Thread: cuisine with Chef Zambini

I brine my turkey breasts! sugar salt and BEER brine, just 2 hours, and then roast.

Originally Posted by NightTerror218

Zam thanks for making me hungry I am going to make me some ribs tomorrow. I use a home made dry rub and BBQ indirect heat (and smoke) for about 3 hours (depending on how hot the charcoal gets) and then direct heat for about 10 mins with some sweet baby rays. The ribs I get never have that "layer" on them that needs to be removed first. i have never tried a brine and I never marinade ribs.

sounds great, your technique sounds similar to my method when I use my WEBBER.
i still go thru the same 5 phases of cooking, I just incorporate my webber grill !
brown, directly over coals
braise,
in an aluminum pan with suateed veggies and stock.
rest,
roast,
off set, a hot smoke usually 20-30 minutes,
then I sauce and glaze over direct coals.
I use mesquite charcoal
and pecan wood chips !
I season the ribs before the first browning and after the REST phase.
I esed to use Bulls eye as the base for my BBQ sauce, but I found an AZ product,
Bill Johnsons big apple, it is a superior product lacking in the usual food lab BS !

Originally Posted by NightTerror218

Zam thanks for making me hungry I am going to make me some ribs tomorrow. I use a home made dry rub and BBQ indirect heat (and smoke) for about 3 hours (depending on how hot the charcoal gets) and then direct heat for about 10 mins with some sweet baby rays. The ribs I get never have that "layer" on them that needs to be removed first. i have never tried a brine and I never marinade ribs.

I would never brine or marinade any form of pork ribs,
it would mask/ overpower the desired pork flavor.
for me, great ribs have LAYERS of flavor.
you taste the pork, its texture, "butteriness'
and crispy charred edges with tender meat beneath.
' you taste the layer of seasoning,
and you taste the sauce,
each should enhance the other, and never overpower.

Originally Posted by Chef Zambini

sounds great, your technique sounds similar to my method when I use my WEBBER.
i still go thru the same 5 phases of cooking, I just incorporate my webber grill !
brown, directly over coals
braise,
in an aluminum pan with suateed veggies and stock.
rest,
roast,
off set, a hot smoke usually 20-30 minutes,
then I sauce and glaze over direct coals.
I use mesquite charcoal
and pecan wood chips !
I season the ribs before the first browning and after the REST phase.
I esed to use Bulls eye as the base for my BBQ sauce, but I found an AZ product,
Bill Johnsons big apple, it is a superior product lacking in the usual food lab BS !

I have a webber grill with the attached table. I let them get to about room temp wash pat dry and apply my rub. I have a rib rack i use in my BBQ and i put them in that and cook for several hours. I watch the ribs shrink back off the ends of the bone a little to tell how far along they are cooking. I will off and apply BBQ to to each side and throw over the hot coals to brown up and flip both sides. I got pretty darn good at them being tender. I can pull the ends of the bone and it comes right out of the entire rib rack. I have been a fan of Sweet Baby Rays. I have also used Cattlemans.

I smoke with mesquite and use normal charcoal. I also do not use lighter fluid with my ribs and most good cuts of meat. I will use lighter fluid for burgers and dogs. I have never tried to braise them.

Originally Posted by NightTerror218

I have a webber grill with the attached table. I let them get to about room temp wash pat dry and apply my rub. I have a rib rack i use in my BBQ and i put them in that and cook for several hours. I watch the ribs shrink back off the ends of the bone a little to tell how far along they are cooking. I will off and apply BBQ to to each side and throw over the hot coals to brown up and flip both sides. I got pretty darn good at them being tender. I can pull the ends of the bone and it comes right out of the entire rib rack. I have been a fan of Sweet Baby Rays. I have also used Cattlemans.

I smoke with mesquite and use normal charcoal. I also do not use lighter fluid with my ribs and most good cuts of meat. I will use lighter fluid for burgers and dogs. I have never tried to braise them.

Do you use a charcoal chimney to get your coals hot? I find that using newspaper with a little bit of vegetable oil drizzled on it in the bottom of my chimney gets my coals nice and hot.

Originally Posted by Thnikkaman

Do you use a charcoal chimney to get your coals hot? I find that using newspaper with a little bit of vegetable oil drizzled on it in the bottom of my chimney gets my coals nice and hot.

