# Foods you prefer cooked "wrong" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [March 13, 2024, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-prefer-cooked-wrong/998787 "2024-03-13T03:32:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![adhemar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@adhemar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhemar)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2024, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-prefer-cooked-wrong/998787/241 "2024-03-29T13:43:44Z")
I was taught when cooking bacon that you spoon the bacon fat out of the pan while cooking which keeps it from getting brittle but done. ---
**Author:** ![adhemar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@adhemar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhemar)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2024, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-prefer-cooked-wrong/998787/242 "2024-03-29T13:58:33Z")
When my parents got married, my mother drank her coffee black no sugar no cream, my dad liked both. however, my mom would forget to put cream and sugar on the table at breakfast and my dad was too lazy to get up and get it so he started drinking it black too. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2024, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-prefer-cooked-wrong/998787/243 "2024-03-29T14:03:53Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Don’t even get me started on people who cook scrambled eggs at low temperature for minutes on end so they can present something that looks has the textures of fake vomit advertised in the back of _Boy’s Life_. Interesting. That’s how Rex Stout portrayed Nero Wolfe as preparing scrambled eggs (in _The Mother Hunt_ and _The Nero Wolfe Cookbook_). He’d have words with you comparing it to H. Fishlove and Co. Fake Vomit. (It doesn’t make any difference to me. I hate both omelettes and scrambled eggs, and don’t eat either.) ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2024, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-prefer-cooked-wrong/998787/244 "2024-03-29T16:18:58Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > I can make a nice breakfast out of the _a la carte_ selections in most diners’ menus, such as toast, cereal, hash browns, bacon or sausage, juice, coffee. A BLT is, in my opinion, a breakfast of champions. Yeah, it costs more than the so-called “two eggs any style and \_\_\_,” but at least it’s something that I can actually eat. Standard diner breakfast menus round here always include pancakes and French toast. Is that not the case up north? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2024, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-prefer-cooked-wrong/998787/245 "2024-03-29T17:08:53Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Sorry to disagree on scrambled eggs. I hate overcooked scramble with those rubbery tasteless bits. Mine are not runny European style, but rather fluffy and slightly moist. You accomplish this with lower heat and continued folding of the eggs in the pan. This is close to my method. Ideally I fry some good breakfast sausage in the skillet. Then I drain off most of the grease, use a spatula to loosen the stuck-on brown bits, add the eggs that’ve been vigorously scrambled with a fork (you want a lot of air in there), regret pouring off so much grease and add some back, and cook it slow with a lot of folding. The result is fluffy and full of brown sausage goodness, and one of my family’s favorite breakfast treats. I got a few more, ranging from shameful to amazing. First, I don’t often make tuna salad. When I do, I use tuna canned in water, even though everyone says the “canned in oil” is better. That’s because when I open the can, I look around to make sure nobody is watching, and then I drink the broth straight out of the can. I feel like an alley-cat, but it’s so delicious and salty and fishy, num num num. When I make grits, I stray from the recipe. I’ll replace about a quarter of the water with milk, and then I’ll keep adding little bits of milk or cream while cooking them. I’ll also stir in some butter and cheddar once they’re close to done. But the big change is this, and if you haven’t tried it you should: once I’ve put my grits in a bowl, I’ll add a whole bunch of spices, like smoked paprika and cumin and garam masala and garlic powder and chili powder, or anything else in reach that might be tasty. Cheese grits are fine unspiced, but adding the spices is a real treat. Now for my mad scientist heresy. You can keep your regular, boring old s’mores, with the toasted marshmallow on top of cold chocolate and a bland graham cracker. Me, I’ll toast the marshmallow until it’s golden on the outside and completely melted on the inside. Then I’ll pop a square of chocolate directly into the marshmallow, so it melts. These reverse s’mores are goddamned delicious, and if I could patent them I would. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2024, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-prefer-cooked-wrong/998787/246 "2024-03-29T20:24:35Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Interesting. That’s how Rex Stout portrayed Nero Wolfe as preparing scrambled eggs (in _The Mother Hunt_ and _The Nero Wolfe Cookbook_). Yes, I posted the recipe a few posts up, ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2024, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-prefer-cooked-wrong/998787/247 "2024-03-29T21:41:32Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I’ll replace about a quarter of the water with milk, and then I’ll keep adding little bits of milk or cream while cooking them. I’ll also stir in some butter and cheddar once they’re close to done. You left out “2 or 3 times.” > [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > But the big change is this, and if you haven’t tried it you should: once I’ve put my grits in a bowl, I’ll add a whole bunch of spices, like smoked paprika and cumin and garam masala and garlic powder and chili powder, or anything else in reach that might be tasty. Add enough bacon in Step 1 and you don’t need anything but pepper. It should go on with the cheese and butter (and bacon!) ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2024, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-prefer-cooked-wrong/998787/248 "2024-03-29T21:59:48Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > When I make grits, I stray from the recipe. I’ll replace about a quarter of the water with milk, and then I’ll keep adding little bits of milk or cream while cooking them. I’ve been making them for DH in the Instant Pot. Do you think replacing some of the water with milk at the start would work there, or would the milk do weird and icky things? ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2024, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-prefer-cooked-wrong/998787/249 "2024-03-29T22:27:05Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Now for my mad scientist heresy. You can keep your regular, boring old s’mores, with the toasted marshmallow on top of cold chocolate and a bland graham cracker. Me, I’ll toast the marshmallow until it’s golden on the outside and completely melted on the inside. Then I’ll pop a square of chocolate directly into the marshmallow, so it melts. These reverse s’mores are goddamned delicious, and if I could patent them I would. The hot marshmallow ought to help melt the chocolate, no matter WHICH order you assemble it; I mean, heat rises, but it can’t make that much difference since they’re in direct contact. We were once on a Girl Scout trip, staying in a house, and planned to make s’mores outside. The weather didn’t cooperate - so we did them inside, by putting the gracker, topped with a marshmallow, into the oven under the broiler. Topping THAT with chocolate and a second cracker, and popping the whole thing back into the oven for a second or two, would have been perfect - I think we just topped them and handed them out. I’m funny about s’mores anyway. I’ve got a notorious sweet tooth. I could eat half a bag of marshmallows in a short period of time, I could eat several Hershey bars in a short period of time. But putting them together on a graham cracker? Somehow, I can only eat one or maybe two of them. I guess I prefer them “deconstructed”. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2024, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-prefer-cooked-wrong/998787/250 "2024-03-29T22:35:39Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > gracker, Typo, or deliberate portmanteau for “graham cracker”? Either way, I like it. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2024, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-prefer-cooked-wrong/998787/251 "2024-03-29T22:38:11Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > Standard diner breakfast menus round here always include pancakes and French toast. Is that not the case up north? Not universally - think up here I see hash browns and regular toast much more often. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2024, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-prefer-cooked-wrong/998787/252 "2024-03-29T22:53:00Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > Typo, or deliberate portmanteau for “graham cracker”? Either way, I like it. I, uh, MEANT to spell it that way. Yep. That’s the ticket 😆 ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-prefer-cooked-wrong/998787/253 "2024-03-30T00:02:35Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Now for my mad scientist heresy. You can keep your regular, boring old s’mores, with the toasted marshmallow on top of cold chocolate and a bland graham cracker. Me, I’ll toast the marshmallow until it’s golden on the outside and completely melted on the inside. Then I’ll pop a square of chocolate directly into the marshmallow, so it melts. These reverse s’mores are goddamned delicious, and if I could patent them I would. I toast one end of a marshmallow first, remove it from the stick and turn it around, toast the other end, and then rotate it over the fire to complete the sides. Done properly, the whole outside is golden brown and the inside is completely melted. Before the marshmallow, however, I’ll put the chocolate on a graham cracker and place it near the fire. While the marshmallow is toasting, the chocolate is getting slightly melted. I may not be great at many things, but my s’mores take a back seat to no one. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-prefer-cooked-wrong/998787/254 "2024-03-30T00:05:48Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > The hot marshmallow ought to help melt the chocolate, no matter WHICH order you assemble it; I mean, heat rises, but it can’t make that much difference since they’re in direct contact. The reverse s’more gives you a chocolate-filled marshmallow. It’s like a Cadbury Creme Egg, only backwards and way better. You gotta try it! ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-prefer-cooked-wrong/998787/255 "2024-03-30T03:18:07Z")
too bad yall never got to try the “chocolate filled marshmallows” we had sold around here for a while it was pretty much hersheys in marshmallows until you melted them … ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-prefer-cooked-wrong/998787/256 "2024-03-30T11:46:34Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Me, I’ll toast the marshmallow until it’s golden on the outside and completely melted on the inside. Then I’ll pop a square of chocolate directly into the marshmallow, so it melts. These reverse s’mores are goddamned delicious, and if I could patent them I would. Okay, I’m trying this next time. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-prefer-cooked-wrong/998787/257 "2024-03-30T11:50:52Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > > [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > > > When I make grits, I stray from the recipe. I’ll replace about a quarter of the water with milk, and then I’ll keep adding little bits of milk or cream while cooking them. > > I’ve been making them for DH in the Instant Pot. Do you think replacing some of the water with milk at the start would work there, or would the milk do weird and icky things? How long are you cooking, and how hot? My husband makes quick oats with some milk substituted for some of the water, and it’s delicious. I tried it with steel cut oats, and it was horrible. The milk curdled and looked like bits of vomit strewn though my oatmeal. I was hungry, and it actually tasted fine. But i won’t be doing that again. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-prefer-cooked-wrong/998787/258 "2024-03-30T12:02:07Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > > [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > > > When I make grits, I stray from the recipe. I’ll replace about a quarter of the water with milk, and then I’ll keep adding little bits of milk or cream while cooking them. > > I’ve been making them for DH in the Instant Pot. Do you think replacing some of the water with milk at the start would work there, or would the milk do weird and icky things? I’m not sure–I would add the milk at the end, and if it’s too thin, put it on simmer for a few minutes to thicken back up. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2024, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-prefer-cooked-wrong/998787/259 "2024-04-01T19:49:37Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I use tuna canned in water […] when I open the can, I look around to make sure nobody is watching, and then I drink the broth straight out of the can. This is perfectly normal, and even laudable. Yummy yummy tuna water. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2024, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-prefer-cooked-wrong/998787/260 "2024-04-01T20:36:07Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > This is perfectly normal, and even laudable. Yummy yummy tuna water. It’s inexcusable if you have cats. The tuna water belongs to them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-prefer-cooked-wrong/998787.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-prefer-cooked-wrong/998787.md?page=14)