Of course, the kettle isn't the only outdoor cooking space, but no home cook is likely to miss out on cooking during the summer holidays. No wonder, then, that most of the food prepared in community amateur cooking competitions is cooked in a kettle. But rather, about the cooking competitions themselves, I'd like to share a few thoughts about a recent event.
II. St. Hubertus cooking competition
I have the privilege of being the jury president of this large-scale, good-humoured and fully amateur competition, which we hope will now be organised annually by the Kaposvár SHE and the Association of County Fishing Clubs. Next year it is planned to compete only fish dishes, but this year there were all kinds of dishes. The scoring is complex and weighted. Presentation, texture, flavour and seasoning are scored separately. For me, a plus point is if the dish is prepared with herbs. But now let's take a break from the actual competition.
What do they cook at the cook-offs?
The pot usually contains some kind of stew. This can be seen as a traditionalist approach, but it is not encouraging that the kettle is not generally used. In my opinion, the heat from a gas cylinder is nowhere near the surrounding heat of wood. Perhaps even that is one of the minor flaws. The biggest advantage of a kettle is that you can create even heat over almost its entire surface, and thus, among other things, you can use the most important flavouring ingredient in stews: the stew.
Not coke, but charcoal
The fat is actually an essential flavour bomb. The stew pot is the perfect place to make it. We are talking about a mixture of dry ingredients, spices, meat crumbles and pulpy vegetable fibres in the stock, browned with fat - in the case of a stew. Don't be alarmed by the colour and consistency of the stew, as it is nicely rolled into the stock during the final infusion. If the main sin against stew is that the cookers do not carry out a successive process of roasting and thinly simmering the stew in stages (but cook it in a single pot), no stew will be formed. Important! Do not „protect” your food from cosmolisation by adding excess fat! Yes, be there by the pot, stirring, moving the food, paying attention! Cook, not just put the food there! Gravy is not fat.
Fish is another matter
We are talking about fish from the kettle, and it really doesn't matter whether it's from Baja, the Tisza, the Danube or whatever. As a somewhat knowledgeable and discerning critic, I have a different opinion of the chowder I am presented with. Of course, the most important thing is the taste. In our everyday cuisine, this is about as far as we expect, but we have to go further! Believe me when I say that the presentation, the texture, the attention to the ingredients, the temperature, all have a big impact on the taste experience, not to mention the ancient sense of community that comes from eating together. The chowder (whatever the type) should be hot, the juice should be uniform and silky, the fish fillets should be springy rather than overcooked, the colour should be a striking bright red, like the stews most of it, because it is a paprika dish.
Go for it!
At last year's St. Hubertus cooking competition, I spent a lot of time talking to the teams and trying to give them more advice on cooking. I noticed that the quality of the food had definitely improved for this year's competition, so in addition to the first three places, the teams were deservedly rewarded with special prizes.
I would like to encourage every cook to cook as often as possible (with good ingredients), not necessarily changing the recipe, but experimenting with technologies.
The main thing is to cook as often as you can with friends, as a community experience, the more you cook, the better it will be, and feel free to participate in amateur cooking competitions!#
-Pupa-
