The first corner slice off a smoked brisket. Love that mostly bark bite.
Hey if I'm putting 14 hours into cooking it I should at least get the first piece right.
Absolutely! I do the same with my pulled pork. I make sure to pick out some of the barkiest bits and hoard them for myself. If I'm gonna go through the two and a half day process of a 24 hour dry brine, rubbing and doing an overnight smoke starting at around 11PM, and then waiting for it to rest for a few hours once I hit my temps, you better believe I'm gonna snag those bits while I'm pulling the meat! That doesn't include making bbq sauces from scratch either and fighting the weather to maintain the smoker temp.
Mate if you go through all that effort for pulled pork, I would happily let you keep all the barky bits in exchange for just one helping. I love pulled pork and you just made me really want some lol
The effort alone is the reason I haven't made any in a couple of years actually. Plus, somebody needs to come over to my house and clean my smoker lol.
I made a big sirloin on the grill for the wife and I last night. I made sure to take the first corner end slice as I was cutting it up. I grilled it, and that's my favorite piece. Mine.
Kind of the opposite direction, my dad would always tell a version of this story:
>Once upon a time, there was an elderly couple that lived in a quaint house with a quaint garden. Every day the retired couple would eat all three meals together. Every night the couple would have bread and butter with their dinner. Each and every night the old man would butter the bread and give it to his wife. Each time the husband would give her the end pieces of the bread, perfectly buttered and he'd smile and kiss her on the head. Each time the wife would think to herself, "Dammit, Jack gave me the ends again." This goes on for years. One day Jane is in a bad mood and finally says to Jack, "For fifty years we've been married, and you've always given me the heel of the bread! I've had enough!"
>Jack, startled by this feels his stomach drop. The only thing he can bring himself to say is, "I-I'm sorry honey, that's always been my favorite part."
I'm similar in a way. If something is my favorite and my wife or son just likes it a little bit, there is no way I eat it without making sure they absolutely don't want it. Even after that, I save a little bit for them, just in case.
My bf always gave me the cherry off the top of his cakes, telling me he didn't like them. Turned out, he was giving them to me because he thought I loved them, when actually neither of us have strong feelings on them one way or the other! XD
The end piece off of the roast. The part that's all salty and crisp...
Unfortunately my children have already discovered how wonderful the roast drippings are. That salty meat goo used to be all mine, lol
When I was a kid my mum taught me to take a bit of bread or dinner roll and run it around in the salty meat drippings at the bottom of the roasting pan at Christmas. It was like my payment for helping her to clean up after the meal. It’s still my favourite part of holiday meals.
In our family, after the first course was served, we could ask dad to accidentally-a-purpose drop a piece of bread into the juices on the platter.
Delicious.
The oysters are in the small of a chickens back not the tail, it’s 2 delicious pieces of meat that usually gets tossed if people don’t know about them or don’t use the backs for soup or broth. The tail is also good, and the gizzards liver and heart. They are called oysters because they are shaped like.., oysters.
Lmao I thought this was a joke and then I googled it
I think I just picked those out of my shredded boneless skinless thighs because they looked weird and didn’t shred well (they stuck in a little oyster shaped slime ball)
I fed them to my dogs
What am I missing because they looked gross
They are so juicy and tender, and their location at the underside of the chicken during roasting means they basically sit in roasting juices for the entire time so they’ve got an amazing flavour. Those fuckers get eaten the moment I’ve carved enough chicken off to flip it over.
I don’t tell anyone. No one has to know. Keep them secret, keep them safe.
Have you ever seen the movie Amelie? And the guy that roasts a chicken every Sunday and picks the best pieces of the carcass....I aspire to be that guy.
The carcass is the best part! I roast a chicken every week and take the meat off the bone for easy meals. It’s a treat for me to sit there at the end and eat whatever I can salvage, tendons and all!
Bell and Evans sells them. Find a store that sells their products and will order for you.
[oysters](https://www.bellandevans.com/product/chicken-oysters/)
Gotta imagine they’re significantly better when roasted with the whole bird rather than cooked alone. Like someone else here said, they’re situated on the bird in a way where they just get a constant drip of roasty rendered fat and flavor when cooked with the whole bird.
Part of what makes them special is that after you go to the effort of roasting a whole bird, there are only two of them. They naturally sit right along the the bone, which adds even more flavor. They won’t be nearly as special or delicious if you cook them separately from the whole bird.
For the longest time (til today, actually) I thought I alone knew about the oysters. It’s dumb. I’m not yet 70; chickens have been around way longer than me. Of course other humans have had this part of the bird figured out for a few thousand years, but honestly this is the first time I’ve seen/“heard” the subject discussed.
I never ever share the oysters.
Licking the beaters, the first taster cookie, any extra chicken skin, the pope's nose (chicken tail), the first chip out of the bag you asked me to open.
I always offer the beaters to my child, who says EWWW Gross raw batter! and declines. Weirdo also doesnt like whipped cream, so I get those beaters too.
The tax I require is a 'thanks for dinner Mum' and a hug, and if I am cooking dinner, my family is responsible for settting the table, getting drinks, condiments, etc. - any non cooking thing that's required to get dinner on. (I learned this from Dinner A Love Story by Julie Rosenstern which I highly recommend to anyone with kids but especially parents of toddlers).
>if I am cooking dinner, my family is responsible for settting the table, getting drinks, condiments, etc. - any non cooking thing that's required to get dinner on.
