Field Notes
Small things worth knowing this month.
A loose peel is a good sign.
Satsumas grow a puffy peel that comes away from the fruit; that's the variety, not age. Judge them by weight instead: pick up two of the same size and buy the heavier one. They're the reason to keep a bag in the fridge through December.
A braise is a sear that keeps going.
Everything October taught about the sear — dry meat, hot pan, hands off until it lets go — is the first step of a braise. Then add a little liquid, partway up, and give it a low oven and time. Leave the lid off if there's skin to keep crisp. In December, the same pot holds a pork shoulder for three hours; the steps don't change.
Small batches, big heat.
A home burner can't heat a wok the way a restaurant flame does, so don't ask it to cook a pound of meat at once. Get the wok smoking, cook in two batches in a single layer, and leave each one alone for a minute before you toss. Crowded, meat steams and turns gray — the same lesson as October's sear, only faster. Have everything cut and the sauce mixed before the wok goes on; there's no time to chop once it starts.
The air fryer is a small, fast oven.
It doesn't fry anything. It blows very hot air around the food, which is why it crisps chicken skin and Brussels sprouts better than a crowded sheet pan. The oven's rules still apply: one layer, room around each piece, a toss or a flip halfway. It runs hotter and faster than an oven recipe expects, so check early. Fat collects in the drawer; pour it off before a second batch, or it smokes.
Press a mushroom like a steak.
Oyster mushrooms are mostly water. Tear them into big clusters, lay them in a hot, lightly oiled cast-iron pan, and set something heavy on top — a smaller skillet, or the Dutch oven's lid with a can inside. The weight squeezes the water out so they brown instead of steam, and in about 5 minutes a side they shrink to half their thickness, crisp at the edges and meaty inside. Salt them once they've browned. It's October's sear with a weight on it.
Chard stems go in first.
A bunch of chard is two vegetables: stems that need five minutes and leaves that need one. Chop the stems and start them with the leeks or the garlic; tear in the leaves at the end. Thrown in together, you get stringy stems or gray leaves.