Reddit reviews Cuisinart 766-26 Chef's Classic 12-Quart Stockpot with Cover, Brushed Stainless

CHICKEN STOCK

Well for one thing, make stock. I don't know how you get your chicken but if they have bones on them, save them (freeze them). Cooked or not. Or you can cut to the chase and go buy two whole chickens. You may need a stock pot. There's a good Cuisinart one for about $40, which is about $30 cheaper than when I bought mine about a year ago. So snatch it in case the price goes way back up.

Fill with the chicken (remove the gizzards and such if you bought them whole and raw) and about a gallon of water. Simmer for 3 hours. take a few carrots, a few stalks of celery, and an onion or two. Rough chop them. Into the pot. Continue to cook for another 3 hours. This isn't rocket science. It's dissolving food in water.

If you have some whole peppercorns, parsley, and garlic cloves, either toss them in and strain them later or make into a bouquet garni (essentially tie them up in a bit of cheesecloth so they don't get loose) and toss them in. After another 30 or 60 minutes (stock doesn't require precision) you're finished. And if you don't have any of these items, don't sweat it. It's still gonna taste good.

Ideally, strain through a mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth. I bough a pack of the kinds of plastic containers you get when you order soup from Chinese Takeout from Amazon and you can partition out the stock for easier use.

Put them in the fridge and let them cool down. The fat will rise and form a protective barrier. As long as the fat is there, the stock will keep longer in the fridge. Just skim the fat before you use the stock. Fat in your stock when you use it is generally a bad idea. Don't feel bad about freezing whatever you can't use in the first two weeks.

Now you have liquid gold. You're 15 minutes away from chicken soup. (Just chop up everything, dump in the stock and cook until you wanna eat it.) You now can have flavorful rice. Or better yet, step up your starch game and make risotto. You can add it to other dishes like ground turkey with taco seasoning to make turkey taste about 1000x better. Hell, you can straight up drink it.

CHICKEN FAJITAS

As a side note, olive oil does wonders for chicken. Grab the chicken tenderloins, scrape out the ligament and cook in a little olive oil. Toss in some bell pepper and onion (and fajita seasoning if you have it, else salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste) and you've got yourself fajitas. You can decide whether you want a taco shell or not.

CHICKEN & BROCCOLI (or Beef & Broccoli)

Here's a recipe for beef & broccoli (but works for chicken & broccoli too). Considering it's essentially protein, broccoli, and rice with the barest of flavorings, I consider this clean eating.

The only thing you need to know is that the Chinese have a technique to make protein have a more velvet mouthfeel. It's called "velveting". That's what the marinade is about.

Marinade: (For the protein)

• 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
  
• 1 teaspoon mirin
  
• 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil (I leave this out but if you like sesame oil, add it)
  
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  
• dash of pepper
  
  Mix together and rub into the protein with your hands. It's easiest that way. Wait at least 15 minutes. After you do this a few times you'll realize the proportions here don't really matter all that much. I just eyeball it now and make it a little wetter than you'll find this to be. Either way there's not much difference in the final product. In other words, as long as you're reasonably close to this part of the recipe, it'll turn out fine.
  
  Sauce:
  
  
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
  
• 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil (I also leave this out)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  
• 4 tablespoons water
  
  How to Cook Everything:
  
  

1. Do you have a rice cooker? If yes, make rice. If no, make rice. It's just more finicky without it. But seriously, consider a rice cooker. I like jasmine rice. They make a brown jasmine rice too. If you have a smart rice cooker, try that. Otherwise, stick with the white stuff. (Unless you like/prefer brown rice, then go crazy.)
   
2. After the meat has been in the marinade for at least 15 minutes, cook in a little vegetable oil, preferably in a wok. You may want to work in 2 batches so you can get better browning on the meat. After the meat is cooked, remove to a plate.
   
3. Chop up some broccoli and microwave it for 4-5 minutes until tender. Too much and it'll get limp and dumb. Too little and it'll be too crunchy. I usually microwave my broccoli with a little water in the container and with a lid. That way it steams up nice. If you don't have a microwave, steam on the stove top.
   