I need to get one, I have used them and love them. My BBQ actually has baskets that are like miniature chimneys but I am limited to the amount of charcoal I can add at one time. I will have to try the veggie oil idea though, I usually just paper and charcoal. my BBQ also has a propane ignition to help light the charcoal too. But i dont let it run long to avoid adding unwanted propane taste. I like the baskets because I can move them around easier then moving the charcoal to adjust the heat to different areas.

Originally Posted by NightTerror218

I need to get one, I have used them and love them. My BBQ actually has baskets that are like miniature chimneys but I am limited to the amount of charcoal I can add at one time. I will have to try the veggie oil idea though, I usually just paper and charcoal. my BBQ also has a propane ignition to help light the charcoal too. But i dont let it run long to avoid adding unwanted propane taste. I like the baskets because I can move them around easier then moving the charcoal to adjust the heat to different areas.

The veggie oil is the same concept as the wick of a candle. The oil burns off before the paper burns, so the coals get continuous heat longer than just burning paper. You might be able to ball up paper and put it in the bottom or under your baskets when you light the charcoal.

I too, believe in veggie oil, especially to ignite real charcoal and not just briquettes.
I cant stand the petroleum based accelerators, that poison gets in your food and lungs,
no thanks.

chimneys are great, but they dont last very long.
I bank my coals anyway for a convection heat, and use the vents to control the air flow.
all bottom vents open. coals on right, meat on left, top vents on right open.
convective air flow, coals last longer, smoking more effective, perfect for webber kettle design.

Originally Posted by NightTerror218

I like it. Zam i need an awesome salsa recipe I have one but its ok. I do not have a food processor but I have a NINJA!!!!!

Cilantro
Mexican Stewed Tomatoes
cilantro
lemon
jalapenos
onion
green onion

.................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .........................................
you listed cilantro twice?
for me too much cilantro is a kill joy to good salsa, it can overpower all the other flavors and add a "soapy' flavor to your salsa.

you have the basics there,
I would add corriander, to help brighten the citrus and tomato elements, and substitute LIME for the lemon.
you might want to consider try ing different tomatoes !
what BRANDS have you used?
OR...
fresh ROMA tomatoes peeled and de-seeded.
to peel a tomato, make a small X incision in the bottom of the tomato, drop in boiling water for 20 seconds and remove,
then plunge in ice water.
the skin will peel off easily.
to de-seed, slice in HALF, seperating top from bottom, and just squeeze out the seeds.

are you stewing the ingredients before blending?
or just adding them raw?
raw is a salsa fresca, I would use red onion for that, mango is a popular addition to fresca salsa and adds a nice sweet contrast to standard mexican fair.

roasted corn is another, fresh off the cob is best, but corn kernels, tossed in oil and laid out on a sheetpan and roasted in the oven can also work.
hot oven 450, or BROIL, about 5-8 minutes, until they start to blacken.

my reccomendation for course of action, if you are using all fresh ingrdients, no need to stew them together. if you are using canned tomatos, you need to stew engredients all together and then chill overnight.

canned tomato product i would reccomend.
S&W
Rottel.
use the most simple, NOT the flavored, and look for the whole, peeled, not diced. or crushed.
canning companies use their best quality tomatos in their whole presentations.
best of luck, please let me know if you have other questions, I will re-post this in my own cooking thread.

Originally Posted by Chef Zambini

I mis-typed, I actually do use PREGO vs Ragu, my bad.
one neeed only read the list of ingredients or open one of each, side by side to see the superior quality of the prego over ragu.

You know, the best off-the-shelf spaghetti sauce I have found is Safeway's Select brand. To me, it is just delicious.

Zam, I have a question of a different nature: What is the best way to season a cast-iron pan?

Originally Posted by Chef Zambini

Originally Posted by NightTerror218

I like it. Zam i need an awesome salsa recipe I have one but its ok. I do not have a food processor but I have a NINJA!!!!!

