than unsalted meat and more fat relative to protein, which helps keep them juicy when cooked. Salting also neutralizes bacteria, depriving them of their ability to feed.
Salt has another effect - if its content in the brine is high enough, it prevents the destruction of enzyme enzymes (It is the destruction of enzymes that leads to darkening of cuts on fruits and vegetables, for example). Finally, salt causes swelling of muscle tissues, and leads to deep soaking of meat or fish. Salt also retains moisture, making meat more juicy when cooked.
A piece of brine-cured meat will retain its juiciness when cooked, making brining an excellent method of treating certain types of meat. Pork lends itself best to this, but beef, poultry and fish can be salted.
SALTED DUCK
PETIT SALE OF DUCK
You will need duck legs (with a leg), but not very large.
For 6 servings
12 duck legs (Gressingham duck if possible)
For brine
2 liters of water
200 g table salt
10 cloves of garlic
half a lemon
half an orange
3 star anise
1 tbsp ground coriander seed
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
1 cinnamon stick
7 cloves
1 pinch of nutmeg
1 small bunch fresh thyme
3 bay leaves
5 juniper berries
8 allspice peas
For glaze
4 egg yolks
100 ml soy sauce
100 g honey
To prepare the brine, tie all the spices in a gauze bag, tie the spicy greens into a bundle. Crush the garlic, put all the ingredients in a large saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let cool.
Lay the duck leg on the board, skin side down. With the blade of a knife, scrape the meat from the thigh bone at the joint, releasing the junction of the bones.
Holding the femur with one hand and the tibia with the other, pull them towards each other until they crackle. Now you can easily cut the joint at the junction, slightly separating the thigh.
Feel the cartilage with your fingers at the cut of the lower leg and cut it out with a knife. This whole procedure sounds very difficult, especially if you have to do it for the first time, but I promise - by the third leg you will be an expert.
Having prepared the duck in this way, place the pieces in the cooled brine for 36 hours, then drain the contents of the pan into a colander, draining the brine, but preserving the spices and spices. Rinse the duck under cold running water for half an hour.
Put the duck in a saucepan along with the reserved spices and herbs, pour over cold water, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to very low and boil for an hour and a half, not allowing the water to boil.
If you have a kitchen thermometer, check the temperature of the water from time to time so that it does not exceed 60 C; if there is no thermometer, do not be discouraged - remember, do not let the water boil, even with the smallest bubbles. After an hour and a half, remove the pan from the heat and let the duck cool in the broth.
Mix the ingredients for the glaze and heat the oven to 200 C. Place the duck in a heat-resistant pan or dish, pour water to a depth of 5 mm so that the pieces do not stick to the bottom or walls. Brush the duck generously with the glaze and place the pan in the oven for 25 minutes, brushing the duck with the glaze every 5-7 minutes until golden brown.
In restaurants, I serve this dish with a sauce of duck bones, spices, and unroasted coffee beans, which gives the sauce a peculiar oriental flavor. Spices can be varied to taste. This duck is very good with boiled lentils or plain lentils. mashed potatoes.
TWO FISH BRINE RECIPES
These brine recipes are best applied to fish. Fish salted according to the first recipe tastes best boiled, and fish salted according to the second recipe is best fried or baked. While the second recipe isn't really a brine at all, it works great with meaty fish like monkfish. If you decide to try these recipes, try with the same type of fish first to compare the results. It is best to start, again, with fleshy fish. The quantities shown are based on 1 kg of monkfish filleted across the bone – in other words, 6 servings or 4 servings (but for very hungry guests)
185 g salt
260 g sugar
3.75 liters of water
Mix all ingredients, bring to a boil, set aside. Boil the fish in a layer at 45 C until the internal temperature of the piece of fish reaches 40-45 C (again, I can't help but stress the importance of getting a kitchen thermometer - it's inexpensive, but absolutely invaluable for accuracy heat treatment). For a piece of monk fish 3-4 cm thick, it will take about 25 minutes. That's all. Simple, isn't it? Serve with hot sauce horseradish topped with a little cream and a few finely chopped fresh herbs of your choice. I prefer chives, parsley and chervil, and maybe a pinch of tarragon.
