On this edition of Ask the Test Kitchen, Lan and Julia chat about smoke alarms, seasoning cast iron, leftover buttermilk, and much more.
Get the recipe for Cast Iron Crisp Roast Butterflied Chicken:
Get the recipe for Charcoal-Grilled Shish Kebabs with Buttermilk:
Get the recipe for our Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies:
Get the recipe for Cast Iron Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie:
Get the recipe for Pasta e Ceci:
Buy our winning cast iron skillet:
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If it slips: New top
Loved this. I live in Australia which like most countries uses the metric system so almost all pasta is sold in 500g (1.1 lb ) packs, not a problem , i have a Labrador , chickens , ducks and Geese all who love Pasta at least as much as I do. By the way I love all the ladies at ATK and wish they lived on this side of the Big Pond.
Need more of these two. Love Lan and Julia
Avoid smoke by cooking spatch cocked chicken in cast iron skillet on the bar-b-que out back!
Just wanted to let you know that there is a very old family recipe which calls for cooking a pork but or shoulder in milk. You cook it overnight in a 275 degree oven and when you wake in the morning, the whole house will smell wonderful. The meet falls apart it is so tender, and the milk comes out caramel color. You can finish the sauce in a blender. We are a French family, and when one of us makes "porc au lait", we let others know, and someone usually shows up. If anyone is interested, let me know and I will give you the recipe. It is said, "plus facile que ca et tu meurs" meaning, any easier than this recipe, and you are dead. Meaning even a dead body could do it :-)))
Julia rubbing her rolling pin up and down seems to tell me that she is quite experienced and knows how to handle a big stick! 🤤
Ladies, Thank you for your helpful tips! A useful tip I have to prolong the life of a fresh tomato that is left over. Once I've sliced off a part of a tomato, I fold a paper towel and place in the bottom of air tight container. Next I place the cut side of tomato down on paper towel and store it in that air tight container in the refrigerator. It works great!
In this episode you said tomatoes should be stored in the refrigerator and taken out and used as needed . The packaging for the grape tomatoes from my store says do not put in the refrigerator, it's too cold. In your cookbook, Cooking for Two, you say tomatoes should be stored on the counter, stem side down. You say, cut tomatoes can be stored tightly wrapped at room temperature for a few days. Please clarify, refrigerator or counter? I have worked in supermarket produce. Apples were stored in a cool place, but not in a cooler. Other fruit and vegetables were also stored in a cool, dry place, but not a refrigerator. Can you provide additional clarification to these seeming contradictions? Thank you!
Gotta love carbon steel pans and the seasoning it gets from repeated use. Had one that is around 3-4 decades old, and it went from typical home kitchen go-to for fried rice and eggs, to a mainstay for frying fish in our restaurant as the seasoning from years of cooking turned the inner surface into almost hematite black. It used to be a bit on the ocher/dark brown side when I was a kid lol.
Still using it for fried rice or whatnot during the weekends when the restaurant is closed and I have free reign in the kitchen. 🙂
The wrong side of the parchment paper is the dirty side! 😂
I have enameled cast with glass electric stove. Key is careful
I have super sensitive smoke alarms as well, so whenever I'm cooking something that I know is going to create a little smoke I take the smoke alarms down for however long I'm cooking then pop them back in when I'm done.
I love this “ASK ATK” series. Here’s an idea: have an amateur host as well (I will gladly volunteer 😉). Sometimes they answer a question but as an amateur cook, I want a bit more elaboration. I want more of these videos tho. Very helpful.
Thank you ladies for video. Ready to cook.
Using grapeseed oil instead of olive oil reduces smoke. Particularly when frying chikon.
In Julia's at home clam bake, she uses a kiritsuke knife. It's pink and blue, anyone know what maker it is?
Alex,
Is your workshop heated? Do you have humidity control for the summer?
Thanks for your videos, I enjoy all of them.
Ian
Lots of good information.
Tomatoes should not be stored in the refrigerator, because it deactivates the lycopene. Once cut, they have to go in.
