Selecting a Burr grinder for French Press coffee

After 5+ years of service, my Capresso Infinity grinder is reaching the end of its useful life. I can't complain: it did wonders for a long time, and my 1-2 french press coffees per day comes out to about 3000 uses, or about 3 cents per use.

Given that economical rate, I decided to go up to a better grinder. The two mid-range grinders that people seem to like for French Press are the Breville SmartGrind and the Baratza Virtuoso. It was hard to get a clear head-to-head for French Press specifically, so I did my own virtual comparison. Here is a video of the two models:

At about 8 minutes, you get the comparison of the coarsest grinds. The coarsest setting on the Baratza is far too coarse for French Press. But the one on the Breville is far too fine. See, for example, this excellent chart of the idea grind coarseness.

That means that really only the Baratza is capable of producing optimal French Press coffee. If you're willing to settle for "almost there," the Breville is much easier to use. The other way to look at it, of course, is that using the Baratza means settling for much clunkier controls. And I was pretty happy with "almost there" (via my Capresso) for years and years.

So there you have it. They both have pros and cons. But I am willing to spend more effort for a more excellent cup of coffee, so I went ahead and bought the Baratza. You can look forward to a truly geeky table of experimental results as I try it out.

Mustard, take 3: with bourbon

I had a few drops of bourbon left (just over 2 tbsp) after my third batch of baked beans, so I used it in a half-batch of mustard. This time, I used 6 oz of Element Red Giant ale, of which I'd picked up a growler on my way back from MA to Princeton. 50/50 yellow and brown, 3 minute grind. This time, it came out so good that I considered eating it straight from the food processor instead of putting it in a jar.  I know, disgusting. But it's that good.

Note: the whole time, I've been using 1/2 tsp allspice and no cloves, because it turns out the bag of bulk "cloves" that I had was really bulk allspice. Oh well, apparently 1/2 tsp allspice and no cloves is just fine.

Accidentally vegetarian baked beans

These were supposed to be pork and beans. (Don't tell my rabbi.) Unfortunately, the kielbasa that I bought was spoiled when I opened it. Thanks, Shop Rite!

It didn't matter. Despite the imperfections that I will enumerate below, these were far and away the best baked beans I've ever made or had. The bourbon added a real sophistication of flavor that I would never omit again.

It also corrected two mistakes from my previous attempts at baked beans: first, the onions were completely caramelized, which got rid of sulfuric off notes.

Second, the beans were cooked ahead of time. Who knew this was necessary? It seemed like 10-12 hours of cooking, after already being cooked once, would reduce them to mush. That was not the case at all.

Based on this recipe for barbecued beans:

http://www.howsweeteats.com/2012/05/crockpot-bacon-bourbon-baked-beans/

I didn't see the need to shell out for "barbecue sauce" (why?) so I adapted this recipe, which consists mostly of things already in the bean recipe:

http://www.simplyscratch.com/2011/09/homemade-barbecue-sauce-part-1.html

I also prefer large white beans ("great northern" beans) to small white beans ("navy" beans).

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb dry great northern beans
• 1 large sweet onion, chopped
• 1/2 head garlic, roughly minced
• 2 cups water
• 1 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/8 cup ketchup
• 2 tbsp molasses
• 1 cup bourbon (I used Elmer T Lee--Jim Beam probably would have been fine)
• 1 3/4 tbsp homemade brown mustard (first batch)
• 1/4 cup unfiltered apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp + 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pick over and rinse beans. "Quick soak" the beans by boiling them for 2 minutes, then removing from heat for 1 hour. Drain, fill with fresh water, and simmer for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, saute the onions and garlic in the olive oil. 
3. Drain beans. Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker. Cook for 10 hours.
4. Remove beans from heat and let sit for several hours to thicken before eating.

NOTES:

• Way too much brown sugar. I would use half as much next time.
• If you don't use any meat, it needs salt. Probably more than the 1/2 tsp I used.
• As I said, using such a complex (and expensive) bourbon as Elmer T. Lee was a waste. Also, it's a bit bitter, although this was nice.
• If you do use meat, reduce or eliminate the oil. Brown the meat and use the drippings to saute the aromatics.
• One could use substantially more beans and still have plenty of sauce. I was serving it 1:1 with quinoa and there was loads of sauce for the quinoa!

I am going to try using 1 1/4 lbs beans next time. I am also going to try using some uncased German sausage, or other sweet garlic sausage like Andouille. I will also use only 1/2 cup brown sugar.

Mustard, take 2

I made a new batch of mustard, identical to the first except for two things:

• 30% yellow mustard seeds (3 oz yellow, 7 oz brown).
• Coarse grind--only 3 minutes.

The flavor of the new mustard, immediately after grinding, was much milder than the flavor of the old mustard, which is now more than a month old.

That said, there's less than 1 cup of mustard left from the first batch. That means that I went through more than three cups of mustard in a month. Evidently, I liked it just fine... :-)

This batch was extremely well-received by the people to whom I gave each jar. My brother in law said the only thing that makes it less than perfect is that it had too much kick. So I will go for even more yellow next batch.

Lamb Dijon Stew

The mustard from the last post reminded me of a lamb stew my mother had made growing up. She sent me a copy of the recipe (book unknown--I will ask her). She had changed basically every measurement, but the concept is the same. I changed them again according to what I had available.


