log 102: experience

buns

This was the first time I have ever sold anything I created myself. While I was cooking, I had an idea. Braised Beef Buns. I have always loved the classic French Braised Beef Recipe. Normally it’s Beef Bourguignon that uses beef chuck as the cut, but over the years I have preferred to use short ribs instead. After a long and delicate cooking process the cartilage turns into a melty and delicious gelatine. Anyways, I thought it would be a great idea to put it into bread. The only problem is I don’t really bake. I know how, but it never turns out the way that I wanted it to. But why not take a chance though. I called up my brother and pitched the idea. He liked it and I got straight to work. Braised the beef, worked the dough, stuffed it, and baked it. I prepared 50 buns with limited time and I was pretty happy with how they turned out. I wish I could have braised them for longer but with the time that I had, I think it was pretty good. But then came the hard part, how do we sell them at the tavern? I thought of how to reheat them for their final cook, but I had no idea how to handle the plating or the finishing touches. The first few that went out were pretty good. Then I added cheese on top to add a nice crust and color. Then I added some of the reduced red wine braising liquid on top and finished it with parsley. There it was, a dish that I was pretty proud of. Throughout the entire process I had no idea if people would like it, if it would taste good, or if I could even pull it off. But in the end it’s all about experience. I needed to just do it once to see how it goes so that I can do it again but better. It’s the exact same thing that happened to my app with the friends and family test. It didn’t do that great, but I learned so much just from trying.