A TV show about the cooking of each US state

[Jeannine Anne]

I have been watching this show for several days on and off, It is called State Plate, each 20 minute episode shows the cooking of a US state, and also the growing , catching , farming and history that goes into each episode.

I have a box with labels in that have the names of a great many countries on them, every couple of weeks or so I close my eyes and pick one and then cook the best known recipes from that country. I can be challenging but also very interesting and I enjoy doing it.

I had thought about doing the US states myself for some time in much the same way and watched this show to get ideas but didn't get much in the way of recipes.

I am curious about 2 things,did anyone watch the shows and if so what did you think about them..and if I was to ask for a menu that would be very appropriate for your state if in the US what would it be.

Hoping to hear from you


XX Jeannine

[karstopography]

I sort of briefly skipped and skimmed through the episode on Texas. I wasn’t particularly impressed with or encouraged by what I did see. Maybe I need to spend more time with the episode to give the show a better chance. My initial impression was it was a show, at least the Episode on Texas, to reinforce and amplify tired stereotypes. But, maybe that’s not the case.

I might look at some other episodes of other states where I have either lived in or have spent considerable time in and see how they compare to what I know about the state’s cuisine.

[Jeannine Anne]

I sort of briefly skipped and skimmed through the episode on Texas. I wasn’t particularly impressed with or encouraged by what I did see. Maybe I need to spend more time with the episode to give the show a better chance. My initial impression was it was a show, at least the Episode on Texas, to reinforce and amplify tired stereotypes. But, maybe that’s not the case.

I might look at some other episodes of other states where I have either lived in or have spent considerable time in and see how they compare to what I know about the state’s cuisine.

Actually I agree with you, it was entertainment rather than cooking, some was interesting, I found the one on Washington funny as they used a farmed Goeduck clam and he had to get it from the sand an arms length down, he was quite shocked when he saw it.. We have dug many of then in Washington, from the wild ,not farmed as they did and they can go down 4 feet so quite the challenge but they are a small fortune to buy.

I haven't seen them all of course but quite a few..

XX Jeannine

[karstopography]

@Jeannine Anne

I watched the entire Texas episode. I liked the show.

Brisket slow cooked over indirect heat on the offset cooker over post oak would be at the top of iconic Texas entrees. Brisket is the undisputed king of barbecue here. A barbecue restaurant here in Texas will be judged by how well they do Brisket, period. Pork ribs, sausage, chicken, side dishes might factor in, but most folks come for the brisket. The show got that right putting brisket first on the plate.

Chili con carne isn’t a terrible choice. Chili does not seem nearly as important as brisket, but chili comes into play in dishes like frito pie, chili cheeseburgers, chili con carne covered tamales, chili and cornbread, etc.

I liked the brief Dixondale segment and the sweet onion casserole.

Texas sheet cake is definitely a thing.

Pretty solid show overall. Only so much can be covered in 20 minutes or so. Hard to get in depth in that limited time frame. Ranching is huge, enormous in Texas. Maybe 1/3 of the population wants to have a herd of cattle or already has a herd of cattle. I’m in the 2/3 that wants nothing to do with livestock and I’m specifically in the subset that has experience messing with cows and hated every part of it, lol.

Eating Beef is big here overall and also in my home. We had, I made Santa Maria steak (Tri Tip) over oak, a heaven’s forbid, California popularized creation, last night.

Hamburgers (ground beef only) are WAY more important here than any other state I have been to and the best ones here, IMHO, blow any other state’s version out of the water. Most other states or places don’t get hamburgers quite right just like most places in Texas don’t get Pizza quite right. There are always exceptions.

Texas grows a lot of onions and eats a lot of onions as well.

Texas sheet cake is as good as anything else for dessert I can think of.

Show sort of touches on a few high points of the state’s cuisine, but that’s all anyone can expect in such a brief segment.

[worth1]

I've had several people in my past life pay me in food weed and beer to BBQ brisket and take photos with my Pentax K1000.
That way they could party and not be responsible.
Texas has too many regions to pin down exactly the food BBQ and even the way we talk.
But Central Texas seems to be the king of BBQ in the nation.
Especially brisket.
Austin Texas number one.
How can I complain I was born in Central Texas.
Chili con carne is the state dish.
As many of y'all know I cook it all the time no beans.
I am not able to watch the TV show because I don't have a TV hooked up to anything.
But there are a lot of state food shows on YouTube.
Someone from Germany came to Central Texas to learn BBQ and went back and built a giant offset smoker to cook Texas BBQ in Germany.
I personally gave a little design input and he thanked me.

More later.
Cheers.

[karstopography]

I was in Austin last Thursday and part of Friday, but didn’t eat any brisket, chili, texas sheet cake or sweet onion casserole. I rarely eat barbecue out at a restaurant. A good friend of mine that was a competition bbq cook and bbq contest judge makes it a special point to try the bbq and especially the brisket at every possible bbq place in Texas.

