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Cooking with shrimp can be a very tricky thing for new cooks. Many people that are new to grilling will want to try cooking shrimp or shrimp kebabs on the grill this summer. Shrimp is one of those foods that can quickly go from perfectly cooked, to complete overdone. It is also a very tender type of seafood when dealing with marinades and spices. Here are some tips to help you in purchasing shrimp and preparing it.
During the summer many of your local grocery stores will probably advertise specials on shrimp. Some will advertise already cooked shrimp on sale. When grilling shrimp this is not what you are looking for. Others will advertise frozen shrimp on sale. Be very careful with this. If the shrimp is still frozen and not thawed, you will be paying more than is advertised per pound. This is because in general if you purchase shrimp that is 41/50 count per pound, or 41 to 50 shrimps in a pound, that is not what you will get when purchasing a pound of frozen shrimp. Instead, considering the ice is factored in to the weight, you end up with about 25-30 shrimps at the most, so about 25% of your purchase price is actually paying for the weight of the frozen water on the shrimp! It is best to purchase fresh shrimp, but thawed shrimp is generally cheaper, just make sure it is almost completely thawed before having it weighed.
When it comes to cleaning your shrimp, so stores will advertise it is “deveined” already. This is a great convenience but if you are purchasing shrimp in the smaller sizes it’s not that big a factor. It is easier to pull the shell and the legs off your shrimp if it is partially frozen, but as mentioned above it also reduces the amount of shrimp you get for the money you pay. Ideally, if your shrimp is very cold, but not completely frozen after thawing that will give you the best bang for your buck and make it the easiest to peel.
When marinating shrimp or seasoning it, keep in mind that shrimp absorbs flavors very quickly. If sprinkling with spices you can do it while you grill the shrimp. If you are marinading shrimp in a liquid marinade it only needs to sit for half an hour to an hour to pick up the flavors of the marinade.
When grilling shrimp, keep a close eye on it. You should grill your shrimp with the lid open as shrimp will cook very quickly. In general smaller shrimp will take 2 to 3 minutes per side, while larger shrimp (smaller count per pound) will take about four minutes per side. A good indicator that your shrimp is done on the grill is when it turns the pink color you are probably familiar with shrimp in photos that you see when it is cooked. Keep in mind that shrimp due to it’s size is very hard to check with a thermometer for being up to temperature.
Hopefully these tips will help you as you learn to cook with shrimp, whether it’s on the grill, or on the stove in your house. Shrimp is one of those foods that requires a close eye while cooking, but the reward for cooking it just right is worth the time you put into it.
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Eh, this thing's for lightweights. After all, if any of you have ever reached into a bucket of KFC, how often have you stopped after two pieces? Sure, the bacon and cheese add to the lethality, but come on already. Wendy's Baconator features two quarter-pound beef patties, two slices of “cheese,” and six strips of bacon. Sounds nearly reasonable to a red-blooded arteriosclerotic American, but that sucker will erode your lifespan to the tune of 970 calories and over 2200 mg of sodium. Burger King's Double Stacker hits you with 560 calories… and the small one. The Quad Stacker has a full 1000.
Y'all oughta swing by the corner of Lake Ave and Boylston St in Pasadena, CA sometime. You'll find Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles right next door to a KFC, with a Popeye's Chicken, McDonald's, and Burger King all within waddling distance. And right across the street is Orean Health Express, an actual vegetarian fast-food drive-thru. I must add that I have never, ever seen a single automobile at their window.
Blue Ribbon's Excellent Matzo Ball Soup
[Photographs: Caroline Russock]
During Jewish holidays when I was growing up, Matzo Ball Soup was always the number one topic of conservation. Coming from a family that too concerned with food on an basis, I found it strange that everyone automatically turned into a critic when the soup was served. First the soup itself was discussed: Too salty? Not flavorful enough? Or perhaps there was a tiny too much dill?
After dissecting the soup, it was time to talk about the matzo balls. One of my grandmothers made golfball-sized matzo balls that were dense and sunk to the bottom of the bowl, while my other grandmother's were softball sized, so light that they fell apart in your spoon. I enjoyed them both, since choosing between them would be like picking a favorite grandmother.
