Category Archives: Technique

Make your own garlic salt, save money, sound cool!

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I got home last night and realized that we were out of a few things so I had a fantastic session in the kitchen.  It’s been a while that I have had some time to actually cook at home so I went all out.  You’ll see a lot more posts on the way but this is the first thing I was able to crank out.

I’m a huge fan of infusing salt, saving money, and sounding cool.  I’ve been so busy lately that I had a bunch of garlic on hand at home and didn’t really have anything functional to do with 10 heads of garlic.  I took 3 of them and cleaned them up then sent them over to the monster food processor…..it’s awesome!  I removed the garlic then in a small container dumped a little kosher salt then a little garlic…..a little kosher salt…..a little garlic…..until both of them had combined equally. The picture above shows it hot off the (garlic) presses (non-funny joke) but after a few days the moisture will be pulled out and then ta-da!!!!!!!! Garlic salt.

Give it a try, it’s much better than the crap you can find at the stores.  The flavor is much better and the best part is you made it…..actually the best part is that you infused salt, saved money, and sound cool.

Sound cool,

Eric

How to quickly open a Pomegranate: Featuring Tom the Pom (video)

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It’s National Pomegranate Month so I’m doing my best to show you how easy/quick it is to open a pomegranate.  I tried my best to get out as many arils as possible so I think I did a great job…..it could be faster but that will happen with more practice.

Thanks again to POM!

Eric

Infuse Your Salt, Save Money, Sound Cool

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ZOMBIE BILLY MAYS HERE!!!

DOES THIS EVER HAPPEN TO YOU?!?!??!?!?!??! YOU JUST BOUGHT A BUNCH OF FRESH HERBS AND THEY ARE STARTING TO GO BAD AND YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THEM EXCEPT FOR THROW THEM AWAY?!!?!?!?

WELL TODAY I’M GOING TO SHOW YOU THE EASIEST WAY TO PROLONGUE THE LIFE OF YOUR PRECIOUS FRESH HERBS, SAVE MONEY, AND SOUND COOL AT YOUR NEXT FOOD GATHERING.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE NEW INFUSED SALT 5000!!

WHEN YOU HAVE FRESH HERBS JUST MIX IN A BUNCH OF KOSHER SALT IN WITH THEM AND MOISTURE WILL BE SUCKED OUT BY THE SALT AND YOU WILL HAVE A NICE FRAGRANT INFUSED SALT THAT YOU CAN USE AS A FINISHING SALT!!!!

I GO TO THE STORE AND SEE BLACK TRUFFLE SALT FOR $19.99. THAT IS INSANE! THE AMOUNT OF BLACK TRUFFLES IN THE SALT EQUALS AROUND $.75 AND THE SALT IS ABOUT $.10. THE GLASS CONTAINER AND THE LABELING IS WHAT YOU ARE PAYING FOR!!!!! MAKE YOUR OWN USING MY AWESOME TIPS AND INFUSE YOUR SALT, SAVE MONEY, AND SOUND COOL!!!

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Eric :)

Compound Butter

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That new mixer is awesome! There are things I was only able to do at class or at work (more information coming soon).  One thing I like to make in class is compound butter. Take a stick of butter, let it get to room temperature,  then place in mixer and fold in other ingredients to make it more exciting.  You can do this manually but it’s a pain in the butt and the ingredients won’t spread across the butter evenly…….this is why you haven’t seen this on this blog yet. Mixer = game changer!

Equipment:

  • Stand Mixer!
  • Spatula

Ingredients:

  • Unsalted butter at room temperature
  • Fresh parsley and tarragon
  • 5 garlic cloves, minced
  • Kosher salt
  • Whole egg, (optional)
  • Parmesan Cheese (to top on bread)
  • The bread I used is ciabatta, if you’re curious

Procedure

  1. Place butter in mixer then set to a medium mix and cream it.
  2. Slowly add ingredients. At this point you can wrap it in clear wrap and place in the refrigerator or you can apply it directly in something……..steamed vegetables, baked potato, baked bread, etc……
  3. Only add the egg if you are going to place it on bread and bake it. It will add a little fluff to your butter…appearance people!
  4. EAT IT!

