Middle Eastern Cooking (was Re: SC - Theme Menus)

[Elaine Koogler]

It doesn't just happen with chicken!  On numerous occasions, I've done a
red-roasted pork for an Oriental event.  Now, the way it's cooked leaves a
reddish color to the pork.  Even after warning the diners that this was the
case, I would get a fair amount of the meat back from those who insisted it
wasn't done...without even trying it!

Kiri

"UnruhBays, Melanie A" wrote:

> The perception of many people is that if it's not *really* done, it's not
> "done".
>
> I once did ducks for a feast. The thermometer read within the "done" range
> (160-165 degrees for medium-rare to medium), the legs were pretty much
> falling out of their sockets, the juices were running clear. Know what? I
> got complaints about them not being done. It seems that a duck can be
> *quite* red near the joints when it's done. Sometimes chicken can be, too.
> Pork can have clear juices and be up to temp, and still look a little pink,
> too.
>
> I think it's important to consider that sometimes it's the perception of the
> people who are eating. Not always - I've gotten meat that I didn't consider
> done, too - but sometimes. The USDA says, "The color of cooked meat and
> poultry is not always a sure sign of its degree of doneness." (See
> http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/pubs/pinkturk.htm for more information.) But
> people are so terrified of undercooked poultry that they won't touch it if
> it looks the least bit undercooked. (I think that the Thanksgiving turkey is
> one of the worst victims of "poultry-fear".)
>
> Maybe some cooks will fail to check more than one bird, or over-fill pans,
> but I think it's more likely that people today are just instilled with fear
> about everything they put into their mouth! Let's worry more about
> cross-contamination of ingredients and proper dish- and handwashing in the
> kitchen; I think we'd have a lot fewer problems.
>
> Maredudd
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Ted Eisenstein [mailto:alban at delphi.com]
> > Sent: Thursday, February 08, 2001 16:15
> > To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
> > Subject: Re: SC - alcohol revisited
> >
> >
> > >Olwen the Odd wrote:
> > >>
> > >> The funny(?) thing about rare chickens (and other things)
> > is that most of
> > >> the cooks have one of those handy instant temp
> > thermometers that they pop
> > >> right into the bird.
> > Thermometers? for chickens? Whatever happened to the
> > move-the-leg-and-if-it's
> > -loose-then-it's-almost-done trick? Or the
> > prick-the-breast-and-if-the-juices-run-clear-
> > it's-done test?
> >
> > sheesh! All these new cooks running around, and no-one passes
> > along the tricks
> > of the trade!
> >
> > <grin>
> >
> > Alban
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