The Grilling and Cooking Thread

[Going Commando]

If you skimp on pots and pans it's the same as skimping on knives.  You get what pay for.  I have found, as long as you don't have to have a matching set, that Marshall's and Ross have great deals on fancy cookware.  All-Clad, Cuisinart, etc are much, much better but too pricey for me at BB&B.  I have a Calphalon non-stick that has actually lasted almost 10 years and it still works great with no flaking.  Unheard of for the cheap ones.

TJ Maxx will have deals too. I saw a Le Creuset dutch oven for like half off the retail price there. You definitely notice a difference in quality between the nice cookware and the cheap cookware. But you don't really have to spend much to be satisfied. You can get cast iron and stainless steel cookware that will do the job fine for cheap and it will last.

I wouldn't skimp on knives though. It takes the fun out of cooking when you are struggling along with crappy knives. Makes you more likely to cut yourself too.

That said, I still didn't spend a ton of money on knives. Probably about 30 bucks per knife and I am totally satisfied. It's classy to have a big matching set of nice knives, but I didn't go that route. I went bargain hunting and got mine one at a time. And I find that you really only need four knives to cover you for all common cooking tasks: 8 inch chef's knife, 3 inch paring, boning knife, and a long serrated knife. I packed away all of the other kinds of knives I had because they were just taking up space in the kitchen.

There are people who are going to want the finest German knives made with the highest quality steel, and that's fine. But stuff like that isn't for me. It just means I've lost a lot more money when I ruin it. For example, when I first got my chef's knife, I sharpened it myself without having any clue of how to do it yet. Completely ground one side of it into this funky angle and almost ruined it. I would have been terrified to try and sharpen my knife if I'd spent 100+ dollars on a super nice one. "I'll just take it to a professional sharpener some day." Which means I'd be sitting here using dull knives for the rest of my days.

Knives are tools and tools are meant to be used and worn.

[The 12th Commandment]

TJ Maxx will have deals too. I saw a Le Creuset dutch oven for like half off the retail price there. You definitely notice a difference in quality between the nice cookware and the cheap cookware. But you don't really have to spend much to be satisfied. You can get cast iron and stainless steel cookware that will do the job fine for cheap and it will last.

I wouldn't skimp on knives though. It takes the fun out of cooking when you are struggling along with crappy knives. Makes you more likely to cut yourself too.

That said, I still didn't spend a ton of money on knives. Probably about 30 bucks per knife and I am totally satisfied. It's classy to have a big matching set of nice knives, but I didn't go that route. I went bargain hunting and got mine one at a time. And I find that you really only need four knives to cover you for all common cooking tasks: 8 inch chef's knife, 3 inch paring, boning knife, and a long serrated knife. I packed away all of the other kinds of knives I had because they were just taking up space in the kitchen.

There are people who are going to want the finest German knives made with the highest quality steel, and that's fine. But stuff like that isn't for me. It just means I've lost a lot more money when I ruin it. For example, when I first got my chef's knife, I sharpened it myself without having any clue of how to do it yet. Completely ground one side of it into this funky angle and almost ruined it. I would have been terrified to try and sharpen my knife if I'd spent 100+ dollars on a super nice one. "I'll just take it to a professional sharpener some day." Which means I'd be sitting here using dull knives for the rest of my days.

Knives are tools and tools are meant to be used and worn.

I think TJ Maxx and Ross are the same company.  

 

I agree with you on the rest, my knives are middle of the line Wusthof and Henckels and were $50 or so apiece.  They are pretty good German steel.  But I look at them as tools too and just like my truck (which cost a whole lot more) they get used and occasionally mildly abused.  

 

My cousin the foodie from the bay area cringes, but this is what I use to keep them sharp - $10 at Walmart.  Works really well, is easy and quick but takes off a good bit of steel in the process.  I guess eventually my knives will wear out?  I figure that's a cost of doing business because I'm not going to take them into the shop on a regular basis either and I have to have them sharp.  

 

[zoony]

Second Tj Max. I have an entire all clad lineup all purchased while my wife was looking at clothes

You have to be patient they rarely have it and it's always something different

Regarding knives, look at what the pros use. You won't find high end knives in commercial kitchens. That's for San Francisco fruits to stupidly spend money on.

[dfitzo53]

Dexter Russell and Victorinox both make affordable, high quality knives.

[zoony]

My wife wanted it until she read the reviews online.  It's the same as any nonstick.  Works for a bit, can't use metal in it.  Then starts to stick over time.  I wouldn't recommend the running your mixer in the pan based on the internet reviews.