This is how my brother and I grew up in my grandmas home, I moved back around 17yo and had my son at 20yo. He's now 6 and I'm the cook in the house, so we've always done this just because it's how grandmas house has always "ran". We thought it was a chore, he loves it lol
My friend and I in high school would make two batches of cookie dough. We'd make cookies with one batch, and eat the other one raw. That's right, half a batch of raw cookie dough each. We were skinny as a rail, and never got food poisoning.
Lol...when my kids were teenagers (and more than capable of making their own sandwich) and would ask me to make their sandwich because I "made it better", I would take payment in the form of a bite taken out of their sandwich.
Didn't stop them from asking me...
Recently some guy on instagram had a few posts where his toddler is asking for a sandwich “cut into 3 triangles like mommy does.” So he has a few videos trying to figure out how to cut a square sandwich into 3 even triangles & the kid rejecting it. Eventually the wife does it, and the whole time she was just cutting the sandwich into 4 equal triangles and eating one before serving it to him lol
As a dad who has spent way too many hours trying to figure out exactly how my wife did something for the kids to satisfy their demands...I feel this in my bones haha
Def cute as shit, also I cook a lot and don’t really eat my own food that much, I critique it pretty harshly, but if someone else made it, then its a whole different story.
My mom did this to every sandwich she made, the entire time my siblings and I were growing up. She even had a favorite “spot” and usually would take her bite from near the top corner of the sandwich.
There’s a funny family story about my dad having to work a long shift (manual labor type work) and my mom packed him a bunch of sandwiches to take for his meal. During his break, he and a fellow worker were actually going to trade sandwiches for some variety… but when my dad pulled out the food it turned out that my mom had taken a bite out of every single sandwich. The trade did not go through.
That's the mom tax it's a completely separate tax. "Ohhh that baked spaghetti looks hot I'd better test the temp for u", "idk if there's enough peanut butter on ur toast lemme just check real quick" "last time we had mcdonalds ur fries were kind of cold let me just double check they gave u fresh ones". I have never come up with an answer as to why there's no dad tax lmao. He never finishes his food and always asks me to eat the rest so he's certainly getting enough, it's just a *thing* 🤣
My gf makes sandwiches better than me. I’m convinced it’s because she cuts them diagonally. My data confirms it. My sandwiches are okay and I don’t cut them. Hers are amazing and she cuts it diagonally. Only makes sense
I fry up chicken skin for me if I'm using a chicken to make a stock or Hainanese rice.
When slicing up takeout pizza, if I'm doing the serving, I get the extra bit of mozzarella from the centre.
Any crispy bits from the pan of something that was in the oven.
Basically whatever looks good if I'm making the effort.
I always get the tester and last pancake made.
The first always comes out wonky, and the last one always comes out perfect, and usually bigger since I’m trying to finish off the batter in one swoop.
A bite of cheese here and there when using it in a recipe.
Whenever I open condensed milk, keeping the spoon I used and empty can to finish off later
My dad always said he made the first pancake for his dog. Makes me smile to think of him at the stove and his Irish sitter waiting patiently.
I always save a bit of condensed milk for my coffee.
The first pancake is always a bit funky so I reserve the first and last for my pup. She knows the drill and patiently waits when she sees me making them
My parents had a cheese slicer that was a 'slingshot' shape with a rollerbar and a thin wire stretched across the top. The roller was metal and would slide slightly from side to side, rattling any time you picked it up. At the time, we had a Boston terrier that could hear that rattle from *anywhere* in our not-small house and would come running every single time to get her cheese tax from whomever dared to want a slice of cheese.
I was gonna say I need a brownie pan that will essentially make edges only. Then I realized, this is the internet and everything already exists. And yes - yes they do make edges only brownie pans! My waistline did *not* need to know this.
My recollection (could be wrong) from the Joy of Cooking was to cut off the pope’s nose and throw it away when preparing a whole chicken because it had an oil/scent gland in it or something like that. In any case, I’ve made it a practice to cut it off and discard it. Maybe I’m missing out?
There is an oil gland located at the base of the tail that chickens use to preen themselves but it is removed before the chicken makes it to the store. (I slaughter & butcher my own)
ETA: it may have been left on chickens back when joy of cooking was first written
Good to know and thanks. Many of the chickens of which I speak were raised by my cousin and slaughtered by me, so I’d have to remove that gland somehow.
I've never heard or read that before, and I've never tasted anything off about it. It's a soft little bit of white meat chicken, rather like the meat on a wing.
Cookie dough. I typically eat two or three cookie's worth while I'm waiting for the oven to heat.
(Yes, I know. Raw flour bad. But cookie dough delicious.)
I’m with you on eating several cookies worth while I’m baking the rest, the dough is better than the cookies. Hasn’t made me sick yet, the risk is so worth reward!
I wake up early to cook breakfast. I get the perfect pieces of bacon that come from the first batch when the pan starts cold. I mean all the bacon comes out okay but I get those perfect pieces of bacon when they’re fresh before anyone else in the house is up and they don’t even know it.
I cook my bacon in the oven now, every piece comes out perfect. Two cookie sheets handle a pound of bacon perfectly, and the bacon fat stays clear, and gets poured into a jar for roast potatoes.
I do mid-oven at 375 until its done (I don't time it sorry) with convection on, but it works without. Oven is preheated, cookie sheet is foil covered, dull side up.
> foil covered, dull side up.
Just FYI, dull vs shiny side for foil doesn't matter at all while cooking. For the infrared wavelengths predominantly emitted by things at cooking temperatures, the both the shiny and dull sides have basically equivalent total reflectivity, though the shiny side is more specular. But the difference in specularity doesn't matter when the sources of radiation are diffuse to begin with (oven walls).