Pepper marinade
50 g black peppercorns
175 g green pepper
50 g Lindi pepper (or "long" pepper, sold in Indian grocery stores)
1 liter of water
To complete the meal
peanut butter, for frying
plain flour (add a pinch of salt and ground black pepper)
lemon slices
Preheat the oven to 350 C. Bring all the marinade ingredients to a boil, cool. Boil the fish in the marinade according to the above recipe, remove, dry. In an ovenproof skillet, heat a little peanut butter until “smoky”. Dredge the fish in flour, shake off and place cut side down in the pan. After two minutes, turn over and fry the second slice, then transfer to the oven for another two minutes. Remove, place on a serving dish, sprinkle lightly with lemon juice. Let stand 1-2 minutes before serving. Whether it's a fluffy, silky creation by a professional chef (pommes puree), a favorite traditional English mash (mash) or mashed potatoes a la mode (crushed potatoes), there is a cooking technique that not only produces great results, but is also amazing. comfortable.
In our restaurant, we had to make mashed potatoes twice a day, and keep it warm in a bain-marie before churning hot milk into it before serving. The whole process was very tedious, but there was a lot of waste, because the leftover mashed potatoes had to be thrown away, and I can not stand this attitude towards products.
In his book The Man Who Ate Everything, Jeffrey Steingarten devoted an entire chapter to mashed potatoes, explaining how potato powder manufacturers tried to reduce the sticky starches in potatoes before drying. If this is not done, then the starch concentrates during drying and turns into something like wallpaper paste. As a result, in industrial production dry potato powder, a process is used in which potatoes are soaked in a large amount of water with room temperature, starch begins to thicken, gel, and its molecules remain separated from each other during the final cooking, when the potatoes are dipped in salted boiling water until tender. As a result, the starch does not stick together in lumps.
The beauty of adapting this process for home use is that the base can be prepared ahead of time. Before serving, you just need to warm the potatoes and beat the milk into it to the desired consistency.
The difference between mashed potatoes prepared by this method and mashed potatoes prepared by the traditional method is noticeable even to a non-professional. The puree is fluffy and completely without stickiness.
A few words of warning: the main disadvantage of making mashed potatoes this way is that any mistake leads to disaster. For best results, purchase either a digital thermometer or a Fahrenheit-calibrated thermometer.
MAIN RECIPE
This basic recipe lists the steps to making great mashed potatoes.
1.5 kg potatoes (Belle de Fontenay or Charlotte are best)
Peel the potatoes and cut into slices about 2.5 cm thick. It is important that the slices are the same thickness, because the difference "by eye" can often be 15%, which means that the 30 minutes of cooking required for 2.5 cm slices will not be enough for more thick slices (or too much for thinner ones). After slicing the potatoes, put them in a colander and leave them under cold running water for a few minutes to wash off the excess starch. Dry.
Let's move on to soaking: without putting the potatoes in the pan, pour water into it so that it covers the potatoes by 2-3 cm. I repeat once again - do not put the potatoes in the pan at this stage.
On low heat, heat water to 175 Fahrenheit and hold at this temperature for 10 minutes. Now add potatoes. The water temperature will drop to 165 Fahrenheit. Boil the potatoes, keeping the temperature at this level, for 30 minutes. Then drain the water and immediately put the potatoes in a bowl under cold running water. Cool thoroughly.
The potatoes are now ready for further cooking. In a separate saucepan, bring water to a boil, but do not boil. Salt the water to the salinity of sea water. Add potatoes and boil until soft. The potatoes are ready when the tip of a knife easily enters them. Care is also needed here - if the potatoes are overcooked, then the mashed potatoes will contain too much moisture.
Drain the potatoes in a colander and rinse under cold running water until the potatoes are completely cooled. Dry the cold potatoes thoroughly by heating them in a saucepan over very low heat, shaking them slightly. The potatoes are finally ready to be mashed.
