Your Least Favorite Prep Task

[foodnfoto]

What do you think is the worst task you have to do to prep a meal? I have several that I try, like anything, to pass off onto someone else.
Mine is cleaning fresh monk fish and squid. You wouldn't BELIEVE what I've pulled out of them!
What are yours?

[cape chef]

I'm using tons of fresh fava beans, To take them out of there bean shell,blanch and husk can be quite time consuming.

I agree on the monk fish, It has a outer membrain like no other fish. Almost like a placenta

anyone who has filleted fresh shad would understand that it has a very unusal bone structure.

although I love any kind of fresh beet,peeling cooked standard reds without a pair of kitchen gloves can leave you "caught red handed" for quite sometime.
cc

[shroomgirl]

Gotta be peeling copious amounts of garlic..my hands get cut under the nails

I'm with you shroomgirl....
I also hate filling the pastry bag a million times when I am decorating a cake!!!!

[foodnfoto]

What about cleaning swordfish? Has anyone here had to pull out the parasitic worms from them?
I found one 16 inches long one time.
Haven't eaten swordfish since.
As an alternative, I always learn toward Mako or Black-tippped shark for that kind of flavor and texture. No worms, either.

[Mezzaluna]

Cleaning veggies, especially leeks.

[shahar]

Personaly I find most of the supposdly dirty job fun - Filleting fish, peeling beans. To me it's therapy.
I do hate straining huge stocks. I smell of it for days later. Peeiling grilled peppers while still hot, ouch. Creps when you need to make 300 in half an hour - 4 pans and scorched fingers.

[Greg]

It's a toss-up between de-seeding pomegranates and carrot gaufrettes (ribbon-shaped, not the easy circle).

[shroomgirl]

deseeding pomagranites???? do you do that often? Out of curiosity what do you do with them?

And I'm going to stop eating breakfast while I read cheftalk....parasitic worm talk just turned the shiitake asparagus omelet into something unappetizing.

[Greg]

Shroom, we used them from time to time at a country club I once worked at as garnish for a salad (sorry, don't remember the other components). Oddly enough, the chef only used them for banquet functions, so we'd have to do enough for 350-400 salads at a time. Boring, mundane work, and if your glove broke and you didn't notice, you'd have red hands for a few days.

[Pastachef]

I'll have to say that you people put your hearts, minds, and bodies into your jobs. What hard workers! I couldn't do these things.

[Isa]

it's a toss between peeling and seeding tomatoes and peeling and slicing apples for pies and tarts, specialy when you are making more then one or two.

[shahar]

Two sticks to the fire:
1. Worms? Who ever heard in here(or read or seen) about italian maggot cheese?

2: pomegrantes: I like to juice them. Then you don't need to deseed. Just cut and squeese gently in a citrus juicer(not too hard or it will become bitter). Chill and drink. Use for fowl marinades. Sorbets. etc. My favorite - 1 shot fresh pomegrante 1 shoot finlandia vodka, freeze.

[shroomgirl]

Pomagranites are such a great flavor...I'm going to try the cocktail suggestion...
I use pomagranite molasses for numourus dishes...it comes in a jar.

maggot cheese, yes we delved into that gem at great length monthes ago...probably in the archives under most disgusting things people eat. They didn't remove the maggots before ingesting as I remember that was part of the mystic

I think prepping with poor equipment. I peeled 120 irregular shaped pears last year in a friend's kitchen and all they had were the metal handled peelers....not fun at all.

Or not being able to use electricity on Sat. in the synagog....IEEEE.. it amazes me how long it takes to emulsify a gl of dressing with a whisk.

[lynne]

Peeling asparagus!