Let’s make a tea-smoked chicken!

Posted on November 20, 2024 by Burnt My Fingers
Tea Smoked Chicken Towel Wrap

Here’s my improvised towel wrap for the tea smoked chicken. Worked well at keeping the room from filling up with smoke.

I’ve long wanted to make a tea-smoked duck at home, though decided early on it would be smart to start with tea-smoked chicken because of the cost factor. I am tempted by the birds hanging in the window when I visit a Chinatown and typically buy half a duck each time I go to San Francisco. They chop it up and put it in a plastic tray with a tiny cup of sauce and I can’t resist snitching a prime breast piece from the container and munching it while I am waiting for the 30 Stockton bus. So good!

Well, turns out that is not a smoked product at all according to the generally trustworthy Woks of Life. It’s Cantonese Roast Duck, which offers “layers and layers of flavor from a water/vinegar bath and two marinades for the cavity—one that is a seasoning paste and one that is a cooked, cooled sauce.” Hats off to you if you want to try this in your kitchen: in addition to the prep steps described above, you need to inflate the bird like a balloon at one point to lift the skin off the meat (which produces the delicious crackly skin, so worth it).

YandZ Tea Smoked Duck

For reference, here’s the Tea-Smoked Duck from Y&Z Restaurant in San Francisco.

But tea-smoked duck is definitely a thing; the venerable Y&Z Restaurant in SF Chinatown is one of several places serving it according to a Yelp search, and that’s what we are going to make except with chicken. The general idea, according to many online sources, is that you put a bunch of flavorsome substances in a tray or pan or wok, place a marinated and seasoned bird on top, then heat to the smoking point in a wok or oven or an indirect fire in your grill with the cooking area sealed so the bird will get maximum exposure to the smoke.

The smoke has been our point of resistance, until now. I am currently residing in a townhouse with sprinklers in the ceiling and don’t care for a dinnertime shower, but also don’t have access to an outdoor grill (plus it’s getting colder here, though not cold like in the old days). So I was intrigued by a recipe that suggested wrapping wet towels around the lid of the wok rather than the usually recommended aluminum foil.

Tea Smoked Chicken

Here’s the Tea Smoked Chicken as it came out of the wok, ready to go in the oven.

It worked! I placed my flat bottom wok on the “smart” burner of my induction range (it adjusts the size of the heating surface to match whatever is placed on top of it) and lined it with aluminum foil. Placed tea leaves, rice, brown sugar and aromatics (recipe to follow) then an inverted collapsible steamer basket with the (previously marinated) chicken stabilized by its three legs pressed into the back from below. Turned on the heat to high and smoke started oozing out from under the lid in a minute or so. Then I wrapped it in two very damp dog towels and nervously monitored the process. 45 minutes later I turned off the heat and lifted the lid (after the wok had cooled down a bit) and walla! Beautiful tea-smoked chicken. It went in the oven for a final roast then rest and carve.

The result was terrific: crispy flavorful skin, tender delicately seasoned flesh pronounced “buttery” by my taster. (I’ll share the recipe in the next post.) And I’ve found an indoor smoking method I’ll put to work on other smaller cuts.

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Recipe: Date Cardamom Bread

Posted on November 12, 2024 by Burnt My Fingers
Date Cardamom Bread

Date Cardamom Bread.

A local bakery called Night Work Bread makes an amazing Date Cardamom bread. The flavor is right at the tipping point between sweet and savory so it’s equally good spread with butter and jam or maybe some soft brie, or in a roast beef or chicken salad sandwich. My rendition is pretty close, I think because we likely get our cardamom from the same source. Makes 1 loaf a bit bigger than a kilo.

Ingredients:
125 g active white flour starter @60%
315 g purified water
410 g whole wheat flour
90 g all purpose flour
2 t Kosher salt
1 T diastatic malt powder (optional)
1-2 t ground cardamom (see NOTE)
225 g or so dried and pitted dates, coarsely chopped
4 T or so sesame seeds for crust, optional

Method: mix starter, water and the flours into a shaggy mass and autolyze at least 30 minutes. Add salt, cardamom, dates and optional malt powder and knead by your preferred method until gluten is well developed. (Test: you can pull on a section of dough and rather than breaking apart it will thin into a translucent “gluten window”.) Allow the dough to rise for around 4 hours in a covered bowl, then transfer to a large Ziploc bag or other covered container and refrigerate at least overnight.

