Hidden Kitchens
A multi-story series by NPR, available online at http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/hiddenkitchens/

Saute technique
Totally pat dry the meat, otherwise the meat will cook too quickly and burn.

Juniper berries
Temper the gaminess of meats, particularly duck or veal. Add directly to the cure mixture.

Duck confit
Duck legs nearly always don’t have enough fat on them to self-confit. Spike rendering fat with lard or Crisco. As more duck is simmered in the fat, the volume will increase since simmering the duck meat will also render out some fat.

Simmer the meat in the rendered fat, at a lower temp, not boiling.

When reheating the confit, try broiling for about 10 minutes to reheat the meat and crisp the skin. Place on a rack on a sheet pan to catch drippings.

Rendering fat
Place fat in enough cold water to cover everything, and bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Eventually water will boil off leaving only the rendered fat.

Terminology
White stock: (noun) Unroasted bones, raw mirepoix.

Brown stock: (noun) Roasted bones and sautéed mirepoix with pincage.

Further research
Nitrates and nitrites, used to prevent botulism.

CIA textbook on techniques and methods.

Pork bellies
Pigs apparently have as many nipples as they have babies. The belly is from the underside section of a pig, including a bit of the ribs.

Duck Confit
Confit generally implies something cooked in its own fat for extended preservation. Originated when there were no refrigerators. Duck confit will keep at room temp for several month as long as it’s totally covered in fat.

Fabricating duck leg
Fat generally follows bones, to it’s fairly easy to figure out where bones are underneath meat.

Trim the fat from the underside of the leg, then towards the back bone, cutting up towards the bone (to not cut off any extra meat), until you get to the joint where the thigh meets the back. Pop the joint loose and fully separate the back bone from the thigh bone. Lay the bone skin side down and stick the tip of your knife into the joint between the thigh and leg, separating the tendons. Cut down on top of the thigh bone towards the exposed end (formerly attached to the back bone) and carefully separate the meat on either side from the thigh bone. Be careful to not cut through to the other side. Pinch the thigh bone about 2/3 from the exposed end and cut underneath towards the exposed end to fully separate from the meat. Bend the joint and fully separate. Turn the leg over and trim ragged edge of fat, if necessary.

Heating fat
Water added to the fat will keep it from getting too hot; it will stay at about 212F. When the water is gone, the fat will quickly rise in temp.

Recipe instructions
Bacon curing

• 1.25# salt
• 14oz sugar
• 4 oz TCM

Use for 50# of pork bellies. Rub both sides, store skin-side down. Further information in the CIA’s Garde Manger

Terminology
Confit: (verb) From confiture, meaning “preserve”, usually in the item’s own fat.

Chilli: (noun) Aztec word for the fruit of a chile plant.

Chile: (noun) Spanish version of “chilli”.

Pepper: (noun) Christopher Columbus’ name for chiles.

Capsicums: (noun) Any fruit that has capsaicin, ie chiles.

Chili: (noun) Short for Chili con Carne, a North American invention featuring chili powder.

Chili powder: (noun) A mixture of dried, ground chiles, and spices like black pepper, cumin, and cinnamon.

Chile powder: (noun) Dried and ground chiles.

Further research
Book: The New Restaurant Entrepreneur

First aid for fat burns?
Wash with cold water until pain goes away. Do not cover will oils or lotions which may cause infections. Dress loosely with a clean bandage.

Allison Leiber
Cheese lady of Seattle. Owned Brie and Bordeaux, where Scott Samuels worked for awhile. Her husband is Brian Hussey, the General Manager of Flying Fish.

Cheese
Sharpness is a measure of the acidity. Mild, medium, sharp, in increasing acidity.

The older the cheese, the sharper it becomes.

Plastic is the enemy of cheese, which traps moisture and encourages bacterial growth. Better to wrap in wax paper to wick away moisture, then aluminum foil outside the wax paper.

Raw milk ages whereas pasteurized milk will just spoil since there are no enzymes in it. European cheeses use raw milk most of the time.

Terminology
Nigella seeds: (noun) Little black seeds used in Indian cooking, specifically naan. Also known as kalonji.

Miscellaneous
Chef says you are closer to being a chef when who you are comes out through your food.

Fisherman-Chef connection
We met with a fish monger selling herring roe on kelp, where apparently they lay their eggs. Herring roe are about the same size as flying fish roe.

