@xobzoo for me it’s about cleaning other humans’ messes. I always clean as I go having worked in some tight shop kitchens. I love when my other humans want to cook. I hate cleaning up after them.
Rinsing, then separating fresh herbs from their stems. Once you get the damn things wet they are a PITA to handle, with leaves sticking to your fingers, knife blade, cutting board etc.
@chienfou
I try and lay the herbs down on some paper towel then put more paper towel on top and press to get all the moisture off it bc yes it does make dicing such a PITA. It’s a waste of a lot of paper towel and extra time but I’d rather have dry herbs to works with.
@chienfou@Star2236 one thing I heard on a cooking show is if you are going to put them in a blender or juicer, put the whole thing in (except maybe rough bits at the bottom). This is for things like parsley and basil. The green stems contain a lot of nutrients and flavor and there’s nothing wrong with using them.
@chienfou I always spin mine in a salad spinner. Then remove them and lay a few paper towels or a tea towel in the spinner basket and repeat. This is such a great way to clean them and dry them. If I’m storing them, I just wrap them in a paper towel and put them in a zip top bag. I leave about an inch of the bag open to allow for ventilation. They keep for ages with this method.
Wait. What? We actually have to prepare food prior to cooking it? I just take, for example, my frozen chicken breast out of the freezer and put it on a pan and then in straight oven and cook for an hour at 350. Works fine.
@pmarin I’ve been down on France, especially Paris, for a while. I got locked out of my Airbnb because the third key on the key ring didn’t fit the third lock; he got pissed because I set it, trumped up all these things I did to the apartment (Airbnb bought most of his BS), and I had to pay him (via Airbnb) an extra 300€. They sure do take care of their property owners.
@ItalianScallion Hmm… when I was in Rome (long ago) I’d heard the legends of being in close quarters on things like a subway. So I packed everything into an under-clothes shoulder strap bag, just what was needed for a day journey.
@pmarin Yeah, that’s what I do often in Italian cities and usually in French cities too. That day in Paris I let my guard down, the subway car was crowded, and of course, I didn’t know it happened when it happened. What a PITA that was.
Chicken. Not bc of the slimness, I just hate having to do it. I like saving money and doing it myself, but i prefer to buy it already cut like I need it.
I can’t stand any fat on boneless skinless breast (or any chicken) and I HATE, HATE cutting the fat off. It grosses me out so much. Last night my boyfriend said he did a good job of cutting the fat off a chicken breast for me and I didn’t look it over before I let him put it in flour and fry it. When I bite into a peice later, it makes was a peice of fat and I instantly done with dinner and dry heaving. I’ll never make that mistake again.
@Star2236 you can bring it to my house. I love the art of butchering and none of it grosses me out. I used to be able to break down an entire bird into eight pieces in about 20-30 seconds. It’s probably about a minute now. I think butchery is ace and fascinating and I always try to use as much of anything as is humanly possible.
@Star2236 well nice of him to try anyway. If you are going to grill on a fire it actually can help if you don’t mind a bit of burned fat. But prepared in a pan or oven yeah might be too much.
The high-quality chickens like local free-range ones will have much higher quality meat and less fat since they strut around in a pasture. But cost about 3x as much. Depends on where you live and what the local ranches are. Varies by region.
@sillyheathen@Star2236 I can section a rabbit in about the same time. But it’s only 6 pieces so I guess that it’s not as impressive A sharp boning knife makes quick work of things
@capnjb@Star2236 rabbits are super fun to break down. They’re so delicious. It’s surprising to me that they really aren’t more accepted by more people.
@sillyheathen@Star2236 I’ve got an Amish market around the corner from me and they bring them in from Pennsylvania. If you put in a request on Thursday they’ll have one on the rotisserie for you on Friday They are only open Thursday-Saturday so you have to just cross your fingers. But they almost always have something frozen in the walk-in
@capnjb@sillyheathen
I wish we had an Amish market around here, they make the best stuff. My friends live up north and everytime I visit them I go there and get popcorn, pie and ice cream.