In the morning, you should see air bubbles on the surface of the dough caused by developing yeast. If no bubbles, give it an extra day. When the dough is ready shape it to a ball on the counter, rest 20 minutes or so, then transfer smooth side down to a banneton prepped with a generous coating of rice flour (preferred) or white flour. If using the sesame seeds to coat the crust, add them before transferring the dough to the banneton: liberally coat a moist paper towel with a layer of seeds, roll the smooth side of the dough in it, then transfer to the banneton. (You can let the paper towel dry out and save the leftover seeds for another use.) Place the banneton with loaf in a plastic bag (I use an old fashioned, now-banned plastic supermarket bag) and proof at room temperature till it has risen somewhat, 2-6 hours.

When dough has risen, place a dutch oven in the oven with the lid on a separate shelf and heat to 460 degrees; allow at least 25 minutes for the dutch oven to come up to full heat. Remove the pot from the oven very carefully (using good potholders) and place on a trivet. Sprinkle polenta on the bottom to prevent sticking then transfer the loaf. Ideally, it will drop into your hand if you flip the banneton over; if this doesn’t work you may need to gently pry the edges away from the basket. Transfer the loaf to the dutch oven, taking care not to burn yourself and handling lightly so as not to deflate the bread. Score the top with a lame (razor blade) or serrated knife. Place the lid (which you have been heating separately) on top and return to oven. Bake 20 minutes covered to allow the bread to steam, then remove the lid, lower the temp to 440 degrees, and bake another 25 minutes until the center registers 206 degreeS when measured with a meat thermometer and the bread has a nice hollow sound when you thump it. Turn out on the counter or a rack and cool before serving.

Penzey Ground Cardamom

Finely ground cardamom loses flavor quickly. We prefer the seeds from Penzey’s which have a much longer shelf life.

A NOTE ABOUT CARDAMOM: this spice is used in sweet baked goods and also Indian cooking (for a completely different flavor profile). The product sold in grocery stores is finely ground and loses potency very quickly. Penzey’s sells “seeds” which are coarsely ground with a much longer shelf life. Based on the taste matchup I believe this is what Nightworks uses as well. We used 2 t for our first bake which was almost overpowering on first bite but mellowed overnight. To be safe, start with 1 t and increase it on the next batch. If you have to use ground, be sure it is very fresh and limit to 1 t.

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We tried the Decades Menu at Taco Bell (so you don’t have to).

Posted on November 7, 2024 by Burnt My Fingers
Taco Bell Mess

This might be the Green Burrito from the Taco Bell Decades Menu, except there is no green sauce just beans.

Like Taylor Swift, Taco Bell is currently drawing on its history to put together an episodic menu. Unlike Taylor Swift, Taco Bell doesn’t have much of a catalog considering their products endlessly repeat the same small set of ingredients. Against our better judgment, we decided to give it a try.

Tac Bell Tostada.

Taco Bell Tostada.

Our local Taco Bell is right up the road, a mile at most. We ordered on the app (efficient) and specified ASAP as our pickup time. This was about 11:30 am, early in the lunch service. We were there in five minutes and gratified that our meal was already bagged, sealed and waiting in a clearly marked pickup shelf. So far so good.

The experience went downhill as soon as we opened the bag: the carefully selected assortment of sauces had been left out. The items inside were either room temperature or cold. They could not have been prepared on the spot and might have been left over from the previous day’s service.

Taco Bell Gordita

Taco Bell Gordita.

First up was the Tostada. Some internet sleuthing confirms this was indeed an early offering in the 1960s, when they had to provide a phonetic pronunciation for customers unfamiliar with Mexican food. It was $2.19, not a bad price. Tasted ok except the base tortilla was cold and the container had been crushed and the product cracked in two during its brief journey from the kitchen to the pickup shelf.

