Beef Ribs

[TheCytochromeC]

Clearly, you have discovered the pressure cooker. Dedicate yourself to learning to use it and you'll find a world of culinary delights, all ready to eat in less time than most people realize is possible.

For "bachelor cooking" (which, to me, means I don't have to pay much attention), few things beat a giant pot. Put a 5-gallon (3 is probably enough) pot on the stove, fill half or less with water, and bring to a boil. Put in a whole, thawed turkey with no spices or anything else. Add enough water to cover adequately, return to a rolling boil, then cover and let it boil for three hours. Turn it off and let it cool, sitting on the stovetop, until the water is just lukewarm. Never lift the lid until it has cooled to the point you can put your hand on the side of the pot comfortably.

Dive in with both hands, de-bone the turkey, and you've got pounds of juicy meat for sandwiches, turkey salad, soup, etc. that should last you for several days.

Put the pot back on the stove with all the bones and connective tissue (basically, all the trash left over from de-boning) and bring it back to a low boil without a cover. Let it boil down to a manageable volume then strain the contents through cheesecloth into a tall, narrow container. Refrigerate.

After a day you'll have two layers in the refrigerated container. The top is waxy white fat; remove and discard. Underneath is a jelly-like aspic that contains pure essence of turkey taste. Freeze it in convenient-size portions and use it for soup starter and general flavoring. You can literally throw a little water, a little spice, a bag of mixed frozen veggies, and a glob of turkey aspic into a pot and bring it to a boil to make some of the best soup, ever, with next to no effort. I actually use the stuff to help thicken my oxtail stew (which is sort of the opposite of bachelor cooking since it takes forever and close attention).

Oh, God. I'm talking about cooking. Stop me before I bore everyone to death.

I am definitely trying this soon.

I've been baking a whole chicken weekly and using the meat in various things. I save the bones and veggie trimmings in the freezer for stock. The way I bake my birds is to cover them with kosher or course grain sea salt for ~24 hours in the fridge, slice to the hips, oil and bake.

 

[Ole Cowboy]

I am definitely trying this soon.

I've been baking a whole chicken weekly and using the meat in various things. I save the bones and veggie trimmings in the freezer for stock. The way I bake my birds is to cover them with kosher or course grain sea salt for ~24 hours in the fridge, slice to the hips, oil and bake.

I have been doing that for years and years. I am not a specific on my times as English...basically just toss a chicken or turkey into a pot of water. LARGE pot because the point is to boil it down. Now I add my spices at the time I put the chicken in the pot. Let it boil at a low boil till what time the chicken falls off the bone on its own. Now as English said just pull the meat and return it to the pot, reserve all the leftover for stock.

What we usually end up doing is making a chicken soup and eating on it for a few days, then when we have had our filll we ADD a whole chicken to the soup and begin making our freezer meal.

Veggies: I usually buy a bag of celery, carrots etc. I split it in half, I add half when I first start and the low boil will soften and integrate teh veggies into the soup you are making. Then when getting ready to serve the soup, I bring to a full boil and add the remaining veggies and turn the stove off. This adds a GREAT CRUNCH to the soup with the fresh veggies, but the stock is very tasty since the other half had been infused.

 

[benenglish]

...just toss a chicken or turkey into a pot...boil it down...add...spices...in the pot. ...as English said just pull the meat and return it to the pot, reserve all the leftover for stock.

<Emphasis added.>

That's different. You're making soup. I was talking about how to make a supply of bulk protein for use in any number of dishes which means I do NOT "pull the meat and return it to the pot".

To make soup, you're doing it right. However, if you want (as I do) to make a pile of turkey meat to go in the refrigerator for other uses, it's a mistake to add spices to the boil. Any salt in the water will drive moisture from the meat. That's OK for something you're going to eat immediately but if you're just de-boning a turkey to use the meat elsewhere then it becomes a problem because the meat becomes much more dry.

I didn't think much about it until I read an explanation of it and experimented. I was surprised at the difference it makes.

The problem with the no-salt boil is that the big bowl of turkey meat in the fridge is so moist that it just begs to be pulled out and snacked on like popcorn. I often eat the whole thing, straight from the fridge, without actually using it for what I intended.

 

[Ole Cowboy]

<Emphasis added.>

That's different. You're making soup. I was talking about how to make a supply of bulk protein for use in any number of dishes which means I do NOT "pull the meat and return it to the pot".

To make soup, you're doing it right. However, if you want (as I do) to make a pile of turkey meat to go in the refrigerator for other uses, it's a mistake to add spices to the boil. Any salt in the water will drive moisture from the meat. That's OK for something you're going to eat immediately but if you're just de-boning a turkey to use the meat elsewhere then it becomes a problem because the meat becomes much more dry.

I didn't think much about it until I read an explanation of it and experimented. I was surprised at the difference it makes.

The problem with the no-salt boil is that the big bowl of turkey meat in the fridge is so moist that it just begs to be pulled out and snacked on like popcorn. I often eat the whole thing, straight from the fridge, without actually using it for what I intended.

What I am doing is making soup 'enroute'. I end up in the same place I just use a circuitous route to get there.

Since I use so little salt that is not a problem. LOL about the only time I actually put salt on food is french fries and watermelon..