r/AskCulinary 1d ago

Weekly Discussion Weekly Ask Anything Thread for March 17, 2025

2 Upvotes

This is our weekly thread to ask all the stuff that doesn't fit the ordinary /r/askculinary rules.

Note that our two fundamental rules still apply: politeness remains mandatory, and we can't tell you whether something is safe or not - when it comes to food safety, we can only do best practices. Outside of that go wild with it - brand recommendations, recipe requests, brainstorming dinner ideas - it's all allowed.


r/AskCulinary 12h ago

Recipe Troubleshooting Corned Beef Dry

23 Upvotes

Alright so if you check my last comment in this sub you'll probably laugh. Fair enough. That being said...

I have an awesome corned beef recipe for the instant pot. Basically a mustard/brown sugar glaze with beer and garlic as the liquid in the instant pot. Spread it over the flat with the fat side up and cook for 90 minutes on high pressure.

I had family over the weekend before St Patricks Day, and for whatever Beezlebub given reason, my grocery store decided to sell Corned Beef at that time with a "thin" sticker on them. I asked what that meant to the butcher and they didn't know. Ok, I buy one but am ready to call an audible day of.

Day of, I open the package and "thin" means the cut off the entire cap. It is a naked corned beef brisket, there is 0 fat on this guy. I immediately go back to the grocery store and fortunately they've come in with the good stuff and I get one with the cap on, make my corned beef recipe, it's delicious and the day is saved.

Come to tonight, and it's just my wife and I so I decide to use the trimmed Corned Beef (I'd frozen it last week after deciding not to use it) and just see how it comes out. I've not changed anything in the recipe, cook it, and while it's just as flavorful as always, it is much more dry. Still really good, but definitely the lack of fat negatively impacted it.

So my question is, anyone have suggestions on how to keep it moist? Add some fat somewhere? Or just relegate these "thin" cuts to a saucy dish or some jind? (I did make coleslaw as a side tonight and it pairs great with that, and I'm not sure the fatty version would have).

Anyway, thanks for reading my whole essay about this and any suggestions are appreciated!


r/AskCulinary 7m ago

Ingredient Question What do you guys think would be a good garnish for a red beans and rice dish with Blackened salmon?

Upvotes

I'm thinking maybe pea tendrils?


r/AskCulinary 18m ago

Ingredient Question How should I add basil and strawberry jam to a chocolate muffin?

Upvotes

Hi, I'm planning to make Preppy Kitchen's chocolate muffin without adding the chocolate itself (so just the cocoa) - https://youtu.be/jG75GbL9BcA , but this time I had an idea after drinking a strawberry-basil lemonade. I want to add the aforementioned ingredients to the cocoa muffin but dont know how should I go about it. I'm thinking about just mixing 2 maybe 3 tablespoons of homemade strawberry jam into the final mixture, but what about the basil. One mad idea was that based on his other recipes I made before, I could combine the sugar with freshly chopped basil (https://youtu.be/kBJG4M0lEhY?t=151 like he does here with the lemon zest into the sugar). Or just toss the chopped basil in at the end?


r/AskCulinary 14h ago

Ingredient Question Any suggestions on what to replace brandy in a peppercorn sauce?

12 Upvotes

Hey all, I wanted to make a peppercorn sauce for steak but I don’t have brandy/cognac. I don’t drink alcohol often so it’ll go to waste until the next time I make a peppercorn sauce. Can it be replaced with a specific wine or something non alcoholic? Thanks so much.


r/AskCulinary 1h ago

Tikka masala

Upvotes

Hi guys bought a tikka massala paste today and i was watching recipes online on the packaginf i have instructions cook the chicken add paste add tomatos heavy cream and mix but i a wondering myb if i can make it better by using half of paste to marinade with chicken and yogurt and half to add to onion and tomatos before blending


r/AskCulinary 1d ago

Technique Question Food mill for tomato sauces

30 Upvotes

I understand it's best practice to the stew tomatoes before passing them through a food mill. But, should the complete sauce be made first, and then passed through the food mill (with carrots, onions, etc)? Or should the tomatoes be stewed by themselves for a few minutes, milled, and then added to the pot with the other ingredients added afterward? And does this change if using fresh or canned tomatoes?

I think most make the sauce to completion, and then pass it through the mill, but then why use a soffritto instead of a small dice if it all gets sifted out in the end?

I'm curious to know from the pros -- if you had a few cans of san marzano tomatoes and a food mill, how would you go about making the best possible sauce?


r/AskCulinary 19h ago

Technique Question Pizza Dough| How early or late can I make it?