We also tried the Gordita, from the 1990s. This has a puffy flour tortilla, though Taco Bell calls it “flatbread” so as not to frighten us. Inside was ground beef and a decent sprinkle of veggies. We’d order this again though the $2.99 price takes it out of the bargain category.

Meximelt No Cheese

Meximelt maybe, but without the cheese.

The Decades menu also includes the Meximelt and Green Burrito, but I don’t think we actually received either. Unlike at McDonald’s, the wrappers are not labeled so it would be easy for a demotivated server to grab whatever is lying around. We received a folded over soft taco containing a decent array of chopped tomato and onion and a base of meat and sauce; this might have been a Meximelt except that, instead of a “three cheese blend” we got zero cheese.

The final item was a very large flour tortilla folded around a wad of refried beans with a few strands of grated cheese, no sauce. Was this supposed to be the green burrito? There is nothing on the menu to match what we received; even the basic bean burrito includes red sauce and onions.

Taco Bell Burrito

WTF?

We know a few food-savvy people who claim to be Taco Bell fans; their argument is that it is the healthiest fast food because it doesn’t contain a lot of additives. Our kids used to insist on Taco Bell and we’d indulge them from time to time. But no mas. With such theatrical overpromising and incompetent under delivering, they’ve surely jumped the tiburon this time. ¡Afuera!

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Recipe: Hartford Election Cake

Posted on November 3, 2024 by Burnt My Fingers
Hartford Election Cake

Hartford Election Cake with (optional) lemon glaze.

Hartford Election Cake is so named because it came from an old recipe in Hartford, CT, where in Colonial times elections went on for days and voters appreciated the sustenance of a hearty baked good rich in dried fruit and spiked with brandy or rum. This recipe is very different from our original Election Cake which has more crumb and less fruit. The early recipe had migrated to today’s NYT Cooking version, and we’ve tweaked further per below. (You can vary the fruits to your preference as long as the total volume is the same.) Makes one 10-inch bundt cake.

Ingredients
½ c dried cranberries (unsweetened)
½ c dried currants
½ c golden raisins
½ c brandy or rum
1 t ground cinnamon
½ t ground ginger
¼ t ground cloves
¼ t ground allspice
1 t vanilla extract
1 T all purpose flour

1 c whole milk
1 T active dry yeast (the NYT recipe used 2 packets, or 4 ½ t; you can do the same if you want a faster rise)
1 T lemon zest (zest of one lemon)
1 c packed dark brown sugar
4 c less 1 T all purpose flour
¼ t grated nutmeg
2 t Kosher salt
2 large eggs at room temperature, lightly beaten
8 T (one stick) unsalted butter at room temperature, plus extra for the bundt mold

For the optional glaze:
2 c confectioner’s sugar
3 T lemon juice
1 T brandy or rum

Hartford Election Cake Slice

Texture is like a fruitcake but less dense.

Method: prepare the dried fruit by mixing with spirits in a bowl; toss until everything is moistened. Fold in cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves and vanilla extract and 1 T flour and macerate for at least an hour and preferably overnight.

Warm the milk in microwave (or a small pan) until it is just above body temperature. Transfer to the bowl of an orbital mixer (i.e. Kitchenaid); add yeast and give it a few minutes to bloom. Add flour, brown sugar, eggs, salt and nutmeg and mix with a spatula until no dry spots remain. Transfer bowl to the mixer and fit the dough hook; knead at low speed till the dough is smooth, about 3 minutes. (If the motor strains as ours did, add just a little more milk.) Cut the butter into several pieces and add all at once; knead 6 minutes or until the dough is very smooth. Remove dough hook, cover with a towel and rest 1 hour. (The dough will rise during this time but very little.)

Add dried fruit mixture to dough and mix thoroughly. It’s best to do this with your hands. Generously butter a bundt pan and spoon in the batter. Use a spatula to smooth the surface; we found the cake rose more in the center so would form the dough so it’s higher at the edges next time. Cover with a towel and rest at least 2 hours. When ready, the dough will have risen slightly and the surface will be slightly puffy; make a dent in it with your finger and it should spring back slowly.

