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I wish I were British...

#321
bassybill said:
While the talk is all of Yorkshire puddings, I bring you another delicious bassybill creation... Toad in the Hole.
Click to expand...

Look's like a cracker Bill, nice! Where do you buy your meat Bill? Do you have an independent butcher you go to? I'm finding I can't flash fry a lot of steak from the general superstores, too much whatever seeps out and it more kind of boils. I love British food, but it's the ingredients that I find tricky to get. After spending a week in Belgium before Xmas, there is a big difference in the quality available and slightly cheaper to boot?
 
#322
I've got a few fans of my gravy recipe, but I think Poland is the furthest afield it's got yet. I'm flattered that you took the trouble to try it and very pleased you liked it. :)

The "secrets" for good Yorkshire pud / Toad in the Hole / other similar dishes - make the batter thick enough to hold plenty of air and really aerate it with a damn good beating. Then leave it to stand for an hour or so before cooking. Get the oven and the cooking dish really hot and splash in a little oil or fat, as has been said - it should be hot enough to just start to smoke. Pour in the batter, bang it in the oven and DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR while it is cooking (that's perhaps the most important bit).

Skitch - I go to a butcher's for most of the meat I buy. There's a really good one only about half a mile from my house and I know the guy there quite well. It ain't really cheap, but I find that with meat you generally get what you pay for and cheap stuff often isn't great (unless it's a cheap cut anyway, like belly draft pork or liver or whatever - all of which can be very tasty if done right).

Water in supermarket steak - yeah, I hear you. Buy the best you can get and when you put it in the fridge, take it out of it's wrapping paper and leave it on a plate (below any cooked meat in the fridge as you don't want anything from raw meat dripping on to cooked meat that's ready to eat - very risky!). Doing this lets some of the moisture evaporate out and this concentrates the flavour as well as solving the issue you mention. This is a sort of variation on "dry aging" the steak. It should be darkish before you cook it rather than bright red.

Where is "Silent Valley", by the way?
 
#323
bassybill said:
Ha ha! You must have frightened them half to death. :D



Indeed not - the kidneys are what make it taste so good. It's weird that it's so hard to get them over there. Where do you guys buy meat - just at the big supermarkets? I don't think I've ever seen a traditional butcher's shop in the US.
Click to expand...

Traditional butcher shops are few and far between. There is a home/farm type local shop about an hour away, and that's where she has to go to get kidneys.
 
#324
bassybill said:
I've got a few fans of my gravy recipe, but I think Poland is the furthest afield it's got yet. I'm flattered that you took the trouble to try it and very pleased you liked it. :)

The "secrets" for good Yorkshire pud / Toad in the Hole / other similar dishes - make the batter thick enough to hold plenty of air and really aerate it with a damn good beating. Then leave it to stand for an hour or so before cooking. Get the oven and the cooking dish really hot and splash in a little oil or fat, as has been said - it should be hot enough to just start to smoke. Pour in the batter, bang it in the oven and DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR while it is cooking (that's perhaps the most important bit).

Skitch - I go to a butcher's for most of the meat I buy. There's a really good one only about half a mile from my house and I know the guy there quite well. It ain't really cheap, but I find that with meat you generally get what you pay for and cheap stuff often isn't great (unless it's a cheap cut anyway, like belly draft pork or liver or whatever - all of which can be very tasty if done right).

Water in supermarket steak - yeah, I hear you. Buy the best you can get and when you put it in the fridge, take it out of it's wrapping paper and leave it on a plate (below any cooked meat in the fridge as you don't want anything from raw meat dripping on to cooked meat that's ready to eat - very risky!). Doing this lets some of the moisture evaporate out and this concentrates the flavour as well as solving the issue you mention. This is a sort of variation on "dry aging" the steak. It should be darkish before you cook it rather than bright red.

Where is "Silent Valley", by the way?
Click to expand...

Mmmm. Yorkshire pudding. My mom makes delicious yorkshire pudding. She preps/cooks it the exact same way as you mentioned.
 
#339
Thanks, Relic! My niece is really fond of Marmite and Bovril, and her manager has just fallen in love with these condiments ;)

There are two sides to British fish & chips as for me. It looks that the aborigines prefer that nasty stuff, fatty and full of vinegar that you can buy at those booths. For me, that stuff is just disgusting. OTOH, free-houses serve really delicious fish & chips. This used to my favourite meal on my stays in the UK, complemented by a pint of delicious Real Ale... Meatpies are great, too.

I agree to the weather. Except August, England, especially North England is terribly cold and wet country. I was freezing some May in Liverpool...
 

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