@sillyheathen@Star2236 I’ve always said if they sold booze and seafood I wouldn’t shop anywhere else. Their butcher is fantastic. I went in one day for ground beef and the bin was about empty. I asked if they had any more. He asked how much I needed and I said ‘about two pounds’. He grabbed a small roast and a handful of trimmed fat and tossed it into the grinder. And then ground it straight into a bag Can’t get ground beef any fresher than that
On the topic of serious butchering, which I have not myself other than cutting bits of beef or chicken…
-My mother used to clean and prepare ducks and geese my father had shot (yes it was a legal hunting area). In later years as he got older he stopped and said he felt sorry for them they are all just there in their happy flock.
-On a much more serious level (this was before I knew her) my wife has stories of her mother butchering a deer in their 1-car garage.
@pmarin that brings up the thing I probably like least from when I used to raise chickens and turkeys. Originally I processed them at home. I was fine with it until I was heavily pregnant with my second. The smell just triggered something and I haven’t been able to pluck birds since.
@pmarin@sillyheathen Pheasants are the easiest to clean. Geese and ducks are a bit more work. But I’ve got a cinnamon, orange juice, bourbon glaze that works well on any of them And that’s pretty much the whole recipe. A bit of zest and maybe a little acid and you’re in business
Chopping hot peppers when you are out of gloves.
@yakkoTDI Back in the day (says grumpy old man) we didn’t use gloves. Just go chop away! The problem was if you touched your eyes even much later.
Peeling Shrimp so other could eat peeled shrimp!
@mycya4me not to mention deveining
Oddly enough, I dislike washing veggies but am ok with all other tedious tasks listed
Cleaning up everything left over from the previous kitchen experiment.
@xobzoo This!
@xobzoo for me it’s about cleaning other humans’ messes. I always clean as I go having worked in some tight shop kitchens. I love when my other humans want to cook. I hate cleaning up after them.
Cleaning, which is why I don’t cook, ever.
Brushing the ants off the fruit before making a salad.
Chicken, not for the slime, but for the constant hand washing.
@brennyn Other meats as well, for germs AND for grease.
@brennyn @Kyeh Just wash your hands less. Eventually, your stomach gets used to it.
@brennyn @zinimusprime Barf.
@brennyn @Kyeh I mean… it is true…
Rinsing, then separating fresh herbs from their stems. Once you get the damn things wet they are a PITA to handle, with leaves sticking to your fingers, knife blade, cutting board etc.
@chienfou
I try and lay the herbs down on some paper towel then put more paper towel on top and press to get all the moisture off it bc yes it does make dicing such a PITA. It’s a waste of a lot of paper towel and extra time but I’d rather have dry herbs to works with.
@chienfou @Star2236 one thing I heard on a cooking show is if you are going to put them in a blender or juicer, put the whole thing in (except maybe rough bits at the bottom). This is for things like parsley and basil. The green stems contain a lot of nutrients and flavor and there’s nothing wrong with using them.
@chienfou I always spin mine in a salad spinner. Then remove them and lay a few paper towels or a tea towel in the spinner basket and repeat. This is such a great way to clean them and dry them. If I’m storing them, I just wrap them in a paper towel and put them in a zip top bag. I leave about an inch of the bag open to allow for ventilation. They keep for ages with this method.
@pmarin @Star2236
Was thinking of rosemary. The stems are a bit Woody
Wait. What? We actually have to prepare food prior to cooking it? I just take, for example, my frozen chicken breast out of the freezer and put it on a pan and then in straight oven and cook for an hour at 350. Works fine.
Frenching a rack of lamb, beef, or pork.
@ItalianScallion I would suggest a trip to France so you can get it Frenched by French people. Might cost a few € though.
@pmarin I’ve been down on France, especially Paris, for a while. I got locked out of my Airbnb because the third key on the key ring didn’t fit the third lock; he got pissed because I set it, trumped up all these things I did to the apartment (Airbnb bought most of his BS), and I had to pay him (via Airbnb) an extra 300€. They sure do take care of their property owners.
