Live webchat with top TV chef James Martin - Thurs 25 Oct 3.30-4.30pm

Thanks for watching Saturday Kitchen! For those of you that don’t watch – I was that fat bloke from Strictly come Dancing in 2006!!

Hope you enjoy the book – it’s been a pleasure to write and a long time coming. Tune in Sat for Dawn French, and then my mum’s heartthrob Alfie Boe is on in a couple of weeks!

oldflame

Eeek, I just read your answer about cooking beef in cling film. Is that SAFE? Aren't there hideous chemicals that are turning all the fish in the sea female or something? And delaying the menopause (or perhaps bringing it on early, can't remember)?

It's your personal choice, but we do it all the time in the kitchen! Don't get confused between clingfilm and foodwrap! Big difference!

closetgran

I had confit lamb at a party last weekend and very nice it was too. What does confit actually mean and how do you do it?

Confit means slow cooking in fat or oil. The traditional way is to salt it first with a light coating of sea salt for a few hours, and then slowly cook in at 80-90 degrees in duck fat or oil. The most traditional thing to confit is duck leg as it softens the meat as it cooks.

glassortwo

james is it correct you should not put fresh herbs in a slow cooker?

I hope you have brought a nice cake with you for the GNHQ girls.

Not really, you can do what you want – the idea of fresh herbs is generally, they can go in either halfway through or at the end. But hard herbs such as thyme rosemary and sage go in at the start.

CharlieMouseWillDo

Hi James, What size slow cooker would you recommend to feed two adults and a toddler?

Standard slow cooker size - any will do. But generally they won't be too small, otherwise they can dry out. You need it a decent size, because generally all your veg etc, is all cooked in together.

wastrel

How did you get into writing about cars? (We prefer you to that other bloke, the one with the annoying opinions about everything else)

I started collecting cars, and that led to a journalist interviewing me about my dessert book, and he wanted to know what all the garages were. That's how I started!

GrannyBusy

Hello James
Am I allowed two questions?

Any tips on an easy way to convert slow cooker recipes to use in an Aga?

Also what was your favourite dance on Strictly?
Thanks

The waltz or foxtrot - for that or ballroom, being tall helped! I hated Latin! Ballroom was fine. They put you in these disgusting costumes!

Agas are the perfect slow cooker. Open up the top, you lose all the heat, and it takes 12 hours to heat up again! On the farm, I think the dog enjoyed the Aga more than my mum did cooking on it! Just don't bother making meringues in them.

sofasogood

Hi James, do you have to be careful about what you eat, being on television and all? Your food looks so yummy I think I would be the size of a house if I got the chance to eat it. <thinks username should really be greedypants>

I passed caring. I'm 40 years old - I've worked in kitchens all my life. I feel now, I should be able to sit back and enjoy something to eat that somebody else has cooked, without worrying about how many carbohydrates it's got.

rosiemus

Hello James can you recommend me a pudding that you can bung in the oven for ages but that isn't a milk pud (school put me off those forever) Thank you

Christmas pudding is just around the corner - there's your prime example. Because of its texture it requires a long time cooking.

Steamed puddings are a great emphasis of slow cooking and how good does a treacle sponge taste??

bababa

Hello James

I have just been given one of your slow cookers. I'm delighted but a novice - what tips can you give me for using it (or any other model of course)? Are there principles that one must adhere to?

The definition of slow cooking would be minimum prep, maximum flavour. To start with, do something with chicken mushrooms tomatoes and tarragon with onions, gently cooked for an hour and then move on to other dishes.

marionh

What cuts of meat are best for long slow cooking? When I am in the supermarket there seem to be so many and I am never sure what is best for what

Generally, it's the part of the animal that does the most amount of work that takes the longest to cook, but also has the best flavour. A fillet of pork doesn't taste anywhere near as good as a slow-roasted shoulder of pork.

glassortwo

I am terrible for throwing this and that in a pot without any real thought, what basics would you use in a savoury dish as your base flavours.

Onions are always the key. If you look at Indian cooking - they colour the onions really well before adding the spices etc, which can change the flavour of the food massively.

pottedshrimp

Apart from your beloved slow cookers, what piece of kitchen kit couldn't you live without? And what is totally useless? <pretends not to have strawberry de-stalker at home>

A garlic crusher, I can't abide - use a pan to whack it! My favourite bit of kit is my new thermomix - proper chef's toy. Blends and heats - it's brilliant!

Grannyknot

Hi James, I read somewhere yesterday that you used to date Barbara Broccoli and that she showered you in expensive gifts, so I'm impressed that you even bother with slow cooking! Here's my question: do you always have to have everything you cook in the slow cooker swimming in liquid? For example - what is the best way to do a 'pot roast' of say a rolled brisket in the slow cooker? (if that's even possible).

It is possible. The definition of braising is to half cover. This is what I do with the brisket, so it keeps it moist but coloured on top.

firenze

Are you a fan of cooking chicken slowly or fast? Elizabeth David wrote that everyone cooked chicken for far too long so now I try to do it in about an hour or less depending on size, obviously. What do you think?

Thomas Keller cooked the best chicken I've ever tasted and he cooked it after it had been in brine, for slightly longer than I used to do. 9 Michelin stars, two 3 starred Michelin restaurants, once of the greatest chefs alive today. Saying that, Elizabeth David was great - I never got to taste her food though!

zither

Are there any slow recipes for fish? Apart from fish pie, I mean. Doesn't cooking fish slowly destroy its texture and delicacy?

No, because things like squid, octopus, monkfish when it's cooked slowly with peppers and tomatoes just like you have when abroad, like in France and Spain it's delicious. Certain fish you would never slow cook. But take, for instance, cooking in salt, is another prime example of slow cooking.

glitabo

I have a small slow cooker for 1 or 2 servings. Do your recipes convert easily to smaller quantities? I have ordered your book but have not seen it yet so I am assuming that most recipes are for 4 people. Thank you.

It's easy to reduce down, yes. Some of the larger joints you might have to be careful of in terms of cooking time, but most things, yes!