# Batch cooking ideas



## Luftmensch (Jun 27, 2022)

Hi KKF,

What are your favourite batch foods and recipes?

It is winter in the antipodes so we have had the usual suspects on high rotation: soup, stews and curries! It is easy to make these last for a week. We'd like to inject some more variety!

Feel free to cross post links to recipes, images or other favourites you have found on the web.

Thanks community!

[Edit: a discussion on preparation and technique is also welcome!]


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## ptolemy (Jun 27, 2022)

Bolognese. I make 16-17 quarts and freeze it for 4-6 month.
15lbs of short ribs when they are on sale. I braise them, defat and freeze.

Those 2 are my main.


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## Luftmensch (Jun 27, 2022)

ptolemy said:


> Bolognese. I make 16-17 quarts and freeze it for 4-6 month.



I should probably cook larger batches and put them in the freezer!

About a month ago I made a big pot of ragu. That was about 8-10 adult portions worth. The sauce keeps in the fridge and boiling up the pasta only takes a few minutes.

Been thinking about larger batch lasagne....


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## Michi (Jun 27, 2022)

Anything that will freeze well and is solid. Lasagne, pasta sauce, goulash, any kind of soup, mac and cheese, curry, you name it 

Quite often, I package up a whole meal into largish Chinese food containers (capacity is nominally one litre, I think) and add rice and cooked veggies that freeze well (potato, carrots, etc). That way, I can pull out a whole meal and just go for it. If I'm feeling fancy, I can still add salad or another side serving of some kind.

I typically also have some bread or Brezen in the freezer because I usually can't eat all of what I make when bake before it gets stale. And I keep other things in there that I can turn into a meal quickly and easily. Steaks, sausages, and minced meat come to mind. Plus the usual collection of chicken and beef stock.

Freezers are useful things!


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## Luftmensch (Jun 27, 2022)

Michi said:


> That way, I can pull out a whole meal and just go for it. If I'm feeling fancy


Wouldn't know it by your posts on Whats cooking?!!

Yeah we freeze bread as well. Great for accompanying batch soup! We dont often do steaks. We view them as a treat and get really nice cuts to eat fresh... but sausages are great for freezing and throwing in a stew.



Michi said:


> goulash


 

I know that is another stew... but I haven't followed a goulash recipe before. That might be my next stew on the roster.


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## Luftmensch (Jun 27, 2022)

Speaking of freezing meals....

Pasties are a good one... make your favourite filling and wrap them up in puff pastry:







Freeze them for easy meals later in the week. Goes nicely with baked beans or a simple salad.


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## Michi (Jun 27, 2022)

Luftmensch said:


> Wouldn't know it by your posts on Whats cooking?!!


Thanks! I like to cook. But not when I get home after work on a weeknight and I'm tired, and not when I'm under time pressure. For me, cooking is like a meditation. Spending quality time with myself and my ingredients.

So I'm not shy about pulling something out of the freezer. And a lot of what I cook is way too much to eat in one sitting anyway, so it's two birds with one stone.


Luftmensch said:


> I know that is another stew... but I haven't followed a goulash recipe before. That might be my next stew on the roster.


The problem with goulash is that there are as many authentic original recipes as you care to count.

The real deal has to have some caraway seed in it, and the beef/pork need to be cooked until very tender. Not quite to the fall-apart stage, but close. And the sauce needs to be thick and silky. If you have soupy goulash, it's all wrong.
You can find a whole treatise on it here: Gulasch. It's in German, but Google Translate might be of assistance. Towards the end are a few recipes. "Rindsgulasch" is the one for the most traditional version.


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## Michi (Jun 27, 2022)

Luftmensch said:


> Speaking of freezing meals....
> 
> Pasties is a good one... make your favourite filling and wrap them up in puff pastry:


Nice one! I also freeze various kinds of pies (English pork pie, Australian meat pie, etc.) Another thing that works well is Pizza Rustica. Very easy to reheat in the oven.


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## Luftmensch (Jun 27, 2022)

Michi said:


> Thanks! I like to cook. But not when I get home after work on a weeknight and I'm tired, and not when I'm under time pressure. For me, cooking is like a meditation. Spending quality time with myself and my ingredients.



That's beautiful! I know exactly what you mean. Thats why I started this thread!!

Me and my better half alternate weeks cooking.... during the week we slide into autopilot. We eat healthily and well but it would be nice to inject some new and efficient ideas into our routine. 



