FOOD, man cannot live by whisky alone.

@Victor, I didn't, but I do now....and the German didn't stand a chance. Isn't Finland the only country on this planet the Brits never concord?!!!

Yup, no whisky for me for another 5 days.....

Thanks to those of you who have been drinking for me (@bwmccoy, I am certainly a Bladnoch fan, and @Bluenote, you did steer me well with another Cadenhead).

I’ve made Matzah Balls for the first and second time of my life, yesterday and today. Yesterday I cooked them right into the soup. They were great but disappeared faster than a Yamazaki 18 at a whisky festival. Today they were a little fluffier. Oh well.

@Nozinan i think we both enjoyed the Cadenhead Linkwood, I’d forgotten about that one. As for the Matzah balls, I can practically taste that broth. Right now I am enjoying the last dram of a Cooper’s Choice 16 year old Ardmore and listening to Cannonball Adderley while my wife is working on a shrimp, scallop and mussel dish that is starting to smell very good. Life could be a lot worse. Cheers

@Nozinan those matzah balls soup/stew looks delicious, it reminds me of my favorite dishes as a kid, red beans and dumplings or stew and dumplings, as a kid my mother could get me to eat anything as long as there was those simple flour dumplings on top.

Since I am bunkering down all by my lonesome, I am trying to keep sane by doing some projects, basically trying to get around to trying all the things I put off or claim to not have the time to do. As long as I have the materials or patience I suppose.

Here's a batch of Sauerkraut I started, I had a massive red cabbage I wasn't going to manage to eat all by myself before it got flabby. I Used a red onion, some lemon, juniper, coriander and caraway.

Turning something ok into something better...hopefully. I made a batch of Tepache that was a bit too sour to my liking so I decided to just push it's natural character further and turn it into Pineapple vinegar.

On the right is a batch of malt vinegar that is coming along from the remainder of a bottle of Oatmeal stout I didn't care to drink.

The next step will eventually to make vinegars from things I juice or ferment myself. My neighbor has an apple & pear tree and never picks any of the fruit, all of it ends up on the ground, I figured I'll pick them make a batch of cider/perry and transform it into vinegar unless miraculously worth drinking.

I think this speaks for itself

@Nozinan Turkey ......... ZZZZZZzz....zzz...zzz. How to survive and enhance social distancing by sleeping through the pandemic.

In case it doesn’t speak for itself, my wife went out to do our weekly shop. She goes early. It was raining. No line to get in.

She was shopping for my mother and aunt as well. The turkey was $15, yes $15! The pack of chicken legs my mother wanted cost almost as much. She also got 3 rib roasts that were also very cheap. Those and a second turkey went into the freezer, and half of the cooked turkey will go to my aunt and mother.

I guess no one was buying turkeys because no one was getting together for Easter.

Even giving half of the bird away, we won’t have to cook for the rest of the week now.

We are now good for 2 weeks. At least...

Nice spread

@Nozinan is that a monitor? A Zoom family dinner get together?

@fiddich1980

4 households got together for the Passover seders over Skype and in order to be able to see everyone I hooked my phone up to the TV. It worked nicely except the lag for singing. We kept it there for our Friday night supper (we used facetime before but you can't see anything on a small phone). So we decided to keep it for the duration of the lockdown. Much easier than all trying to crowd before a phone and now we can keep it on for the whole meal and have conversation...

With all this time isolating, I've been able to catch up on a lot of culinary experiments I've put off for too long. The downside is I can't really share or deploy them in cooking for anyone else but myself.

I will try and keep this concise and not get too nerdy, this was a fun experiment and a fellow Connosr asked me to post about it.

I've been toying with Koji of late, it's something I've been studying for some time but it was hard for me to get over that hurdle to actually try the more complex projects involving this fascinating substance.