Trick is to NEVER put them in the dishwasher. I have had the same all clad non stick pan for 6 years now, like new. I just hit it with dish soap and a sponge when done takes 5 seconds. Some even swear that a non stick pan should be treated like a cast iron skillet and just be wiped out after use and soap should never touch it, but my wife gave me the look when I suggested it. So I stick with the palmolive.

Except when my mother in law visits and puts it in the ****ing dishwasher, along with my freakin knives. Drives me crazy. Mainly because I can't say anything without looking like a total asshole. Because 1. She's my MIL and 2. She's "helping" with the dishes

[dfitzo53]

Except when my mother in law visits and puts it in the ****ing dishwasher, along with my freakin knives. Drives me crazy. Mainly because I can't say anything without looking like a total asshole. Because 1. She's my MIL and 2. She's "helping" with the dishes

Same thing with my sister in law.  When she's coming over I've started making sure the knives are cleaned and put away before she comes in to do the dishes.

[mistertim]

I'm thinking of getting a sous vide cooker. Any of you guys have one? My buddy has one and says he can't imagine using anything else to cook now...especially when it comes to meat.

[CBass1724]

Trick is to NEVER put them in the dishwasher.

 

I grew up in a household where my mom never put pots and pans in the dishwasher.  We basically had to fully wash the damn dishes before it could go in the dishwasher anyway, because our dishwasher wasn't THAT good.  So in my adult life, I've never put pots or pans in there and I don't have any problems with my non stick pans.

 

If you do dishes right after the meal, everything tends to clean very easily.  I've had roommates that "let things soak" which is code for "I'm a lazy ass."

Edited May 18, 2016 by CBass1724

[Going Commando]

I'm thinking of getting a sous vide cooker. Any of you guys have one? My buddy has one and says he can't imagine using anything else to cook now...especially when it comes to meat.

TBH, I don't see the need for one. Not unless you were doing some experimental high concept cooking. I don't know anyone who has one. It's not convenient to have such loooong cook times and it feels wasteful to have to use all of those vacuum bags. Kind of reminds me of Keurig coffee makers. An expensive and inefficient solution to something that is not a problem.

I guess there are some meats that would be good sous-vide, like certain types of fish. But inducing the Maillard reaction is absolutely critical to cooking most types of meat for most dishes IMO, and you can't get that through sous-vide. Cooking steak sous-vide is a damn travesty IMO.

You can also mimic the effect of sous-vide by making a water bath and then putting an upside down bowl in the bottom of your pot and setting your food on top of the bowl. It's off the element that way.

[mistertim]

TBH, I don't see the need for one. Not unless you were doing some experimental high concept cooking. I don't know anyone who has one. It's not convenient to have such loooong cook times and it feels wasteful to have to use all of those vacuum bags. Kind of reminds me of Keurig coffee makers. An expensive and inefficient solution to something that is not a problem.

I guess there are some meats that would be good sous-vide, like certain types of fish. But inducing the Maillard reaction is absolutely critical to cooking most types of meat for most dishes IMO, and you can't get that through sous-vide. Cooking steak sous-vide is a damn travesty IMO.

You can also mimic the effect of sous-vide by making a water bath and then putting an upside down bowl in the bottom of your pot and setting your food on top of the bowl. It's off the element that way.

You can get re-usable vacuum bags.

 

My friend who has one actually thought the same way before he got his. He was a grilling purist and thought sous vide was dumb and a waste of time (and wasn't "real" cooking...but tell that to the gourmet chefs around the world who use it). Then he tried one that a guy he works with has, then bought one himself, and now sees grilling or pan cooking meat and veggies as vastly subpar compared to sous vide.

 

You still get the Maillard reaction the same way you would if you did a reverse sear in the oven. You cook it sous vide, then sear it on very high heat in a pan for a couple on each side. Another option (that is used in lots of high end restaurants along with sous vide) is a blowtorch with a Searzall attachment...faster than pan searing, less mess and setup, and you don't have to worry about cooking the interior more than you already have in the water.

Edited May 18, 2016 by mistertim

[Going Commando]

You can get re-usable vacuum bags.

But then now you've added the step of decontaminating the bags to your process.

 

You still get the Maillard reaction the same way you would if you did a reverse sear in the oven. You cook it sous vide, then sear it on very high heat in a pan for a couple on each side. Another option (that is used in lots of high end restaurants along with sous vide) is a blowtorch with a Searzall attachment...faster than pan searing, less mess and setup, and you don't have to worry about cooking the interior more than you already have in the water.

