Can I Cook Risotto in Advance?
I want to cook a yummy butternut squash risotto for company tomorrow night, but as it will be an early dinner, I was hoping to get it at least halfway done early. Any suggestions? I know It's a sin, but worth a shot.
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21 Comments:
It's not a problem, this is how most restos do it, otherwise, imagine waiting 45 minutes or more for your risotto to come out after you've ordered it. Just cook it most of the way, and then let it cool to room temp, and finish it ten minutes before you want to serve it. It will be delicious. In fact I think it's better this way.
simon at 2:39PM on 01/14/09
I did wonder how in the hell the restaurants did it. And I like to cook it in advance, because, in spite of what many recipes say, I CAN'T cook risotto in 30 minutes. Nope.
Elizabelle at 2:46PM on 01/14/09
This seems to be the holy grail of do-ahead foods. Some claim to have ways of doing it and to them I say a hearty "Bravo." I've never gotten it to work and I don't mind making it when guests arrive. You might enlist one of your guests to be a stirrer. Even if you get just about everything else done in advance, it's so worth leaving the risotto until "day of."
Anytime I've had risotto in a restaurant, the wait person usually explains to me that it takes a while. I tell them I know, and not to worry. I can't remember having risotto brought to me so quickly I even suspected it might be done in advance.
therealchiffonade at 4:13PM on 01/14/09
My wife makes risotto in a pressure cooker. 30 minutes.
bobbob at 4:23PM on 01/14/09
Ive made risotto many times in less than 30 minutes. If your doing it in large batches it will take a while but when I make mine and have everything preped then it only takes me about 20 minutes cooking time (serving 4-5) A risotto is suposed to be slightly aldante and not REALLY thick but thicker like a pancake batter.
cooked7 at 4:37PM on 01/14/09
Don't do it. Just serve cocktails to everyone while you hover over the pot and stir. Re-heated risotto is a gloppy mess. And as a server, I can say the good restaurants make it to order.
FeliciasMealTicket at 5:01PM on 01/14/09
"Re-heated risotto is a gloppy mess"
It's not about re-heating risotto, it's about partially cooking it. Big difference.
simon at 5:14PM on 01/14/09
I worked for years in a three star restaurant, doing 250-300 covers a night. We would precook many items-risotto, pasta, a few of the ingredients that would be added to the pastas later, etc. I think the key is to under cook to the proper degree and cool the product quickly. We would spread the ingredients on sheet pans, so there was a lot of surface area. Most itemswould cool in the walk-ins. We found pasta stayed al dente longer if left to cool at room temp and we never used an ice bath. Most residual water would be removed in the form of steam; oiled lightly, we were able to have al dente pasta three or four hours later.
beano at 5:40PM on 01/14/09
beano speaks the truth.
simon at 5:42PM on 01/14/09
We pre cook it where I work, just cool it and use broth to finish cooking it when guests arrive.
joanpieroni2 at 6:24PM on 01/14/09
in culinary school we were taught to bring risotto "to wine" which is just under, cool it quickly and to order, about 10 minutes out, bring it back on stove to al dente, as beano said
abellas at 3:19PM on 01/15/09
You definitely can and should be able to do it. Start your risotto ahead and cook it 75 - 85% doneness, like what beano said, just spread them on a baking sheet or wide pans to release the heat and stop the heat from continuously cooking the grains, you still want to serve them al dente. In this case you are not "re-heating" your risotto, you are simply finishing it during service.
lesteralvin at 3:45PM on 01/15/09
Beano and the others got it right - if you cook it thoroughly then try to reheat, you end up with a gluey glob. Partial cooking beforehand has worked for me.
MMinNYC at 4:44PM on 01/15/09
all i'm saying is, it takes me 20 minutes to make a risotto on the stove, MAYBE 25. What's the big deal making it the day of?
mh330 at 5:47PM on 01/15/09
THANK YOU mh330! seriuosly unless youre doing it for a restaurant size crowd it DOESNT take long just prep the ingredients.
cooked7 at 6:11PM on 01/15/09
It takes me about 40 minutes for 2 cups of rice (not exactly for a restaurant size crowd, but not for 1-2 people either), with all ingredients prepped in advance. I'm not saying it's a big deal, I'm just saying it doesn't have to be that much to take more than 20 minutes...
brooke29 at 6:26PM on 01/15/09
ewe! make it and eat it, ALL of it!
rockymountainmarta at 7:11PM on 01/15/09
Normally, I try not to feed the trolls. But for some reason I am so annoyed that I feel I should respond. The question was, can risotto be made ahead of time, not how long does it take you to make your risotto. The answer to the OP is a resounding yes. If for some reason this is irksome to you, feel free to start your own thread, or stfu.
simon at 11:34AM on 01/16/09
Simon - dude, chill. Cooking time is still relevant to the discussion. Many have answered yes to the question, but others have said no. Cooking time, volume, texture, etc are all factors explaining why people gave the answer they gave.
noneother at 1:13PM on 01/16/09
...and in the end, I didn't make it at all. My lovely, fat, butternut squash was pale yellow, watery, and tasteless.... so the whole idea was shot.
The reason I didn't want to take the (let's be honest) hour to stand over it and cook it, was because the house was going to be full of friends (but also squealing 2 and 3 year old friends.) I wanted to be able to keep the children from putting forks in the outlets and still be able to cook and enjoy the company. We had a heavy duty pasta puttanesca instead. Kids ate the olives and capers with glee.
Thanks everybody!
Elizabelle at 9:23PM on 01/17/09
ya i have to agree w.those who are saying it takes max 30mins to cook a risotto on the spot. (and if you do your mise en place in advance and have good organization, it's guaranteed 30mins max) i would personally highly NOT recommend making risotto in advance... but if you really have no choice, like some have mentionned above- cook like 3/4 through and continue the 1/4 process next day and keep broth on hand. the broth is key IMO. even when im cooking on the spot, if i dont serve the risotto immediately then it can dry up, so i always always always count in some extra broth to ensure that it has the good texture with no drying up.
or what you could do is prepare your mise en place the day before- prepare absolutely everything, so that the next day all you have to do is stir in the ingredients. you'll save a lot of time this way.
MariannaF at 9:06AM on 01/18/09