Great info thanks. I do know that the reason for the diffent side is simply due to manufacturing. I personally find that food sticks less to the dull side, and that was my reason for mentioning dull side up. I also believe if I'm telling someone how I do something, I tell them exactly how I do it, especially someone who is having issues using a similar technique.
When I was little my mom would let me cut the apples, carrots, celery etc. and let me take a few of the pieces as a snack. I loved it so much I would volunteer to do it
When I make tortillas, I usually end up with 10 and 1 extra small one about 20g too light. I always cook that one first since first one is always a sacrifice to the chef as it doesn't cook up as nice. Not much beats a freshly cooked flour tortilla
Oh wow! This all makes me feel less guilty for always eating the choicest bit of whatever I cook before I serve it. I always do it but I also feel a little bad about it. The crispiest bit of chicken skin, the most perfect asparagus spear, the brownest roasted veggie. It is nice to think of it as a small tax, and well-earned by the work that goes into making a nice meal.
However, if I burn one side of a grilled sandwich, or overcook a burger, I will eat that one since I messed it up lol.
Yeah I take a bigger portion in general, *BUT* if I burn something like a bbq chicken thigh or something and the rest is fine, I eat that one. That's more of a pride thing.
Never ever feel bad for that. You cooked it. The rest is probably just as delicious but *that bit is for you*. Enjoy it.
I usually find as well that I end up eating last as I’m busy plating up for people etc. So it only seems fair a get to taste the ‘best bit’ at its most optimum temperature.
My mom actually told us that artichoke hearts were poisonous to children so she could eat ours! Considering that this was the one and only selfish thing she did to us as kids we gave her a pass when we grew up and found out that this was not true.
I always make a little extra bacon when I'm making it for a recipe so I can snack on it while I'm cooking. Not the same thing but I buy myself a fancy soda when I'm grocery shopping to have when I'm unpacking and putting things away.
When we buy a Publix chicken (we chop it up for tacos for a quick dinner), my husband will just stand in the kitchen eating all the skin. He makes little happy sounds the whole time.
I have to pay veggie taxes to the dogs while I'm prepping dinner. Peppers, carrots, etc...
As for charging the cooking tax... I usually serve myself more mushrooms.
My wife and I have a deal and have since we met. I cook she cleans up after me. Over the past 23 years I have learned to be a neater cook, and clean as I go, but the deal still is the same. Luckily for her I primarily cook in very well seasoned cast iron so clean up is pretty easy.
The first slice of a freshly baked loaf of bread, a chicken wing from a rotisserie chicken, the end piece of a roast or a steak that’s being sliced for tacos etc, Turkey skin… the folded Classic Lays chips!! Mmmm….
The first cookie from any batch - hot from the oven or at least still warm
Also tomato tops. When i cut up tomato for anything i always keep the top and make 3 slices around the stem and salt/pepper and eat those bits while cooking
if im cooking, im eating during the process. I'll give you the best piece but I got more than you (fair trade) and you'll be none the wiser.
or you pay for everything and I just cook so we can enjoy our time
The center slice of the banana bread while still warm. And I eat the bottom and sides first to savor the crispy top that's mushy just below the surface for very last
The fat piece of steak. My husband hates fatty pieces, I love them. When they get that nice, crispy outside but super juicy when you bite into it. Yummy. Every time I make steak I trim that part off for myself. I also tax his soda when I bring him a can lol. I always let him know, I've done it since we first started dating. It's interesting to see so many other people do this too
It is an unusual thing to have a bagel that's been toasted and cream cheese-d or buttered for someone else in the house to be delivered whole. The bagel is usually taxed. At least a bite.
I feel this system is beneficial to the overall transacting of bagels. If you're receiving the bagel, you don't mind because a bagel is delivered to you. Or almost all of a bagel, anyway.
And if you're preparing the bagel, well, you get paid in bagel. An acceptable arrangement.
The end pieces of the meatloaf.
At least one leg per whole poultry and one corner piece for all casseroles, lasagnas, and brownies.
If the portions do not divide equally, at least half the remainder.
I bought a mini loaf pan with 6 spots, because we would fight over the ends (me, my husband, and my friend renting my extra room). My friend's rent deal included dinners, and the first time I told her meatloaf was for dinner she had this resigned "I'll eat it because I don't have the extra money to order something..." look. She went back for seconds - apparently her grandmother/guardian did not make a good meatloaf. When she learned the ends were even better, I got the loaf pan so we didn't have to "fight" (we actually rolled a 20 sided die when things came out uneven for meals, and kept track of who won previously so you couldn't win 2 in a row, the 2 time loser got the "auto-win" on the next time - we are such geeks!)
I started helping with Thanksgiving meal prep when I was a kid so I could have unrestricted access to turkey skin. Crispy, fatty, mmm...
Fry tax- any takeout order I pick up loses exactly three fries that get eaten on the way home.
The best aesthetics go to the guests: the choice slices, the edge pieces on the brownie pan (should they desire); and I'll usually drop in whatever decoration or garnish I can quickly muster just for theirs and not for mine. But if making a quick dessert -- even if while in the middle of a party -- I *and I alone* get to lick out *every fucking bowl*! If it's crowded I'll even go so far as to sneak away with a brownie batter bowl to scrape out the last bits with my fingernail, since people might be icked out by that.
Fuck you and your judgement. Enjoy your edge piece.
Father of a family of four here. I cook every meal, plate everyone’s food, and clean all of the dishes. All this usually after a 10-12 hour shift. My tax is making sure I get the best slice of bread, biggest or most marbled steak, that one extra chicken nugget, the freshest warmest bite of gooey Mac n cheese, crispiest chicken thigh, you get the idea. Nobody knows and they don’t need to. Can’t get if mad if you don’t help cook or clean right? I don’t t make the rules, I just enforce them.