But it's been a while since I have had a bowl of grandmother-made matzo ball soup and with Passover coming up I figured it was time that I made a batch of my own. I chose the recipe from Bromberg Bros. Blue Ribbon Cookbook, the eagerly anticipated cookbook from Bruce and Eric Bromberg, the masterminds behind the Blue Ribbon family of restaurants in New York.
Their recipe starts with a flavorful stock made of a whole chicken cooked with plenty of aromatics. Once the chicken is cooked through, it's taken out and the meat is stripped from the bones. The bones are placed back in the stock and cooked for an additional hour. The stock is left to cool overnight so that a layer of chicken fat, or schmaltz, forms on the surface.
The Bromberg Brother's matzo balls contain two secret weapons for ultimate matzo ball deliciousness: schmaltz and seltzer water. The seltzer water lightens the matzo balls and the chicken fat gives them breathtaking flavor. Since the matzo balls are cooked in water instead of chicken broth they retain a flavor of their own instead of just soaking up the stock.
Is Blue Ribbon's matzo ball soup than either of my grandmother's? I'd rather not say. What I will say is that it lived up to the title of “excellent”—the stock was beautifully flavored, and the matzo balls were the weight and density and tasted of chicken fat in the best possibly way.
Blue Ribbon's Excellent Matzo Ball Soup
- serves 6 to 8-
Adapted from Bromberg Bros. Blue Ribbon Cookbook by Bruce Bromberg and Eric Bromberg.
Ingredients
Chicken Broth
1 whole chicken (3 to 4 pounds)
1 tablespoon kosher salt
5 celery stalks with leaves, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled
4 sprigs of fresh flat-leaf parsley
3 sprigs of fresh dill
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
2 dried bay leaves
Matzo Balls
4 large eggs
1 cup matzo meal
2 tablespoons schmaltz (rendered chicken far reserved from making broth) or duck fat
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup seltzer water
3 carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds (about 1 cup)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill
Procedure
1. To make the broth: Rub the chicken with salt inside and out. Let rest on a plate in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Rinse very well under cold running water and then pat dry with paper towels.
2. Put the chicken in a massive stockpot and add enough cold water to cover by 3 inches. Bring to a boil, them skim off any foam that rises to the top. Add the celery, carrots, onion, garlic, parsley, dill, peppercorns, and bay leaves, and return the liquid to a boil. Skim again.
3. Reduce the heat and let simmer uncovered until the chicken is cooked, about 45 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a huge bowl and, when cool enough to handle, take the meat off the bones (reserve the meat for another purpose). Return the bones to the pot and simmer for 1 hour more. Strain through a cheesecloth-lined sieve, discarding the solids. Cool the broth slightly, then refrigerate until cold, overnight or up to 3 days.
4. Using a slotted spoon, skim off the solidified chicken fat from the broth. Save for making matzo balls or another purpose.
5. To make the matzo balls: In a big bowl, stir together the eggs, matzo meal, schmaltz, salt, and baking powder. Add the seltzer and use a rubber spatula to mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
6. Fill a large, wide pot with salted water and bring to a boil. Fill a small bowl with cold water and have nearby to keep your hands clean and wet. Working gently, without pressing, use clean, wet hands to form 1/2-inch-round matzo balls. As they are formed, drop them into the boiling water. When all of the matzo balls are formed, cover the pot with a round of parchment paper to keep them submerged (or partially cover the pot with a lid if you have parchment paper) and simmer very gently (don't let the water boil again) until cooked through and tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove from the cooking liquid with a slotted spoon, and arrange in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. If not using that day, let cool to room temperature, then store the matzo balls in a single layer in an airtight container filled with cooled cooking liquid to cover for up to 2 days.
7. To serve, gently reheat the matzo balls in a pot filled with matzo ball cooking liquid or fresh water to cover (when the water comes to a simmer, taste a matzo ball to see if it's hot enough, and either use immediately or continue to simmer until warmed to taste).
8. In a separate pot, bring the chicken broth to a boil. Add the carrot rounds and simmer until soft, about 7 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then add the dill.
9. Ladle the broth into individual serving bowls. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the warmed matzo balls into the soup and serve piping hot.
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