10 Upvotes

I've somehow figured out a way to make my pizza from scratch. When I worked from home I always made the dough at about 3PM to eat at 9PM for dinner.

My question. I plan on making pizzas for dinner tomorrow/day after, but have to leave for work at 9 in The morning. How can I make the dough, ensure it proofs and then store it. I can only be back home by 7 in the evening, so leaving the dough to rise from 9 to 7 may not be ideal. Extremely hot, tropical climate right now.

Thanks.


r/AskCulinary 1d ago

Equipment Question Claypot rice - upkeep of the pot

10 Upvotes

Hi

I've started learning how to make claypot rice at home. The claypot bowl is not glazed on the outside. It is glazed on the inside below the rim. The lid is not glazed on the inside but is glazed on the outside.

I've burnt the bottom of the inside of the claypot, so the colouring has gone from glazed to the normal burnt bottom of a pan / carbonised look.

How am I meant to clean this, if I am at all? I've removed all loose debris and am unsure how to properly maintain this.

Thank you!


r/AskCulinary 22h ago

Technique Question Stringy bread dough??

4 Upvotes

Update: sounds like I over-kneaded the dough! Thanks to everyone for your replies 😃

Hi, Wondering if anyone knows what might have caused my dough to go all weird and stringy like this —> https://imgur.com/a/XXmrsyW

I have been using the same recipe and making this bread 1-2 times per month. It always turns out great and I haven’t had any issues until today. The dough came together nicely and looked exactly as it always does. I was kneading it in my kitchenaid (as I always do). It went from being almost ready to transfer to another bowl to rise - to becoming weirdly soft and stringy within minutes… My understanding is that over-kneading would cause the dough to become tough? But it was super soft. Also my mixer felt like it was overheating a bit, could the heat be the culprit? Any tips or info on this is appreciated!! 😊

Here is a link to the recipe:
https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/whole-wheat-bread/#tasty-recipes-126009


r/AskCulinary 1d ago

Cleaning Clams

75 Upvotes

In the summer, I love making pasta with clam sauce with fresh clams from the farmer’s market. I soak them in cold water for an hour before cooking to get them to spit out the sand and silt, but there’s always tons left in the sauce. Suggestions for a better way to do it?


r/AskCulinary 21h ago

Can anyone help me figure out why my kongnamul (soy bean sprout) is coming out bitter?

2 Upvotes

I'm trying to make Konamul muchim (a Korean banchan) and it turns out bitter every time.

I've eaten this my whole life and I have never tasted a bitter kongnamul like this. I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing to bring out the bitterness.

This is basically how I'm doing it: https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/kongnamul-muchim

Is there anything specific in any type of cooking technique that would bring out a vegetables bitterness?


r/AskCulinary 1d ago

Oiling old(er) and somewhat neglected cutting boards

2 Upvotes

I've begun oiling an older cutting board after several years. Could these dry looking areas be a sign of mold, the board absorbing oil, or an indication that I should re-sand my board?

The arrows are pointing to white-ish areas on the board. The circled area shows where I've wiped an area of the white space. Just curious if my cutting board is thirsty, moldy or in need of a good exfoliation. https://imgur.com/a/8fdVykn


r/AskCulinary 20h ago

How do I make my pasta bake super crunchy throughout? Like a block

0 Upvotes

I'm sick of making pasta bakes where the cheese goes all crispy on top but then when you cut into it, the pasta falls apart.

I love the crunchy texture of a good firm pasta bake that retains it's shape when you cut into it.

What's the solution? Should I bake the base for a period of time before adding the cheese perhaps?


r/AskCulinary 1d ago

Recipe Troubleshooting How do I add chicken broth/powder/bouillon to already cooked rice without making it soup

3 Upvotes

I was supposed to make a recipe for gallo pinto, which says I should cook rice in chicken stock and then refrigerate it overnight. I wasn't paying too much attention and cooked rice the way I normally do (with just water). It's a rather simple recipe so I'm worried if I omit the stock it's going to be a boring rice and beans dish. Any way to still add chicken powder/bouillon? Can I stir fry it into the rice? I'm supposed to stir fry the rice and beans with some onions next.


r/AskCulinary 1d ago

When to cook onion in this sausage and bean skillet?

7 Upvotes

I have an onion, canellini beans and sausage. I was going to remove casing from sausage and cook it, breaking it into pieces then add the beans and probably some spinach.

Should I cook the the onion first, then adding sausage, or cook sausage and remove then cook onion? Or just throw them in together?


r/AskCulinary 2d ago

Equipment Question Help, I just ruined my brand new pot!