Maybe I should put a little more planning into the goulash! Hehe.... I am very guilty of looking at several recipes, getting the 'vibe' of a dish... and then improvising my own version based on what we might like. Nothing wrong with the approach but it doesn't lend itself to authenticity!




Michi said:


> I also freeze various kinds of pies (English pork pie, Australian meat pie, etc.)



Shepards pie is another good one. That can usually stretch us to three nights. Similarly; moussaka... havent made that since last winter.... making the bechamel can be fun.




Michi said:


> Pizza Rustica


Huh! Thats interesting... Seem like a crispier pide. Could have a bit of fun with the fillings in those...


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## Michi (Jun 27, 2022)

Luftmensch said:


> Huh! Thats interesting... Seem like a crispier pide. Could have a bit of fun with the fillings in those...


Not really. It's a big fat Easter pie:


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## Jovidah (Jun 27, 2022)

Any kind of quiche or savory pie always becomes a multiday meal for me. It's just a matter of stacking enough heavy stuff in it.  Once made a quiche with half a kilo of tallegio in it... tasted great but it was like filling yourself with cement.


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## Nemo (Jun 27, 2022)

Michi said:


> Spending quality time with myself and my KNIVES.



FTFY


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## Michi (Jun 27, 2022)

Nemo said:


> FTFY


Naw 

Good knives are fun to use. But they are just tools. Means to an end. What would you prefer? An average meal prepared with some artisan expensive knife, or a good meal prepared with a Victorinox? I know what I would choose


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## Luftmensch (Jun 27, 2022)

Michi said:


> Means to an end. What would you prefer? An average meal prepared with some artisan expensive knife, or a good meal prepared with a Victorinox? I know what I would choose



porque no los dos



(although... I would choose the ingredients)


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## WildBoar (Jun 27, 2022)

In the summer we make/ freeze a couple dozen batches of pesto, so we can eat it over the winter. You may be able to score large batches of basil at a restaurant store even though it is winter where you are at.

Lasagna is another that we do. But we mix up what we make; we made some a while back that had ground lamb and Morocco-ish spices. We've also gone with Greek flavor profile using ground lamb.

Braise a case of oxtails and shred/ freeze for quick meat sauces.

Make a few dozen meatballs and freeze in batches of 6-12.

Make pasta-based casseroles and freeze batches.


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## Luftmensch (Jun 27, 2022)

Does anybody do "geometric series" meals (@ian )??

By which I mean... If I cook a big batch of stew... as I portion nightly quantities from the mother batch, I occasionally add cans of crushed tomatoes... or beans... or more veggies to extend the life of the mother batch.

Depends what the meal is... are there any other tips like that?


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## Luftmensch (Jun 27, 2022)

Michi said:


> Not really. It's a big fat Easter pie:



Huh! Interesting. The first link I clicked on had a more snacky variant. The quiche variant does look very hearty. Would go nice with a fast salad like you have done!



Jovidah said:


> Once made a quiche with half a kilo of tallegio in it... tasted great but it was like filling yourself with cement.





I find thickening stocks with corn/flour can do that as well. The meals can be deceptively heavy...


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## Michi (Jun 27, 2022)

Luftmensch said:


> Depends what the meal is... are there any other tips like that?


Friends of mine in California serve me "special chicken" each time I visit them. It's basically braised chicken pieces in a super-tasty sauce. That sauce consists of whatever goes into the sauce when you cook the chicken. Stock, wine, spices, etc. Because there is a lot of sauce, what is left over goes back into the "mother sauce" after the meal for next time.

My friends think that some small proportion of that sauce is probably well over ten years old. Works a bit like a solera for fortified wines


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## chefwp (Jun 27, 2022)

ptolemy said:


> Bolognese. I make 16-17 quarts and freeze it for 4-6 month.
> 15lbs of short ribs when they are on sale. I braise them, defat and freeze.
> 
> Those 2 are my main.


I like this because you can do different things with it, pasta bolognese, lasagna, bolognese bites (crudite with toasted bagette rounds, topped with bolognese and shards of reggiano, a great finger food!)


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## M1k3 (Jun 27, 2022)

Arancini


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## HumbleHomeCook (Jun 27, 2022)

We're much like @Michi noted above.

Some of my favorites to freeze are chili, spaghetti sauce, rice dishes like Spanish rice, sausage and rice, etc. and I almost always have a frittata portioned out in the freezer. Although not ideal, you can zap a couple frozen frittata wedges in the microwave and have something to eat pretty quickly.