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Court Bouillon

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Picture unrelated………………

A court bouillon is a poaching liquid you can use instead of simply using water in order to give an extra oomph in flavor to your food.

Equipment:

  • Medium stock pot

Ingredients:

  • Water
  • 1/2 lemon, juiced
  • Leeks 25%                 mi
  • Celery 25%               re
  • Onions  50%             poix
  • White wine, just a splash or two……….or three………
  • Sachet d’epices consisting of Bay leaf, peppercorn, thyme (optional), and garlic wrapped in cheesecloth

Procedure:

  • Place all ingredients in medium stock pot
  • Simmer for an hour…………………………..weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Enjoy,

Eric

Pan Fried Trout with a Lemon Fines Herbs Sauce

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My team made this in class. It was a huge success and I can’t wait to fire off 300 more of these.

Equipment:

  • Saute Pan
  • Fish turner or tongs
  • Paper towel

Ingredients:

  • Fresh trout
  • Standard breading procedure (flour, egg, and panko crumbs)
  • Fines Herbs (Parsley, Chives, Tarragon, and Chervil)
  • Minced Shallots
  • White Wine
  • Salt and White Pepper
  • Butter, small diced
  • Lemon
  • Clarified butter or Olive oil

Procedure:

  1. Run the trout through the standard breading procedure
  2. Heat up saute pan and place approximately 2 ounces of oil in pan
  3. Place trout in pan and cook each side until golden brown then remove from heat and place on paper towel
  4. Pour out most of the liquid in the pan then add a little butter and place back on the heat
  5. Add shallots and toast
  6. Deglaze with wine wine
  7. Add Fines Herbs, salt, and pepper to taste then remove from heat and add a small amount of butter
  8. Serve over trout with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Enjoy,

Eric

Blanching

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Penne Pasta (3)

Always blanch your vegetables!!!! It will keep the color in your vegetables, make your vegetables taste better, and make them easier to peel if you need to peel them. DO IT NOW!!!

Equipment:

  • Stock Pot
  • Strainer
  • Bowl filled with ice water

Ingredients:

  • Salt
  • Water
  • Vegetables

Procedure:

  1. Boil water then throw in salt.  The water should taste salty…….not enough and there is no point….too much and well you’re on your own.
  2. Place vegetables in salty boiling water then remove. Each vegetable varies in time you need to blanch. Keep practicing.
  3. Remove from heat and pour in strainer then immediately dump vegetables in cold water with strainer. Don’t leave them in the ice bath for too long or your vegetables will get soggy.

Don’t ask questions, just practice!

Eric

Take a large stock pot and fill with water then boil

Tourner: If this knife skill had a face then I would punch it

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I’m not a violent person but after trying this knife skill I wanted to go to the grocery store and punch potatoes.  A football shaped cut…..only for presentations purposes…………you have got to be……….wait, I think I have the hang of this………nevermind.  I’ll just keep practicing.

Eric

Concasse Tomato

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Please use this technique next time you make a tomato anything. I’m not going to culinary school to have you do things wrong. That’s a bad visitor, bad!

Equipment:

  • Stock Pot
  • Mixing bowl with ice water
  • Strainer

Ingredients:

  • Tomatoes, I used a Roma Tomato
  • Kosher Salt
  • Water

Procedure:

  1. Boil water in stock pot then add salt
  2. Cut a crosshatch at the bottom of each tomato and remove the stem
  3. Place tomato in stock pot then count to 25
  4. Remove tomato then place in ice water
  5. Peel skin off tomato

There you go…………no make some sauce or something.

Eric

Name these 5 cuts first…..Win a prize!

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I need to keep practicing, those are pretty rough….yikes!!!

