Joshua Bousel's Profile

Fried Sweet Cheese Pierogi

@His Honey Just cut back or omit the sugar the make them less or unsweetened.

Apple-Orange Cranberry Sauce

I usually make my cranberry sauce a few days in advance. I would think you could do up to a week beforehand and store it in the refrigerator.

Basic Mexican Tamale Dough

@Kalia Yup! Give it try, if it's decent lard, it should make your tamales have an even richer porcine flavor.

It's All in the Char: Orange and Leek Loukaniko (Greek Sausage)

@Katypizza Yup, you can totally do that.

Tex-Mex-Style Soft and Chewy Flour Tortillas

@khark You want to go high, and let the skillet heat up for awhile. I used an infrared thermometer to measure the temp of my skillet.

How to Make Tex-Mex-Style Soft and Chewy Flour Tortillas

@thengai The baking is what gives these tortillas their chewy, bread-y texture. If you omit it, you get tortillas that are thiner and more tender, like these—which are awesome, just a different style.

How to Make Mexican Tamales

@keevie I went to Tortilleria Nixtamal in Corona.

Crispy Cheese Tacos

@Creamy Cheese You could do that if you wanted. I was trying to keep the experience of the soft corn tortilla and the crispy cheese for contrast, plus I think the overflowing cheese looks pretty cool.

Why You Should Turn Your Taco Night Into Puffy Taco Night

@monopod & @emmythemac Never had a Navajo taco, but damn, that sounds good.

Why You Should Turn Your Taco Night Into Puffy Taco Night

@PoachedSteak I used both white corn for the masa harina and fresh masa I got. Either should work though.

Why You Should Turn Your Taco Night Into Puffy Taco Night

@Ananonnie Yeah, that's what I meant by fresh masa. I did get mine from Nixtamal. Went back the next week too for more to make tamales—it's good stuff.

Why You Should Turn Your Taco Night Into Puffy Taco Night

@Dennis They should stay crisp. I made most of my shells an hour or so before I ate them and also had some fresh. The masa that doesn't crisp is a bit softer and better soon after the fry, but the shells that sat out were totally fine.

Thin and Tender Flour Tortillas

@Lexine M A pastry cutter would work great, rubbing the fat in by hand is good as well. I used the food processor because I was making so many batches it sped things up a lot. If I were making only 1 batch, I'd opt for a pastry blender to avoid having to get out and clean the food processor.

@Dori Zinn I tried water that was around 110°F and the ones with cold water and cold fat were the most tender and flaky, which was my goal with these. Warm water still made stellar tortillas and they were the most like the ones I'm used to getting in Houston, but I do believe the cold ingredients made these tortillas all the better.

@lauraeeparis I tried vegetable shortening as well, but those ended up a bit more dense, not as tender, and lacked the flavor of the lard. They weren't bad at all, just not as good. Baking powder and milk will give you a little chewier tortilla, which is a different style that I have a separate recipe for coming soon :)

How to Make Flour Tortillas So Tasty You'll Want to Eat Them Alone

@elangomatt Never had those, but they look pretty good based on this post.

@Coconut12 I didn't try boiling water, but the tortillas I made with the warm water weren't as tender or flaky. The ones with the warm water were actually the most similar to what I get in Houston, but the cold fat/cold water were even better in my opinion.

@Fingolfin114 All bacon fat would probably be overpowering, but adding a tablespoon may give it a nice smoky, salty flavor.

How to Make Flour Tortillas So Tasty You'll Want to Eat Them Alone

@Yozhik Adding baking powder will create a different variety of tortilla—have a separate recipe for that coming...

How to Make Flour Tortillas So Tasty You'll Want to Eat Them Alone

@DrGaellon You can order lard from Amazon, but if you can find a local source you should be able to save a lot of money on it. I haven't had the best luck at butchers, it's been easier to find at farmer's markets. You may want to check Mexican groceries too, they tend to have lard with a darker color and bit more flavor that's great for tortillas and tamales.

Quick and Easy Poutine

@Coogles Thanks for pointing out, I've fixed that.

How to Make the Ultimate Poutine

@conky The gravy I made was pretty mildly beefy—the stock was a combo of beef, veal, and chicken. Since it wasn't a true roasted beef stock, it actually hit a really nice balance of flavors, in my opinion. Next time I'll try it with a chicken only.

How to Make the Ultimate Poutine

@ChazL I did double fry the fries, then extended the cook on the second fry to get a little more crispness.

How to Make the Ultimate Poutine

@Ocean Yeah, I know. There's a great "quick and easy" coming...

The Ultimate Poutine

@plazmaorb That's only if you consider the poutine alone—you get a lot of extra stock that can be used for other soups/gravies/sauces, so their a lot of additional value there.

Crisp and Chewy Thai Fried Chive Cakes (Kanom Gui Chai)

@Robin Garr: You need to get the rice and tapioca flours for these to be right. You may be able to find them all in the grocery under the "Bob's Red Mill" brand if the Asian market isn't within reach.

How to Make Thai Fried Chive Cakes

@The J I haven't tested out frying them straight from the freezer yet, but that's how I was planning on making them next time. It took a fair amount of time to develop a dark crust, enough time that I would think the insides should fully defrost and warm through if they're frozen. Again, haven't tried it yet, so just a theory so far.

How to Make Thai Fried Chive Cakes

@Jammin & @selyar I did take a photo of them before chopping, but it didn't turn out well and wasn't very usable. You can always image search that, which is how I stopped myself from almost buying the wrong thing when I was at the grocery.

Arroz Caldo (Filipino Chicken and Rice Soup)

@Bill Woods Supposed to just say "heat remaining oil," I fixed that. You can use the garlic oil, but you'll have to adjust the amount of garlic in the recipe so it's not overly garlicky.