Brisket is heavy on the tummy, a little goes a long way. If I cook a brisket I’m usually so sick of smelling smoke and brisket grease I don’t want any until the next day. I kind of like a chopped bbq beef brisket sandwich as much as anything. Onions, pickles, some chopped up point, a little bit of sauce, maybe a hot pickled pepper, yummy. Chopped beef is made with brisket leftovers. Shredded or chopped Smoked Brisket mixed into chili con queso is definitely a Texas thing. So is stuffing jalapeños with chopped brisket.

We did eat a fabulous dinner last Thursday night at Perry’s steakhouse in Austin over off Congress and 7th Street. There was some great beef consumed. Perry’s is a well known Texas based steakhouse chain that started as a meat market in 1979 in Houston. I had a Koji aged NY Strip. Sure was good.

[worth1]

Yeah I can't stand eating my own brisket either the same day.. we've discussed this before.
I love wood work but I don't want to do it after working all day in a cabinet shop.

[worth1]

If guys wanted to talk shop at the table I'm outta there..

[worth1]

I once had a Fire Marshal from New York City that was flabbergasted that I made 22 quarts of New England Clam chowder.
He was astonished that a Texan liked Clam Chowder.
Ed was a hard nose Italian but we got along great.
He cared about people's safety as I do.

[karstopography]

I saw the teaser on the episode of State Plates for Massachusetts had New England clam chowder. It’s been forever since I had clam chowder. When clam chowder is right, it is delicious, but it’s so disappointing when it isn’t right.

Back then, 20-25 years ago, the law in Massachusetts was you had to be a real estate property owner of the particular town’s waters to legally be entitled to harvest shellfish. I knew some Chatham property owners and would shadow them as they collected, dug up quahogs and cooned oysters and blue mussels within the bounds of town waters. I could not even touch the shellfish not being a property owner. Occasionally, I would point with my foot, “here’s a nice oyster”.

The clams were literally everywhere. Ridiculous numbers of quahog clams. The soft shelled clams were my favorite. I loved the blue mussels also. Chatham Oysters were unbelievably delicious. Briny, crisp, the perfect size.

[rxkeith]

no tv plugged in here.
i have no clue what a state dish of michigan could be.
here in da U.P. it could be a pasty which is adopted from the cornish.
lake superior white fish or trout, cook it how you like. some finnish treats
like squeaky cheese, nisu or rieska bread. but, those all could be considered
regional. in the city of dearborn, mi you can get authentic middle eastern food.
then there is the polish enclaves, and italian enclaves each with their regional
cuisine. the black population, many with southern roots. how do you pick a state
dish?


keith

[karstopography]

no tv plugged in here.
i have no clue what a state dish of michigan could be.
here in da U.P. it could be a pasty which is adopted from the cornish.
lake superior white fish or trout, cook it how you like. some finnish treats
like squeaky cheese, nisu or rieska bread. but, those all could be considered
regional. in the city of dearborn, mi you can get authentic middle eastern food.
then there is the polish enclaves, and italian enclaves each with their regional
cuisine. the black population, many with southern roots. how do you pick a state
dish?


keith

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9074482/pl ... _=tt_ov_pl

Entertainer Taylor Hicks tastes his way across Michigan, in search of the state's most iconic foods. First, he harvests tart cherries to eat them with brie and then learns about the Native American traditions in preparing wild rice. Next, he plants celery before preparing it in a fresh salad and partakes in a lakeside fish boil to taste the local whitefish. Finally, Taylor gets a lesson in Polish culture as he discovers what goes into the dessert called paczki. It's a heaping helping of imported and local cuisine from the Great Lakes region as we taste Michigan's most celebrated foods.

[karstopography]

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5806136/ep ... p_ep_sn_nx

Summary for every episode.

[rxkeith]

i will add local sourced maple syrup. don't get no better.


keith

[Jeannine Anne]

Thank you all for your excellent replies and stories about your own experiences. I was glad to see the ideas about brisket. Just a week or two ago I bought a whole brisket and had to trim and cut it into appropriate pieces, not an easy thing for me to do, as it starts off fatty and on the meat the grain goes 2 ways so have to do it right.Lots of fat which was rendered down into usable beef fat, it joins my pork fat and duck and goose fat in the fridge.

Sadly my last BBQ gave up a couple of years ago and have not replaced it..as I live alone it is not a priority but about this time of the year I di start to think about it again so maybe this year I probably will do it.

I love clam chowder and make it regularly and totally agree that it has to be good. For me it starts with a spade and a beach but that part of my life is over..I do have a store where I can buy live clams, several varieties so that is what I do.

A few of you mentioned burgers, so direct question here,, what makes the perfect burger patty??? Size, thickness and ingredients in juwt the meat . Up here I have the usual take aways which I avoid but no one I know cooks their own so I am pretty burger uneducated.. I do make one occasionally but would love to hear about better ones.

Maple syrup is easy for me as it is made right here.

THANK YOU ALL AGAIN XX Jeannine

[worth1]

The perfect burger patty isn't over worked ground more corse than regular ground beef and doesn't have anything mixed up with it.
Especially salt.
Adding salt and over working ground meat turns it into rubber and or sausage patties.
You can't make super good burgers that come from a plastic chub but we're all guilty of it.
This over working and mixing is also what causes the patty to shrink up and get fat in the middle.
Salt and spices are best left on the outside in my opinion.