TRADITIONAL ENGLISH MASHED POTATOES
GOOD OLD FASHIONED MASH
Add butter or olive oil, or both, along with milk or cream, or both, heated to boiling point. Mash the potatoes with a regular potato masher/masher. If you're not going to serve the puree right away, add just the butter and let the puree cool completely, then transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate. Before serving, heat the puree over low heat in a saucepan, whisking in some hot milk and/or cream to taste.
PRESSURED (CRUSHED) POTATOES
CRUSHED POTATOES
Here, the potatoes are not so much mashed as crushed, crushed into a heterogeneous mass, with the preservation of small pieces. Mash potatoes with a fork, adding butter and/or olive oil, and other ingredients to taste. You can, for example, add chopped shallots, or finely chopped spices(parsley, chives, basil, cilantro), seeded and skinned finely chopped tomatoes, chopped olives, capers, or finely chopped fried bacon.
Again, if you're not serving the puree immediately, chill it and refrigerate until you add the flavors. Pounded potatoes can simply be reheated in the oven before serving, and then flavorings can be added.
POTATO PUREE - RESTAURANT VERSION
POMMES PUREE
In our restaurant, this dish is prepared only with milk and butter - but it takes a lot of butter, about 400 g of unsalted butter for every kilogram of potatoes. When I prepare this puree only for children, I take less oil (about 200 g per kilogram), but if the puree is served for a formal lunch or dinner, then the optimal amount of oil is 300 g per kilogram. The best tool for mashing potatoes for this dish is a masher-raiser (like a garlic masher, only in large sizes), but a grater-press for vegetables will also work.
Cut the butter into cubes about 2.5 cm in size, put them in a large bowl. Release the hot potatoes through a crusher onto cubes of butter. Don't push the potatoes through a sieve, and never puree them in a food processor - you get a terrible sticky mass.
After mixing the potatoes with butter, we in the restaurant then pass it through a very fine drum sieve, giving the mashed potatoes a lot of airiness, but at home this is quite difficult, although if possible, I recommend trying at least once. This puree can be made in advance and keeps well in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
Before serving, heat in a saucepan over very low heat, gradually whisking in a little milk heated to the boiling point. At this stage, you can add some melted cheese, chopped herbs or grain mustard to your puree to your liking. If you think about it, the profession of a chef makes you lead a rather strange existence. In a professional kitchen, in the midst of lunch or dinner, it's easy to forget that for most people, all you do is cook. This peculiar perception of the world from the point of view of a kitchen stove makes you selfish and makes you value your free time. My wife not only has to take care of our two children and all the household chores, but also put up with my oddities and quirks, but in any case, every Sunday I try to spend with my family - and cook the traditional Sunday dinner.
For many professional chefs and amateur cooks, the ultimate achievement is the perfect oven-roasted chicken garnished with baked potatoes. The aroma of baked chicken is just as important as its taste - the smell is generally stronger than all other senses associated with memory, and the aroma of food is always associated with pleasant memories ...
OVEN Roasted CHICKEN
ROAST CHICKEN
Instead of a simple and boring recipe, I offer you some tips that will give you the best results. But before I begin, I would like to reiterate the importance of an oven thermometer - the readings of the built-in thermometer are often very, very wrong.
Start by choosing your chicken - the better the quality, the higher the quality of the finished dish.
Cut off all the "protruding" parts - the tips of the wings, paws and neck - chop them and add them to the frying sheet. They will form the basis for the chicken sauce. If you want, remove the bow - the finished bird will be easier to cut: lift a piece of skin over the sternum from the side of the neck and make a small cut with a sharp knife along the bow; it can then be carefully released and removed.
Season generously with salt and pepper inside and out.
If desired, place a forked lemon, a clove of garlic and herbs such as thyme, rosemary and tarragon inside the carcass.
Tie the carcass tightly for even frying.
Spices added to the frying sheet (such as onion, chives and herbs) improve the quality of the sauce.
