What are your secrets for making the perfect Risotto?

I can get by in the kitchen very well (plenty of training in the `60s) but have not had much experience making risotto. I know one needs the right rice, chicken stock etc but whats the little secret I need to know?!!

Yum! I love risotto.

Patience. Don't try to rush it.

Make sure the rice grains (I use arborio) are completely coated with the oil or butter, and let them become translucent before adding any liquid. Which must be hot. Add the hot liquid a 1/2 cup or so at a time, stirring thoroughly every minute or a little more often, making sure it is all absorbed before adding any more. I keep the liquid just at a simmer in a little pan next to the risotto pot.

I am sure others here have a lot more tips to offer too! Let us know how it goes, Bob.

Second what Cynthia said.

I usually use white wine for my first addition, then broth (simmering!) for the later ones.

The risotto ought to be going at a low but decided boil. It should take about 20 minutes if you have the heat right.

I tend to precook ingredients, then add them at various stages.

A knob of butter at the end off the heat gives a decadent touch. If there's any cheese involved, I do that at the very end, off heat, to prevent stringing.

Don't be afraid to experimenting with other rices: arborio is great, but do try carnaroli and vialone nano.

Taste along the way - you will learn the various stages the rice goes through on its way to perfection.
Don't get married to chicken broth either.
You can use a broth made of a mix of chicken and beef. I've become fond of using a richly flavored vegetable stock.

Cynthia said it all!

To use copper is also helpful in connection with gas.

Thanks everyone for confirming all the main points. I was in the Grill last night and the chef talked me through a lobster risotto. All the points here were put into practice and it turned out very nice.

I love risotto. When I start to cook it I generally re-read Craig Camp's interesting treatise on the subject.

http://www.winecampblog.com/articles-by ... esson.html

The original article had pictures etc., this is the only "official" version from Craig that I can find online now.

Interestingly enough the worst risotto I had was in Rome, greasy stuff made with long-grain rice. I suppose the second worst was at a rather pretentious B&B/restaurant in England, where the food was generally good. But the risotto was bright green and kind of dough-y.

One mistake I tend to make is to stop adding broth when the rice is al dente. A really perfect risotto is a bit wet, you should be able to make a "wave" by shaking the pan, that moisture in the finished dish is important, otherwise it can be gummy. Also don't go too crazy with the parmigiano at the end, just a little bit for flavor, too much cheese turns into glue.

Frank

Interestingly enough the worst risotto I had was in Rome, greasy stuff made with long-grain rice. I suppose the second worst was at a rather pretentious B&B/restaurant in England, where the food was generally good. But the risotto was bright green and kind of dough-y.

I very rarely order risotto in a restaurant simply because I have had significantly more bad experiences than good experiences. It is not really a dish that lends itself well to the rush of a restaurant kitchen.

Well, perhaps I have been lucky, I've had some very good risotto -- around Italy, notably in Siena, and even locally. At la Campagne in Cherry Hill NJ I had some memorable risotto served as a side dish.

Of course it's safest at home, and your comment reminds me a lot of the scene between Primo and Secundo near the start of "Big Night." But any chef who really cares about food will find a way to make risotto that is correct, it's hardly an impossibility. You just won't find it in any restaurant named "Mama's."

Frank

Well, perhaps I have been lucky, I've had some very good risotto -- around Italy, notably in Siena, and even locally. At la Campagne in Cherry Hill NJ I had some memorable risotto served as a side dish.

Of course it's safest at home, and your comment reminds me a lot of the scene between Primo and Secundo near the start of "Big Night." But any chef who really cares about food will find a way to make risotto that is correct, it's hardly an impossibility. You just won't find it in any restaurant named "Mama's."

Frank

Now that you mention it, I did have good risotto in the restaurants in Italy. Especially memorable was a risotto made with Barolo. I'm guessing that is one they do not do so well at Olive Garden.

What everyone has said. I agree with Stuart about precooking or adding in sequence to achieve the right texture at serving. Would also suggest that you use some of the porcini soaking liquid/water that asparagus or other vegetables steamed in / juice from squeezed tomatoes [ if using fresh for tomato risotto ] to supplement the stock i.e. to vary the stock and intensify the flavor of the main ingredient. I often use vegetable stock.
For me making risotto is one of the most sensuous cooking experiences.

Make certain to take it off the heat at the right moment! The difference between excellent risotto and edible risotto is the point at which the rice still has the al dente resistence yet has cooked sufficiently to marry all the flavors, and that which has become a pot of rice pudding.

When I start to cook it I generally re-read Craig Camp's interesting treatise on the subject.

Thanks to linking to Craig's blog. Didn't he used to post on WLDG/FLDG years ago?

I like your wave analogy.

I wasn't here "years ago" - I'm a newbie. But I've seen Craig post on the other boards that I have been on, it wouldn't surprise me if he also posted here. I think he's busy making wine somewhere in the western U.S. and isn't posting quite so much. Last time I saw him was on Wine Therapy before the giant crash there.

F

PS BTW the place is under different management and presumably the risotto is no longer green and gummy but this is the place in England I was talking about. The White House in Charmouth. I provide the link partly as a recommendation, it was a lovely place to stay with a real giant Magnolia tree in the front yard -- and partly because I love the pictures on the website. The Prince himself, among others:

http://www.whitehousehotel.com/

[Jenise]

You just won't find it in any restaurant named "Mama's."

Frank

Or Mimi's (a reference that might not make sense outside of California.)

But yeah--too many restaurants, unfortunately, pre-cook the rice to a certain stage, and overcook the pre-cook plus underdo the wetness you mention, playing to the underinformed public's impression that risotto should sit up like stiff mashed potatoes.

Mario Batali went off the air way too soon.

For me the challenge is not in the cooking - I think I've been lucky that with nil experience / technique before 2 years ago I seem to get lucky very often.

The challenge for me is keeping the interest up.

I recall a fantastic champagne risotto in a restaurant a few years ago. Fantastic, that is for the 1st 2-3 mouthfuls. However from there onwards it was gradual spiral down to dull, dull, dull.

For me it's about getting a variety of taste and perhaps as important texture, without just resorting to a mish-mash of this that and everything.

An alternative to chicken broth that's worked for me is the liquid from he-hydrating dried mushrooms. With game-friendly ingredients it can make a very appetising winter dish and by chance is often a very easy match to wine.

However I retain a lack of technique and consider myself lucky rather than having any marked experience, so will give it a bash with the techniques described above. Thanks!

regards

Ian

Hi guys (glad to be back after too much time under the surgeon's knife!),

Risotto's got to be one of my favorite 'de stresser' cooks. I'd ditto all those who've commented on making sure you've got everything prepared / pre-cooked beforehand - you really don't want anything to disturb you when you're stirring that stock in.

Finely chopped onion (but not blitzed in a food processor, as it makes it too gooey) sauted until golden in butter first, then coat the arborio rice in what's left of the butter before adding the white wine and boiling off; and then use a good stock (veggie and/or fish for me, often using the water from steaming the veggies that'll go in later) is essential. Tasting regularly once you get close to the 'al dente' position (or beyond al dente for us, 'cause my other half likes his rice 'well done' ) is also essential. Butter and parmegano stirred in along with the extra ingredients, before a rest period of at least 5 minutes, finishes things off for me.

As far as "keeping the interest up", I know exactly how you feel, and always have a green salad alongside to use as a palate cleanser. Makes the world of difference.