In case you missed it, back in the fall the food surgeons at Cook's Illustrated challenged young and scrappy food52 to a recipe duel. At the heart of their provocation was the question of whose methodology creates better recipes: theirs (rigorous, scientific recipe testing by professionals) or ours (crowd-sourcing and curating, a celebration of individual cooks' voices). After months of negotiations we've reached consensus (sort of) and are plowing ahead with a contest. Here's how it will work: we'll proceed with our regular contest schedule -- naming two themes and coming up with winning recipes. These winners will then face off with Cook's Illustrated's thoroughly tested recipes. The dueling recipes will be posted on Slate and put to a public vote sometime in May.
The winner will take home fame and glory, and hopefully everyone will be enriched by the conversation about recipe creation. As always, we have full confidence in your ingenuity, cooking abilities, voice and clarity. So let the games begin!
And the themes are .... (drumroll).....
Roasted Pork Shoulder
You can use a boneless or bone-in cut, and picnic or Boston butt. You can brine it, marinate it, or finish it with a sauce. You can season it with rosemary or lard it with garlic. Just make sure you cook it in the oven -- and let us in on the details of your best technique.
Chewy Sugar Cookies
It doesn't matter what flavors you use or how you get from flour and sugar to baked treat, just make sure your cookies are good and chewy! We'd love to know all your tips and secrets that lead to an exceptional cookie.
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I'm throwing in the French PIG's smothered onion, prune and armagnac pork shoulder I roasted last week for recipe testing. hard to beat great artisan produced French pork!
Iowa pigs from La Quercia might argue. "Dez your pig baht?"
I don't usually think of sugar cookies as chewy but it depends on what you call a sugar cookie. I think of snickerdoodles as chewy but I wouldn't put them in the category of sugar cookie either. Never the less I have created one and both daughters love them so it really doesn't matter we will make them again.
Okay, I've now blogged the throw down at http://eggsinpurgatory.blogspot.com/2010/03/cooks-illustrated-v-food52-thrilla-in.html Feel free to comment there too.
What a wonderful challenge!!!! I love both food52 and Cook's Illustrated and am staying neutral. Hoping to make each of the 4 recipes to judge fairly.
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
added about 1 year agoSounds like a good plan to us!
Just read all the comments here and this is such a WONDERFUL inspiring group. So glad to be a part of it! Can't wait to see what everyone comes up with. How great!
It's on!!!
And don't smile too much - take everything very, very seriously...
I have been rumaging for my bowtie. I thought it might give me the proper perspective.
Make sure you put enough starch in your apron.
I wonder if it's appropriate to wear a lab coat for this week's contest, rather than my usual apron. Will I instantly become a proper kitchen scientist and formulate an unstoppable recipe guided by my usual efforts? I am willing to put this to the test.
Only if you want to be a lab rat.
That's silly, pierino. Rats don't wear coats.
Does the pork shoulder have to stay whole when it's done or can it be shredded?
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
added about 1 year agoYes, it can be shredded.
Well, shredded pork is an entirely different beast from roasted pork shoulder. One eludes to barbecue while the other could be interpreted as something that has a crispy fat cap and sliceable meat. I think you should be more clear what the goal is.
"crispy fat cap" is exactly where I'll be going. I've got my picnic shoulder ready to go.
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
added about 1 year agoSpiced Nuts, we're thinking about this and will be back in touch later today.
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
added about 1 year agoSpiced Nuts, we think shredding is ok because it's just the way you serve the meat. If you roast the meat in such a way that it can be shredded, then great.
How fun this will be this week! We've got a lot of Food52 talent on our side of the stove (or oven, as the case may be) and I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with. This is just the ticket to get everyone's creativity bubbling. No question in my mind which team will win! You guys really know how to keep life exciting.
I am a Southerner. We learn to cook pork shoulder before we start kindergarten. If we were allowed use of a grill/barbecue pit, I could guarantee you a win for Food 52. But I've got a few good ones for the oven as well. (However, I am not a big cookie baker, so y'all are on your own there.)