You can cook birds at lower temperatures in the oven–as long as you're above 311 degrees F, where the Maillard reaction kicks into high gear, you'll get a wonderful color on the skin. I usually smoke and/or bake all my birds at 325 F. It also results in a wider window of time between undercooked and overcooked, and has a less steep temperature gradient between the surface and the interior of the meat.
A lot of packages of egg noodles come in 12 oz sizes. Ugh. As far as using odds and ends of pasta packages, that's a great ingredient for tetrazzini or another similar pasta casserole dish. Or make a point of using half or entire packages to begin with.
The effect of the fan in a convection oven is just like an air "fryer." It increases heating by convection–you get what's known as an increased "h" convective cooling/heating factor. One important point regarding how much it increases heating vs just browning is the question of how responsive your oven is to changes in temperature–as the heat is transferred to the food, the air in the oven cools, requiring a return to temperature.
Since you're watching an online video, you can look up whether your recipe is a good one to use with convection. A general rule of thumb is to decrease temp by 25 degrees F and decrease cooking time by 25 percent, and start checking at that point. Do your research, though. I don't drop the temp for my birds.
Wakame and Hijiki are sold in dried form. Add lots cold water and wait 10 minutes, then drain thoroughly.
You can use Cast Iron, and Enameled Cast Iron on a glass cooktop. You have to be careful not to shake/drop because it can crack the stove. I use mine regularly.
It will not scratch the glass–refer to the Mohs hardness scale.
There are methods for approximating the doneness of a cut of meat, such as comparing the "spring" of the meat to the firmness of the flesh on your hand. This is inexact, but can be very useful for individuals–individuals who cook the exact same size and same cut of meat, sourced from the same supplier, over the same kitchen equipment at the same temperature 14 times a night, since different grades and cuts feel different. If not…..use a thermometer. If you can't afford a cheap meat thermometer, you're probably not buying red meat that needs to be cooked to med rare anyway. Or use a sous vide and a blowtorch….
There's only one way to cook a pork shoulder.
Over smoke, 225 to 275 degrees F, until the internal temperature (not on the bone) reaches 203 F. It can take 18 hours.
End of line.
The first time you do it, you will be amazed. And then you will do it again.
Has ATK ever done a comparison between fraisage and other methods for pie crust? I personally don't find that it takes a lot of effort at all, and time-wise I actually prefer it to a food processor or the finger smearing method if you include the cleanup time for the food processor.
I like how it results in irregular flake sizes, but I get that not everyone may be into that. Also, the most widely available brand of grass fed butter conveniently comes in slabs that are perfect for fraisage after being rolled out a bit
Please DO NOT tell stupid people to unplug their smoke detectors….. natural selection guys….
It's not necessarily true that a sign of a really serious cook, would be your $100+ probe Thermopen. Some of us are serious cooks and bakers but we also don't have the money for that. If I decided to get anything, it would be the much cheaper Thermopop. I'm still using my cheap little probe with a display that's only 3/4" wide. Meant for meat but I'm vegetarian. Just three days ago I made whole wheat bread, and temped it at 190 dF. Also, because I've got experience, I can tap the bottom of the loaf and know how it should sound. I don't make candies or boil syrups, where a fancy thermometer is needed… and if it's needed, I have a typical candy thermometer. They work just fine for me, ladies.
These are always some of my favorites videos. A weekly version would be amazing! (You could even add it to your subscription options, lol)
ATK,,,, Hello, JULIA, recently I see you are using a WOLF STOVE @ home, do not know what you had before,but your comments on yourWOLF,, Thanks HAPPY NEW YEAR, 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
My new oven has Convection but I have no idea how to use! It also has Air Fry which I know how to use. Is there a cookbook you recommend to teach me how to use Convection oven feature?
I didn’t know cast iron was porous
Re odd pasta amounts… It's better to cook towards the meat or vegetable weight. If rather have 4 oz left of dry pasta than extra meat or vegetables sitting around to spoil or have to freeze.
u guys are awesome! SO talented, creative, and super intelligent.