Chef’s Collaborative
Co-founded by Rick Bayless, who was the chairman for awhile.

Fresh frozen fish
Flesh freezes at 28F, and ice crystals replicate easily, which will expand and puncture the meat cells. Fresh frozen fish is flash frozen to -40F on the boat, within one hour of being caught. “Fresh” unfrozen fish will take up to a few weeks to make it to the store. The best a private citizen can do usually is “fresh” fish that is two weeks old, while a superstar restaurant can get fish a week old.

Beef grades

• Prime: Best grade, usually only available to restaurants
• Choice: Grade that’s available in grocery stores
• Select: Grade that’s being sold in a beef sale at the store
• Institutional: Used in prisons, hospitals, universities, and reservations
• Industrial: Used in frozen meats, such as meatballs
• Cutter: Usually found in pre-made foods
• Canner: Spam-like stuff, although spam is pork.

Whipping cream
Use a balloon whisk for maximum air. Use a glass bowl to avoid tiny metal fragments which would discolor the cream. Or use a metal bowl and don’t touch the sides.

Quick breads
Breads leavened with chemicals, no yeast. Don’t over mix or gluten will develop. Oil added to the flour will shorten the gluten strings by preventing them from sticking to each other. Some quick breads have both soda and powder, to provide rise and neutralize any extra acid in the recipe.

Baking soda
Alkaline reacts with any acid in the recipe to create gas. Fast reaction, not good for anything slow.

Baking powder
Baking soda with its own acid built in, cream of tartar. Double-acting powder reacts once when wet and again under heat (20% baking powder, 80% is a chemical that turns alkaline under heat).

Recipe instructions
House Paté

• 3/4# liver, cleaned and trimmed of connective tissue
• 1/2# butter
• 2 shallots, sliced
• 1/4 C sherry
• 1/4 C cream, whipped to stiff peaks
• Salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and white pepper, to taste

For a mild paté, soak livers in milk for four hours. Melt butter over medium heat, add shallots and sweat. Add livers and cook until medium-rare (just shy of medium). Add sherry off the heat and from a separate container, cook au sec (fat will still be in the pan, just no water). Food process until smooth, strain through a tamis. Gently fold in the whipped cream and season to taste, but forcefully, to compensate for cold service. Mold and refrigerate.

Terminology
Fine brunoise: (noun) Perfect cubes, 1/16″ x 1/16″ x 1/16″

Brunoise: (noun) Perfect cubes 1/8″ x 1/8″ x 1/8″

Small dice: (noun) Perfect cubes 1/4″ x 1/4″ x 1/4″

Medium dice: (noun) Perfect cubes 1/2″ x 1/2″ x 1/2″

Large dice: (noun) Perfect cubes 3/4″ x 3/4″ x 3/4″

Julienne: (noun) Matchsticks between 1 1/2″ to 2″, and 1/8″ x 1/8″ square

Alumette: (noun) Julienne of potato

Chopped: (adj) Irregular 1/4″ pieces

Minced: (adj) Irregular pieces as small as possible

Pate: (noun) French for “paste”. Usually implies liver content.

Foie gras: (noun) Duck or goose liver. No implication of cooking method.

Cilantro: (noun) Also known as coriander leaf, or Chinese parsley.

Forcemeat: (noun) Meat and fat emulsion. From the French “farcir” or “farce”.

Miscellaneous
The main measure of a successful, popular chef is opening and running a successful, popular restaurant. That’s it. This is more important than any other measure: originality, skill, education, etc.

Further research
Parboiling rice: what is it and why?
Answer

What are the names of red and white wines, eg chardonnay, riesling, pinot gris, etc.
Answer

What’s the difference between English muffins and crumpets?
English muffins are traditionally baked like bread or cake, crumpets are fried like pancakes.

Frozen meat
Flesh freezes at 28F, but water freezes at 32F. Meat held at 28-29F can be considered fresh for up to a few weeks.

Brussels sprouts
Are best after the first frost, in January or February.

Roasting
Roasting is a dry heat technique and should not have any water in the process. Water prevents browning.

Roux
4oz of roux will thicken 1 quart of liquid. The darker the roux, the less thickening power, but the better flavor.

When making roux, do not taste directly. There is no moisture in it, so it will be much hotter than 212F, most likely 350F or so.