You have until Friday noon pacific standard time.  Don’t just randomly guess, you might give someone else the right answer!!!! Send answers to:

ericriveracooks@gmail.com, don’t post in comments!

I have a wood mortar and pestle for the winner, courtesy of the secret source!

Winners will be announced on Friday afternoon!

Eric

“Not a game, We’re talkin’ bout practice…..Not a game….Practice..”

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Eggs: Hard Boiled, Fried, Over Easy, Scrambled, Brouille, Omelette, Poached, Fritatta, and Crepe

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EGG WEEK EGG WEEK EGG WEEK EGG WEEK EGG WEEK!!!!!

Hard Boiled

Hard Boiled Egg On Roasted Red Pepper SoupRoasted Red Pepper Soup (Click Here For Recipe)

Prep Time: 1-2 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes

Equipment Needed:

High sided pot

Ingredients:

Grade AA Large Egg

Procedure:

  1. Pour cold water into pot
  2. Place egg in pot then turn heat up to high
  3. Once you have reached a boil (2-3 minutes) cook egg for 6-7 minutes. 10 minutes total cooking
  4. Remove egg from heat then place in cold water

If you cook these too long then you will get that nasty green ring around your egg yolk. This is not a good thing.

Fried

Red White and Bacon (3)Red, White, and Bacon (Click here for recipe)

Prep Time: 1-2 minutes
Cook Time: 8-10 minutes

Equipment Needed:

Saute Pan

Ingredients:

Grade AA Large Egg
Clarified Butter (Click here for recipe)

Procedure:

  1. Heat up the saute pan and make it really hot, do this with a gas stove
  2. Once pan is hot pour in a little clarified butter then immediately crack in egg
  3. Remove pan from heat and let your egg cook for 8-10 minutes then serve immediately

Over Easy

P8030004Over Easy Egg Served on Toast with Tarragon, Salt, and Pepper

Prep Time: 1-2 minutes
Cook Time: 8-10 minutes

Equipment Needed:

Saute Pan

Ingredients:

Grade AA Large Egg
Clarified Butter (Click here for recipe)

Procedure:

  1. Heat up the saute pan and make it really hot, do this with a gas stove
  2. Once pan is hot pour in a little clarified butter then immediately crack in egg
  3. Remove the pan from heat and let egg cook for 5 minutes then flip half way through cooking. Serve immediately

Scrambled

Scrambled EggsTraditional Puerto Rican Style Scrambled Eggs

Prep Time: 1-2 minutes
Cook Time: 30 seconds

Equipment Needed:

Saute Pan
Bowl
Whisk

Ingredients:

2 Grade AA Large Eggs
Clarified Butter

Procedure:

  1. Heat up saute pan and make it really hot
  2. Pour in a little butter, mix eggs in bowl then pour in hot pan
  3. Season and stir eggs then remove from pan after 30 seconds

Brouille

P8040030Eggs Brouille with Tarragon, Paprika, and Heavy Cream

Prep Time: 1-2 minutes
Cook Time: 1-2 minutes

Equipment Needed:

Bain Marie (double boiler)
Spatula

Ingredients:

2 Grade AA Large Eggs

Procedure:

  1. Heat up the BainMarie
  2. Crack eggs into Bain Marie then beat eggs rapidly until eggs are creamy then serve immediately

Omelette  (American Style)

Omelette (2)Omelette filled with caramelized onions, sweet peppers and topped with cilantro, cheese, and hot sauce

Prep Time: 1-2 minutes
Cook Time: 2-4 minutes

Equipment Needed:

Saute Pan
Spatula
Whisk
Mixing Bowl

Ingredients:

3-4 Grade AA Large Eggs, per person
Clarified Butter
Whatever you want to fill it with

Procedure:

  1. Heat up Saute Pan then pour in a little clarified butter
  2. Whisk eggs in bowl then immediately pour in hot pan
  3. Let cook for 1-2 minutes then pour filling in on one side
  4. Fold one side over the filling then place entire pan in oven at 400F for 1-2 minutes
  5. Remove from oven then serve immediately

