he old saying is true and it applies to the Home Chef. This is really the basis of my second rule of cooking even though I limited it to cast iron in the first blog. It really applies to everything from heat sources, knives, spoons, ladles, garlic presses, cheese graters and anything else in between. Don't forget that heat is a tool - perhaps the most important tool- in cooking. I believe in gas and the first thing we look for in a house is a gas stove top. I also have a wood burning pizza oven and a Big Green Egg in the back yard. They are both the best tools in cooking at home. I have often said that there are two things I have spent money on in life that were so obviously worth every penny that I would easily do it again. Lasik eye surgery and the Big Green Egg. Both were expensive and totally worth every single penny. The best news is that I don't' have to do either one ever again. The eyes are great and the Egg has a lifetime warranty.
I can go on and on about the Big Green Egg and I have been known to do so. Leave it at this, however. The Big Green Egg was the first major step in my transition to being a home chef with skill. It fundamentally changed everything I was able to do in a kitchen and it completely altered my view on how to cook. Why? Heat! I have a large sized BGE and it has plenty of room to do just about anything I need for a family meal. Everything from low temperature, smoked meats to high temperature (750 degrees F) searing and blackening. Since it uses real charcoal that releases steam as it burns, the food stays moist. The first time I used the Egg was to cook a simple burger and the effect was obvious. The flavor and moistness was so obvious that I declared for the first time, "That is worth every cent." I can go on about heat and heat sources but I would rather not, except to say that it is the most important tool after the ingredients themselves. You don't need gas or a BGE to make good food but they do make it easier and they allow for more creativity. The important message is to learn how to use the heat sources you have and to control them well enough to make food with the proper technique. Texture and taste are both vastly improved. Now let me talk about a tool that I don't use - spice mixes. I should not say I do not use them at all as I have one that I do use but it is only one and it is specifically for porchetta. Other than that, most spice blends are just covering up the taste of the ingredients and are not worth the money or the time. Salt, pepper, garlic and fresh herbs and spices are the way to go. Buy real ingredients and you will see that salt and pepper are all you really need. I use spices for some things but salt and pepper is the foundation for proteins. You will also eliminate the sugar and excessive salt that most spice blends add and you will begin to taste the real food. Take my lamb burgers for example. We use no ketchup to hide the taste and no spice blends at all. The burgers are so good that my wife puts them as the top meal of the Smith Home Chef. I buy lamb at costco, grind it myself, store it in vacuum packaging until use and keep several packages in the freezer at all times. I buy local whole milk from the farmer's market that has been pasteurized but not ultra-pasteurized so that it will still make good cheese. I use it to make fresh ricotta, sitting aside the whey for bread. I mix in grilled onion and use about one third in the meat itself. I add fresh mint and oregano from the garden into the meat as well and make the meat patties, seasoning with only salt and pepper. I forgot to mention that I also make brioche buns from scratch before I start. I put a bunch of spinach on the lower, toasted bun and add the other ricotta to the top with more grilled onion. The lamb is cooked at very high heat on a cast iron skillet for about three minutes on one side. I flip them and put the whole thing in the oven (400°) for another three minutes and then let them rest for about three or four minutes. They are moist and perfectly cooked lamb burgers. Put it all together and the whole flavor is amazing. Again, no spice mixes and no ketchup, mustard or mayo. Every bite comes with a delicious taste of the ingredients themselves with the mint and oregano providing the compliment to the lamb. The buns are fresh and soft but hearty enough to hold the whole thing together. The HEAT is the key. The lamb has a delicious crust from searing and a perfect temperature every time. The tools are simple. Ingredients, heat, cast iron, and a bit of technique. Nothing else is needed. Have fun and buon appetito!
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Dennis SmithHome Chef and Wine Snob Archives
October 2021
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