Quick explanation, Koji is a mold, "Aspergillus Oryzae" to be precise, this mold is the thing responsible for the majority of the flavorful staples of East Asian cooking that we know today. There would be no soy, miso, sake, samjang, amazake, doenjang etc. without it. Simply put this mold has the ability to unlock the hidden sugars or proteins in grains and beans, bringing forth sweetness or umami. This is how rice gets converted to a sugary paste then then can be fermented or brewed into sake or beer for example.

It's use has generally been applied traditionally in these products for centuries but in the last few years many chefs and amateurs have been using koji in unusual and inventive ways. One of them has been with meat, koji has the ability to tenderize meat but also in the process break down the amino acids into even more flavorful components. This is very similar to what happens when dry aging meat but at a much more accelerated pace.

I decided to try this for myself recently when I picked up a couple of small filet mignon steaks at the grocery store. I used rice that had already been inoculated with koji and dried, this is easy to purchase online and then you can grind it to a powder in a coffee or spice grinder.

It is possible to inoculate the meat directly with koji spores but that is more of a next-level technique.

So I dusted my steaks thoroughly with my koji rice powder and then elevated them on a rack over a plate. I dusted them twice to make sure to get a good coating and then popped them in the fridge for a couple of days. I tried one of them after 48 hrs and then the other 24hrs later.

The photo attached ont the right is the result after the 72hrs

The meat definitely changes texture but doesn't lose all that much moisture, it smells very much blue cheese like, if anyone has been in a charcuterie aging place or cheese cave, it's that pleasant but pungent smell.

After 48 or 72hrs it doesn't look like much and I wouldn't fault you for thinking it doesn't look very appetizing. After scraping the koji much off the meat, you can see in the photo on the right that the meat is perfectly fine underneath if a bit dark from the process, again very much like dry-aged steak if anyone has experience with that. I trimmed the steak up a bit, there is a bit of loss but honestly nowhere near what you get from typical dry aging.

Please excuse my poor food photography, I didn't plan on sharing this being Instagram and it was just to keep a document. I guess I better invest in one of those light boxes with a background.

I quickly pan-fried the steak (my preferred method). and basted it with butter and herbs for the last minute. I let it rest properly which is tempting to skip but one shouldn't.

I slightly overcooked the steak, I would have preferred it a bit more rare but these we're pretty thin and I wasn't going for rigorous scientific measurements.

The result is very interesting, it does result in something that isn't too far off from a proper dry-aged steak, you get a bit of funk but also that deeply meaty and complex mineral flavour. I also have to say that despite hitting a higher temp on the steak it was still relatively juicy it didn't have that dryness, so this method definitely has potential on some of the tougher cuts.

The cons: There is a slight sweetness which is the telltale sign of this koji curing method, this is something you don't get in dry-age, it's not unpleasant at all some folks may like that, it also causes the surface to caramelize faster than normal so turn down the heat vs your usual method. You also have to monopolize space in your fridge for 48hrs minimum but honestly it's not that hard.

I slightly preferred the 48hr steak vs. the 72hrs, the crazy rich meatyness is nice but kind of gonzo in a way, perhaps better suited for larger or tougher cuts.

Hope this wasn't too long and someone finds it interesting.

@cricklewood Very interesting. That is a something I have never heard of. I’m going to try it the next time we have steaks. We are not big meat eaters, so if we are going to have steaks they are always top quality beef tenderloin. I usually grill them and still do,it in accordance with my fathers instructions: for medium rare 1 inch thick steak, grill at full volume, 1 minute, flip,1 minute, flip, 3 to 4 minutes, flip3 to 4 minutes, done. Perfect medium rare every time. Now I’m going try your method.

Cheers.

@cricklewood Well I for one enjoyed reading about your experiments I've not heard of that technique but I can see the merit in it. I hunt deer and process the meat myself when I'm successful. There's always plenty of guesswork involved when deciding how long to age the meat for. Factors such as the age and sex of the animal make a big difference too. As the meat is initially handled on the hill so to speak, rather than in a dedicated sanitary meat processing plant, I tend to err on the side of caution and don't age it for too long. I can imagine that the process you used would add a whole new dimension to the flavour of the meat. Have you tried the trend of butter dry aged meat?