Omelette (French Style)

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Prep Time: 1-2 minutes
Cook Time: 30 seconds

Equipment Needed:

Saute Pan
Mixing Bowl
Whisk
Spatula

Ingredients:

2 Grade AA Large Eggs
Whatever you want to fill it with

Procedure:

  1. Heat up pan and pour in a tiny amount of clarified butter
  2. Pour in 2 ounces of eggs into pan and spread eggs thin in pan
  3. Add filling into middle of egg
  4. Flip right side of egg into center of egg
  5. Flip egg completely into plate then blot with paper towel and tuck egg into itself  (French cooking is hilarious)

Poached

POACHED EGG ON A SAUSAGE BED (9)Poached Egg Served On A Sausage Bed (Click here for recipe)

Prep Time: 1-2 minutes
Cook Time: 8-10 minutes

Equipment Needed:

Medium Pot
Skimmer
Whisk

Ingredients:

  • 1 Grade AA Large Egg
  • Lemon, a few drops
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 tsp. vinegar

Procedure:

  1. Heat up water in pot to 165-180F
  2. Pour in lemon juice, salt, and vinegar
  3. Give a quick whisk to create a vortex in the water then crack egg in water
  4. Cook for 8-10 minutes then remove the egg with whisk

Frittata

Italian Sausage Crusted Monster FrittataItalian Sausage Crusted Monster Frittata (Click here for recipe)

Prep Time: 2-3 minutes
Cook Time: 3-5 minutes

Equipment Needed:

Saute Pan
Plate
Bowl
Whisk

Ingredients:

  • 2-3 Grade AA Large Eggs
  • Any ingredients you plan to incorporate in dish, make sure you saute them before adding them to Frittata
  • Clarified Butter

Procedure:

  1. Heat up pan then add butter
  2. Pour eggs in pan then add sauteed ingredients
  3. Lift egg so you can push more of the raw egg underneath to cook it
  4. Place plate over pan then flip frittata into plate, remove extra butter
  5. Pour frittata back into pan, make sure you cook the side that hasn’t been cooked.
  6. Place pan underneath salamander (broiler) and cook for another minute or two then serve

Crepe

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Quarter this recipe

Prep Time: 3-5 minutes
Cook Time: 30-60 seconds

Equipment Needed:

Bowl
Whisk
Saute Pan
Spatula

Ingredients:

  • 6 Whole Grade AA Large Eggs
  • 6 Egg Yolks
  • 12 ounces water
  • 18 ounces Milk
  • 6 oz Granulated Sugar
  • 1 tsp. Salt
  • 14 ounces flour
  • 5 ounces butter
  • Clarified Butter, as needed

Procedure:

  1. Whisk together Eggs, yolks, water and milk. Add sugar, salt, and flour; whisk together. Stir in melted butter.
  2. Cover and set aside to rest for at least  hour.
  3. Heat pan and add a small amount of clarified butter then pour in 1-1 1/2 ounces of batter. Swirl to coat the bottom of the pan evenly
  4. Cook the crepe until light brown, 30 seconds. Flip it then cook a few seconds longer then serve.

Eggs.

Enjoy,

Eric

Crab!

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30 pounds of dungeness crab.

Ingredients

30 pounds of dungeness crab, uncooked

Boil Mixture

10 cups sea salt
2 cups coriander seed
1 cup smoked paprika
1 cup yellow mustard seed
1/2 cup cumin
1/4 cup cayenne pepper

Take a large stock pot and cook 3-5 crabs at a time in boiling water with the boil mixture stirred in for 10-12 minutes. I split them in half. The picture shows the lungs still attached because I was still processing them so you’ll want to make sure to remove those. If there are people you know that don’t like the “nasty stuff” inside the crabs body then just save that for later and make a stock with it. Serve the crab with some clarified butter (click for recipe)……the crab was so good it didn’t need it.

P7250216Crab stock

We have about 2 pounds of meat leftover so get ready for a few crab recipes!