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## Jovidah (Jun 27, 2022)

Stuff I've done in batches / pre-prepped in the past:
-meatloaf / meatballs / meatsticks... you can take minced meat in any direction with what herbs and spices you add, whether you add onion, garlic or cheese, etc. Can also make it in any shape you find convenient. Just take out of freezer the day before.
-Sauces you throw on your steak (whether a mushroom sauce, cream sauce, basically anything that starts with stock) can be reused / dilluted to make risotto or rice dishes... or soup.
-some salads (the ones without leafy greens) also offer some flexibility, where you can use them as a fresh salad on one day and as a stuffing for grilled bellpepper or zucchini the next.
-In general if you have a nice non-salad stuffing mix you can still use it in multiple ways; might be worth preprepping several different ones in batches, and then you can whip up a nice meal in no time. Might even work straight from the freezer but I never tested that.
-I've sometimes made a nice 'fancified rice'; rice with finely chopped aromatics and cooked in stock (often with some soy / fish / oyster sauce), and you can then reuse this for multiple dishes over different days; make curry on one day, make fried rice the next, etc.


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## Greasylake (Jun 27, 2022)

I always have a stock of steam buns/egg rolls/dumplings in my freezer. You can make a bunch at one time and pull a few out when you want a snack or an easy side with dinner. I also like to make a bunch of curry house style base and freeze it. It's not really a full meal but whenever you want to use it you just defrost it and pop it into a pot and make curry with significantly less effort.


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## chefwp (Jun 27, 2022)

I don't tend to freeze a lot of 'final products,' most of my freezer space is taken up with 'building blocks,' like sausages, shrimp, stocks, bacon, ribs, various raw meats and etc. The exception is soups, I always at least double it up when I make borscht or Senegalese peanut soup to name a couple. The reason I don't freeze a ton of finished meals is twofold, 1- both the wife and I work from home now, so leftovers are always good for a few lunches, 2- I don't like the way the freezer changes the texture of some things, particularly rice, it can get really mushy after thawing turning a delicious jambalaya to a gross pasty dish. freezing can also break creamy dishes upon thaw and reheat. 
For leftovers, I love the challenge of converting them into completely different dishes. Roast chicken on Sunday becomes many different things like chicken salad during the week. I never try to reheat fish the way I served it, it is almost always converted into a cold salad if there is any left over. Quesadillas can be filled with many leftovers. My favorite thing for leftover beefsteak or roast is to make nam tok, the Thai salad is a flavor bomb, I can say I sometimes enjoy that more than the original meal!

Here is my recipe for nam tok:
Nam Tok​
beef, about 1 lb, cooked as you desire, slice thinly against the grain when cool and cut into bite sized pieces (this is my go-to recipe for leftover beefsteak!)
juice of 2-3 limes and a healthy dose of fish sauce (2 Tbs-ish) and a bit of sugar or honey, let sweet stuff dissolve.
2 shallots, thinly sliced long-ways, so you have small thin strips (red onion would work too)
spiciness (I deseeded and de-ribbed a large jalapeno and sliced it thinly, if you like spicier, leave the ribs and seeds or go for those thin thai chilis or whatever you desire, could even be chili pepper flakes)
1/3 cup each cilantro and mint leaves, just tear roughly into ¼ to ½ inch pieces
Optional tomato, I sometimes like to add strips of tomato petals, cut away the outer tomato of some small tomatoes like campari, reserve the juice, seeds and innards for another use, cut into bitesized pieces. About 4 or five golf-ball sized or slightly bigger maters.
Toasted processed jasmine rice to sprinkle on top (optional, toast to deep hazelnut color either in a dry pan or in the oven, process into small ‘crumbs’, I sometimes skip this unless I'm preparing a lot for a crowd)
mix it all up!


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## Lars (Jun 27, 2022)

Pasta dough freezes well and salsas, especially cooked ones does well in the freezer too. That's all I can think of that haven't been mentioned already..


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## McMan (Jun 27, 2022)

I like to freeze stuff that can become other stuff--this way, I'm not stuck defrosting the same meal many times. In the cold weather, I like simple braises--beef chuck braised in stock+aromatics is a favorite. This makes a good add for many different things--tacos, chili, bbq sandwiches, red wine sauced, etc. etc.


