Milk Street Q&A

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Christopher - I've made this recipe a bunch of times and it's one of the best turkey burger I've had! That's because it's so moist and flavorful thanks to the panade. The main issue with replacing the mayonnaise with whole milk yogurt, especially in the burgers themselves, is the discrepancy in fat content. One of the reasons we chose mayonnaise here is because the fat in it added moisture and flavor to otherwise flavorless, lean ground turkey. Whole milk yogurt only has about .9 grams of fat per tablespoon, whereas mayonnaise has 10 grams of fat per tablespoon. Almost 10x as much. If you're dead-set on using yogurt, I would probably still use the mayonnaise in the burgers themselves and replace the 5 tablespoons of mayo in the spread with yogurt. You'll likely have to add some salt to the spread, since mayo has more sodium than yogurt. I hope that helps. Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Susan - Our our Friend of Milk Street, J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, strongly recommends against marinating or brining chicken when cooking it sous vide. Here's what he says about brining: "Brining—the process of soaking meat in a saltwater solution in order to help it retain moisture better in the future—is entirely unnecessary for sous vide cooking. Your chicken will come out plenty moist and juicy, while also having a more concentrated chicken flavor, as using a brine dilutes the flavor of the chicken with water." And about adding flavorful ingredients to the bag: "You definitely can. I like to add aromatics based on the flavors of the finished dish, whether that's a few tarragon sprigs and some wheels of lemon for something like a classic Western chicken salad, or slices of ginger, garlic, and scallions for an Asian cold salad. The key is to avoid excess liquid—otherwise, you end up flavoring the liquid with chicken instead of the other way around—and to bear in mind that most spices and garlic will intensify in flavor when added to a sous vide bag." So it's not really about food safety, it's more about flavor and texture of the chicken. If you'd like more information about sous vide and chicken, he has a great, well-researched piece on Serious Eats you can check out. I hope that helps! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi James - I'm so sorry we didn't get to your question in time, but it sounds like it worked out well. Rump will be a bit leaner than chuck but likely not enough to make a difference in this dish. Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Kay - the dramatic temperature change when you add the fish sauce and coconut water causes the caramel to solidify. This is relatively normal and it can just be reheated - over medium heat - until the caramel melts again. A couple of things can minimize the hardening - 1. using room temperature fish sauce and coconut water to close the gap between the two temperatures and 2.) adding the liquids \off\ the heat (same reason as #1). The caramel sauce will take a good 10-15 minutes to thicken and coat the chicken. At first the chicken will release some of its liquid and loosen the caramel sauce - at this point it will look like it won't thicken enough. But if you let it continue to cook, it will eventually thicken to a glaze and coat the chicken. Hope that helps! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Judy - When I'm out of cake flour I always substitute following this method using all-purpose flour and cornstarch since I think it's the closest recreation of cake flour in texture. Once I've sifted the flour together twice, I weigh the flour according to the amount listed in the recipe (in this case, 320 grams). If you are using volume measurements, dip and sweep the 2 2/3 cups from this pile of sifted flour. Good luck! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Susan - a cast iron Dutch oven is basically the original Dutch oven. With proper care, they are sturdy, durable, heat evenly, and can last for generations. Just like the enameled version, cast iron Dutch ovens can be used to cook just about anything and everything on the stovetop and in the oven. And because they lack a painted coating, these pots fare much better on grills and over an open flame. All the same rules that apply to cast iron skillets also apply to cast iron Dutch ovens. This means cast iron Dutch ovens should be seasoned before they’re put to work, which pays off in the form of a nonstick surface over the inside of the pot. These pots require some extra attention when cleaning (no soap!), and are more prone to rust. For our technique on seasoning cast iron, please see this post by Christopher Kimball. Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Patricia - We don't have any crab recipes at Milk Street but I would always recommend recipes from our friend Kenji Lopez-Alt at Serious Eats. His recipes are always well-tested and successful. Here's his recipe for crab cakes. Good luck! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Elizabeth Germain

Hi, I have not received any of the items I ordered on April30th. I understand things take longer but the Fedex number no longer seems to be good. I also have not received the magazine. Any help would be appreciated,Elizabeth G

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi John - I think there are some sources that say a 1-inch piece of ginger would be equal to 1 tablespoon of grated ginger, but that's definitely not a standard. For things like ginger and garlic I find an approximation is fine. If you end up with a little bit more or less of these aromatics I don't think it makes a huge difference in a dish. Hope that helps! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Omar - Thanks so much for bringing this to our attention. That is a typo in the web version of the recipe. The recipe calls for 5 cups of low-sodium chicken broth. I will let our web team know to make the change. Thanks again! Best, Lynn C.