At bake time, heat oven to 350 degrees with a sheet pan on a middle rack. Place the cake on the sheet pan and bake approximately 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. While it is baking, make the glaze if you are using by mixing confectioners’ sugar, lemon juice and 1 T spirits. Take the cake out of the oven and rest 5 minutes. Flip out of the mold onto a plate or flat work surface. Brush on a good amount of the glaze while the cake is hot so it can melt into the crumb. Cool to room temperature and brush on the rest of the glaze, which will harden. Cut and serve your Hartford Election Cake, probably with more spirits mixed into cider or hot buttered rum.

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Time to make the Election Cake

Posted on November 2, 2024 by Burnt My Fingers
Election Cake with Pumpkin Pie Glaze

Election cake with glaze; we’re going with a lemony version this year.

In the early days of the free republic, elections were a celebratory occasion. Voters would travel long distances by horse, wagon or on foot to their polling places and linger to have a festive meal, quite possibly involving strong liquor, after casting their ballot. The election cake came from this tradition. It’s a yeasted baked good halfway between sweet and savory that will keep for several days on your journey back to the farm.

We first featured Election Cake in 2016, when a number of artisanal bakers publicized an historical recipe updated to “Make America CAKE Again”. The base recipe, by Richard Miscovich, is here. We modified it, reducing the amount of preferment and adding an option to use yeast vs sourdough starter, here.

We recently discovered that Marion Burros did an article on election cake back in 1988, which you can read paywall free here. Her recipe was called “Hartford Election Cake” and came from the Fanny Farmer cookbook. An updated version was recently published, with modernized  instructions and ingredients, on NYT Cooking.  It’s simpler with no preferment, uses brown sugar instead of molasses and gets its tang from lemon, not sourdough. It also has a lot more brandy, which seems appropriate in 2024. (One reader’s comment: I suggest killing the rest of the bottle as the results come in. In this case, straight out the bottle is acceptable.)

We’re going to give it a shot. Stay tuned for the results. Update: mission accomplished, finished version here. It’s denser with more fruit than our original version and we think we like it better.

 

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Recipe: Tomatillo Rice

Posted on October 25, 2024 by Burnt My Fingers
Tomatillo Rice

Tomatillo Rice. The tomatillo pretty much disappears as it cooks, but you can find green flecks if you look closely.

Tomatillo Rice was a happy accident. We had tomatillos left over from shish kabab and decided to toss them into a pilaf. The effect is transformative. It’s slightly tart with a very full and well-balanced taste that will complement any protein it is served with. Serves 4.

Ingredients:
1 c rice, preferably long grain
2 T good olive oil
½ c onion, chopped
½ green bell pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
½ jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
4 tomatillos, chopped
1 ½ t chicken stock (more or less)
Salt and pepper to taste

Method: saute onion, bell pepper, jalapeño pepper and garlic until wilted. Add rice and maintain heat, stirring constantly, until grains are shiny and beginning to crisp. Add tomatillos and lower heat to a simmer. The ingredients will cook down into a paste in 5 minutes or less. Add chicken stock and salt if needed (you will also correct the seasoning at the end) and bring to the boil. Cover and bring to a low simmer with just a little steam coming out from under the lid. Simmer 10 minutes then remove from the heat and rest 20 minutes. Serve with savory meats, fish or grilled vegetables.

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Recipe: Summer Nicoise Salad

Posted on October 18, 2024 by Burnt My Fingers
Summer Nicoise Salad

Summer Nicoise Salad.

Like Texas barbecue, the definition of a Nicoise salad inspires endless argument. Our summer nicoise salad recipe takes the approach that the ingredients should taste like summer, with only a few embellishments to bring out the flavor. Serves 2 but can be expanded as needed; the key is to use equal amounts by volume of the tomatoes, beans and potatoes.

