Recent content by abngourmet

Alton Brown BTW, I am a graduate of the same school Alton Brown graduated from - The New England Culinary Institute, in Montpelier, VT.

As for a temperature gauge, you can purchase one online (I've actually seen them in Home Depot), drill a hole in the lid of one of your smoker boxes, and simply bolt it in. Alan

Beginner Chef, Basically, you have a BBQ cooker that apparently doubles as a charcoal grill (the smaller chamber on the left hand side, known as a firebox). Essentially, you can grill in the smoker box, or BBQ in the other chambers to the right. There is a difference, however, between BBQing...

I think the reason a lot of chefs like polenta is that it can be quite versatile. It can be used in appetizers, as a side, as a substitute for the english muffin in eggs benedict, etc. It can be grilled, fried, used as a thickener in stews and soups as well. My only exposure to polenta was in...

Aluminum pans Aluminum does make white sauces turn gray. I know this from experience. Essentially, aluminum is soft enough that while one is whisking, stirring, etc., some of the aluminum leaches into the sauce and turns it a dull gray. I've made tomato and other acidic based sauces in...

Brining One of the pitfalls of cooking shrimp is that, as some have noted already, they begin to toughen very quickly and become rubbery. When this happens, they tend to be dry and not very much fun to eat. Brining is a way to overcome this. Brining uses osmosis to take a substance of a...

Glad I could be of help.

What's good to remember here is that as others note, crowding the pan will not allow enough space for moisture to evaporate the form of steam. Water boils at 212 degrees F at sea level; if that is as hot as your food is getting, there is no way it will brown since browning (known as the...

I've read through this thread and thought I'd add to it a bit ... As most have noted, stocks, classically speaking are made primarily with bones, mirepoix (onions, carrots and celery in a 50/25/25% ratio by weight), and a standard bouquet garni or sachet d'epices (basically, a bundle of herbs...