{"id":623,"date":"2009-07-17T02:50:58","date_gmt":"2009-07-17T08:50:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fathead-movie.com\/?p=623"},"modified":"2009-07-17T02:50:58","modified_gmt":"2009-07-17T08:50:58","slug":"real-food-by-the-well-done-chef","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fathead-movie.com\/index.php\/2009\/07\/17\/real-food-by-the-well-done-chef\/","title":{"rendered":"Real Food by the Well Done Chef"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Some time ago, I recommended checking out Jason Sandeman’s Well Done Chef!<\/a> web site.\u00a0 Jason is a talented writer and a real chef who believes in real food.\u00a0 In addition to writing about food and issues related to food, Jason has quite a few recipes<\/a> available on his site.\u00a0 Nothing like free lessons from a pro.<\/p>\n

He recently offered to write an occasional\u00a0 guest column for the Fat Head<\/em> blog, including instructions on how to prepare real food.\u00a0 I think it’s a great idea, because I sometimes receive emails from people asking for specific suggestions.\u00a0 I don’t have much to tell them, other than mentioning some low-carb cookbooks my wife uses.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jason’s timing was also perfect (shouldn’t a chef have good timing?) because I usually write one of my bi-weekly posts on Thursday nights, and I’ll be away in Santa Barbara this Thursday.\u00a0 Drs. Mike and Mary Dan Eades are hosting a Fat Head<\/em> night:\u00a0a showing of the film for a group of their friends who haven’t seen it yet, followed by a Q & A with the writer\/director.\u00a0 I’ll try to remember to snap some pictures.<\/p>\n

So I’m stepping out, and Jason is stepping in.\u00a0 Here’s his guest column:<\/p>\n

Curing Franken Stock! How to Make Your Own Chicken Stock<\/strong><\/p>\n

You might be thinking to yourself that you would like to make something out of that magazine you saw at the dentist’s office. Perhaps you need to make rice, and are reaching for that Uncle B’s Rice-A-trocious and have a gnawing sense inside you that all is not good. Perhaps you might even go as far as to look at the ingredients in the can:<\/p>\n

Chicken Stock, Chicken Fat, Salt, Autolyzed Yeast. Mono-sodium Glutamate, Dextrose, Hydrolyzed Wheat Gluten, Corn Oil, Flavoring and Hydrolyzed Soy and Corn Protein.<\/p>\n

Sounds just like what Grandma used to make, right? Here, a little information:<\/p>\n

Autolyzed wheat:<\/strong> Basically dead yeast cells whose enzymes are broken down into easier to digest components. It is also known as a flavor enhancer akin to MSG.<\/p>\n

Monosodium Glutamate:<\/strong> There have been so many reports railing against the evils of this additive. What most people do not know is that it naturally occurs in nature. For instance, seaweed has a lot. Does it belong in chicken broth? Only if you are trying to pass off water as something \u201cwholesome and nutritious.\u201d\u00a0Modern MSG is manufactured through fermentation of sugar canes and starches.<\/p>\n

Dextrose:<\/strong> Where else can you find corn byproducts in your food?<\/p>\n

Hydrolyzed Wheat Gluten:<\/strong> This byproduct of wheat is used to give \u201cbody\u201d to the product, disguising the thin, insipid nature of the broth. Nice!<\/p>\n

Corn oil:<\/strong> Another by-product (way of getting rid of) of corn. Do we need it? Certainly not. We have to keep those farmers employed though, so we may as well put it in there.<\/p>\n

Flavoring:<\/strong> What does this mean, anyway? Do we really want to know?<\/p>\n

Hydrolyzed Corn Protein:<\/strong> One would say that this is a synonym for \u201cMSG\u201d. We definitely need more to make this taste anything like broth.<\/p>\n

Hydrolyzed Soy Protein:<\/strong> Well, we have done everything else to fill the \u201cneed\u201d for corn, so now we are onto soy! See, this by-product adds \u201ctexture\u201d to the broth. Yum.<\/p>\n

The reason this is available to the general public is that the manufacturers are doing us a favor. See, you do not know how to make the real stuff, so you must buy the canned stuff. I even get Kraft\u2122 magazine which tells me to use the stuff.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I am here to change that for today.<\/p>\n

There is good news about this and bad news. Let\u2019s do the bad first, shall we? You will not be able to make this in 5 minutes. It is going to take a while, at least 4 hours.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That is not so bad though, is it? Set aside a Sunday morning to start this, and then we get into the good news:\u00a0 This is so easy, that an 8-year-old can do it, given the directions below. Once you start the process, you can let it happily simmer on the stove for the given time, and have great results. People will be flocking around your house to see what you are cooking that smells like Grandma\u2019s did on a Sunday.<\/p>\n

You will also have way more than a 10.5 oz (300 mL) can, and you can freeze it for when you need it next. You will be breaking free of Franken-Foods.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s get started.<\/p>\n

Chicken Stock (Broth)
\nMakes 1 gallon (4 liters)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ingredients:<\/strong><\/p>\n