What Food/Dish Do You Hate To Prepare?

karadekoolaid said:
I prepare real Indian food at least twice a week. Using individual spices instead of some bland curry powder has been the norm for the past 40 years, with a huge (positive) difference in flavour.
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Same here. I actually got a coffee grinder that I used to grind spices, the first spice mix I made at home tasted a lot better than anything I've ever bought.
 
I don't find lasagna all that complicated, really, though it does take a long time to construct, and it usually turns out nicely for me.
 
LissaC said:
I hate prepping chicken and I do it frequently, some months I do it once a week. I buy whole chickens that the butcher cuts into smaller pieces, but the pieces of chicken are left full of tiny bones, bits of blood, blobs of fat and whatnot. Getting the chicken properly cleaned is a real pain. Monetarily, it's totally worth it. Chicken usually sells for 1,78€/kg here in Portugal. It's the cheapest protein I can buy and it's super versatile.
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Not sure what your butcher is doing but the pieces shouldn't be like that. Its not too difficult to joint a whole chicken yourself. I've done it plenty of times. Here is a demo from Chef James Martin: How to joint a chicken
 
Morning Glory said:
Not sure what your butcher is doing but the pieces shouldn't be like that. Its not too difficult to joint a whole chicken yourself. I've done it plenty of times. Here is a demo from Chef James Martin: How to joint a chicken
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It's not this specific butcher, I've been buying chicken at different places for the last 10 years and it always comes out last this, my mom did the same and she used to clean the chicken too. We always ask the butchers to remove the skin too, I think that's where the junk comes from. I'd rather not de-skin and clean a chicken at home when I can have the butchers do it for free :D
 
LissaC said:
We always ask the butchers to remove the skin too, I think that's where the junk comes from.
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Usually, I buy either the whole chicken and do it myself, or just specific pieces I want. I'm not even sure they cut up chicken in-store in our Kroger any more - everything is prepackaged from the meat supplier (Tyson and Miller's are big names here).

The gourmet shop I go to, they'll cut one up for you on the spot, but they also provide whole chickens already cut up, that they did in the store. Those won't have any bloody bits, but there will be some fat, but I want that fat. :wink:

Occasionally, there might be a little bone chip or two, where the butcher, probably going to fast, slightly missed the joint and hit the bone, but I do the same thing, so I'm not going to fault him too much for that. I just make a point to feel around the joint before I start cooking it, just to be sure.

The skin? I'll buy boneless, skinless breasts for specific recipes, but normally, I want all the skin I can get. If nothing else, it makes delicious crackling.
 
Morning Glory said:
Not sure what your butcher is doing but the pieces shouldn't be like that. Its not too difficult to joint a whole chicken yourself. I've done it plenty of times. Here is a demo from Chef James Martin: How to joint a chicken
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I don't buy whole chickens because I don't like chicken breasts, which are a major part of a chicken. I but the parts I like.

CD
 
Peeling garlic!

Every so often, I bite the bullet, turn off my senses, enter into automatic mode, and peel and process about 20 heads.

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Yorky said:
Peeling garlic!

Every so often, I bite the bullet, turn off my senses, enter into automatic mode, and peel and process about 20 heads.



peeled 1 s.jpg

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I often will rinse the garlic head in water and wrap it in foil, then pop it in the oven at 350 for about 8-10 minutes, pull it out of the oven and let it cool down. The skins peel quite easily without the garlic having cooked thoroughly...if I leave it in for 25 minutes it gets mushy (roasted garlic) which I also like quite well.
 
LissaC said:
Have you hear about peeling garlic inside a jar? I have to admit I never tried it but I saw a cook do it on TV and it seems easy enough. This Is How You Peel An Entire Head Of Garlic In Seconds
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I've heard about peeling garlic inside two wok lids. Unfortunately, I only have one and that doesn't appear to be adequate.

I would imagine that inside a jar would be a similar process but I haven't tried it either.
 
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Yorky said:
If you buy young ginger there's no need to peel it. And if you use an electric chopper there's no need to grate it either.

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I don't think I've ever seen young ginger, maybe it's something we don't get here in Europe? At least here in Portugal ginger is imported from far away places, maybe that's why it's not sold here?
 
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