Do not bake the bird in high heat. Get an accurate thermometer - I usually roast the chicken at 65-70 C until the internal temperature of the carcass reaches 60 C - by which time the chicken will be almost ready. Remove the chicken from the oven, increase the heat to the highest, and return the chicken to the oven to fry the skin until crispy.
This method gives excellent results because long roasting at a low temperature keeps the juiciness of the bird. The problem, however, is that all the juices are stored in the meat, and there is nothing to make the sauce from. In the restaurant we prepare the sauce separately, but at home it is hardly worth messing with it, and therefore you can bake the chicken at a higher temperature of 135 C until cooked, and then brown. At this heat, you will get enough juice for the sauce.
Naturally, there are many options for both the time and temperature of roasting the chicken, but I like my version more, because at the internal temperature of the meat above 60-65 C, the residual heat increases, which means that the heat treatment of the carcass will continue even after it is removed from the oven.
At higher temperatures, chicken breasts cook differently than legs. The problem can be solved by frying the chicken a third of the time on one side, a third on the other side, and a third of the time breast up. Frying at low temperatures avoids endless turning. For reference, a 1.5 kg chicken will be fried in about 2.5 hours at a temperature of 135 C. It is important to note here that in older model ovens the heat is higher at the back wall of the oven and lower at the door, so place the carcass in such an oven with the neck cut to the back wall, where the breast meat is thicker.
Frying at low temperatures means that the meat retains little or no residual heat, and therefore does not require settling. However, meats baked at 135°C or more will need to rest, during which time the residual heat will complete the cooking process. Place a small upturned bowl on a large plate, lean the chicken against the bowl with the neck cut down, so that the meat juice drains to the thicker part of the breast. Cover with foil.
On high heat (on the stove), heat the frying sheet with meat juices, fry the vegetables, add 300 ml of cold water, bring to a boil and scrape off any particles adhering to it from the bottom. Reduce the heat to very low and simmer for about 30 minutes, slowly reducing the sauce. Rub it through a sieve, evaporate again in a separate saucepan to the desired density, beat in a piece of cold butter with a whisk.
BAKED POTATO
ROAST POTATOES
My kids love baked potatoes and are happy to help peel them - for Sunday lunch, the bigger the better. It is not only a matter of using a variety suitable for baking, it is also necessary to remember that in no case should you add salt to the water for cooking potatoes, otherwise the potatoes will not be covered with a crispy crust. Before baking, the potatoes must be thoroughly boiled in slightly boiling water. You can, of course, to increase the crunch, put the potatoes under the grill at the end of baking, but to be honest, this is not it. Not to mention (oh horror) that some people additionally fry the baked potatoes in the air fryer before serving ...
If the potatoes crumble a little when dredged in flour, don't worry - these will be the crunchiest pieces. The amount of food indicated in the recipe is based on 4 servings, although for my family I double it
1 kg potatoes (use the variety most suitable for making crispy potatoes)
150 ml olive oil
4 cloves of garlic
1 large bunch of fresh rosemary
1 bunch fresh thyme
1 tbsp plain flour
salt
Preheat the oven to 175 C. Wash and peel the potatoes, cut in half or three pieces, depending on the size, and rinse under cold running water for 5-10 minutes. Bring unsalted water to a boil in a large saucepan, add potatoes, and boil until soft. Pour the olive oil into a frying pan (large enough to cover all the potatoes in one layer). Olive oil should cover the sheet with a layer of about 1 cm thick. Place the sheet in the preheated oven.
Throw the potatoes on a sieve, sprinkle them with sifted flour, carefully roll in flour so that they do not fall apart too much. Arrange the potatoes on the preheated frying pan along with the garlic cloves, turning each potato so that it is completely covered in oil. Return the frying sheet to the oven. For best results, potatoes should be turned every 20 minutes. Half an hour after the start of frying, add herbs. The potatoes should bake for about 1.5 hours, and by the end of frying they will turn ruddy, golden brown. Pat potatoes dry on paper towels, season with salt and serve. I assure you, your patience will be more than rewarded!
