Cook log
18 cooks logged.
- Pasta Ragu
- Late dinner, three ingredients, ten minutes. The toasted pepper step makes a real difference — the aroma comes off the plate. Pecorino has to be finely grated; the wedge through a …
- Repeated tonight with halibut instead. Same approach. Halibut wants another 30 seconds per side — denser muscle. Brown butter sauce holds up across fish species.
- Repeated for a bigger group. The marinade-time / oil-temp combo is the dance. Marinated longer this time (3 hours) and the salt penetration was deeper through the meat — better.
- Halved the sear time per side. Better balance — no scorch on the glaze, deep mahogany rather than near-black. The rice vinegar in the glaze is essential; without it the gochujang s…
- Repeated the ragù tonight with rigatoni — works but tagliatelle is right; the wide flat shape catches more sauce. Mounted with a generous ladleful of pasta water and it came out gl…
- Reheated leftover point in beef tallow at 80°C for an hour. Came back to life better than I expected. Worth knowing for the restaurant — we don't have to throw cold brisket.
- Cooked a half packer (point only) for a smaller group. Reduced wrap to 1h40 of unwrapped time. The point came out more tender than the full brisket cook — the higher fat content ca…
- Cooked for friends. Doubled the teriyaki and kept extra to brush over the rice. The sa-shi-su-se-so order matters — sugar in first, soy reduced toward the end, ginger right at the …
- First time getting the skin properly crisp on cod — the 10-minute salt-and-rest before the pan is the trick. Browned butter took the whole thing somewhere else. Capers + lemon bala…
- Second cook. Reduced the dashi to 250ml this time and the glaze tightened up beautifully. The MSG addition off-heat keeps it cleanly umami without tasting seasoned. Will keep this …
- Took me three attempts to keep the pecorino from clumping. The trick is the temperature — the cheese MUST go in off the heat, and the pasta water needs to be below boil when you mi…
- Caramelisation on the gochujang was right at the edge of burning — the sugar tipped fast. Next time I'll sear shorter and lean on the oven for colour. Glaze had a beautiful lacquer…
- Three-hour ragù for Sunday. Used a parmigiano rind I'd been freezing — it dissolved into the sauce around hour two and the glutamate hit lifted the whole thing. The milk addition s…
- 16 hour cook on the offset. Held the fire steady at 120°C using oak splits. Wrapped at 5h30 when the bark looked right — a touch earlier than usual. Rested 2 hours in the cooler. B…
- Got the skin properly crisp for the first time — patience, dry fish, hot pan, do not move it. The teriyaki reduction is so much better than the bottled stuff, it's not even compara…
- First karaage with potato starch instead of plain flour — the crust is unrecognisable from what I was making before. Shaggy, almost stalactite-like in places. Double fry at 160 the…
- First time on the wagyu short rib braise. The sear took longer than I expected — the marbling rendered fast and I had to crank the heat. Three hours at 130°C gave a clean spoon-yie…