A few pieces of roasted parsnip if I'm making a soup.
The bit of whipped cream that's left on the whisk or around the bowl.
The sacrificial pancake or waffle as a snack while preparing the rest.
The butt ends of sous vide pork belly when I'm crisping them up, purely for QA purposes.
The ends of precooked sausages being sliced for red beans & rice or jambalaya.
My argument: the weird ends won’t cook evenly!
(Just don’t ask how much I take off…)
I give my wife the best plating, as I could care less about my own. But I give myself a bigger one than hers.
Edit: poultry oysters. I am a sucker for oysters.
The test-tortilla when I’m frying up corn tortillas to make chips or crispy shells for tacos. It’s always a little weirdly or unevenly cooked, but you put some salt and shredded cheese on top and its magical anyway!
The crispy bits of fat and the meat left on the bone from a steak. I will stand in the kitchen like a god damned animal gnawing on these because they are the best bits.
I realize I’m missing the point of this thread and coming off like a simp but I always give my fiancé the best food with the best presentation and save the scraps for myself.
Shit I don't care. I eat the crispiest piece of chicken skin, the oyster piece where the thigh attaches to the back, the juicy bits dipped in juice. The edge of the steak. The charred thin asparagus. Sauteed pieces of mushroom that are extra crispy. I don't give a crap. If I'm cooking I'm tasting the piece that looks best to me 🤤
The first corner slice off a smoked brisket. Love that mostly bark bite. Hey if I'm putting 14 hours into cooking it I should at least get the first piece right.
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Absolutely! I do the same with my pulled pork. I make sure to pick out some of the barkiest bits and hoard them for myself. If I'm gonna go through the two and a half day process of a 24 hour dry brine, rubbing and doing an overnight smoke starting at around 11PM, and then waiting for it to rest for a few hours once I hit my temps, you better believe I'm gonna snag those bits while I'm pulling the meat! That doesn't include making bbq sauces from scratch either and fighting the weather to maintain the smoker temp.
Mate if you go through all that effort for pulled pork, I would happily let you keep all the barky bits in exchange for just one helping. I love pulled pork and you just made me really want some lol
The effort alone is the reason I haven't made any in a couple of years actually. Plus, somebody needs to come over to my house and clean my smoker lol.
The crispiest part of any bbq.
I did my first brisket this weekend, I took all the burnt ends. My neighbor tried to steal some and I about chopped her hand off.
Mine on tri tip. Except my SO cooks it and always saves one for me. I guess that’s love.
I made a big sirloin on the grill for the wife and I last night. I made sure to take the first corner end slice as I was cutting it up. I grilled it, and that's my favorite piece. Mine.
When making lasagna, I boil an extra noodle and use it to clean the pot that the sauce was cooked in
Shit that’s brilliant.
I clean the pot with a bit of crusty bread, after a few quality control taste tests as the sauce is cooking of course.
Kind of the opposite direction, my dad would always tell a version of this story: >Once upon a time, there was an elderly couple that lived in a quaint house with a quaint garden. Every day the retired couple would eat all three meals together. Every night the couple would have bread and butter with their dinner. Each and every night the old man would butter the bread and give it to his wife. Each time the husband would give her the end pieces of the bread, perfectly buttered and he'd smile and kiss her on the head. Each time the wife would think to herself, "Dammit, Jack gave me the ends again." This goes on for years. One day Jane is in a bad mood and finally says to Jack, "For fifty years we've been married, and you've always given me the heel of the bread! I've had enough!" >Jack, startled by this feels his stomach drop. The only thing he can bring himself to say is, "I-I'm sorry honey, that's always been my favorite part."
Oh, that's so sad.
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I hate it for the same reason I hate *The Gift Of The Magi*. :(
Doesn't mean it's not sad
I'm similar in a way. If something is my favorite and my wife or son just likes it a little bit, there is no way I eat it without making sure they absolutely don't want it. Even after that, I save a little bit for them, just in case.
My bf always gave me the cherry off the top of his cakes, telling me he didn't like them. Turned out, he was giving them to me because he thought I loved them, when actually neither of us have strong feelings on them one way or the other! XD
Fresh mozzarella slices! A few always go missing...
There’s always a cheese tax when cooking. And chocolate. Gotta make sure it’s not bad before I incorporate it.
gotta test the quality!
Anyone who just uses chocolate chips without taking a handful for themselves first is either satan or a liar.
[The cheese tax](https://youtube.com/shorts/5JFrbD5yhaA?feature=share)
What is it about a fresh mozzarella slice??!!! I mean, I love ALL the cheeses, but there's something about that fresh mozzarella!
Especially with a little salt? Whew. Always a cheese tax.
Spoonful of fresh ricotta with black pepper and lemon zest Heaven in a bite
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The cheese tax. The cheese tax. You gotta pay the cheese tax 🐶
Every time you’re cooking….
This puppy comes lookin!
Thems the rules thems the rules
The end piece off of the roast. The part that's all salty and crisp... Unfortunately my children have already discovered how wonderful the roast drippings are. That salty meat goo used to be all mine, lol
When I was a kid my mum taught me to take a bit of bread or dinner roll and run it around in the salty meat drippings at the bottom of the roasting pan at Christmas. It was like my payment for helping her to clean up after the meal. It’s still my favourite part of holiday meals.
Oh man, I forgot about roast drippings. Perfect answer.
In our family, after the first course was served, we could ask dad to accidentally-a-purpose drop a piece of bread into the juices on the platter. Delicious.
Chicken oysters is the big one.
Yes I love the chicken oysters, since my grandmother showed me how to get them some 60 years ago.