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## Luftmensch (Jun 28, 2022)

chefwp said:


> I don't like the way the freezer changes the texture of some things



Great point... I cook texture to what I want to eat... even if I know I might freeze a meal. As a result some soft veggies turn to mush once they go through the freeze-thaw cycle. I should be more mindful to cook ingredients al dente (or even firmer) before freezing...


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## Luftmensch (Jun 28, 2022)

M1k3 said:


> Arancini



Interesting idea... I love arancini. I have always viewed them as a snack/side... but youre right.... a couple of them with a simple rocket salad would be a pretty nice dinner.


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## Michi (Jun 28, 2022)

I've never made arancini. Time to get crackin'


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## cooktocut (Jun 28, 2022)

I haven't found anything that doesn't do well frozen and reheated, if I'm being honest. The only exception would be curry, that after about a year the flavors are not nearly as bright, but certainly still delicious and edible, so I wouldn't even call it an exception. If it lasts 6 months in the freezer without any noticeable difference, I call that a win. I think the main difference is I vacuum seal everything. I use a chamber vac, and I will cool everything overnight first before sealing it and freezing it the following day so that I get every bit of oxygen out without any (or minimal) boiling. Stocks and soups and such will get divided into individual bags while still hot, then folded over and refrigerated in a giant sheet pan so as to lower the overall thermal mass. During the week, pretty much every single meal I eat is from a sous vide-warmed vacuum bag. This isn't to say that some things aren't better fresh... pie crusts, crunchy top of a finished casserole... mostly textural stuff though. I'm running low on everything, so I'm due for a frenzied weekend of cooking any day now. Here's a list of everything I had in the last batch, just to give an idea.

BBQ pork shoulder
BBQ brisket
BBQ beef cheeks
pastrami
chili
african peanut soup
bolognese
green, red, and yellow curry
shepherds pie
kalpudding
beef bourguignon 
quiche
salmon chowder

I know I'm missing a few things, but that's most of it. So even a whole week of only eating out of my freezer, I am more than satisfied. The 4 proteins at the beginning allow me a little bit of creativity if the urge arises.


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## Luftmensch (Jun 28, 2022)

cooktocut said:


> 'm running low on everything, so I'm due for a frenzied weekend of cooking any day now.



Yeah... that is something I'd like to hear from KKF.... How many people out there do a huge cook off to last a month or longer??? Hehe... our freezer isnt that big! 

Me and my more attractive half, alternate weeks cooking. So our meal planning is done at week-length cycles. I am trying to do the "convenience calculus" on deeper prep... is losing a whole day (sunday?) to meal prep better than losing 30-90mins each night? I dunno!!!?

Nice list by the way... and interestingly... the second peanut soup recommendation! I haven't had this before. Looks pretty simple and hearty. We'll have to give it a go.


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## cooktocut (Jun 28, 2022)

I bought a large freezer during COVID, mostly to store all my dry aged meats  thank god I did, because I eventually went down the rabbit hole of how bad most of the stuff we eat on a daily basis is, and started cooking everything myself. It worked though... i lost pretty much all residual fat and I'm in much better shape, physically and mentally. It all started with the knives though... so I guess I owe it in part to them also.

Whole day Sunday is the way to go. You're neglecting to factor in the trip to the supermarket, unless you plan on doing one on monday for all the meals the whole week. If you can manage that, you're a much better man than I. I can barely get through one whole recipe without having to run back out to the store


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## boomchakabowwow (Jun 28, 2022)

red enchilada sauce. ( I rarely use it for actually enchiladas) - I make a huge pot twice annually, and freeze it in quart bags.

pot-stickers. just because. I dont do it as often, because I usually dont have the space to freeze sheet pans full and bag the frozen individual dumplings. I have thought about using my neighbors big garage freezer.


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## Michi (Jun 28, 2022)

boomchakabowwow said:


> red enchilada sauce. ( I rarely use it for actually enchiladas) - I make a huge pot twice annually, and freeze it in quart bags.
> 
> pot-stickers. just because. I dont do it as often, because I usually dont have the space to freeze sheet pans full and bag the frozen individual dumplings. I have thought about using my neighbors big garage freezer.


Good point! I currently have a bunch of gyoza in the freezer, plus Pozole Rojo, chili con carne, and Texas chili.


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## Luftmensch (Jun 28, 2022)

boomchakabowwow said:


> pot-stickers.