CABBAGE WITH BUTTER
BUTTERED CABBAGE
It's a very simple recipe: no salty boiling water, no blanching, no reheating, no creepy overcooked stew. The specified amount of cabbage is barely enough for 4 servings of the side dish, because the cabbage is very boiled down.
1 big head white cabbage or 2 heads of savoy cabbage
150 g unsalted butter
salt and pepper
Remove the top leaves from the head - the first three layers for savoy cabbage, and the first two layers for white cabbage. Although it may seem like a translation of the products, the top leaves of the cabbage are actually tough and not very tasty. Cut off the stem of the head of cabbage and carefully disassemble the head of cabbage into leaves. Cut the central thick vein from each leaf, cut each leaf into small pieces.
Melt the butter in a steel saucepan with a lid over moderate heat. When the oil begins to sizzle but not color, add the cabbage. Salt, pepper, mix well with oil and cover. The cabbage will be ready in 5-10 minutes, depending on how large it was cut. So watch out.
The cabbage will become very sweet and retain its bright green color (if Savoy). It is very important to shake the pan from time to time so that the cabbage does not burn to the bottom. Cabbage cooked in oil own juice, then taste it and add salt if necessary. First, cooking is about enjoyment. Many who read these articles may have great doubts - I insist on accurate temperature conditions and cite a large number of technical details, but nevertheless, I get the same satisfaction from cooking as any of us, professional or amateur: the quiet sizzle of oil in a pan, the aroma fried meat, color contrasts of carrots and onions, smells of freshly ground spices and spices…
All sorts of physical and chemical reactions take place. If you understand at least a little bit all this “mechanics”, then the kitchen becomes a very attractive place. And this does not mean that conventional cooking methods should be forgotten or completely rejected. All I offer is slightly different ways and methods. The more you learn, the easier it becomes to cook - with or without recipes.
Culinary art has long been considered an almost mystical occupation, and the often contradictory advice of all kinds of “specialists” does not help to comprehend its secrets. Everyone has come across recipes for the same dish that require a completely opposite approach to food processing or with a huge difference in time and temperature for its preparation.
Once I came across a recipe for cooking salmon, which said that the fish is ready when white specks appear on its surface. You can't imagine worse, because by this moment the fish will be completely overcooked - the proteins begin to coagulate at a temperature of 40 C. As the temperature increases, the coagulated protein rises to the surface of the fish, forming white specks. It is not necessary to thoroughly understand the process of protein folding in order to understand that with an increase in temperature, the fish simply loses its juiciness and dries up.
How to avoid it? Yes, it's very simple - buy a thermometer. I have said this more than once, but nevertheless this is my main advice to all novice cooks. A digital thermometer costs about £15, while a regular oven thermometer costs less than £10. A good thermometer is absolutely essential in the kitchen and will produce excellent results.
The thermometer is not just another technological “delicacy”. The thermometer is designed to accurately measure temperature. Thermometers will give you confidence when cooking and help you better master the kitchen wisdom. You will forever get rid of the need for intricate calculations, how long it will take to cook 1 kilogram of meat, fish or poultry, knowing that when the product has reached a certain temperature, the dish is ready. The “x minutes per kilogram” technology is, by definition, imprecise - two pieces of meat can weigh the same, but one piece will be thicker and the other thinner, and they will take different amounts of time to cook.
And now a few words about the low-temperature mode of heat treatment. I am well aware that for many this approach may seem very strange and unreliable, but, surprisingly, it is low temperatures that give the best results, the softest and juiciest meat. Although this method takes longer, you don't have to do anything for it - relax, prepare the sauce, boil the vegetables and enjoy the aroma of the roasted meat or poultry.
All recipes are based on 6 servings
BAKED BEEF RIBS
Roast rib of beef
Choose a piece commensurate with the appetite of the guests. The weight of the piece doesn't really matter. In many grocery stores, the ribs are sold without the vertebral bone, which means the meat will be exposed to the direct heat of the pan. In this case, fold the aluminum foil into a loose ball and place the meat on top of it to keep it from getting too hot.