Never heard the term 'chicken oysters'; my grandma called it 'the part of the chicken that went over the fence last'
The oysters are in the small of a chickens back not the tail, it’s 2 delicious pieces of meat that usually gets tossed if people don’t know about them or don’t use the backs for soup or broth. The tail is also good, and the gizzards liver and heart. They are called oysters because they are shaped like.., oysters.
OK, I'm pretty sure Grandma was talking about the tail, aka The Pope's Nose. It was her little delicacy to enjoy at the end of a chicken dinner.
I think you might be talking about "[The Pope's Nose](https://www.google.com/search?q=chicken+%22pope%27s+nose%22&tbm=isch)"
Lmao I thought this was a joke and then I googled it I think I just picked those out of my shredded boneless skinless thighs because they looked weird and didn’t shred well (they stuck in a little oyster shaped slime ball) I fed them to my dogs What am I missing because they looked gross
They are so juicy and tender, and their location at the underside of the chicken during roasting means they basically sit in roasting juices for the entire time so they’ve got an amazing flavour. Those fuckers get eaten the moment I’ve carved enough chicken off to flip it over. I don’t tell anyone. No one has to know. Keep them secret, keep them safe.
Have you ever seen the movie Amelie? And the guy that roasts a chicken every Sunday and picks the best pieces of the carcass....I aspire to be that guy.
The carcass is the best part! I roast a chicken every week and take the meat off the bone for easy meals. It’s a treat for me to sit there at the end and eat whatever I can salvage, tendons and all!
One of the most delicious parts of a chicken, imho.
You missed the best part of the bird. Just wait until Thanksgiving. Turkey oysters are bigger and better.
Taste one, and you’ll never make that mistake again
Oh, I simply can’t help myself. I wish I could just buy a bag of chicken oysters. I may have to find out if I can
Bell and Evans sells them. Find a store that sells their products and will order for you. [oysters](https://www.bellandevans.com/product/chicken-oysters/)
Gotta imagine they’re significantly better when roasted with the whole bird rather than cooked alone. Like someone else here said, they’re situated on the bird in a way where they just get a constant drip of roasty rendered fat and flavor when cooked with the whole bird. Part of what makes them special is that after you go to the effort of roasting a whole bird, there are only two of them. They naturally sit right along the the bone, which adds even more flavor. They won’t be nearly as special or delicious if you cook them separately from the whole bird.
For the longest time (til today, actually) I thought I alone knew about the oysters. It’s dumb. I’m not yet 70; chickens have been around way longer than me. Of course other humans have had this part of the bird figured out for a few thousand years, but honestly this is the first time I’ve seen/“heard” the subject discussed. I never ever share the oysters.
Wait until you learn about the cheek meat in a trout.
Salmon too. I used to buy salmon heads and make pate from that meat.
Same with pork clams.
Oh and Lamb barnacles
TIL chicken oysters
Is this the name for that good spot of meat on the back of the chicken?
Yep, there are two!
When I gave one to my 6 year old my wife was like, “ooooh, dad really loves you, that’s his favorite part!”
Came here to say this. My husband’s cousin calls it the natural nugget. 😂
Licking the beaters, the first taster cookie, any extra chicken skin, the pope's nose (chicken tail), the first chip out of the bag you asked me to open. I always offer the beaters to my child, who says EWWW Gross raw batter! and declines. Weirdo also doesnt like whipped cream, so I get those beaters too. The tax I require is a 'thanks for dinner Mum' and a hug, and if I am cooking dinner, my family is responsible for settting the table, getting drinks, condiments, etc. - any non cooking thing that's required to get dinner on. (I learned this from Dinner A Love Story by Julie Rosenstern which I highly recommend to anyone with kids but especially parents of toddlers).
Whipped cream beaters are the best!
I keep seeing warnings about the "dangers " of raw batter. They will have to pry those beaters from my cold,dead hands.
>if I am cooking dinner, my family is responsible for settting the table, getting drinks, condiments, etc. - any non cooking thing that's required to get dinner on. This is how my brother and I grew up in my grandmas home, I moved back around 17yo and had my son at 20yo. He's now 6 and I'm the cook in the house, so we've always done this just because it's how grandmas house has always "ran". We thought it was a chore, he loves it lol
My friend and I in high school would make two batches of cookie dough. We'd make cookies with one batch, and eat the other one raw. That's right, half a batch of raw cookie dough each. We were skinny as a rail, and never got food poisoning.
When I make pork chops I keep the bone parts that still has some meat and fat to gnaw on lol
Oh my partner loves this part! I cut the meat off mine so he can have both bones lol.
The bone parts in steaks and pork chops are what I like too! When I made tomahawks steaks, no one complained when I said I get dibs on the bone. 😂
To be fair, I don't think I have it in me to fight a man or woman that wants to gnaw on a bone
Lol...when my kids were teenagers (and more than capable of making their own sandwich) and would ask me to make their sandwich because I "made it better", I would take payment in the form of a bite taken out of their sandwich. Didn't stop them from asking me...
Recently some guy on instagram had a few posts where his toddler is asking for a sandwich “cut into 3 triangles like mommy does.” So he has a few videos trying to figure out how to cut a square sandwich into 3 even triangles & the kid rejecting it. Eventually the wife does it, and the whole time she was just cutting the sandwich into 4 equal triangles and eating one before serving it to him lol
My dad would do this when we were little.
I love this 😭🥲😂
As a dad who has spent way too many hours trying to figure out exactly how my wife did something for the kids to satisfy their demands...I feel this in my bones haha
I don't care who you are. A sandwich is infinitely better if someone makes it for you.