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
added about 1 year agoGreat!
I can't wait to add my pork picnic recipe! This should be fun.
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
added about 1 year agoLooking forward to it!
I don't usually use real fatty cuts of meat...is a pork loin roast legal?
Merrill is a co-founder of food52.
added about 1 year agoSorry, pork shoulder was the settled-upon cut for the contest. We're trying to keep the playing field as level as possible.
Here's more background on CK's original challenge: http://christopherkimball.wordpress.com/2009/10/15/wiki-vs-test-kitchen-recipe-challenge/
Keep in mind, this is all in good fun. Let's all play nice with the other kids. (tho I can't help myself from channeling my inner Ray Liotta.)
Wow, what a thread!
Well, it makes clear that what is "best" depends on your perspective. Some people like and need utterly fool-proof recipes. Others (most of us here, I would surmise) (i) are going to fiddle with the recipe one way or another anyway, (ii) realize that there are a lot of variables (oven performance, (ii) amount of moisture in certain dry ingredients, etc.) that test kitchens can't account for so we rely on our judgment, experience and common sense, and (iii) value creativity that produces interesting and delicious results over technical perfection. I wonder then if this ultimately will be a battle to be won by the camp with the largest posse. ;o)
I'm totally on AntoniaJames' team here. Preaching to the choir. There is no such thing as a fool proof home kitchen recipe. You have to understand what you are trying to do and what the end result should be, and how you are going to fix it if it doesn't go right. There are so many variables that can change things: is your oven calibrated exactly to the same temp as mine? It could be off by 25Ëš. How sharp is your knife? How fresh are your ingredients? Are you buying "fresh" fish from a chain supermarket? All of this factors in. Where would Christopher Kimball purchase his fresh sardines?
I think it's safe to assume like you, Antonia and Pierino say, the people on this board are into creative altering. Experience gives you perfection, maybe! And I tweak and nerd out on my recipes all the time, but taste is always subjective. I love the idea behind Cook's magazine and enjoy browsing through issues from time to time, but I'm inspired to cook by many different things, not least of which this board and the hugely creative talent on here. Not being a k-a, just speaking the truth. Life would be pretty boring if all it came down to was a matter of oven degrees. Sometimes mistakes reveal deliciousness.
Did someone say cookies? I'm in! I think between Sarah's gorgeous photos and @fineartdaily's watercolors we've got them in the art department, too.
Hello, KelseyTheNaptimeChef,
Thanks so much for your kind words!
Yours,
Fineartdaily (Jean!)
Team!! Remember that Google is your friend...be sure and google cook.com to what those guys have been up to in the past. You will be amazed and inspired at their website.
Bring it! OOH can we have a logo contest for the T-shirt??? Can think of anything clever right now but I'm sure someone will.
Haven't quite figure out if I should roast pork during passover???? Hmm Pork yes, cookies no, my Bubbe would understand.
This is VERY cool, we are definitly gonna open up a can o' whup-ass on CI! Can I say whup-ass here?
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
added about 1 year agoI think we address "whup-ass" in item 759 of our Terms of Service.
Cooks Illustrated!
You're Fated
To Lose to Food52
Whoo whoo!
awww, I cant participate- I dont eat pork and am rubbish at making biscuits (cookies) :( but I wish everyone all the best and look forward to seeing the outcome- so exciting- Go Food52 girls and boys! I ain't rootin' for ya' Cook's Illustrated (as much as I love ya')!
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
added about 1 year agoYou can participate by voting! :)
How technical are we going to get about what's a "roast" and what's a "braise"? If my dutch oven is half full of liquid, and is in the oven the entire time, is that still a roast? Am I thinking about this too much?
I was curious about this as well...