Ingredients:
1 c good ripe tomatoes (small ones preferred)
Kosher salt
1 c new potatoes in their jackets, uniform in size
2 t chopped parsley
Good olive oil
A handful of green beans, trimmed
2 hardboiled eggs
1 recipe Jacques Pepin Vinaigrette, made with white vinegar
4 oz can tuna (use a brand in good olive oil or else use water packed, drain and moisten with the olive oil used in making your vinaigrette)
½ c hearts of palm, cut into 1 inch lengths (optional)
¼ c pitted tart olives (we used kalamatas) (optional)
1 T capers (optional)

 

Ortiz Tinned Tuna

We used some fancy tinned tuna, but you could also use water-pack and add oil.

Method: cut the tomatoes in half (or in quarters if larger); toss with a little salt and reserve. Boil salted water and cook potatoes until just tender; remove with a slotted spoon and toss in a bowl with vinaigrette and parsley; reserve. Add beans to water used for potatoes and bring back to boil; drain immediately and flush with cold water to stop cooking process. Toss the beans in vinaigrette in the bowl used for beans. Prepare the hard boiled eggs to your preference, halved or sliced.

To serve, assemble the ingredients in separate areas of the plate to be combined at the table: beans, tomatoes and potatoes each in its own place, as well as hearts of palm if used. Add drained tuna in the center with egg on top. Garnish with optional olives and capers and sprinkle on a little chopped parsley if you like.

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My San Francisco food rotation 2024

Posted on October 13, 2024 by Burnt My Fingers
Hai Ky House Noodles

My San Francisco food rotation: house special noodles at Hai Ky with broth on the side.

I’m just back from a visit with family and 3 days at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. “Hardly Strictly” or simply “Bluegrass” (San Franciscans would never refer to the festival by its full name, just as they would never call their city “Frisco”) is a wonderful gift from the Hellman family of nonstop music, some bluegrass but some folk, techno, world beat and just plain weird, surrounded by friendly happy people in the beautiful setting of Golden Gate Park. This year it happened in the midst of a heat wave, keeping crowds down so it was easy to get close to the music. The festival (which is completely free to attend) happens the first weekend in October each year; you can also watch streaming videos which are really well done, with beautiful drone shots of the city intercut with live music, on HSB TV. Many of the sets from past years are archived so take a look.

But enough about music, we’re here for the food. Trader Joe was my mainstay for bringing sustenance for the day inside my (clear plastic) backpack, because I am not going to pay $20 for a (probably excellent) bowl of noodles or $7.50 for a paleta. A favorite snack item is Olive & Herb Mixed Nuts, which adds dried kalamatas and savory herbs for a consistently interesting protein-rich nibble. One day I also brought a Bahn Mi Dac Biet from Saigon Sandwich; they’ve changed the bread (their longtime supplier, Bakers of Paris, is out of business) so the roll no longer shatters when you bite into it but the filling continues to be generous and this is still my go-to. Pro tip for ordering: request “extra hot peppers” or “extra spicy” and they will respond by giving few or no peppers; repeat the request when you get your sandwich and they will grudgingly give you a few slices wrapped in paper.

Ultimate Cheeseburger

Texas style cheeseburger from In-N-Out

My San Francisco food rotation continues at the city’s only In-N-Out, located near the place where I stay, and always order my Texas modification: two cheeseburgers, double raw onions, mustard instead of sauce, pickles. In the early days they got this custom order wrong as often as it was correct but the POS software now records modifications faithfully and I can look forward to a predictably magnificent eating experience that hits all the buttons of crunchy, leafy, fatty, crispy, oozy and quickly disappearing.

I have a rule that I will always try at least one new place and this trip I tried 2 ½: Hai Ky, a Tenderloin Vietnamese/Chinese spot which turns out to be a place I frequented 20 years ago which has been spiffed up under new ownership; get the house special with wide egg noodles and request the soup on the side, so you can sip it as a broth or add judiciously after you have properly dosed your dry ingredients with various chili sauces. And Golden Boy Pizza, an ordering window in North Beach beloved by late-night hipsters but not by me; their rendition of a garlic and clam slice would make Frank Pepe roll over in his coal-fired oven. A silver lining was that the ordering window is next door to Sotto Mare which is considered the best cioppino in San Francisco; I watched numerous outdoor diners sharing the soup from silver turneens and plan to join them on a future trip.