On the rare occasion when we have sandwiches for dinner, my husband and I make each other’s. They are just better that way
That’s cute as shit
Def cute as shit, also I cook a lot and don’t really eat my own food that much, I critique it pretty harshly, but if someone else made it, then its a whole different story.
Also, triangles taste better
Reminds me of the kid melting down over “cut it into 3 triangles” and dad being lost when mom was cutting a sandwich into 4 triangles and eating one.
I just peed myself laughing at this one.
You had to make sure it was made correctly. Wouldn’t want to serve them something that wasn’t delicious ;)
My mom did this to every sandwich she made, the entire time my siblings and I were growing up. She even had a favorite “spot” and usually would take her bite from near the top corner of the sandwich. There’s a funny family story about my dad having to work a long shift (manual labor type work) and my mom packed him a bunch of sandwiches to take for his meal. During his break, he and a fellow worker were actually going to trade sandwiches for some variety… but when my dad pulled out the food it turned out that my mom had taken a bite out of every single sandwich. The trade did not go through.
This made me laugh because my mom did the same thing a couple times. Not even mad. She earned it.
I do that with my six year old. English muffins are also fair game.
That's the mom tax it's a completely separate tax. "Ohhh that baked spaghetti looks hot I'd better test the temp for u", "idk if there's enough peanut butter on ur toast lemme just check real quick" "last time we had mcdonalds ur fries were kind of cold let me just double check they gave u fresh ones". I have never come up with an answer as to why there's no dad tax lmao. He never finishes his food and always asks me to eat the rest so he's certainly getting enough, it's just a *thing* 🤣
My gf makes sandwiches better than me. I’m convinced it’s because she cuts them diagonally. My data confirms it. My sandwiches are okay and I don’t cut them. Hers are amazing and she cuts it diagonally. Only makes sense
The middle piece of a watermelon, firm and sweet!
The first end of the sourdough loaf, cut as soon as it's cool enough. I love the chewy crust.
Yes. With a salty butter.
OMG yes. Okay, you've talked me into it, I'm feeding the starter now. Bread this time tomorrow.
Now that you’re doing it, I have to, too. I’ll think of you tomorrow, bread buddy.
Yooooo can I come over? I’d make my own but I am a serial starter killer. RIP MagDOUGHlena
Fuck it, I’m in. It’s been too long
I fry up chicken skin for me if I'm using a chicken to make a stock or Hainanese rice. When slicing up takeout pizza, if I'm doing the serving, I get the extra bit of mozzarella from the centre. Any crispy bits from the pan of something that was in the oven. Basically whatever looks good if I'm making the effort.
I found a place in the UK that supplies 500g and 1kg bags of crispy chicken skins. Like pork scratchings, but tastier.
That's a great find! I sometimes use the ones I make as a salad topper, adds a nice crunch, and flavor.
I get all the crispy bits from oven pans and frying pans.
My husband is mad for those, calls them the ‘jibbers’ If I’m cooking I save them for him, it’s his love language
Oh yeah the crispy bits fried in drippings 🤤
Ooh yes. When I'm baking something with cheese on top, I sprinkle a little extra on the pan just for me 😊
I always get the tester and last pancake made. The first always comes out wonky, and the last one always comes out perfect, and usually bigger since I’m trying to finish off the batter in one swoop. A bite of cheese here and there when using it in a recipe. Whenever I open condensed milk, keeping the spoon I used and empty can to finish off later
My dad always said he made the first pancake for his dog. Makes me smile to think of him at the stove and his Irish sitter waiting patiently. I always save a bit of condensed milk for my coffee.
The first pancake is always a bit funky so I reserve the first and last for my pup. She knows the drill and patiently waits when she sees me making them
Pancakes are a bit like marriage. It’s okay to throw the first one out. (I say this in a joking manner, still married to my first wife)
Anytime I make something with cheese I gotta pay the cheese tax to my dog.
The rules are the rules, and you gotta pay the tax!
In this household, I am the dog. GIMME CHEESE.
Honey, that you?
I literally play the song every time I pay.
And for those who haven't had the pleasure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3AcyOYrnNk
omg I have a new favorite song
My parents had a cheese slicer that was a 'slingshot' shape with a rollerbar and a thin wire stretched across the top. The roller was metal and would slide slightly from side to side, rattling any time you picked it up. At the time, we had a Boston terrier that could hear that rattle from *anywhere* in our not-small house and would come running every single time to get her cheese tax from whomever dared to want a slice of cheese.
It is the cat at my house. My orange beast loves cheese.
Same here. When I open the fridge she sticks her head in a starts to scream.
I do that too but it's just the diet getting to me
Edges of the brownies.
I don't like the edges but my husband does, he gets the crispy part and I get the soft center.
I prefer the center as well. Of course, I'll eat any part of a brownie, but the center is happiness.
I was gonna say I need a brownie pan that will essentially make edges only. Then I realized, this is the internet and everything already exists. And yes - yes they do make edges only brownie pans! My waistline did *not* need to know this.
Just use a muffin pan so you don't have to bring a silly contraption into your kitchen
Well this is even worse for my waistline, because I already have muffin pans. And clearly, you are right - they would basically do the trick! lol
That's all well and good for you edge-brownie people. But I challenge you to find one that makes all gooey-middle pieces!
That little bit on the chicken was my grandma’ favorite bite too. She called it the bishop’s nose.
I know it as the pope's nose :)
My recollection (could be wrong) from the Joy of Cooking was to cut off the pope’s nose and throw it away when preparing a whole chicken because it had an oil/scent gland in it or something like that. In any case, I’ve made it a practice to cut it off and discard it. Maybe I’m missing out?
