Tonight I was cooking a lump of salmon and used a plastic bag to coat it in flour and seasoning.
I realised as a lazy cook, the plastic bag really is super helpful and convenient and reduces the washing up of bowls, plates and utensils. Plastic bags also reduce the waste of eggs and milk when crumbing (or breading as my friends in north America might say).
So tonight I took my lump of salmon from the refrigerator. The supermarket delicatessen sales assistant had placed the lump of salmon in a plastic bag before wrapping it in paper. Rather than waste plastic and dirty any other cooking utensil I poured a little oil into the bag and massaged my lump of salmon through the plastic bag. I then added a little flour, Panko bread crumbs, some sea salt crystals, curry powder, chilli flakes, and ground pepper. I massaged the lump of salmon through the plastic bag and let it rest while I heated up my frying plan. While my lump of salmon was cooking I added a halved tomato and made a quick coleslaw to eat with the fish.
You can see the salmon has a nice coating of panko bread crumbs and the chilli flakes and pepper are pretty obvious. What isn’t obvious but to which I can attest is that I slipped with the sea salt crystals and the salmon was a little more salty than I like. That said, I finished my dinner and wished I had another piece.
For the lazy cook, a plastic bag can be used for all sorts of proteins to be coated. I like using it for chicken pieces whether they have skin or not, diced bits of tough beef for browning before slow cooking, lamb cutlets and I suppose you could do tofu this way too 😉
The Porterhouse steak Heston style is the second Heston style dish I’ve done today. For breakfast I made scrambled eggs Heston style
Here’s a video of Heston on MasterChef Australia describing his cooking technique.
Unfortunately, Heston doesn’t complete the TimTam Slam in this video.
So tonight I used a Porterhouse steak which is a little unusual for me because I prefer rib fillet. Given the cost of living, the cost of meat and the need to budget more carefully I went with Porterhouse steak.
To accompany my porterhouse steak I had an avocado that I coated with pepper and chilli flakes. I also prepared a simple fennel salad with red onion, parsley and capers.
Porterhouse Steak Heston Style
Recipe Type: Dinner
Cuisine: Australian
Author: Gary Lum
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 1
Ingredients
Porterhouse steak
Avocado
Fennel
Parsley
Red onion
Capers
Pepper
Salt
Chilli flakes
Lemon juice
Instructions
The night before place the steak on a rack and on a plate and put into the refrigerator. This helps the steak dry out.
Allow the steak to get to room temperature.
Just before cooking rib in some oil and a little salt.
In a smoking hot pan sear the steak and keep flipping every 15 seconds for a total of four minutes.
Seal the edges, especially the fat.
Allow the steak to rest for 10 minutes.
Half an avocado and cover in lemon juice and then coat with cracked pepper and chilli flakes
Prepare the fennel salad with fennel, parsley, red onion, capers and lemon juice.
Slice the steak and put onto a plate, add the salad and then the avocado.
Shoot a photograph.
Eat the dish.
Wash the dishes.
Write the recipe.
Blog (verb)
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I drained the lemon juice out of the fennel salad by straining in a coffee filter paper.
You can see the steak is rare in the middle and nicely coloured on the outside. The fat could have been rendered better but it was fine (I like animal fat).
Maple syrup flavoured bacon is a well known flavour combination, especially with pancakes, waffles or French toast.
What about adding maple syrup to spam?
I like a salad that has a little sweetness to it and tonight the only ‘dressing’ was some lemon juice and the cooking ‘juices’ from the oven cooked spam and bacon.
I really like the photograph. The colours came out nicely of the maple syrup flavoured bacon and spam salad. I did a bit of retouching in Adobe Lightroom.
If you click on the image you will be taken to an attachment page. Under the image on that page if you click on 2048 × 2048 you’ll be brought to the original image. Now if you have a nice big monitor, if you click once more on that image you’ll see a full resolution version and the detail is lovely.
Maple syrup flavoured bacon and spam salad NIKON D7100 with 40.0 mm f/2.8 at 40mm and f/8, 1/80sec, ISO 400
Maple syrup flavoured bacon and spam salad
Recipe Type: Dinner
Cuisine: Australian
Author: Gary Lum
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 1
Ingredients
Spam with real Hormel® Bacon
Streaky bacon
Beetroot coleslaw
Avocado
Fried shallots
Lemon juice
Maple syrup
Pepper
Instructions
Dice the bacon and spam and put into a baking tray
Pour over the bacon and spam some maple syrup
Cook the bacon and spam in an oven at 220 °C for 20 minutes
Prepare a beetroot coleslaw and add some avocado and lemon juice
When the spam and bacon are cooked add to the salad bowl and mix
Shoot a photograph
Eat the meal
Wash the dishes
Write the recipe
Blog (verb)
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Tonight I used the Spam Bacon NIKON D810 with 90.0 mm f/2.8 at 90mm and f/8, 1/15sec, ISO 80
Tonight I went back to an old favourite, delicious roasted chicken Maryland. Oh how I love the crispy skin and the succulent dark meat of the thigh and drumstick.
What could be better than some Lilydale organic roasted chicken? I’d purchased some Maryland pieces from the Belconnen markets on the weekend.
I also had some quinoa and some salad vegetables with a beetroot coleslaw.