Michi said:


> gyoza



We have pelmeni (can I say that word?) in the fridge. That is definitely a comfort, 'cheat' meal during the week.


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## Luftmensch (Jun 29, 2022)

cooktocut said:


> I eventually went down the rabbit hole of how bad most of the stuff we eat on a daily basis is, and started cooking everything myself.



Nice one!! Congrats! We use as few preprocessed ingredients as possible. It is wholesome - you know what is going into your meals. But it is more labour intensive (time consuming)!

There are a few basic pre-packaged foods we use routinely. Life would be unhappy without canned tomatoes... or various beans.... frozen peas... frozen or canned corn. Pre-made stocks can really speed things along and add flavour.



cooktocut said:


> You're neglecting to factor in the trip to the supermarket, unless you plan on doing one on monday for all the meals the whole week. If you can manage that, you're a much better man than I. I can barely get through one whole recipe without having to run back out to the store



We're not _that_ bad! 

We probably shop two to three times per week? So our fridge is barely ever packed like it is the end of days. For the past decade walkability to shops has been a pretty big factor in were we decide to rent. Our nearest supermarket is 5-10 minutes by foot. It is great because it is convenient!! But it also encourages laziness and less meal planning. 


Apparently chest freezers are pretty common in South Africa? Maybe it used to be a hunting thing? But the idea spread to non-hunters?? Or I just got the wrong idea from my South African friend!!! I can imagine how much food you could prepare and store for yourself in one of those. If you could prepare 6-months of pasta sauce (for example) in one go and have space to store it... that would be pretty amazing! That would require a _huge_ change in thinking and preparation on my part though.


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## Geigs (Jun 29, 2022)

I make curry pastes in bulk - green curry paste in particular is so much better when you make it yourself. Freeze in ziplocks in single pot sized portions and you can make a quick meal with a handful of meat and veggies.

I have a great Ragu Bolognese sauce that is very similar to this recipe - it makes a fabulous rich meat sauce that freezes well. The base of the sauce is meat, milk and white wine which is not at all what you think of in a traditional Italian sauce, but trust me when I say your mouth will thank you


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## boomchakabowwow (Jun 29, 2022)

Luftmensch said:


> We have pelmeni (can I say that word?) in the fridge. That is definitely a comfort, 'cheat' meal during the week.


mmmm... my friends mom gives me big bags of frozen wontons. hahha..


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## Jovidah (Jun 29, 2022)

Michi said:


> Good point! I currently have a bunch of gyoza in the freezer, plus Pozole Rojo, chili con carne, and Texas chili.


I rather expected you to have maultaschen for your frozen dumpling.


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## MarcelNL (Jun 29, 2022)

Indonesian (meat) Rendangs also keep well frozen, not so the veggie dishes.
Pizza dough keeps well too, slam on some quick tomato sauce and veg/cheese/ whetever, great way to clean up leftovers.
Osso bucco keeps well too, just finish off with fresh gremolata.


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## M1k3 (Jun 29, 2022)

Bikesmad


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## Luftmensch (Jun 30, 2022)

M1k3 said:


> Bikesmad



B1k3smad


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## Rangen (Jun 30, 2022)

I feel as though I should comment, just having turned 16 lbs of oxtail into stew, in one go. But you already mentioned stew.

For the long weekend, I plan to make a lot of dumplings. Chinese dumplings, with Tianjin Preserved vegetable and pork and other things. Those freeze really nicely, and you steam them right from the freezer.

Also have to recommend chamber vacuum sealers. I was really skeptical for a long time, but being able to put stew or meat in a 4ml bag, and seal it up, knowing that the bag will stubbornly resist loss of vacuum, that the vacuum is superior, and that I can seal liquids without fear, well, it was all worth it.


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## Luftmensch (Jun 30, 2022)

Rangen said:


> For the long weekend, I plan to make a lot of dumplings.




Do you turn the family into a production line? I always thought that could be fun... How many dumplings an hour do you think you can produce? Once youre in the swing of it?

A chamber vacuum sealer definitely seems like it would pair well with a chest freezer!


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## boomchakabowwow (Jul 1, 2022)

Luftmensch said:


> Do you turn the family into a production line? I always thought that could be fun... How many dumplings an hour do you think you can produce? Once youre in the swing of it?
> 
> A chamber vacuum sealer definitely seems like it would pair well with a chest freezer!


just me and my wife. we get going on a great conversation and before we know it we have two sheet pans full. I am gonna do this again. I talked to my neighbor and she will let me use her freezer to freeze them individually. then bag them up in a gallon zipper bag...GOOD TO GO!


