Precooked items in the professional kitchens

I.m tending towards not safe.  It depends on a lot of: the freshness f the original item, was it cooled properly then bagged covered in wrap and frozen in a flat layer.  Once fully frozen, it can be frozen in laeger zip-lock bags.  Labal and date.

Have you  tried some prepared this way and then tried one  - if you're feeling brave!

The place where I did a brief stop as KM precooked alot of things.  Just going by the menu I can tell you that the turkey dinner, meatloaf and meatballs for spag and balls were all precooked and heated up (microwaved in the case of the turkey and the meatballs, grilled with the meatloaf) to order.  The mashed potatoes were also precooked and nuked to order.   They would also precook their scrambled eggs and microwave them to order as well. 

I had to throw out an entire bucket of scrambled eggs one Sunday because the fridge they were kept in was not cold enough and they went bad overnight.  The breakfast cook and I both gagged on the stench it was that bad.  So I spent part of that day moving food to the upstairs fridge that I knew was safe and I was told off for it and the owner did nothing to correct the faulty fridge.  The temp in that fridge was 8C (46F) and by public health standards it should be no higher than 4C(39F).   I was simply told "it's fine and it's been this way for two years" when I tried to explain the danger and what I was trying to avoid. 

To be honest, a trendy bar&grill in a more wealthy community, pre-cooking hamburgers and... chicken breast???

I cannot believe they serve such simple food in the first place to people who can afford spending a lot more and would make a larger profit for the bar/grill. Personally, I wouldn't even think of leaving my home for something I can cook myself on any very ordinary day.

I totally understand pre-cooking risotto to halfway, 1st frying and cooling freshly made fries ready to bake off and a number of other things, but a hamburger or chickenbreast?

As pcieluck stated, there is a BIG difference between pre-cooked and food held in the danger zone!

FWIW, I DO pre-cook

• Osso Buco
• Chicken Cacciatore
• Coq au Vin
• Meatloaf
• Stuffed Pork Loin
• etcetera

but it is properly chilled and refrigerated/frozen and then heated, generally Sous Vide style, for service.

Unless it is for a LARGE number of people a;; at the same time, I would not pre-cook things like burgers, sautéed proteins, etc.

Are they running a drive through?.... Why in the world would you pre cook a burger? Does the clientel not know the difference?

There have been a few discussions in the past on this on another board, where people were cooking off burgers and holding in aujus so they could just slap out the food.

You get a burger from my place, it's hand formed, seasoned and char broiled to order. You need 6 napkins with it because IT WILL drip down your arm.

Chicken breast sands also cooked to order, everyone is told chicken takes longer than other items.

Most people don't mind to wait for a quality product. That's the difference between the masses eating at your place once in a while, and having regulars that dine several times a week because they are getting a quality product every time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by leeniek 

The place where I did a brief stop as KM precooked alot of things.  Just going by the menu I can tell you that the turkey dinner, meatloaf and meatballs for spag and balls were all precooked and heated up (microwaved in the case of the turkey and the meatballs, grilled with the meatloaf) to order.  The mashed potatoes were also precooked and nuked to order.   They would also precook their scrambled eggs and microwave them to order as well. 

 

I had to throw out an entire bucket of scrambled eggs one Sunday because the fridge they were kept in was not cold enough and they went bad overnight.  The breakfast cook and I both gagged on the stench it was that bad.  So I spent part of that day moving food to the upstairs fridge that I knew was safe and I was told off for it and the owner did nothing to correct the faulty fridge.  The temp in that fridge was 8C (46F) and by public health standards it should be no higher than 4C(39F).   I was simply told "it's fine and it's been this way for two years" when I tried to explain the danger and what I was trying to avoid. 

Turkey, meatballs, meatloaf, etc have to bee cooked ahead of time, But mash? Make several small batches throughout the day, they will hold well for a couple hrs, if you don't over heat them.     Eggs...how difficult is it to scramble an egg?

These are 3 brasseries that work together. They claim that fresh products are essential. The first is one of my favorite places, exists for many years, but it remains a very trendy place. Food is simply top quality. Not quite cheap for a "humble" brasserie.

Just to emphasize how far quality restaurants push their limits nowadays; they have their own farm in Bresse where they breed their own chickens (take a look at the intro video of the second link)!!

All the following links are in dutch but have an english and french translation! Enjoy...

http://www.pakhuis.be/

http://www.docks.be/

http://www.quincaillerie.be/ 

Quote:

Originally Posted by chefbuba 

 

Turkey, meatballs, meatloaf, etc have to bee cooked ahead of time, But mash? Make several small batches throughout the day, they will hold well for a couple hrs, if you don't over heat them.     Eggs...how difficult is it to scramble an egg?

 

I find scrambled eggs to be one of the easiest ones to do (can't screw them up!) and really it takes just minutes to do it right.  I know alot of places use powdered mixes as well, and again this place was no exception.  The hollandaise was powdered, as was the demi glace and the cheese sauce for mac and cheese.  (think Kraft Dinner sauce)   I don't know the logic behind reheating the mash... maybe it was a time thing.. they made mash twice a week in a big batch, portioned it out and then sent it upstairs to the line for the line cooks to reheat to order.