INGREDIENTS:

• 6 tbsp all-purpose flour, not sifted
• 1 1/4 tsp salt (estimated)
• 1/2 tsp pepper (estimated)
• Olive oil for saute
• 2 lbs butterflied leg of lamb, cut into 1" cubes
• 2 lbs Russet potatoes, peeled
• 6 tbsp homemade mustard
• 2 tbsp lemon juice (I used bottled)
• 2 tbsp processed chopped garlic (use 1 head fresh if time)
• Most of one package (32 oz) Pacific low sodium beef broth--mixed use (see procedure).

PROCEDURE:

1. Began heating 20 oz broth (recommended quantity) in slow cooker.
2. Mix flour, salt, pepper in a zip-loc bag
3. Add meat to bag and shake to coat. (Did not work--too much meat. Use mixing bowl.)
4. Heat oil in wide steel pot. Brown all meat together over med-high heat, stirring occasionally until browned. (~10 minutes). The oil was absorbed by the first layer of meat to make contact--not sure it actually did anything. Maybe try omitting?
5. At this point, there was a caked-on layer of flour at the bottom of the pan. I deglazed it using ~8 oz more of the beef broth. Might as well use all of it next time. Transfered deglazed mixture into slow cooker.
6. Combined all ingredients in slow cooker.
7. Cooked 4 hours on low.
8. Switched to high 2 more hours.
9. Allowed to cool, partially covered, for 1 hour before transferring to refrigerator.

Served with wide egg noodles.

NOTES:

• Really exceptional
• Recipe must have been written for very high sodium broth--this needed a lot of salt at the end
• Use even more mustard next time
• Recipe originally called for new potatoes, unpeeled; I used peeled russet because I had to minimize texture for a dental procedure.
• Recipe also called for frozen green peas, added 15 minutes before end of cooking; left out for same reason
• Recipe called for 3/4 tsp dried rosemary, which I did not have
• Put both back in next time

Mustard, take 1

I'm trying this recipe:

http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Spicy-Guinness-Mustard

Method actually used:

1 bottle Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale
10 oz brown mustard seeds
1 cup red wine vinegar
1 tbsp. sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper by eyeball (~ 1/2 tsp)
~1⁄4 tsp. ground cinnamon
~1⁄4 tsp. ground cloves
~1⁄4 tsp. ground nutmeg
~1⁄4 tsp. ground allspice

I did not have a 1/4 tsp. measuring spoon, so I estimated based on a 1/2 tsp. measure. Combined dry ingredients in a 4 cup Pyrex dish. Added vinegar. Added beer very slowly. It foamed vigorously. Waited for foam to settle (approx 3 minutes). Stirred gently for another 30 seconds. At this point, there was a residual foam scum at the top, which I left. Covered with rubberized plastic Pyrex lid at 6:30pm on 7/21. Placed in shaded area with ambient temperature 69-71F.

There was about 1/4" of residual liquid above the seed line after 2 days of brining. The mixture was a deep color of brown. Transferred mixture to food processor at 5:45pm on 7/23. Recommended 3 minutes of grinding left an unpleasantly coarse texture. Ground for substantially longer (perhaps 5-7 minutes total). Color and consistency changed to that of traditional deli mustard.

Overwhelmingly strong in first minutes, but had mellowed substantially after just 15 minutes. Left a small portion for some guests. By 45 minutes after grinding, the flavor of the left-out portion was sublime: sharp but multifaceted, with the blend of spices each coming out in their separate turn.

Update 7/25 AM: Flavor had mellowed enough to be used in beans and greens for breakfast. I changed my mind about the coarseness; I think it looked coarser than it was. I would grind it for less time--perhaps try the three minutes.

I might try making it with Weierbacher Heresy (Russian Imperial Stout), and double the nutmeg and allspice, leaving out the black pepper. Still brown seeds, though.

Chili pibil

I had a craving for a chili with a cocoa base, and this hit the spot. It reminded me of cochinita pibil, although it has little in common with it--hence the name.

1 1/4 lb "German" sausage from Whole Foods (prefer Andouille if available)

1 lb fresh tomatoes

1 ripe red bell pepper

1 large Spanish onion, chopped

1 head garlic, crushed

~10 oz dried small red beans, cooked to medium tenderness

~3/4 cup frozen sweet corn kernels

1 tbsp. cocoa

1 tbsp. paprika

Cinnamon (by eyeball--probably <1 tsp)

Cumin (by eyeball--about 1/2 as much as cinnamon)

Olive oil for saute

What I actually did:

1. Shred tomatoes and pepper using a hand grater or food processor.

2. Heat a heavy iron stew pot to med-high.

3. Uncase sausage into pot, and put casings in. Add spices and cocoa; sear. Remove from pot and set aside.

4. Put in olive oil and let heat briefly. Add onions and garlic. Spices had stuck to bottom, so scraped to deglaze with water that onions were casting off. This was a little dicey.

5. When onions were moderately well-cooked, put in tomatoes, pepper, meat mixture and all remaining ingredients. Brought to a simmer, reduced to low and let cook, covered, for 10 minutes.

I served this with shredded cabbage, quinoa and Louisiana Hot Sauce. It was excellent. I'd probably put the spices when the onions were almost finished, so that they could still dry-cook a little bit but not cake onto the bottom of the pan. The corn looked distracting but the added sweetness was pleasant. Perhaps grated carrots could serve the same purpose. I wish I could have made the whole thing a deeper hue of reddish brown.

Blog --> lab notebook

I've decided to resume this blog--not so much as a blog, but merely as a public cooking notebook. My descriptions will be sparse, and my measurements likely will be even more imprecise than before. But it will be enough for me to figure out what I've done and what I liked, and there's no reason to do that in secret.