Hi All

Has anybody ever struggled to get their chicken breast nice and tender? Despite doing various pre-cooking methods I for one have struggled.

I have tried:

The slow pre-cooking method - As prescribed by the likes of curry2go etc.

Stabbing it all over with a skewer and marinading in yoghurt. (The enzymes in which supposedly break down the protein structures in the meat)

And bringing the meat up to room temperature before cooking.

And a mixture of all of the above. Some fair results but still could never achieve the same melt in the mouth chicken that you get from your TA. Then the other day I had an epiphany... The pressure cooker...

I got the chicken out of the fridge and brought it up to room temperature. I then fried off half a sliced onion, a few black and green cardamoms, some mix powder, pinch of cinnamon, cumin etc and then added the chicken. I sealed it off all over then added a good splash of boiling water from the kettle (perhaps 200ml). I then put the lid on, whacked the heat up a bit (but not full) and waited for the pressure to come up. (I don't know how modern ones work but this is an old fashioned pressure cooker) I then waited 6 or 7 minutes, took it off the heat, let the pressure off and tried a bit of the chicken. It was absolutely gorgeous and super tender!

I figured that the combination of being airtight and the savage heat would cook it so quick that it wouldn't be able/have time to dry out. BUT Only add your chicken to your curry sauce right at the end of cooking or else for some reason it does firm back up. The onions go all mushy aswell which makes a lovely sauce to add to your curry

If anybody else has experienced the same problem and have a pressure cooker knocking around then I would thoroughly recommend you try this method.

Happy Cooking

MM

Quote from: Phil [Chaa006] on July 31, 2013, 09:40 AM

Quote from: MushroomMike on July 31, 2013, 12:46 AM
Keep your eyes open for farmers markets and food festivals in your area and get to know your local smallholders selling at them. You can get very good quality meats often for less than you would pay at the butchers or supermarket. They tend to specialise in proper breeds aswell. Even my local prison rears/grows top notch produce that it sells through its farm shop. Food for thought maybe...

Much as I like farmers' markets for the atmosphere and the "step back in time" experience, I have yet to encountered one where the meat is not over-priced w.r.t. the local butchers.  Perhaps there are places in the country where it is more economical to sell from a stall than a shop, but here in deepest Kent that would appear not to be the case.

** Phil.

Sometimes they are expensive but I do find them to be considerably cheaper at times also. It all depends on the vendor. Usually what they sell is quality and you'll have a better idea of its origins. At the end of the day, you get what you pay for...

I used ghee for the first time the other day. I was alarmed to find it tastes like cheese. Nice mixed in with rice though.

.....Anyway.....Yes there are one or two mistakes. Like not mentioning in the base gravy list of ingredients that it requires tomatoes but then announcing all of a sudden half way through the cooking instructions that it does! I'm not sure Pataks pastes are used in authentic BIR either but hey. I made the naans, they were good if a bit flat and chapatti like, the rice is good, in fact it was all good but it wasn't the missing link we are all after. Something still missing....I wish Julian would reply to his emails aswell.

Ha ha funny that...Yes I did the 3 litre one in my pressure cooker and do you know what, all I kept asking my missus was "can you smell the vinegar yet?" "I cant smell anything, just boiled onions"...lol I kept letting a bit of steam off through the valve and sniffing the vapour but I couldnt get it. I don't think I have a very acute sense of smell though to be honest. All I know is that those onions were well and truly mushed when I'd finished boiling them!

I don't know if this topic has already been covered but I bought the Curry2Go ebook the other day and tonight made my first curries from it. I made the chicken jalfrezi, the lamb balti and the chicken tikka murgh makhani with the Bangladeshi gravy and they wasn't bad at all. Has anybody else got this ebook, if so what do you think of the results you've had from it?

Cheers

Mike

I wondered if it could be frozen as I got quite a lot so that is good to know. Mick, I didn't want to use it as a 'green' like you would spinach more just a teaspoon for flavour like you would dried methi. I figured the fresh taste would be better than dried. Having said that I made 3 curries tonight for the first time from the curry2go ebook and didn't have the bottle to try it in fear of ruining them. I used dried instead. I will freeze it and try it next time.

Mike

Hi All

I have found somewhere that sells fresh methi/fenugreek by the bunch. Obviously most recipes i.e madras call for dried methi. Am I right in assuming fresh would be better? Has anybody got any experience of using it and does it giver better results?

Cheers

MM

Keep your eyes open for farmers markets and food festivals in your area and get to know your local smallholders selling at them. You can get very good quality meats often for less than you would pay at the butchers or supermarket. They tend to specialise in proper breeds aswell. Even my local prison rears/grows top notch produce that it sells through its farm shop. Food for thought maybe...

Each to their own Phil. I love my veggies and could (and do 90% of the time) live happily on them alone. Ratatoille, vegetable soups, tomato and garlic based pasta dishes... A madras without chicken would be painful though...  And yes Quorn and Tofu are both vile lol... Stem cell burgers....whatever next?..