Merrill is a co-founder of food52.
added about 1 year agoI think CI's recipe will be more of a roast than a braise, and we're trying to make this an even(ish) face off -- hope that helps!
If the pork is sitting in liquid, that's a braise.
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
added about 1 year agoA braise usually means immersed in liquid.
Roast means dry heat. Even if you have but a small amount of liquid in the pot, if the lid is on, you are steaming it, whether or not it is technically a braise. I.e., lid on = not roasting. ;o)
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
added about 1 year agoRoasting is primarily dry heat but if you're doing things that enhance the moisture -- dry brining, cooking it part of the time covered, finishing it uncovered -- that seems fair (that's what people do every year when they "roast" turkey for Thanksgiving). We're counting on people to come up with a technique for roasting that produces the best, crisp, moist, and flavorful pork shoulder -- and we have full confidence in you!
Can we sear it on the stove top in the same pot that is going to go into the oven or does it all have to be done in the oven
Merrill is a co-founder of food52.
added about 1 year agoSearing should be fine.
I subscribe to the online version of Cook's Illustrated and have made many of their recipes, but...I'm rooting big time for Food52 and will submit recipes for both chewy cookie and pork shoulder. Great publicity for Food52. Kudos to whoever set this one up!
Pork shoulder means some crispy chicharon is in order! I can't wait to see (taste) the magic that comes out of both teams.
Are we going up against their already developed recipes? Or are they developing 'new' recipes to go up against ours?
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
added about 1 year agoTheir recipes are in different stages of development right now. The pork is done, but the cookies have a few more weeks to go.
So, will it be possible for us to include information from our users on the winning recipes that goes up against CI? One of our strengths is that we are suppose to be a 'wiki' - can some of our potential individual adjustments or comments on these recipes be submitted along with the recipe to show what exact ingredients we used and how we adjust things to fit our different kitchens? I'm thinking that our collective thinking and input should be evident in the final product through something more than the voting.
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
added about 1 year agoThat's a great question -- we need to think/discuss. Will let you know.
Gulp. Ok people, think!
Does the lid have to be off the entire time the pork shoulder is in the oven?
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
added about 1 year agoNo.
How do you draw the line between a braise and a roast? A recipe in which the lid is on, even if the pot is in the oven, for nearly all (or all) of the time that the meat cooks, is not a roast, right? Thanks. ;o)
Can we submit more then one??
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
added about 1 year agoSure!
Such a team feeling - I find myself thinking about the top names and feeling reassured rather than competitive. Don't worry, though- I'm thinking and cooking Tuesday! This is what food52 is all about, in my opinion...
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
added about 1 year agoGreat -- we look forward to seeing what you come up with!
Oh, this is going to be fun. I say -- "Bring it on."
Good lord. More cookies? Are you looking for a plain cookie, or can we add things to it?
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
added about 1 year agoYou can add things, but it should be, at its core, a chewy sugar cookie.
My recipe is ready and standing by. Great fun!
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
added about 1 year agoExcellent!
Shoot--I'll be on vacation. Maybe I can post my super chewy Spicy Shorties from Turks & Caicos?!
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
added about 1 year agoThat works for us!
Can't wait to see what fun stuff the Food 52 gang comes up with to put those boring old Cook's recipes to shame! Go team =).
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
added about 1 year agoThanks!
I LOVE pork shoulder! go food52!!!!
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
added about 1 year agoWe do, too!
Merrill is a co-founder of food52.
added about 1 year agoWoo-hoo!
Wow, what a challenge. I bet on the Food52 gang any day, hands down.
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
added about 1 year agoThank you.
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
added about 1 year agoWe're betting on them, too.
Merrill is a co-founder of food52.
added about 1 year agoAbsolutely!
T-shirts, perhaps? ;) What an exciting idea and project!
Merrill is a co-founder of food52.
added about 1 year agoIf you want to design them we're on board!
My bet's on Food52 home chefs! Do we need to come up with cheer, do a wave? ; )
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