I keep a few packages of instant chicken Ramen on hand at all times. Not to make Ramen, but to use the noodles and seasoning in various recipes. I’ve made Ramen-seasoned chicken wings (one of my favorites). A Ramen broccoli slaw. And now, quick fix Ramen-seasoned chips. In just minutes I’m enjoying an almost-criminal indulgence: that salty chicken Ramen seasoning over warm potato chips.
The Most Addicting Chips Ever
If you’re like me, you can’t help yourself but to enjoy that little packet of seasoning. So, yeah, put some extra on the chips. Just go for it. You can make up for the extra sodium by using low salt chips…. These quick fix Ramen-seasoned chips did not last long in my house.
I’m very new to using sous vide as a cooking technique. It’s been a learning, but rewarding experience. My goal was to get the basics down well, then start to re-create my favorite recipes using my new-found knowledge (and learn more, of course!). These country-style ribs are my first attempt at converting a childhood favorite recipe of mine, made often by my mom, from cooking solely in the oven to using a combination of sous vide and the oven.
Fantastic Over Kraut
These country-style ribs have the same great flavor as my mom’s classic. Seared seasoned ribs cooked over a bed of kraut, with a little carrot for crunch. Instead of cooking the ribs in the oven I sous vide them for a long time, until the pork is so completely fall apart you can barely pick it up. I then season it heavily with paprika and sear it beneath the broiler. The end result was absolutely delicious and by far the best I’ve ever had (sorry mom!).
I’m always learning when I cook, be it using sous vide, a grill, or any other tool or technique. If you’re into sous vide too, feel free to drop me a comment in the section below to offer up suggestions on how I might make my country-style ribs even better.
I use an Anova sous vide cooker. It’s my immersion circulator workhorse!
These country-style ribs are my first attempt at converting a childhood favorite recipe of mine, made often by my mom, from cooking solely in the oven to using a combination of sous vide and the oven.
Season the ribs on all sides. Don't be shy with the salt and pepper. Transfer to a vacuum bag (or two) and seal. Submerge and sous vide for 8 hours.
Remove the bags from the water. Open the bags, drain, and pat the ribs dry.
For the final dish
Place carrots in a small microwave-safe bowl with 1/4 cup of water. Cover and microwave on high for 2 minutes or until just starting to soften. Carefully remove from the microwave and drain.
Place drained and rinsed kraut in a 9" x 13" deep baking dish (you can use a 9" x 9" but it might be a bit crowded).
Stir in the caraway seed.
Add the carrots.
Turn on your oven's broiler.
Line a baking sheet with foil.
Sprinkle the ribs liberally on all sides with the paprika. Do not be shy with it.
Place in the oven under the broiler and broil, turning every few minutes, until lightly seared.
Remove ribs from oven. Set oven temperature to 350 F.
Transfer ribs to the baking dish, on top of the kraut and carrot mixture.
Add 1/4 cup of water to the pan, cover in foil, and place in the oven for 30 minutes or until the kraut is warmed through and the carrots are completely tender.
Serve hot.
Notes
Instead of placing the ribs under the broiler, you can sear them in a hot skillet with a small amount of oil.
Quick fix turkey Reuben sandwiches changed my mind about what I used to refer to as ‘fake Reubens’. I had a thing against turkey Reubens. Once I ordered a ‘real’ Reuben in a restaurant and they accidentally brought me a turkey one instead. It was one of the worst days of my life. Or so I thought. Well, now I must apologize. I was wrong. I thought no way could a corned beef-less sandwich be anywhere as good as the classic. Well, this is a mighty good sandwich. And it’s crazy easy to make, too. That’s a lot of wins in this little sandwich. Now, I make them regularly.
A Great Reuben Variation Ready In Minutes
I could eat my share of quick fix turkey Reuben sandwiches. And I’d even order one at a restaurant. Those would have roasted turkey, and if you have that on hand by all means put some on this sandwich. I used thin-sliced sandwich meat. Thick-sliced would work just as well. No matter what, it’s quick, easy and delicious!
For me, just personally, I am a firm believer that every Reuben must be served with a dill pickle spear. An ice cold one at that. With plenty of crunchy.
