IGX

Please stop.

So Eric, are you going to be doing a lot of posing training as well? Oil? Self-tanner? Mirrors? Banana hammock? Inquiring minds want to know.

I'm tapping out of this thread. I've successfully creeped myself out.

I cannot adequately torment Beefheart without your help. Damn.

I rate this thread:







out of five.

On further review, I stand by all my posts until the whipped cream one.

Buy this f'ing pan, it's fantastic.

Do not invite a man from out of town to help you make whipped cream. It makes things... weird.

GoDogGo! wrote:So Eric, are you going to be doing a lot of posing training as well? Oil? Self-tanner? Mirrors? Banana hammock? Inquiring minds want to know.

No. Except the hammock, which is just how I rock it. You see me in the street, rest assured I'm sporting a slingshot full of man junk.

Fat Cat wrote:How is this better than my 12" cast iron skillet?

Cast Iron for the win!

Batboy2/75 wrote:

Fat Cat wrote:How is this better than my 12" cast iron skillet?

Cast Iron for the win!

You might have noticed I said the three indispensable pans in my kitchen are the grill pan, a cast iron skillet, and a saucepan.

I make a cornbread in that cast iron skillet that will make you cry. My family requests it for Thanksgiving.

Pan frying food in the skillet is not the same as grilling in this pan. (Which is also not the same as cooking on a charcoal grill.)

The grill pan drains liquid away from cooking food and keeps lines of heat on it. If you want to pan fry a pork chop in its fat with no caramelization, it don't hurt my feelings. I like 'em breaded with that "oven fry" stuff and baked sometimes. But for the most part, the meat I cook goes on this pan and it's easy and delicious.

Maybe the main reason I use this pan so much is that I live in an apartment where I get limited chances to fire up a grill. But I will take the Pepsi Challenge against a grill steak with my grill-pan-grilled steak seasoned with adobo.

Eric Bruesch wrote:I make a cornbread in that cast iron skillet that will make you cry.

Recipe please, thanks in advance for your cooperation!

1/2 pound bacon, chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic
4 jalapenos, seeded and diced (go less or omit if you don't like heat)
3 cups cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
10 tablespoons melted unsalted butter (1 1/4 sticks)

Preheat the oven to 450 F.

Brown chopped bacon in a 10-inch cast iron skillet. Add the garlic and jalapeno and saute until softened.

In a bowl, combine the cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pepper and mix well. In a small bowl, combine the buttermilk, eggs, and melted butter. Add to dry ingredients and stir just to combine. Quickly pour the cornmeal batter into the skillet.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until firm and golden brown on top. Let sit for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a cutting board. Cut into wedges and serve hot with butter on the side.



I didn't create this, it's Emeril's I think.

Thanks man, any cornbread recipe that starts with a half pound of bacon can't be all bad. I'm going to make this for my mama, she's coeliac but this has no flour.

You'll be happy, Fats. It's best served with chili. Second best served with spicy scrambled eggs. Either way your Moms should tolerate it.

I may have perfected grilling a steak indoors using this pan. I ate a steak tonight, and can't remember its equal on a grill or at a restaurant.

Start with ribeye steaks, 3/4" thick. I used Choice beef I got at the regular butcher counter. If you can get Prime, it will of course be better. 90 minutes before dinner, take them out of the fridge. Put them on a plate and lightly dust them on both sides with adobo-- you'll find adobo on the ethnic food aisle with the actual Mexican food (not the Taco Bell seasoning shit). I use the "con pimiento" type. It does not take much, just a light dusting.

Let the steaks sit out for an hour. If you watch, you'll see the salt from the adobo draw out liquid from the meat- it will get shiny in the first 30 mins. And in the final 30 mins, you'll see the meat draw this fluid back in, including the seasoning. Some people call this a dry brine.