Oh, and my wallet was pickpocketed on the metro.
@ItalianScallion Hmm… when I was in Rome (long ago) I’d heard the legends of being in close quarters on things like a subway. So I packed everything into an under-clothes shoulder strap bag, just what was needed for a day journey.
@pmarin Yeah, that’s what I do often in Italian cities and usually in French cities too. That day in Paris I let my guard down, the subway car was crowded, and of course, I didn’t know it happened when it happened. What a PITA that was.
Chicken. Not bc of the slimness, I just hate having to do it. I like saving money and doing it myself, but i prefer to buy it already cut like I need it.
I can’t stand any fat on boneless skinless breast (or any chicken) and I HATE, HATE cutting the fat off. It grosses me out so much. Last night my boyfriend said he did a good job of cutting the fat off a chicken breast for me and I didn’t look it over before I let him put it in flour and fry it. When I bite into a peice later, it makes was a peice of fat and I instantly done with dinner and dry heaving. I’ll never make that mistake again.
@Star2236 you can bring it to my house. I love the art of butchering and none of it grosses me out. I used to be able to break down an entire bird into eight pieces in about 20-30 seconds. It’s probably about a minute now.
I think butchery is ace and fascinating and I always try to use as much of anything as is humanly possible.
@Star2236 well nice of him to try anyway. If you are going to grill on a fire it actually can help if you don’t mind a bit of burned fat. But prepared in a pan or oven yeah might be too much.
The high-quality chickens like local free-range ones will have much higher quality meat and less fat since they strut around in a pasture. But cost about 3x as much. Depends on where you live and what the local ranches are. Varies by region.
@sillyheathen @Star2236 I can section a rabbit in about the same time. But it’s only 6 pieces so I guess that it’s not as impressive
A sharp boning knife makes quick work of things 
@Star2236 those are the best parts!
@capnjb @Star2236 rabbits are super fun to break down. They’re so delicious. It’s surprising to me that they really aren’t more accepted by more people.
@sillyheathen @Star2236 I’ve got an Amish market around the corner from me and they bring them in from Pennsylvania. If you put in a request on Thursday they’ll have one on the rotisserie for you on Friday
They are only open Thursday-Saturday so you have to just cross your fingers. But they almost always have something frozen in the walk-in 
@capnjb @sillyheathen
I wish we had an Amish market around here, they make the best stuff. My friends live up north and everytime I visit them I go there and get popcorn, pie and ice cream.
@sillyheathen @Star2236 I’ve always said if they sold booze and seafood I wouldn’t shop anywhere else. Their butcher is fantastic. I went in one day for ground beef and the bin was about empty. I asked if they had any more. He asked how much I needed and I said ‘about two pounds’. He grabbed a small roast and a handful of trimmed fat and tossed it into the grinder. And then ground it straight into a bag
Can’t get ground beef any fresher than that 
On the topic of serious butchering, which I have not myself other than cutting bits of beef or chicken…
-My mother used to clean and prepare ducks and geese my father had shot (yes it was a legal hunting area). In later years as he got older he stopped and said he felt sorry for them they are all just there in their happy flock.
-On a much more serious level (this was before I knew her) my wife has stories of her mother butchering a deer in their 1-car garage.
@pmarin that brings up the thing I probably like least from when I used to raise chickens and turkeys. Originally I processed them at home. I was fine with it until I was heavily pregnant with my second. The smell just triggered something and I haven’t been able to pluck birds since.
@pmarin @sillyheathen Pheasants are the easiest to clean. Geese and ducks are a bit more work. But I’ve got a cinnamon, orange juice, bourbon glaze that works well on any of them
And that’s pretty much the whole recipe. A bit of zest and maybe a little acid and you’re in business 
@capnjb @pmarin I do love pheasant and quail. They’re so delicious. And the feathers are so beautiful.
how do i stop the challenge