Okay, okay, I ate it... and it didn't suck

[cjsmith]

I grabbed the smallest chunk. I got two forks and a knife. I got rid of the obvious big fat layer. In some places it really wanted to separate just at the meat/fat boundary, which was very handy; in other places I sliced.

Then, based on klwalton's suggestion, I took the forks (sometimes one fork with the knife holding the chunk down) and combed it, just like I'd attack my hair as a child after some egregious bout of tomboyishness. Voila! Almost instantly it became the texture of taco filling. Well, okay, not quite that fine. But it definitely wanted to fall apart along the grain. I encouraged it.

I took the good thick sandwich roll I didn't have, toasted it in the toaster oven I don't have, and made a sandwich. (Okay, so it was lightly toasted white bread. Next time, a chunky roll.)

It didn't suck!

It was a bit heavy on the sauce. No shock there. The sauce was quite a bit saltier than I particularly wanted, in that kind of quantity. Oh well: all of THAT'S fixable. Less sauce in the next sandwich.

So I sliced the fat off the rest of the chunks, combed them too, and popped it all into the freezer for later. One's in a nice sandwich-sized serving.

P.S.: The cats reeeeeeeeally like little tidbits of this -- if I wipe the sauce off. :)

P.P.S.: The rosemary chicken is starting to smell gooooooood. :) Can I thicken the sauce still in the crock pot, or do I pull out the lemon/water/rosemary/pepper goo and put it in a little pot on the stove with some cornstarch or suchlike?

Comments

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the tip. I'll do it on the stove. Is that what you do with the liquid / do with the chicken? I was kinda hoping for a sauce, and I figured the liquid from the crock might be a good start for it.

Oh interesting, the meat was salty to begin with? That's good to know. I think I'll stick to not-corned-beef for future barbecuing experiments! :-)

[mountainkitten.livejournal.com]

yes the liquid would be a good place to start for sauce to go with your chicken. :) I do that all the time. very tasty usually. :)

as far as the corned beef goes... its a salt brine that is used to cure it. that's where the saltiness comes from.

another good idea for your new found toy ... crock pot roast. I take a can of cream of mushroom soup (get the lower sodium variety if you can find it), packet of onion soup mix, and a can of water... mix this together.... take my roast (eye of round, sirloin, chuck roast, english roast... your choice) and brown it in a bit of oil ont he stove.... put it in the crock pot.... pour the soup mixture over it and cook until the roast is done and tender. I also add potatoes and quartered onions at some point along the way, and carrots & celery if you like that. usually early on... so they have time to cook. at the end of cooking remove the roast and vegetables... pour your soup mixture into a pan on the stove and thicken with a bit of corn starch. makes an awesome gravy. if you have people that don't like onions... strain the onions out of the dry powder from the packet. this roast has never failed me yet...

[klwalton.livejournal.com]

Oh, and will you post the Rosemary Chicken recipe, please?

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

The Rosemary Chicken recipe came from erisian_fields here. I haven't tasted that one yet, as it came out of the pot just in time for me to clean up the kitchen for guests. I'll post about it soon!

[klwalton.livejournal.com]

Oops, sorry, meant that to go to CJ!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

It never thickened! Woe is me! I pulled out the chicken and strained some of the fat off, the stuff that wasn't liquid at crock temperatures. I poured all the rest (rosemary and all) into a pot on the stove. I stirred a couple tablespoons of cornstarch into cool water until it was smooth, then poured that in the pot too. I boiled it, and boiled it, and boiled it, and boiled it... and then gave up 'cause guests were coming!

Thanks for the crock pot roast recipe! I remember doing roasts in the oven and they often had a packet of onion soup mix in 'em. It's a handy place to get onions, salt, a touch of garlic, etc in one place.

[mountainkitten.livejournal.com]

I hate when that happens. could of been not enough corn starch... not sure what else to suggest.

I sometimes make my roast with a stew packet (like you buy at the grocery store from mccormick or the like) and follow the directions for mixing it... usually one packet to 3 cups of water and a bit of flour (1/4 cup maybe)... whisk well... pour over your browned roast... makes a different nice gravy at the end too.

trying to think of other things I've done with the crock pot... one of my favorite ways to cook.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I bet you're right about not enouch cornstarch. I saw this morning that some little spots in the broth looked like they had tried to thicken.

[erisian-fields.livejournal.com]

The stuff you strained out wasn't fat, but solidified proteins that would be liquid if they hadn't been cooked. It's just part of the meat and it's the same stuff that gets stuck to the frying pan when you cook meats on the stovetop. It makes the tangy, yummy bits in the gravy/sauce when you deglaze the pan after frying. It makes excellent gravy in the crockpot, too.

To get the sauce to thicken, make sure you put your cornstarch into cold water and mix it thoroughly before adding it to already boiling liquid. If you do it that way, you can mix up and add more cornstarch to make it thicker if the first batch doesn't do a good enough job. If you whisk the gravy while adding the cornstarch-water mixture (don't do that if you're using a teflon pan!), it helps keep the lumps out. Me, I like the lumps. :)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Oh interesting. I had no idea what it was, and it looked off-whitish and slimey, so I thought fat.

I did do the cold water bit. But yeah, I needed to add more. (And I was whisking it a bunch. I don't know yet whether I like lumps!)

[klwalton.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was going to suggest that you go with straight brisket next time. And if you want a less fatty cut, ask for a "first cut" or "flat cut", not the "point cut".

Okay, now (and it's *your fault*) I'm going to go bake some bread :):).

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I was definitely supposed to start with straight brisket *this* time. :-) I bet if I do it "properly" it'll come out much tastier to my palate! And now that I know how easy it is to trim the fat, I'm fine with the cut I had.

Alas, alack, I am responsible for bread! How ever shall I atone for my sin? ;-)