Enjoy,

Eric

Thanks again Taylor Shellfish in Shelton, Washington for being patient with my madness!

Shrimp Gumbo

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This is the second time I’ve made gumbo but the first time using my new techniques from culinary school. This is also my first time posting a gumbo recipe so I hope you try it, it’s a good one.  I lived in Louisiana for about a year and a half while I was going to college (the first time) so I’ve been able to experience some fantastic gumbo. Gumbo in New Orleans, Shreveport, Natchitoches, Baton Rouge and just about everywhere so this is a blend of all those places where I remember eating gumbo. I used linguica sausage instead of andouille sausage because I wanted more of a flavor impact, linguica is soaked in wine so that’s a great flavor impact! Good food takes time so make sure you give yourself some time to make this one.

Ingredients:

4 liters shrimp stock (Click here)
2 lbs. linguica sausage
Beer
1 lb. butter
Flour
1 lb. mirepoix (1/2 lb. onions, 1/4 lb. celery, 1/4 lb. ivory bell peppers or green bell peppers)
Sweet Corn
2 tbsp. cayenne
2 tbsp. Spanish paprika
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
1 tbsp. kosher salt
2 cans clams with juice
4 lbs. shrimp, deveined and peeled
Rosemary, Oregano, Thyme, Parsley, finely minced
Fresh lavender, for garnish

Ready? Ok! Take a large stock pot and place the sausage in with a little butter and cook the sausage for about 3-4 minutes flipping once then remove the sausage and place on a plate. Deglaze the pot with beer then add the butter and melt it. Once the butter is melted whisk in an equal amount of flour to butter, you are now making a roux.  Slowly add the flour and stir frequently while you cook the rough. You are going to make a brown roux (Click here).  Once the roux is done slowly add the shrimp stock into the mixture. Once the stock is added bring the mixture to a simmer, never boil. Add the mirepoix, sausage, corn, cayenne, cumin, paprika, and salt. Let this mixture cook for about 30-45 minutes, remember to skim the grease off as it rises to the top or you will end up with a greasy gumbo. Add the shrimp, clams with juice, and minced herbs then cook for another 10 minutes then serve with a little lavender as a garnish.

Enjoy,

Eric

Shrimp Stock

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I didn’t follow the rules on this one but I think that’s part of this whole culinary school thing. They will show you the traditional way to do it then it is your job to make it your own as a Chef. In class we made a fish stock made with halibut that was fantastic. I needed some stock for the gumbo I was making so I decided to make a shrimp stock with the shrimp that I was going to throw into the gumbo. Normally you would use a ratio of 8:1 for the mirepoix going into the stock, 1 pound of mirepoix for every 8 pounds of meat or vegetables. The mirepoix traditionally used for this would substitute carrots for turnips, I stuck with carrots. Also, for the herbs and spices a bouquet garni would be used, I used a tea infuser. The result? A damn fine stock!

Ingredients

1.5 pounds of shrimp peels
1 pound small dice mirepoix (1/2 pound onions, 1/4 pound celery, 1/4 pound carrots)
Bouquet Garni-  Bay leaf, parsley stems, thyme, and 5 peppercorns

Pour in 4.25 liters of water into a stock pot then add the shrimp and mirepoix. Turn the heat to high and once the stock reaches a simmer turn down the heat and continue to simmer, never boil. Add the bouquet garni then cook for 20 minutes.  Strain the stock then place in containers for later use. Use within 2-3 days or freeze.

For more stocks click here (click)

Eric

Clarified Butter

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Serving some crab? Clarify some butter!

Ingredients:

2 pounds of butter

Take a sauce pot and slowly melt the butter. If you melt the butter too fast then it will scorch the bottom of your pot and your butter will smell burnt so take your time with this.  As you heat up the butter it will start to separate then all you have to do is skim away all the white stuff that is floating to the top of the pot, that white stuff is the milk. Once you are done skimming then serve immediately or just place in the refrigerator.

Enjoy,

Eric