4. If you haven't burned anything to the bottom of the wok/pan when cooking your protein, go ahead and add a little more oil, a few minced cloves of garlic, some grated or finely chopped ginger (I recommend using one of these), and red pepper flakes (or break open some dried bird eye chilis if you have them). Adjust to your heat preference. I like mine with a fair amount of heat in it. (If you did burn something, wash the wok/pan out first and start clean.) Add all three to the oil and cook for 30ish seconds until fragrant. Add the protein back to the pan. Add the cooked broccoli. Add the sauce. Bring the sauce to a boil. Serve over rice. Note: There won't be a lot of sauce. It'll coat everything but there won't be a lot of extra. That's because the dish isn't meant to be saucy.
   
   Anyway, try that. It's phenomenal. Personally, I buy sirloin and slice it to make beef and broccoli. But chicken works really well too.
   
   I can keep going but that's at least 3 things you can do with chicken.
   
   Edit: Thanks for the GOLD!

I think most stainless steel stock pots in the size you are looking for would do the trick just fine. You're going to have to look for the disc bottom types if you want to avoid absurd prices. This is the 'Best Buy' stock pot recommended by the fine folks at Cooks Illustrated/America's Test Kitchen. Cuisinart also made/makes a 16 qt. version, but it seems difficult to find.

Also check any restaurant supply stores you might have in your area. They will have large, thick aluminum pots that would work well, though may be pricey.

Does it need to be 12qts? I've had good luck with this brand. You might also consider this Cuisinart.

12 quarts. Nothing too expensive. Think $50, not $100. You want riveted handles, no exceptions.

Cuisinart is a brand name that has some fairly generic, totally fine options in the $40–70 range.

Cheap

Less cheap

Amazon also sells Winco, which is a brand you're likely to see at a kitchen supply store. Something like this is great.

On the extreme cheap end, Family Dollar actually carries a solidly-made 12qt stockpot for $10, but I gotta say it's made of such thin aluminum that it takes fucking forever to bring to a boil because the heat just seems to dissipate right off of it. I recommend Cuisinart or Winco, and don't suggest you look at anything by All-Clad. There is absolutely no reason to spend All-Clad money on a stock pot.

The pot looks similar to this one, probably a bit smaller/shorter. I will fill it up with oil only 2 inches from the bottom. I heat it up and after I add the potatoes it will begin to bubble and eventually get 2 inches from the top. I will remove it from the heat to avoid bubbling over.

This is a basic list with mid-grade item recommendations as links. You can definitely shop around and find better deals, but this will give you a place to start your shopping excursion from. Considering hitting up a local restaurant supply store for really good deals.

• Basic Tools:
  
• Cutting board (get at least 2, more are better, get the larger sized ones if you have the counter space)
  
• Chef's Knife
  
• Paring Knife
  
• Mixing Bowls (alternatively)
  
• Wooden Spoon
  
• Silicone Spatula
  
• Whisk
  
• Hand Towels (can be used as pot holders if you're careful and layer them up thickly. Watch out for the gas flame if you have a gas cook top.)
  
• Pepper Grinder
  
• Ramekins (for mise en place -- aka stuff you're working with as you cook like salt, spices, other small ingredients)
  
• Pots & Pans:
  
• Stock Pot
  
• Sauce Pan
  
• Skillet
  
• Cast Iron Skillet (optional ; make sure you learn how to care for cast iron - no soap ever, etc.)
  
• Non Stick Skillet (optional)
  
• Bakeware:
  
• Half sheet pans / Cookie Sheets (get 2 or more)
  
• Cooling Racks (these should fit in the cookie sheets)
  
• Cake Pans
  
• Loaf Pan
  
• Small Pyrex casserole
  
• Large Pyrex casserole
  

A lot of stainless steel cookware is not magnetic, and therefore not compatible with an induction range.

Edit: I'm not sure why I'm being downvoted here. Quality stainless steel (18/10, 18/8) is NOT magnetic. Some manufacturers have started modifying their stainless steel to be magnetic but it's not at all uncommon for it to not be. This Cuisinart Stockpot for example, which is the very first Amazon result when you search for "stainless stockpot" (go to the question and answer section above the reviews for info on induction compatibility).