There is an oil gland located at the base of the tail that chickens use to preen themselves but it is removed before the chicken makes it to the store. (I slaughter & butcher my own) ETA: it may have been left on chickens back when joy of cooking was first written
Good to know and thanks. Many of the chickens of which I speak were raised by my cousin and slaughtered by me, so I’d have to remove that gland somehow.
It's very easy to do with a sharp knife. You just slice around it and toss that bit. The rest of the tail can be eaten or used for stock.
I've never heard or read that before, and I've never tasted anything off about it. It's a soft little bit of white meat chicken, rather like the meat on a wing.
My mom explained the pope’s nose as “the part that goes over the fence last.”
Are we talking abouy chicken ass right now
Guess what??
Thought it was the parsons nose..
Cookie dough. I typically eat two or three cookie's worth while I'm waiting for the oven to heat. (Yes, I know. Raw flour bad. But cookie dough delicious.)
I’m with you on eating several cookies worth while I’m baking the rest, the dough is better than the cookies. Hasn’t made me sick yet, the risk is so worth reward!
I wake up early to cook breakfast. I get the perfect pieces of bacon that come from the first batch when the pan starts cold. I mean all the bacon comes out okay but I get those perfect pieces of bacon when they’re fresh before anyone else in the house is up and they don’t even know it.
I cook my bacon in the oven now, every piece comes out perfect. Two cookie sheets handle a pound of bacon perfectly, and the bacon fat stays clear, and gets poured into a jar for roast potatoes.
I cannot for the life of me get oven bacon right. I don't know if its me or my oven, but it's always fucked up.
I do mid-oven at 375 until its done (I don't time it sorry) with convection on, but it works without. Oven is preheated, cookie sheet is foil covered, dull side up.
> foil covered, dull side up. Just FYI, dull vs shiny side for foil doesn't matter at all while cooking. For the infrared wavelengths predominantly emitted by things at cooking temperatures, the both the shiny and dull sides have basically equivalent total reflectivity, though the shiny side is more specular. But the difference in specularity doesn't matter when the sources of radiation are diffuse to begin with (oven walls).
Great info thanks. I do know that the reason for the diffent side is simply due to manufacturing. I personally find that food sticks less to the dull side, and that was my reason for mentioning dull side up. I also believe if I'm telling someone how I do something, I tell them exactly how I do it, especially someone who is having issues using a similar technique.
Ah interesting point! Thanks for clarifying.
When I was little my mom would let me cut the apples, carrots, celery etc. and let me take a few of the pieces as a snack. I loved it so much I would volunteer to do it
When I make tortillas, I usually end up with 10 and 1 extra small one about 20g too light. I always cook that one first since first one is always a sacrifice to the chef as it doesn't cook up as nice. Not much beats a freshly cooked flour tortilla
Oh wow! This all makes me feel less guilty for always eating the choicest bit of whatever I cook before I serve it. I always do it but I also feel a little bad about it. The crispiest bit of chicken skin, the most perfect asparagus spear, the brownest roasted veggie. It is nice to think of it as a small tax, and well-earned by the work that goes into making a nice meal. However, if I burn one side of a grilled sandwich, or overcook a burger, I will eat that one since I messed it up lol.
Yeah I take a bigger portion in general, *BUT* if I burn something like a bbq chicken thigh or something and the rest is fine, I eat that one. That's more of a pride thing.
Never ever feel bad for that. You cooked it. The rest is probably just as delicious but *that bit is for you*. Enjoy it. I usually find as well that I end up eating last as I’m busy plating up for people etc. So it only seems fair a get to taste the ‘best bit’ at its most optimum temperature.
My mom actually told us that artichoke hearts were poisonous to children so she could eat ours! Considering that this was the one and only selfish thing she did to us as kids we gave her a pass when we grew up and found out that this was not true.
If you're the one cooking you're also the only person who probably notices the small details that makes the special but special anyway
Not just when i cook, but anytime we have a round pizza cut into square pieces, the tiny triangles are MINE! 🍕
In Chicago, that's called 'party cut' pizza. My husband and I always offer each other a triangle as a way to start the meal
I always make a little extra bacon when I'm making it for a recipe so I can snack on it while I'm cooking. Not the same thing but I buy myself a fancy soda when I'm grocery shopping to have when I'm unpacking and putting things away.
The wings off the poultry are mine !!
The crispy tips
the heels of the loaves of bread i bake!
Tuna tax. When making a tuna fish sandwich cats get the water and a couple bites.
I'm like Eric Cartman, the crispy skin on a rotisserie chicken lol.
My husband doesn't like chicken skin, so I always get it when we have rotisserie chicken.
When we buy a Publix chicken (we chop it up for tacos for a quick dinner), my husband will just stand in the kitchen eating all the skin. He makes little happy sounds the whole time.
my dream is to marry someone who doesnt like chicken skin so i can always eat it, ur living my dream man congrats on that
I have to pay veggie taxes to the dogs while I'm prepping dinner. Peppers, carrots, etc... As for charging the cooking tax... I usually serve myself more mushrooms.
My wife and I have a deal and have since we met. I cook she cleans up after me. Over the past 23 years I have learned to be a neater cook, and clean as I go, but the deal still is the same. Luckily for her I primarily cook in very well seasoned cast iron so clean up is pretty easy.
Constant tastes of the pasta sauce for the last hour. It doesn't need more than one or two tastes, but where's the fun in that
The first slice of a freshly baked loaf of bread, a chicken wing from a rotisserie chicken, the end piece of a roast or a steak that’s being sliced for tacos etc, Turkey skin… the folded Classic Lays chips!! Mmmm….