Heat the grill pan over high heat for a solid 10 mins. One hour after taking the steaks out of the fridge, drop them on the grill. DO NOT TOUCH THEM for 4 minutes. You want a good dark sear, trust me. After 4 mins, turn them. Let them cook another 4 mins. This is creating a tasty, crusty sear on the outside.

At the end of the second 4 mins, turn the heat to medium. The steaks are done to rare, but most afficionados like medium rare. That will take another 1-2 mins per side. If you like them done more, then of course it takes more cooking. Do it over medium heat. I don't eat 'em past mid rare, but have heard that a meat thermometer is crucial to getting it done correctly.

The result is the best home-cooked steak I know of. The dry brine has brought correct seasoning to the beef. There's a nice crust. It's juicy from the cut and the quick cooking.

Serve with a good mac and cheese.http://www.amazingribs.com/recipes/othe ... heese.html

or any other tasty starch, and a salad.

I like what I am seeing here, but my approach is so different I felt I had to offer a counter point.

1. Take steak out of refrigerator, I prefer something cheap and delicious like chuck eye. If you have the luxury of anticipation, taking out half an hour before cooking is better, but not at all necessary. Even better, age your steaks in your refrigerator a few days unwrapped on a sheet of wax paper. This is how the finest steakhouses age their beef in devoted refrigerators.
3. In a cast iron skillet, heat a tablespoon of oil to the smoking point and cook for 5 minutes on a side of ~1 lbs. .75" thick. Moderate time, but not heat, for fluctuations in thickness of cut.
4. Plate and cover for 10 minutes with foil. You took it off rare, you will eat it medium-rare, crisp on the outside but pooling with juice.
5. Enjoy with fleur-de-sel (yes it matters).


I eat this way You can pour off the fat in the pan, deglaze with wine, and make a butter and herb reduction to pour over the meat if you are trying to get laid otherwise meat, salt, and icewater.

Trick from my brother, who's a fine dining chef, on how to manage smoke with indoor high-heat steak cooking.

Crank the heat to its maximum temperature for searing, cook 3 min.
Turn heat down to low/medium low, allow to cook for the remainder of the first side.
Crank heat back up, flip beef, cook 3 min.
Turn down heat for remainder of cook.

I find this reduces smoke by 80%.

Rest the steaks 5 minutes before eating.

Fat Cat wrote: Even better, age your steaks in your refrigerator a few days unwrapped on a sheet of wax paper. This is how the finest steakhouses age their beef in devoted refrigerators.

Your method is solid. I think the dry brining I described is just a shortcut to imitate the dry aging.

Grandpa's Spells wrote:Trick from my brother, who's a fine dining chef, on how to manage smoke with indoor high-heat steak cooking.

Crank the heat to its maximum temperature for searing, cook 3 min.
Turn heat down to low/medium low, allow to cook for the remainder of the first side.
Crank heat back up, flip beef, cook 3 min.
Turn down heat for remainder of cook.

I find this reduces smoke by 80%.

Rest the steaks 5 minutes before eating.

Thanks for the tips, Spells. On my electric cooktop I don't think the pan would get hot enough with the quick heat adjustments. A gas range might pull it off. Good stuff though.

Fat Cat wrote: I prefer something cheap and delicious like chuck eye.

Incidentally, chuck roast is the favorite for slow cooker beef braising. Perfect Sunday dinner with almost zero work. Also ideal to grind up for burgers.

I confess I bought a KitchenAid stand mixer for two purposes: to properly knead tough bread dough (pizza crust, etc), and to grind my own beef.

Kitchenaid rules my throbbing anus. My wife uses daily.

Fat Cat wrote:Kitchenaid rules my throbbing anus. My wife uses daily.

You really can use that shit for almost anything.

I used it last week for a peach cobbler.

There a mango-raspberry cake at home that says you know what you're talking about.

Two slices of rye bread. Leftover steak, sliced thin. Build in some swiss cheese and a little sweet/hot mustard. Spray the outside of the sandwich with cooking spray and grill.

That is all.