Searzalls are cool, but in this process, you're now using three expensive tools--a 100 dollar vacuum sealer, a 200 dollar precision cooker or 300 dollar water oven, and a 75 dollar Searzall torch--to largely replicate what you can do in a fraction of the time in a 20 dollar cast iron skillet. If you still need induction cooking to sear meat after cooking it sous-vide, isn't it vastly more convenient just to cook the thing the whole way through induction?

I could understand the necessity for sous-vide if it were difficult to cook a portion of meat to a desired temperature through traditional induction/convection methods. But it isn't. You can pan fry a steak and get awesome results without needing too much skill.

I'm not trying to come up with new ways to cook an egg like a chef in a michelin star restaurant. There really is no need for a home cook to use sous-vide.

[Going Commando]

One other thing on sous-vide vs grilling:

- You can't get smoke flavor naturally

- When you grill meat over coals, you're actually building in fat flavor to your meat because of the drippings. The fat melts and falls on your coals and then evaporates and floats back up and flavors your meat. The effect is delicious and, so far as I know, you can't get it any other way aside from grilling.

[mistertim]

One other thing on sous-vide vs grilling:

- You can't get smoke flavor naturally

- When you grill meat over coals, you're actually building in fat flavor to your meat because of the drippings. The fat melts and falls on your coals and then evaporates and floats back up and flavors your meat. The effect is delicious and, so far as I know, you can't get it any other way aside from grilling.

I can definitely agree with this (as well as your previous post about the whole thing being quite expensive).

[The 12th Commandment]

I could understand just messing around with a sous-vide now and then if money wasn't an issue.  Might be fun.  I can't imagine depriving myself of the pleasure of standing around a fire, beer in hand, when cooking a steak though.  

 

I have a pasta machine and the homemade pasta is really good but too much work to do regularly.  Glad I have it though.  Like an expensive version of that.  

 

That Searzall looks interesting, if a bit pricey for what it is.

[dfitzo53]

I could understand just messing around with a sous-vide now and then if money wasn't an issue.  Might be fun.  I can't imagine depriving myself of the pleasure of standing around a fire, beer in hand, when cooking a steak though. 

So much this.  From lighting the coals to enjoying being outside to that smoky smell to the excuse to drink a beer or two, I love grilling.

 

I don't have anything against sous vide intellectually, but it's not for me.  (And I certainly wouldn't spend the money on it.)

[mistertim]

Yeah, IMO the Searzall is way overpriced. As far as money, the newer sous vide machines cost less than a decent gas grill, though obviously less than a good coal grill.

[Going Commando]

The economics of sous-vide start making more sense with scale. I can understand why a restaurant who is making a lot of individual plates over the course of a night would use sous-vide and a searzall torch. It would also standardize your food no matter who was in the kitchen. I can also understand why it's good for making large quantities of meals that can be stored for fairly long periods of time.

But I rarely cook for more than five or six people at a time and when I do, I'm usually making something that comes out in big batches that you probably wouldn't use sous-vide for.

And I agree with the rest of you--I love the process of grilling itself. For some people cooking is stressful and takes energy. For me it's the opposite. It lowers my stress and gives me energy and puts me in a positive mood.

[The 12th Commandment]

Cooking along with fishing and golf have always been my favorite, and most effective, distractions.  

[zoony]

Cooking along with fishing and golf have always been my favorite, and most effective, distractions.

If you lived close by we would be best friends

[Going Commando]

I like watching golf a lot more than I like playing it myself.

[tshile]

I need to get better at cooking

My parents were work aholics and never really cooked and now I'm an idiot.

No one even answered my question about pellet smokers. I assume because you all feel bad for me.

[Going Commando]

I've never heard of a pellet smoker. My instinct is that it's a shortcut and it won't produce results as good as the traditional ways.

Smoking does take skill. And time and patience. I don't have a smoker so I've got no experience doing it. But I imagine it's incredibly rewarding when you develop good fire skills and can make meat or cheese with incredible flavor that can't truly be replicated from any other method.

[dfitzo53]

I don't have any knowledge about pellet smokers.

[zoony]

One of my friends is a distributor for pellet smokers.

They started entering bbq competitions in Nashville and were subsequently banned because they were winning everything. 3 guys showing up not knowing anything beating Vets pissed a lot of people off

They are the best apparatus for smoking meat period. My next purchase will be a pellet smoker.

[tshile]

One of my friends is a distributor for pellet smokers.

They started entering bbq competitions in Nashville and were subsequently banned because they were winning everything. 3 guys showing up not knowing anything beating Vets pissed a lot of people off

They are the best apparatus for smoking meat period. My next purchase will be a pellet smoker.

I had heard something similar... let me know how that goes