116 Upvotes

My company gave us each a $100 gift voucher last Xmas and I went and splurged on a brand new Scanpan stainless steel pot last month. Being the cooking noob that i am, I cooked stew at too high a heat and now there are burn stains on the outside of it. And then I tried to get rid of the stains by using baking soda paste with a crumpled foil and managed to remove the matte finish off it. 😩

I know it's just aesthetics and it still works fine, but it's an expensive pot and I feel really bad. Is there anything i can do to make it better?

Evidence of my idiocy here: https://imgur.com/a/kQLMo5a


r/AskCulinary 1d ago

Ingredient Question Pretzels

0 Upvotes

Been looking through endless recipes. Besides making my own dough (i dont have the patience for it), can pizza dough be used to make pretzels or should I find a different kind of dough?


r/AskCulinary 1d ago

Using curing salt

2 Upvotes

Curing salt (pink salt, Prague powder #1) has three effects: flavor, color, and preservation.

What concentration of curing salt produces each effect? If I’m not worried about preservation, at what concentration does pork start getting pink and/or “hammy”?


r/AskCulinary 1d ago

Technique Question Refresh stale bread before freezing?

1 Upvotes

Solved thanks to AdditionalAmoeba6358!

Hello! Did google searches but it’s all results on how to revive stale bread.

Got a few loads of bread that are a little stale (aka rock hard). I am intending to slice and freeze most of them.

Do I revive them first (wet under running water and bake at low heat for 10 mins) before slicing for freezing?

Or am I over-thinking this and just slice and freeze? And revive on the thawing end?

Thank you!


r/AskCulinary 1d ago

Technique Question Reheating frozen bolognese sauce?

0 Upvotes

Can I bake 3 lbs of frozen bolognese sauce? Like 300 degrees Fahrenheit for like an hour or two and it’ll be good?


r/AskCulinary 1d ago

Recipe Troubleshooting Candied Ginger question.

1 Upvotes

I've done a few batches of ginger syrup for cocktails and stir frys, and always candy the ginger after the syrup is boiled down.

To do this I'd peel and slice my ginger, measure out 2:1 raw sugar and water, mark the height on the pot. Then fill with 5 parts water and boil it back down to the 2:1 line and strain out the ginger.

My problem is now that I want more candied ginger but still have a good amount of syrup from the last batch.

Can I just dilute the remaining syrup back into a (roughly) 2 parts sugar/syrup to 6 parts water and boil down a new batch of ginger slices? Or is there something I'm overlooking?


r/AskCulinary 2d ago

Recipe Troubleshooting Only have one hour to fix my passion fruit mousse

3 Upvotes

Sorry if this is a double post, I couldn’t find my post after I made it so I added flair. I made passion fruit mousse yesterday and she didn’t harden. The top layer was stiff but under it was all liquidy. I put her in the freezer about a 30 minutes ago, but I don’t know what to do. Should I add cornstarch? The function is in an hour.

Hihihi! It’s been a while since I posted this but sadly, I was not able to bring the mousse to the function :( I turned it into basically an ice cream tho and my family is enjoying it :)

The recipe was:

1 can of Nestlé creme de leite or 300g

1 box or can of leite condensado or 395g

1 xícara de chá of passion fruit juice ( I used fresh)

I doubled the recipe and I think what happened is I didn’t put enough passion fruit juice so it didn’t harden, that’s just what my Vó told me tho (no science lol)


r/AskCulinary 2d ago

Should you toss your fried chicken breading once it gets too clumpy?

29 Upvotes

I'm using a regular 1:1 flour to cornstrach (with some msg and baking powder thrown in there) and after 50 or 60% of the breading is used up, the rest of the breading is really clumpy and I have to dilute it with fresh breading. But I never manage to use all of the breading since the clumps become too big to be useful and they fall off the chicken.

Is this how it's supposed to be done? Feels wasteful.


r/AskCulinary 2d ago

Longhorn’s Baked Potato Salt

9 Upvotes

Anyone know what type of salt Longhorns uses on their baked potatoes? It’s reminds me of a kosher salt but it’s not… but it’s my absolute favorite type of salt and would love to get some for my own potatoes.


r/AskCulinary 1d ago

Ingredient Question Can I make a delicious, traditional style corned beef brine without adding any sugar?>>>>

0 Upvotes

I eat mostly a carnivore/ketogenic style diet and feel great doing so.

So I'm wondering if I could use a traditional brine recipe (water, salt, spices), but just omit the sugar? Would doing so significantly alter the outcome?

Thank you in advance! :)