Saigon Sandwich cutaway

Dac Biet Bahn Mi from Saigon Sandwich.

For the obligatory dim sum stop, Good Mon Kok had an oddly short line mid-afternoon but they were still well stocked with chicken and pork buns, wonderfully greasy scallion pancakes and lo mai kai, sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves.  Tried a new-for-me place for my tea smoked duck and steamed tripe, Gourmet Kitchen two doors down, and was pleasantly surprised by the quality and value.

Most of the other meals were with family, so I didn’t get to the hole in the wall Thai place on Clement St that served the best meal I have ever eaten, the #2 beef stew with flat noodles. I was gratified on my last trip to discover that though they have changed hands, the new owners have preserved the menu and even the secret fiery hot fish sauce which is only available on request because it might ruin a dish if used inappropriately. Guess I will have to return.

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The stinky secret of Trader Joe French Brie

Posted on October 6, 2024 by Burnt My Fingers
Trader Joe French Brie

French brie from Trader Joe, starting to soften and get stinky.

Trader Joe has an affordably priced double cream French Style brie (the picture on the website is for a different product; look for the red label above). The stinky secret is that, when ripened, it turns into a feral spread akin to an aged Camembert. Feel around in the cold case when shopping, and find a wedge on the soft side. Take one home, leave on a counter out of the sun, and wait. In a few days you can unwrap the package and enjoy the gym-shoes aroma of a much more expensive well-aged cheese.

What can you do with this stinky brie? Spread on crackers or baguette slices, of course. But you can also use it on a sandwich where it lubricates as well as flavors. And, try a dollop on a pizza that need a little perking up.

Brie On Bread

The Trader Joe brie has reached a consistency at which it can be smeared on bread when making sandwiches as a mayonnaise substitute.

A few more days and the aroma will increase to the point that other foods in your kitchen (not to mention your family/roommates) are complaining. The cheese has melted to the point that you can squeeze it out of the package like icing from a piping bag. Squirt it onto robust toasts like our copycat Fig & Olive Crisps or simply straight into your mouth. It’s all good.

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Is MSG good or bad?

Posted on October 1, 2024 by Burnt My Fingers
Bean Salad Two Ways

The bean salad on the left has msg added, the salad on the right has none.

Is msg (monosodium glutamate) good or bad? Lots of discussion on this topic. There was a restaurant in Hell’s Kitchen that would say good. They specialized in dishes featuring MSG (including a soup which had it dissolved in hot water as the broth) and the walls were plastered with newspaper clippings, in both Chinese and English, about the health benefits of the flavoring. During a long stay at the Pickwick Hotel in the late 90s I ate there multiple times with no ill effects. Gone now, but likely a victim of gentrification rather than poor choices.

Which brings us to the bean salad experiment pictured above. I had made a tub of The Colonel’s KFC Bean Salad for a picnic and certainly would not add MSG for a general audience without announcing it. But there was a bit left over so I divided it into a pair of 8 oz containers and added ¼ t of msg to one. (Almost certainly too much; 1/8 t or even a pinch would have sufficed.)

MSG

Angel or devil?

Taste testers immediately noticed a difference. The doctored batch had an amped-up flavor that was salty without being exactly salty, just more intense. One taster said she preferred it because the flavor was “sharper”. I found that when you taste the msg first, the other version seemed too bland. But when you taste the non-msg first it seems perfectly balanced, and the subsequent spoonful of msg-dosed salad seems a bit over the top. My guess is that if I had used less msg that version would have a subtle improvement which would have been preferred across the board.

Do you think msg is good or bad? If you say bad and you dip your celery and carrot sticks in Hidden Valley Ranch dressing to go with your wings, you should know that dressing is riddled with the stuff. (As is our copycat Mystery Creek Ranch Dressing.) The population of Buffalo does not seem to be adversely affected. Of course many of those folks are using bleu cheese dressing instead, as they should, but that’s a topic for another day.

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