Tonight I went back to an old favourite, delicious roasted chicken Maryland. Oh how I love the crispy skin and the succulent dark meat of the thigh and drumstick.
Course:
Main Course
Cuisine:
Australian
Servings: 1
Calories: 1000kcal
Author: Gary Lum
Ingredients
1piecesLilydale organic chicken Maryland pieces
1cupQuinoa
1cupBeetroot coleslaw
¼cupPanko bread crumbs
Instructions
Bring the chicken to room temperature and dry the skin
Dry the skin out by adding salt and then after half an hour remove the extra moisture with paper towel
Add some panko bread crumbs and spray with a little olive oil
Cook the chicken in a slow oven (120 °C/248 °F) for 90 minutes
While cooking the chicken prepare the quinoa and beetroot coleslaw
I cook the quinoa in chicken stock and then refrigerate immediately so I can add it to the coleslaw
Make sure you rest the chicken for 25 minutes to keep the chicken meat succulent
Plate the dish
Shoot a photograph
Eat the meal
Wash the dishes
Write the recipe
Blog (verb)
Hope that people will enjoy the post and try to emulate the recipe and that the recipe will be popular
Recipe Notes
What could be better than some Lilydale organic roasted chicken. I’d purchased some Maryland pieces from the Belconnen markets on the weekend.
I also had some quinoa and some salad vegetables for a beetroot coleslaw.
Photographs
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Chicken Maryland ready for some salt
I dried the chicken by adding a little salt, letting it sit for about half an hour and wiping off the moisture with some paper towel.
Chicken Maryland with some panko bread crumbsChicken Maryland with some panko bread crumbs sprayed with a little olive oilChicken Maryland with some panko bread crumbs sprayed with a little olive oil in the baking trayQuinoa about to be cookedQuinoa cooked and ready for the refrigerator
I cooked the quinoa in chicken stock and added a little butter at the end.
Chicken Maryland pieces out of the oven
Chicken Maryland served with quinoa mixed in with beetroot coleslaw and capers | Close
Questions
What’s your favourite cut of chicken?
Regular readers know I love the cloaca roasted nice and crispy, but failing that, my favourite meat is the dark thigh meat. Having a drumstick on it to make a Chicken Maryland is okay too but it’s really the thigh meat. I also like chicken wings, roasted in a hot oven.
Besides oven roasting how else do you like cooking chicken?
When making chicken curry, I like using a slow cooker and making a nice full bodied curried chicken.
Skin off or skin on?
Is that a serious question? I love chicken skin. One of my favourite things is deep fried chicken skin as a snap with dip. I seriously like fried chicken and crispy chicken skin. One of my favourite Chinese dishes is a boiled chicken that has had boiling fat poured on it to crisp up the skin. It’s amazing.
Why does everything taste like chicken?
Well, it doesn’t really. Beef tastes like beef, lamb like lamb and pork like pork. I’ve eaten crocodile and it didn’t taste like chicken.
So how did you spend your Sunday and what are you watching on the television tonight?
Please follow me on my food-based social media on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. What I’d love you to do is share this post on Twitter and Facebook and anywhere else you’d like, even Google+
The Chicken Maryland is my favourite piece of a chook
I’m definitely a thigh man when it comes to chook. Chicken breasts do nothing for me. Chook breasts are dry and stringy whereas the dark meat of the thigh is tender, moist and luxurious. The Maryland also has the drumstick and like any kid, meat on a stick is a good thing. I’ll also reveal (again) I love the cloaca. When roasted or deep fried, the fatty crispy goodness is to die for.
I bet it comes as no surprise that I like a creamy buttery sauce with my chicken.
Tuesday night dinner. Chicken Maryland with pumpkin and a creamy mushroom sauce.
Chicken Maryland with a creamy #powerofmushrooms sauce
Recipe Type: Simple comfort food
Cuisine: Australian dude food
Author: Gary Lum
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 2
This is a simple recipe that can be made when you get home and be eating within about 90 minutes of getting your belt off.
Ingredients
Chicken Maryland
Onion
Pumpkin
Mushrooms
Chicken stock
White wine
Pouring cream
Butter
Salt
Pepper
Chilli flakes
Instructions
Heat an oven to 150 °C
Chop an onion in half and put both halves into a large frying pan
Place a Chicken Maryland on each piece of onion to elevate it off the frying pan
Add a big wedge of pumpkin
Season with salt, pepper and chilli flakes
Put in the oven for 60 minutes
Pull the frying pan out and place the chicken on a plate to rest for 20 minutes
Put the pumpkin in a warm place
Place the drying pan on the stove top and turn the heat up high
Add some sliced mushrooms
Stir all the stuck on bits and cook off the water from the chicken
Add a splash of white wine to deglase the pan
When the alcohol has cooked off add some pouring cream
When the cream has thickened a little add a good nob of butter
Take the pan off the heat and sppon mushrooms and sauce onto the chicken
Capture an image
Eat the meal
Wash the dishes
Write the recipe while watching MasterChef
Blog and hope people like the recipe and make a comment
Notes
Perfect for anyone who likes the dark luxurious tender juicy meat of the thigh.
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If you have any comments or questions please send me a comment in the space below.
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