Veeky Forums, what's the most satisfying meal to cook?

Veeky Forums, what's the most satisfying meal to cook?

For me, nothing beats a roast chicken. There's just something about cooking an entire animal, and the tastiness-to-hassle ratio of a chicken is unrivaled.

>putting something into the oven that looks like garbage, then magically pulling it back out golden and beautiful
>snacking on the crispy bits while you carve
>biting into a chicken breast that's actually tender, succulent and flavorful instead of tasting like rubberized tree bark
>eating the veggies that have been roasting in the drippings
>knowing you paid barely anything for this delight, which makes it taste all the better
>using the carcass to make an amazing broth because the chicken felt like it hadn't brought you enough joy yet

What's better?

>mfw cleaning the oven after cooking a chicken

How does your oven get dirty? are you just throwing the chicken straight onto the rack or some shit?

An egg sandwich with runny yolk - simplicity, easy, and over the top on the velvety, creamy, comfort food scale

These are more work, but that makes them all the more satisfying when you nail it:

A loaf of bread
Pizza margarita from scratch with veg that you grew in your own garden
A deboned and stuffed roast chicken

I make gumbo and red beans and rice from time to time, and the ability to freeze 4 quarts of it and eat that meal without having to cook much at all over the next several months is fucking terrific. Knowing that each serving cost about 62 cents is nice too.

I agree that a simple roast chicken is pretty high up on the simple/delicious/cheap scale.

I'm with you. Roasting a chicken is pretty tits.

>A loaf of bread
Ah fuck man that's probably so goddamn satisfying. I need to start baking bread at some point.

Also I make red beans and rice a lot, it's one of my favorite meals.

...

Anything on my smoker. I get to hang out in my back yard, listen to music, have a few beers, and tend to a fire for a few hours. At the end I am rewarded with BBQ.

It may sound weird but I love peeling eggs.

Good-ass answer.

What the fuck get out you goddamn deviant. Peeling eggs is a teaser trailer for Hell.

at the market tonight there was 85/15 ground beef for $8/lb or 85/15 burger patties for $6/lb (whole foods is closest unfortunately), I bought the patties and some baby portabella mushrooms and an onion, I had garlic and some chicken stock at home so I set off to make Salisbury steak. I diced the onion and cooked till translucent. I sliced the mushrooms and tossed them in, added diced garlic after a bit and raised the temp to brown. Added the stock to deglaze the pan, threw in the patties and tossed in a knob of butter to thicken the sauce. I had instant garlic butter mashed potatoes in the pantry so I microwaved those and steamed some broccoli, plated my patty, potatoes, and veggies then poured the rest of the pan sauce/veggies over everything. It's what you could consider a broke dish but it comes out better than what I usually get eating out. It feels like I'm getting away with something by eating so well so cheaply

>Added the stock to deglaze the pan, threw in the patties
You seared them before you did that, right?

no, I would have flour dredged them and pan fried them if I wanted to involve another pan but since I value effort efficiency I simply simmered them in the broth sauce. I added them near last though so they didn't simmer long, just enough to get rid of any pink- they still came out fork tender

You sear them first in the same pan until you get a nice fond going at the bottom and then take them out before throwing in the onions, then finish in the sauce.

that would have involved another plate to clean in order to place them somewhere after searing. I definitely agree that fond adds flavor and searing adds texture but I am generally of the mindset to reduce both steps and cleanup. the onions/mushrooms/garlic provided sufficient fond and the beef broth I used provided supplementary flavor

god you're like my mum

Putting the plate under running water for a second and wiping it off with your towel isn't that much effort either, you can eat your food off of it right away. It's even warmed, keeping your food hot.

well I'm usually drunk when I cook so maybe that clues you in on your childhood

in the moment of cooking the thought becomes "effort or no effort?" and I usually go with no effort. I know what I should be doing, but if there's no one to impress I cut corners

>Peeling eggs is a teaser trailer for Hell
It is only hell when you are using eggs that are too fresh and everything sticks to the shell. If they are nicely aged (for 7-10 days, makes the aroma better, too) the shell and that papery skin underneath will slide right off the firm egg white, it's very satisfying indeed.

Retard alert

In the same category as OP's, a fat pork roast is pretty satisfying too. Season it, garlic it up, use the drippings to cook some starchy stuff like beans or potatoes. Makes the kitchen smell like Sundays.

Bread. You put like two hours of effort into it, and only once you've cut into it do you know if it is even good. There is very little as satisfying as cutting into your loaf of bread and having it be perfect.