Cilantro
Mexican Stewed Tomatoes
cilantro
lemon
jalapenos
onion
green onion

.................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .........................................
you listed cilantro twice?
for me too much cilantro is a kill joy to good salsa, it can overpower all the other flavors and add a "soapy' flavor to your salsa.

you have the basics there,
I would add corriander, to help brighten the citrus and tomato elements, and substitute LIME for the lemon.
you might want to consider try ing different tomatoes !
what BRANDS have you used?
OR...
fresh ROMA tomatoes peeled and de-seeded.
to peel a tomato, make a small X incision in the bottom of the tomato, drop in boiling water for 20 seconds and remove,
then plunge in ice water.
the skin will peel off easily.
to de-seed, slice in HALF, seperating top from bottom, and just squeeze out the seeds.

are you stewing the ingredients before blending?
or just adding them raw?
raw is a salsa fresca, I would use red onion for that, mango is a popular addition to fresca salsa and adds a nice sweet contrast to standard mexican fair.

roasted corn is another, fresh off the cob is best, but corn kernels, tossed in oil and laid out on a sheetpan and roasted in the oven can also work.
hot oven 450, or BROIL, about 5-8 minutes, until they start to blacken.

my reccomendation for course of action, if you are using all fresh ingrdients, no need to stew them together. if you are using canned tomatos, you need to stew engredients all together and then chill overnight.

canned tomato product i would reccomend.
S&W
Rottel.
use the most simple, NOT the flavored, and look for the whole, peeled, not diced. or crushed.
canning companies use their best quality tomatos in their whole presentations.
best of luck, please let me know if you have other questions, I will re-post this in my own cooking thread.

Thanks,

I use S&W Mexican Stewed Tomatoes. I dont stew myself. I take those and throw into Ninja to chop/processs smaller and then add everything to a bowl. I chop all ingredients by hand. I did not mean to add cilantro twice. But I also use cilantro out of my garden and try not to use too much. I have never tried to take roma tomatoes and make my own so i will have to try that (hoping my garden produces some this year).

I figured the cilantro duplication was just a typo,
I mainly wanted to tender my opinion on the over-use of cilantro,
I reccommend chopping and adding sparingly, to taste at the end of the preparation, just like salt and fresh ground black pepper. the lime juice can also be added to taste at the end of the process.
BTW, cantaloup can always be substituted for the mango, alot cheaper and easier to work with.
summer salsas!
all fresh ingredients, nothing canned
roma tomatos peeled, de-seeded,
diced red onion,
jalepenos(de-seed if you dont want it too hot
diced cucumber/or melon (mango) skinned and de-seeded
ratio, equal parts of each of the above, adjust based on your taste, (more or less red onion
more or less melon, depending on your desire for sweetness.

THE BEST COURSE OF ACTION IS TO MAKE EQUAL PARTS OF EACH, RESERVE SOME AT THE END AND THEN ADD AT THE END TO ADJUST TO YOUR PALATE
You may find you like the fresh garden element of the cucumber and want to add more, or it just aint as hot as you like and want more jalepeno, for example.

fresh cilantro, parsley
fresh ground pepper
lime juice
splash of tequila or vodka(mostly to help preserve the color
cummin, coriander hot sauce and salt to taste at the end of the process.
dont cook, just mix and adjust seasonings.
If you love avocado and it works for the intended use of your salsa you can also add diced AVOCADO at the end of the preparation. this will keep the small dice intact and prevent the avo from turning to paste and clouding and coloring your fresh salsa.
this is a nice accompaniment to fresh fish or pork off the grill, chicken too.

Originally Posted by topscribe

You know, the best off-the-shelf spaghetti sauce I have found is Safeway's Select brand. To me, it is just delicious.

Zam, I have a question of a different nature: What is the best way to season a cast-iron pan?

get your oven or rang top as hot as possible, pour standard table salt on your pan and spread eveny so there is a nice layer over the entire cooking surface. place the pan on the heat.
once it starts to smoke and burn, use your best oven mits to remove from heat
discard the salt in sink or non- flamable container.

( dont pour it in the trash, any combustables will ignite!)

set the pan down on a cold burner and pour on a high temp oil to coat the pan cooking surface.
do not use olive oil, too low a smoke point, leave the pan alone until it cools, wipe off excess oil and set aside for cooking
after each use, a light aplication of oil(wipe on with a paper napkin, will help to keep your pan seasoned.
when you come across excess sticking, repeat this process in the future.
if you use the pan every day, you may need to repeat this process twice a month.

never put your cast iron pans in the dishwasher
cleaning is always easiest emmediately after cooking while the pan is still HOT !
a good brush,(nylon, not metal ) mild soap and water
a light application of oil rubbed on after cleaning will also help to keep your cast iron pan seasoned.