Beef ribs 6 ribs (2 ribs per serving), with bones and skin
peanut butter
100 g unsalted butter
salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 75 C (this optimum temperature for long-term roasting of beef). Salt and pepper the meat well, grease it with peanut butter. Lay the meat with the vertebral bone down on the frying sheet. Bake in the oven until the internal temperature of the piece reaches 56 C. (If you are using a conventional thermometer instead of a digital one, the temperature should be between 55 C and 60 C.) This will take a long time - check the meat through the first 4 hours, be patient and resist the temptation to increase the oven heat. Once the internal temperature of the meat reaches 56 C, remove the meat from the oven. (If you insist on the taste of fried meat, then melt a piece of butter in a large frying pan and brown the piece very quickly on all sides).
Remove the layer of meat from the ribs with a sharp knife, cut into portions across the grain.
There are many recipes for gravy for these ribs. For example, you can add meat trimmings (and, if desired, a few pieces of carrots, celery root and a whole shallot) to a baking sheet and bake them in the resulting fat at a higher temperature, then pour over the baking sheet a small amount boiling water, and prepare the sauce from the resulting liquid. Below is my favorite gravy recipe.
SAUCE (GRAVY) FOR MEAT
A sauce for the roast
This is an example sauce recipe for beef ribs- you won’t need to make special efforts (except perhaps time), and the result is licking your fingers.
For chicken broth
750 g chicken wing tips, chopped
1 onion, peeled and cut into 4 pieces
1 carrot, peeled and cut crosswise into 8 pieces
1 celery stalk, cut into 4 pieces
1 stalk leek, white part only, cut crosswise into 4 pieces
3 cloves crushed garlic
1 bunch fresh thyme
1 fresh bay leaf (to taste)
Put the wings in a saucepan, cover with cold water, bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, boil for five minutes, put in a colander, drain the water and rinse the wings with running cold water. Rinse the pan, put the wings in it and pour cold water again. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, add remaining ingredients and simmer over very low heat (not boiling) for about 90 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve and set aside.
Beef broth (base)
50 g unsalted butter
peanut butter
750 g beef shank, cut into pieces
1 onion, peeled and cut into thin slices
1 star anise
1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
2 crushed garlic cloves
Several sprigs of fresh thyme and rosemary
In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat 25 g butter and 1 dessert spoon peanut butter. Add the meat, and stirring, lightly brown it. Throw away in a colander. Add the remaining butter and a little more peanut butter to the pan, heat and lightly brown the vegetables in it. Add meat, greens to vegetables and boil for 5 minutes.
Pour in a ladleful of chicken broth, stirring with a wooden spoon to remove any burnt bits from the bottom. When the liquid has reduced to a thick, add another ladleful of chicken broth and reduce again. Repeat this procedure one or two more times until the liquid turns into a thick syrup. Add the rest of the chicken broth and simmer over very low heat for about an hour. Strain through a fine sieve into a small saucepan, and reduce if necessary. With a whisk, beat a small piece of cold butter into the gravy to give the gravy a gloss. I no longer admired the work of the French chemist Herve This. I especially like the incomparably delicious “Chocolate Chantilly”. In principle, nothing is needed to make it, except for high-quality dark chocolate, melted in an almost equal (slightly less by weight) amount of water, and whipped in a kind of water bath (only ice instead of boiling water). The finished product - 5 minutes after the start of whipping - resembles chocolate whipped cream.
One day I came to Paris to visit Hervé and we decided to try making mayonnaise with egg whites instead of yolks. The advantage of protein is that it does not "wrap the sky" like the yolk (for comparison, imagine a slice of bread dipped in the yolk of a soft-boiled egg).
Then I decided to check what happens when this protein mayonnaise is cooked - will the emulsion hold, will it peel off vegetable oil? The experience went well. And then I decided that if we combine both of these principles, then the chocolate fudge dessert that we serve in the restaurant will turn out to be even tastier.
The traditional fudge recipe includes egg yolks, sugar, butter, chocolate, and flour. A few years ago, I (an eternal experimenter) decided that I could do without flour, believing that six minutes of cooking was not enough to eliminate the “mealy” nature of the dessert. I also wanted to reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe because the flavor of the chocolate is enhanced in a less sweet dessert.