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## Rangen (Jul 1, 2022)

Luftmensch said:


> Do you turn the family into a production line? I always thought that could be fun... How many dumplings an hour do you think you can produce? Once youre in the swing of it?


I guess it would be about 2 per minute. I am not fast at it. But I also do not yet have great skills at making the pleats come out beautiful, so realistically I will work slowly and try to build my skills. I treat it as more of a contemplative and meditative activity than a production line. 

Also, freezer capacity is an issue. Not for the bags of frozen dumplings, those are compact, but for the initial freezing on half-sheet pans.


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## Luftmensch (Jul 2, 2022)

boomchakabowwow said:


> talked to my neighbor and she will let me use her freezer to freeze them individually





Rangen said:


> Also, freezer capacity is an issue. Not for the bags of frozen dumplings, those are compact, but for the initial freezing on half-sheet pans.



I know exactly what you mean!! Same deal with the pasties. Shuffling everything in the fridge so that you can freeze a bunch without crushing them is tricky. 

Might be interesting to think about making single serve pies in stackable plastic containers... that might make freezing and storage easier...


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## Rangen (Jul 4, 2022)

Turns out I'm an idiot, on two counts, both related to the fact that I have not made Chinese dumplings for a number of years..

My problem with Chinese dumpling pleats was that I was trying to pleat out from the middle. I didn't even quite know I was doing it until I watched some videos, and then saw what my hands wanted to do. Starting from the end, as one should, everything came out fine.

Second, I had forgotten that following the recipe instructions and steaming dumplings made with factory wrappers turns the outer wrapper into a thin leathery mess. I boiled the second batch. Much much better.

I guess there is a third problem: freshly-made Chinese dumplings are really easy to overdo on, maybe especially if you have 10 year old Shanghai vinegar (mixed with soy sauce and a bit of sugar) to dip them in. I feel bloated now.


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## Luftmensch (Jul 5, 2022)

Rangen said:


> Turns out I'm an idiot, on two counts, both related to the fact that I have not made Chinese dumplings for a number of years..
> 
> My problem with Chinese dumpling pleats was that I was trying to pleat out from the middle. I didn't even quite know I was doing it until I watched some videos, and then saw what my hands wanted to do. Starting from the end, as one should, everything came out fine.
> 
> Second, I had forgotten that following the recipe instructions and steaming dumplings made with factory wrappers turns the outer wrapper into a thin leathery mess. I boiled the second batch. Much much better.



 

Any photos??

I was inspired by @cooktocut and your comments. Last weekend I spent a considerable amount of time making 'gweilo dumplings'.... I spent saturday evening cooking a big pot of the filling... and sunday evening making 24 of the 'dumplings'. I was thinking about my comment on the pasties being difficult to freeze. So instead of dumpling sheets (or wonton) I am using puff-pastry... but they are closer to a large dumpling or baozi. I thought it might be interesting to make them a size that could easily be placed in stackable containers. That definitely made it easier to freeze them!!

I have about 1/3 of the filling left... and many more sheets of puff pastry. I may make another 8 or 12 'dumplings' tonight...




Rangen said:


> I guess there is a third problem: freshly-made Chinese dumplings are really easy to overdo on, maybe especially if you have 10 year old Shanghai vinegar (mixed with soy sauce and a bit of sugar) to dip them in. I feel bloated now.





I know what you mean. That is a time honoured tradition though! Perhaps the only way it can be done?? We moved recently. One of my minor regrets is that we aren't near any good dumpling houses - it has been a while since I ordered one-too-many baskets of xiaolongbao!


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## boomchakabowwow (Jul 17, 2022)

Today was crazy. I made wontons AND red enchilada sauce. My neighbor is letting me freeze in her garage freezer so I decided to take advantage and do both. No pics of wontons.

1.75 gallons of sauce. 7 qts. Yum. My yield was less than expected. . I was hoping for an even two gallons.


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## Luftmensch (Jul 19, 2022)

I am far better at taking photos then I am at uploading them. That said:



Luftmensch said:


> Last weekend I spent a considerable amount of time making 'gweilo dumplings'.... I spent saturday evening cooking a big pot of the filling... and sunday evening making 24 of the 'dumplings'. I was thinking about my comment on the pasties being difficult to freeze. So instead of dumpling sheets (or wonton) I am using puff-pastry... but they are closer to a large dumpling or baozi. I thought it might be interesting to make them a size that could easily be placed in stackable containers. That definitely made it easier to freeze them!!