[karstopography]

Elements of a great hamburger are as follows:

Must be a Thin and not a thick patty. Extra credit for in house made on the spot patties.
Nothing mixed into the ground beef. Seasoning applied to meat as it cooks
Ground beef should be somewhere in the 80-85/20-15 ratio lean to fat
Grill, Cast iron skillet, griddle/flattop all acceptable ways to cook the patty. A crust, grill marks, significant browning, should form on the exterior of the meat.
Bun MUST be well toasted on both sides, but especially the sides facing the inside. Buns not toasted AUTOMATICALLY disqualifies the hamburger from greatness.
Ketchup applied without being requested AUTOMATICALLY disqualifies the hamburger from greatness.
Mayo/Mustard/special sauce acceptable providing the condiment is specified prior to ordering
Over condiment application AUTOMATICALLY disqualifies the hamburger from greatness. Soupy hamburgers are GROSS.
Vegetables( lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions, etc.) should be cool, fresh and crisp. Soggy tomatoes and limp lettuce AUTOMATICALLY disqualifies the hamburger from greatness.
The Proportions of meat,to bun, to condiments, to vegetables are high order mathematics. Hard to explain, but you know it when you eat it it is correct.
All the above should be served with a sincere smile or some human warmth or good humor or funny sass or kind words. Surliness, sourness, hostility, indifference coming from the server or cook AUTOMATICALLY disqualifies the hamburger from greatness.
A great hamburger must be served immediately after the hamburger is made and assembled.

This list might not be complete,but it’s a start.

Steak burgers are a different species as are mushroom burgers, chili cheese burgers, thick patties are acceptable with these different species of burger like creations.

[Jeannine Anne]

Elements of a great hamburger are as follows:

Must be a Thin and not a thick patty. Extra credit for in house made on the spot patties.
Nothing mixed into the ground beef. Seasoning applied to meat as it cooks
Ground beef should be somewhere in the 80-85/20-15 ratio lean to fat
Grill, Cast iron skillet, griddle/flattop all acceptable ways to cook the patty. A crust, grill marks, significant browning, should form on the exterior of the meat.
Bun MUST be well toasted on both sides, but especially the sides facing the inside. Buns not toasted AUTOMATICALLY disqualifies the hamburger from greatness.
Ketchup applied without being requested AUTOMATICALLY disqualifies the hamburger from greatness.
Mayo/Mustard/special sauce acceptable providing the condiment is specified prior to ordering
Over condiment application AUTOMATICALLY disqualifies the hamburger from greatness. Soupy hamburgers are GROSS.
Vegetables( lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions, etc.) should be cool, fresh and crisp. Soggy tomatoes and limp lettuce AUTOMATICALLY disqualifies the hamburger from greatness.
The Proportions of meat,to bun, to condiments, to vegetables are high order mathematics. Hard to explain, but you know it when you eat it it is correct.
All the above should be served with a sincere smile or some human warmth or good humor or funny sass or kind words. Surliness, sourness, hostility, indifference coming from the server or cook AUTOMATICALLY disqualifies the hamburger from greatness.
A great hamburger must be served immediately after the hamburger is made and assembled.

This list might not be complete,but it’s a start.

Steak burgers are a different species as are mushroom burgers, chili cheese burgers, thick patties are acceptable with these different species of burger like creations.

Thank you for the thin ones, can I bother you for the type of meat and the size of the thicker ones please

[karstopography]

@Jeannine Anne I like grass fed 85/15 lean to fat. Around here they sell these in one pound bricks in every market. I’ll take and make three patties from one brick, four might be even better. 80/20 ground chuck is good, but shrinks quite a lot cooking. Harder to grill without major flare ups. Ground Sirloin is generally too lean for a great hamburger. 90//10, no thanks.

I’m sort of being funny about hamburgers in a serious not so serious way. I’ll eat them thick or thin, imperfect or nearly perfect. Sometimes, the hamburger is just so good when all the elements are coming together just right. Most of the time, hamburgers, even my own, fall a little short of perfection.

I could do the same critique of Italian Sub sandwiches. If someone nails the bread, meats, vegetables, etc, an Italian Sub sandwich is divine, but I have had a lot of sub par subs.

It’s all what you like anyway, none of our taste buds are exactly the same.

[worth1]

Wife got on extra lean everything.
Skinless fried chicken I had to hide eating the skin.
Fake cheese.
Soy products.
No real cheese.
Not really potato chips.
No butter.
Etc etc.
The extra lean hamburger meat is horrible.
You end up with a hockey puck a tiger couldn't chew.
The only way to eat one is rare.

I don't miss the drama going on about what I can and can't eat or buy.

Lots of fads going around on different ways to make a hamburger.
Most are ridiculous and you can't eat them because they're too big and sloppy.
I have several different sizes of homemade hamburger molds I use in my modified tortilla press.
The have the ounces written on them so it's no guess work.
I use plastic wrap in the press to make things easy.
And they freeze well.
Much better than the troublesome vacuum sealer.
Right now I'm buying the cheapest hamburger meat I can find.