Therefore, after my meeting with Herve, I decided to replace the whole yolk in fudge egg white while whisking it as little as possible. The result exceeded all expectations, because the taste of chocolate took the forefront.
The main problem was that replacing the yolk with protein took away the “enveloping” taste of the dessert and made it too sweet. We had to reduce the amount of sugar until there was no sugar left in the recipe at all.
For this recipe, you will need metal ring molds without a base, because fondant fondant is so delicate that it is impossible to turn it over, but you can only carefully remove the ring. If you don't have these shapes, it's very easy to make your own from small tin cans by cutting off the bottom on both sides.
My advice for anyone chocolate recipe Buy only the highest quality dark chocolate. It is important to remember that chocolate should never be overheated above 40 C, otherwise it will become hard and grainy. The recipe is for 6 servings (metal mold about 3 inches in diameter). You will also need parchment or wax paper.
It is not at all necessary to prepare this dessert in removable forms - you can also use small soufflé molds, but in this case the dessert is not removed, but served in forms. If not carried out heat treatment, then the mixture can be served as a mousse, having cooled it in advance for 3-4 hours in the refrigerator. In this case, add 30 ml of cold water to the mixture.
Hi all! Ciao a tutti!
I want to tell you about another experiment, the result of which shocked me! This time I made Heston Blumenthal Chicken Broth (Heston Blumenthal. Here, many are familiar with the work of this gifted chef, one of the few holders of three Michelin stars in the UK and apologists for the scientific approach to cooking. I also love his smart and interesting recipes, like his super flavorful rich chicken broth. I want to note right away that the “genius” of this broth is not my merit, I just used all the secrets of Heston.
So we will need: chicken wings (I had ½ kg), skimmed milk powder (2-3 tablespoons), 1 carrot, 2 onions and water. Heston also recommends adding fresh mushrooms, but I didn't.
Everything ingenious is simple - we take chicken wings, they are cheap and have a lot of gelatin. Roll them well in milk powder - this is necessary to reveal the taste of the chicken as a result of the Maillard reaction (during baking, the proteins react with sugar, forming a fragrant crispy crust). By adding milk powder, we increase the amount of protein and sugar, and they are 36 and 52% in skimmed milk powder, respectively.
Now we will send the wings to the oven at 200C until they turn golden. It took me about 30 minutes to get these tanned fellows:
For further cooking, it is better to use a pressure cooker, but I do not have one, and I began to cook in a heavy saucepan with a thick bottom and a tight lid. We shift the wings, add carrots and onions. Heston also recommends mushrooms, but I didn't...
Fill with cold (!) Water. Further, Heston recommends splashing some water into the container where the chicken was baked, using a spatula to collect all the burnt, let it boil, and add it all to the pan. If you have a pressure cooker, the cooking time is 2 hours. I cooked a little less than 5 hours on low heat - I just folded everything, poured it, covered it with a heavy lid and forgot for five hours! Then I cooled it, strained it thoroughly and here it is - a brilliant broth with a concentrated taste of real fried chicken! And note that I did not use a drop of oil:
I immediately poured part of the broth into small containers, into ice molds and froze, but I put such a ½ liter jar in the refrigerator. This amount was enough for two 3-liter pots of fragrant soup!!! By the way, after standing in the refrigerator, the broth gelled perfectly:
I think there is no need to tell what else such a strong broth can be useful for. How many sauces, cereals, vegetables and a variety of dishes can be prepared on its basis.
This is the most delicious broth I've ever had, and I'm a big broth fanatic! I highly recommend you make it too!
P.S. Chicken breast bones with minimal meat residues on them behave very well in this technique. I somehow accumulated about 15 of them in freezers, and I made this Heston broth out of them - everything turned out and no worse, albeit without skin. It even seemed to me that gellability even turned out to be higher from the breast bones, a paradox.
Bon Appetit everyone! Buon appetito a tutti!
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