...so here is a mini-photo essay (sorry... the lighting is terrible). I used square sheets of puff-pastry:






Each sheet was cut into four 'dumpling' wrappers:






A set volume of filling was portioned into the wrapper:






The filling was a 'vegetarian' mix.... I couldn't help myself and decided to add bone broth for extra flavour. I wrapped them up in various ways. This was the most fancy and time consuming:






From 10 sheets I managed to make 40 pastie-dumplings. I could fit two into a take-away container. That made it easy to neatly stack them in the freezer:






We are currently about 75% through the batch. They make for nice and easy/quick meals:


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## Luftmensch (Jul 19, 2022)

M1k3 said:


> Arancini





I totally undershot!! I made a tomato risotto with the intention of rolling it up into arancini... looking at the volume I produced, I figured it would be better to just have risotto over the next three nights. Since I had panko for the arancini... I served the risotto with a sprinkling of panko and crispy onion for added texture...

Second night spiced up with prawns:






Third night with chorizo:






(hehe... looks pretty much the same!)


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## TB_London (Jul 19, 2022)

Smoked beef cheek ragout - 90mins smoke in barbecue then overnight in the slow cooker with puréed tomato, onion, carrot, celery and a dash of beef stock.


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## sudsy9977 (Jul 23, 2022)

Ok am I the only one that freezes bacon? Didn’t see it mentioned. It’s so much better than cooking just a few slices for me and the mrs. I’ll cook like 2-3 pounds and then seal them in bags with like 4-6 pieces. I take them out and put them in the sink and they defrost in water in like five or ten minutes. It’s super quick. And no mess with all the grease for just a few slices 

Also do :
Breakfast sausage
Lasagna in mini loaf pans
Lots of the same stuff mentioned, soups, braised beef, bbq pulled chicken 
Peeled super ripe bananas portioned out for banana bread recipe


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## HumbleHomeCook (Jul 23, 2022)

sudsy9977 said:


> Ok am I the only one that freezes bacon? Didn’t see it mentioned. It’s so much better than cooking just a few slices for me and the mrs. I’ll cook like 2-3 pounds and then seal them in bags with like 4-6 pieces. I take them out and put them in the sink and they defrost in water in like five or ten minutes. It’s super quick. And no mess with all the grease for just a few slices
> 
> Also do :
> Breakfast sausage
> ...




You pre-cook bacon, freeze it and then defrost it in a bag in warm water?

I...I mean...I...


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## Michi (Jul 23, 2022)

HumbleHomeCook said:


> You pre-cook bacon, freeze it and then defrost it in a bag in warm water?


Cold water for me. Works a treat if I need to defrost a piece of meat quickly, without affecting texture or par-cooking it, as often happens with a microwave (even on defrost setting).


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## HumbleHomeCook (Jul 23, 2022)

Michi said:


> Cold water for me. Works a treat if I need to defrost a piece of meat quickly, without affecting texture or par-cooking it, as often happens with a microwave (even on defrost setting).



Yeah I get that, but pre-cooked bacon just sounds sad.


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## Michi (Jul 23, 2022)

HumbleHomeCook said:


> Yeah I get that, but pre-cooked bacon just sounds sad.


Ah, I missed that. I've never tried this. Wondering whether that might not result in dry bacon?


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## sudsy9977 (Jul 24, 2022)

Well I cook it like 80 percent of the way. Either I’ll microwave it a little if I’m lazy or heat it right in the pan if I’m making something else

And it takes literally minutes to defrost in hot water. I would never defrost like chicken breasts in anything but cold water. 

I think if you cooked it fully it wouldn’t be that good to reheat


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## parbaked (Jul 24, 2022)

This reviews a pre-cooked bacon from TJ. 








Trader Joe's Fully Cooked Uncured Bacon


Trader Joe's Fully Cooked Uncured Bacon is the easiest bacon around. It's already cooked for you. A full review follows.




www.becomebetty.com


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## moderncooking (Dec 23, 2022)

Ramen broth!


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## Bear (Dec 23, 2022)

I use my freezers a lot.

Sausages, Chicken Burgers, and Smoked Pork Butt are a few things.


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