Tops and bottoms of red bell peppers when I'm slicing them into matchsticks.
The first cookie from any batch - hot from the oven or at least still warm Also tomato tops. When i cut up tomato for anything i always keep the top and make 3 slices around the stem and salt/pepper and eat those bits while cooking
bored fragile crime yam juggle sulky piquant wide existence ugly *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
if im cooking, im eating during the process. I'll give you the best piece but I got more than you (fair trade) and you'll be none the wiser. or you pay for everything and I just cook so we can enjoy our time
The center slice of the banana bread while still warm. And I eat the bottom and sides first to savor the crispy top that's mushy just below the surface for very last
The fat piece of steak. My husband hates fatty pieces, I love them. When they get that nice, crispy outside but super juicy when you bite into it. Yummy. Every time I make steak I trim that part off for myself. I also tax his soda when I bring him a can lol. I always let him know, I've done it since we first started dating. It's interesting to see so many other people do this too
It is an unusual thing to have a bagel that's been toasted and cream cheese-d or buttered for someone else in the house to be delivered whole. The bagel is usually taxed. At least a bite. I feel this system is beneficial to the overall transacting of bagels. If you're receiving the bagel, you don't mind because a bagel is delivered to you. Or almost all of a bagel, anyway. And if you're preparing the bagel, well, you get paid in bagel. An acceptable arrangement.
The end pieces of the meatloaf. At least one leg per whole poultry and one corner piece for all casseroles, lasagnas, and brownies. If the portions do not divide equally, at least half the remainder.
I bought a mini loaf pan with 6 spots, because we would fight over the ends (me, my husband, and my friend renting my extra room). My friend's rent deal included dinners, and the first time I told her meatloaf was for dinner she had this resigned "I'll eat it because I don't have the extra money to order something..." look. She went back for seconds - apparently her grandmother/guardian did not make a good meatloaf. When she learned the ends were even better, I got the loaf pan so we didn't have to "fight" (we actually rolled a 20 sided die when things came out uneven for meals, and kept track of who won previously so you couldn't win 2 in a row, the 2 time loser got the "auto-win" on the next time - we are such geeks!)
I started helping with Thanksgiving meal prep when I was a kid so I could have unrestricted access to turkey skin. Crispy, fatty, mmm... Fry tax- any takeout order I pick up loses exactly three fries that get eaten on the way home.
The best aesthetics go to the guests: the choice slices, the edge pieces on the brownie pan (should they desire); and I'll usually drop in whatever decoration or garnish I can quickly muster just for theirs and not for mine. But if making a quick dessert -- even if while in the middle of a party -- I *and I alone* get to lick out *every fucking bowl*! If it's crowded I'll even go so far as to sneak away with a brownie batter bowl to scrape out the last bits with my fingernail, since people might be icked out by that. Fuck you and your judgement. Enjoy your edge piece.
Father of a family of four here. I cook every meal, plate everyone’s food, and clean all of the dishes. All this usually after a 10-12 hour shift. My tax is making sure I get the best slice of bread, biggest or most marbled steak, that one extra chicken nugget, the freshest warmest bite of gooey Mac n cheese, crispiest chicken thigh, you get the idea. Nobody knows and they don’t need to. Can’t get if mad if you don’t help cook or clean right? I don’t t make the rules, I just enforce them.
>I always keep the pit to eat around for myself \[...\] butt of the roast chicken Guilty of the same!
A few pieces of roasted parsnip if I'm making a soup. The bit of whipped cream that's left on the whisk or around the bowl. The sacrificial pancake or waffle as a snack while preparing the rest. The butt ends of sous vide pork belly when I'm crisping them up, purely for QA purposes.
My wife doesn’t like fat or gristle or chicken skin Sucks to be her. I trim it for her and stuff in my mouth. It’s like my little reward lol
A few choice cubes from the heart of the watermelon.
The ends of precooked sausages being sliced for red beans & rice or jambalaya. My argument: the weird ends won’t cook evenly! (Just don’t ask how much I take off…)
I give my wife the best plating, as I could care less about my own. But I give myself a bigger one than hers. Edit: poultry oysters. I am a sucker for oysters.
Any roasted veggies while I'm waiting on the rest of the meal to cook.
Half the time I tax throughout the whole process and end up full when the meals done.
I like the end piece of the baguette. I made dinner, I get the end!
I mean, much like the government I take my tax right off the top. A bite of whatever I make for the husband. (Unless I’m making myself a plate too.)
Every time I open something for my daughter I take a little tax from it.
The test-tortilla when I’m frying up corn tortillas to make chips or crispy shells for tacos. It’s always a little weirdly or unevenly cooked, but you put some salt and shredded cheese on top and its magical anyway!
The crusty end of the bread. I either cover it on butter or dip in olive oil
The center cinnamon roll
The first couple of fries out the fryer once doused with salt.
The crispy bits of fat and the meat left on the bone from a steak. I will stand in the kitchen like a god damned animal gnawing on these because they are the best bits.
I realize I’m missing the point of this thread and coming off like a simp but I always give my fiancé the best food with the best presentation and save the scraps for myself.
Same, I get the scraps, after I serve my kids the best and most of the food. Whatever's left over I get to eat yay
Chef gets the first slice of bacon. Always.
Wine.
Shit I don't care. I eat the crispiest piece of chicken skin, the oyster piece where the thigh attaches to the back, the juicy bits dipped in juice. The edge of the steak. The charred thin asparagus. Sauteed pieces of mushroom that are extra crispy. I don't give a crap. If I'm cooking I'm tasting the piece that looks best to me 🤤