Sometimes I just want a quick turkey meal. I might use leftover turkey, or I might just toss a turkey breast into the oven. Jennie-O makes a frozen oven-ready turkey breast that you just bake for about 90 minutes. No thawing, brining, basting. Nothing. You don’t even have to take it out of the bag (well, until it’s cooked that is). Everything else is already done for you. You don’t even really have to think about it! Add some leftover mashed potatoes and gravy and I’m good-to-go. Say hello to my quick fix turkey Manhattan!
Butterball sells a 3 pound turkey breast roast that you can find in your grocery’s frozen section. They’re very convenient and tasty. I usually roast mine, which comes out great, but not always as tender and juicy as I’d hoped. Well, sous vide to the rescue and then some! In no time at all, sous vide cooks up the turkey roast just flat out perfectly. Tasty. Juicy. Tender. You cannot beat it, whether you slice it thick to serve with gravy and mashed potatoes ala Thanksgiving or slice it thin for (out of this world!) sandwiches.
A Few Tips
There are a few key (but simple) things to keep in mind when making turkey breast roast using sous vide.
First, you have to remove the gravy packet. It doesn’t go into the sous vide. Now, removing it is easy if the turkey breast roast is defrosted, but if it’s frozen you’ll have to run it under cold water for a few minutes until you can pull it away.
Second, keep the turkey in the mesh bag that it comes in until you are ready to sear it at the end. Remove it carefully once the breast is sous vide or you’ll end up removing a lot of the seasoning.
Last, season the roast liberally. If you think you put too much on you probably nailed it perfectly. There’s a lot of turkey that needs to be seasoned. Don’t be shy with it and you’ll get that flavor in every bite.
If you own a smoker, you can skip the searing step and instead place the roast on a smoker for 30 minutes or so to let that great smoke flavor absorb into the turkey.
I use an Anova sous vide cooker. It’s my immersion circulator workhorse!
Tasty. Juicy. Tender. You cannot beat it, whether you slice it thick to serve with gravy and mashed potatoes ala Thanksgiving or slice it thin for (out of this world!) sandwiches.
Note: Keep the turkey in the mesh packaging until you are ready to sear it.
Remove the gravy packet. Note: If using a frozen breast, run briefly under cold water long enough to loosen and remove the gravy packet.
Sprinkle the breast with paprika and plenty of the seasoning. Don't be shy with it.
Transfer to a bag and vacuum seal.
Transfer bag to sous vide setup and cook for 5 hours if frozen, or 3 hours if defrosted.
Remove bag from water and cut open, draining off any juices. Remove breast (carefully so it stays intact) from mesh bag.
Sear the breast on all sides in a large skillet with a few tablespoons of oil over high heat. Or sear on a hot grill or under a broiler. You'll want to sear for about 1 minute per side.
Slice as desired.
Notes
This roast makes for some mighty delicious sandwiches.I have followed this recipe using a frozen roast and it came out perfectly too! I sous vide mine for 5 hours at 145 F.
I find myself being un-impressed with most store-bought ‘spicy’ potato chips. Yeah, some are spicy, but they don’t taste good. And some taste great, but they sure aren’t spicy. The solution? Make some quick fix Nashville hot chicken potato chips at home. Done in minutes, spiced just like I want, these are the chips I was searching for! All I need are some chips and Kosmo’s Q Nashville hot wing dust! No more unimpressive store-bought chips for me.
Ruffled Chips For The Win
I prefer to use wavy ruffled chips any time I make my quick fix Nashville hot chicken potato chips. The thick chips hold up to being tossed in the seasoning. And the ridges give the seasoning more and more places to cling to, making sure I get nothing but flavor in each and every bite!
Because I’m a chicken wing nut, I have a lot of various wing seasonings on hand at all times. And I do mean a lot. But, you know those seasonings (and any other of my favorites) are great on potato chips? No reason to be locked into only a handful of flavored chips at the store when you can make them taste however you want! Today I made a batch of my quick fix lemon pepper potato chips. Chips. Lemon pepper seasoning. That’s it! And oh-so-good!