@Hewie @cricklewood - you've got me salivating here, boys! I'd love to do some traditional forest smoking of meat but it just seems too much time and effort to invest for such little rewards.

I have been hankering really badly though and am currently waiting for a bumper pack of traditional beef jerky, direct from our new overlords and soon-to-be Masters of the Universe at Amazon.

@RianC I like jerky but I love biltong. I've only made one batch myself before but it was so good. One way to eat through a power of red meat very quickly. Fantastic with a beer though! Very easy to do at home - check it out

@BlueNote thanks, it's fun to get out of one's comfort zone.

I don't eat a lot of meat myself but there's nothing more satisfying than steak when you've got that urge. Funny enough other than eating at a steakhouse where they are hit with a flame I've always preferred my steak cooked in a pan, I think that's a remnant from the French style cooking I learned.

@Hewie hey thanks. I'm glad it holds some interest.

Lucky you get your meat from the source, there's nothing quite like wild game. I can see the challenge of processing a lot of it yourself.

Using koji as your ally can definitely be of help in a lot of different ways. It could be one way for you to get a certain flavour in a shorter time but also can be used when curing charcuterie as well if you process some of your meat that way.

Lastly there is also a method to utilise the scraps to your advantage. You could make a garum. Think fish sauce but you sub meat for the fish component. You basically use koji to aid in the procedure which normally just involves salt and time, it helps break down the proteins in the meat faster but into more complex aminos.

Basically you end up with a super concentrated essence which can be used to boost the flavour of foods. If you want to know more DM me and I'll send you some links

@RianC it's a lof of work to do these little projects but it can be super rewarding.

It's best to pick the ones that make the most sense for you. It's fun to make a tradition or activity out of it. My brother and I can hot peppers every year and it's a full days activity. If you get the kiddies started early you've got free labour for you and lasting memories for them.

I've found that the tools for these things can often be had on the used market for cheap. Many people buy dehydrators, beer/wine and canning equipment etc and give up after a season or two. That's when a frugal lad swoops in and helps relieve them of their junk.

@Hewie @cricklewood - Good points, especially about the little ones getting involved! Maybe I'll give it a go one day? I did do a beetroot cured side of salmon once, if that counts?!

That beef looked lovely!

@cricklewood Frugality; a good Scottish trait.

@RianC I live in salmon country, and we prepare it a number of different ways, but you've got me intrigued with the beetroot curing.

@BlueNote - If I remember right it was a River Cottage recipe. Basically, mix salt, grated beetroot, lemon zest and fennel seeds then spread it all over the side, skin side down. Cover in sellophane and weight it down in the fridge for a couple of days, respreading and draining the excess juices off as and when.

It was messy but worth it - beautifully cured, bright purple salmon. Great on blinis with cream cheese.

@RianC I remember that River Cottage recipe, in a place I worked in we would cure the Salmon bellies in beetroot, to glitz em up a bit for an entrée.

@BlueNote a great method to incorporate aromatics in the cure for Salmon or other fish is to make a slurry, just throw, fennel tops, dill, onions whatever you fancy in the food processor and puree with the curing salt (you can add a bit of gin or whisky too) and spread that over the salmon. It works a treat and speeds up the curing as well since the salt is already somewhat dissolved.

@cricklewood @RianC I’m passing these tips on to my wife as we speak.

Cheers.

Made one of my favourite dishes tonight, chicken breast with Parma ham from a Jamie Oliver recipe. Man, he 'literally' looks very young here ...

jamieoliver.com/videos/…

I've been eating less meat of late but recently I'm craving it like mad. This worked a treat with a watercress and pomegranate salad. Oooh very cheffy

@cricklewood This looks great.