Cheap Chips For The Win
You don’t need to grab the expensive chips when you make quick fix lemon pepper potato chips. The key here is to warm up the chips just enough that the oils they were cooked in come back to the surface of the chips. That gives the seasoning something to cling to. No big pile of seasoning at the bottom of the bowl with these chips, nope. Nothing but flavor.
Of course, you can make homemade potato chips in a deep-fryer and then toss them in the seasoning too! Just don’t over-drain the chips as they come out of the hot oil or the flavors won’t have anything to adhere to. Make sure you get them good and coated.
What’s better than ‘fried’ chicken made using the Vortex BBQ insert? If you’ve made it before, you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t made it before, you’re missing out. In fact, you need to stop reading this point right now and order one for your charcoal grill. Then make this southern marinated fried chicken using the Vortex. It’s amazing. Crunchy skin. Tender, juicy meat. And packed with flavor and then some. You’ll swear it was fried in oil.
Tender, Juicy Chicken With That Great Crunchy Skin
The seasoning is the key to the flavor in this southern marinated fried chicken using the Vortex. Nothing fancy, but oh so good on chicken. Left to marinate overnight, the seasoning ends up flavoring every bite, all the way through. And with no trouble at all, the Vortex cooks the chicken up perfectly.
I’ve never had leftover ‘fried’ chicken made using the Vortex. And I don’t think I ever will. There’s nothing about it but goodness. And even though I’ve made it hundreds of times, I’m still impressed each and every time. I still think that I’m enjoying fried chicken even though it’s grilled. It’s an amazing experience that is easy to boot.
Add HALF of the seasoning. Seal, and toss to coat. Refrigerate overnight.
Fire up your Vortex with a full load of coals. Let them ash over before cooking.
Combine the remaining seasoning with the pepper and flour.
Roll chicken in the flour mixture and coat well.
Place the chicken on the grill grate around the Vortex.
Close the lid (leaving the top vent open) and cook for 45 minutes or until the chicken reaches 165 F. You may turn the lid 90 degrees every 15 minutes of cooking if desired.
Lightly brush the tops of the chicken pieces with oil and cook another 5 minutes to crisp the skin.
I got tired of sitting around whining that no one was making good new flavors of potato chips. Oh sure, every once-in-a-while there’d be something new, but nothing seemed to wow me and I always ended up with the classics, BBQ, sour cream and onion and well, plain. Nothing wrong with the classics. They are classics for a reason. But I wanted something new. I had a pouch of garlic Parmesan wing dust from Kosmo’s sitting around and thought… Hmmmmm. I bet that’d be great on chips. It’s sure as heck fantastic on wings. Quick fix garlic Parmesan potato chips to the rescue!
Nothing But Flavor And Crunch
These quick fix garlic Parmesan potato chips were delicious. Kosmo’s wing dusts are never, ever lacking in flavor. It didn’t take a whole lot of dust to really amp up what was just a bag of good-ole plain ruffled chips. My faith in chips is back!
Of course, you can make homemade potato chips in a deep-fryer and then toss them in the seasoning too! Just don’t over-drain the chips as they come out of the hot oil or the flavors won’t have anything to adhere to. Make sure you get them good and coated.
Give me a grill, a Vortex full of lit charcoal, and a few pieces of chicken and I’m one happy guy. One of my all-time favorite things to make on charcoal my grill is ‘fried’ chicken using the Vortex. I’ve made countless variations, all fantastic. Like this spicy hot fried chicken using the Vortex. Just like all my others, it tastes and looks just like chicken fried in oil. This version brings a bit of heat. Just the right amount. And oh, so tender, juicy meat. This is a great, easy way to prepare delicious chicken. You’ll seriously not think this was done over coals and you’ll definitely think it’s deep fried in oil.
So Simple. So Delicious.
I have a few Vortex inserts because, well, I have a few grills. By far my favorite setup is the Vortex in my Weber charcoal grill. I can easily fit 8 large bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts around the grill without crowding them. They have never come out anything but fantastic. It’s as easy as you can get to make something like this spicy hot fried Chicken using the Vortex. You just need a few ingredients and some charcoal and you’re ready to cook!