Sunday, November 26, 2006
When good Krystals go bad
| Over at Krystal.com, they now have a "community" with message boards and other such good stuff. If you haven't seen it you should give it a try. Anyway, with the recent announcement that they've opened the floor for Hall of Fame nominations again, and with the new "video submission" route, there's been some activity on the boards. A few gentlemen are actively campaigning and one had actually started a "hunger strike" of sorts. Thankfully, Tiffany and the rest of the caring people at Krystal HQ averted disaster with a well-placed bribe. In several cases, though, people live in deepest darkest Burgatory, and must make major road trips to get their hands on Krystals. For the most part I do not have that problem, with about seven Krystals in a 10 mile radius and twelve Krystals in 20 mile radius. I do sympathize, however, as there are many occasions where I must venture into Burgatory, in particular to visit family, who all live in eastern and northeastern Burgatory. Of course, you'll also remember my cruise to Burgatory Island back in September. One of the questions that has popped up recently is about Krystal storage and reclamation. Now, Krystals rarely last more than a few hours at my house. Overnight storage is not necessary. Freezing a Krystal is unheard of, and cruel to the Krystal. However, these fellow Krystal Komrads are in need of assistance. The Krystal Kid can’t just ride off into the sunset without trying to help. Recently, in addition to my usual Krystal Combo for dinner, I purchased two "sacrificial" Krystals. I needed to find the best way to do a "Han Solo" on a Krystal. Here is what I found: Storage: The plastic bag your order comes in will not work. It is strictly meant for transportation, not preservation. Normally, I suggest removing the Krystal from their boxes as soon as possible, as the box "locks in" the steam, which can result is soggy Krystals. Steamy Krystals are good. Soggy Krystals are bad. In the case of longer-term storage, we need to capture as much of the inherent Krystal Steamy Goodness (KSG) as possible. In other words, leave them in the boxes. Cheese doesn’t survive the process, so it is best to go with the Original Krystal. Place the boxed burgers in Zip Lock sandwich bags, one burger per bag. Finally place the bagged burgers in the fridge. Reclamation: Krystals are "born" in a steamy world, so it is only right that they be "reborn" in the same manner: steamy. In years gone by I have experimented with steaming hot dog buns for extra doggie goodness (EDG). I learned quickly what does and does not work. The most common practice I have seen involved a large pan with a small amount of water in it, over high heat to produce steam. Then a small metal rack (like a cooling rack) is placed in the pan over the water, the buns placed on the rack, and the lid placed on the pan to trap the steam. Let me assure you, this does not work very well. It takes too long and there is simply too much heat and steam, and the buns turn to goop. plus water condenses on the lid and drips down on the buns. ICK! We need less water, steam, and heat. Krystal Steamy Goodness (KSG) comes from loving and careful attention, not from brutally trying to incinerate them. The solution is our friend the microwave. (Oh, how I love to put things in the microwave!) Leave the burger in the box, in the zip lock bag, and keep the bag sealed. The bag and box will become a "mini-steamer" for the Krystal. If you ever tried microwaving a Krystal sitting unprotected in the microwave, you know it gets dry and hard in seconds. The bag and the box will prevent this. The box will keep the bag from touching the burger. As soon as the steam-filled bag hit the cooler air outside the microwave, the steam will condense on the inside of the zip lock bag. If the bag touches your burger, then the poor Krystal will be waterlogged. Place the whole lot in the center of your microwave. A turntable in a good idea but this wont last long so it's not required. Do to the differences in microwaves I suggest you practice. I have found that 30 seconds on full power is usually good enough. Within 10-15 seconds the bag should start to puff up with steam. This is good. Let it continue to steam for a little while. Unless you are using very low quality bags, it won't burst. This will allow your Krystal to have a quick refreshing steam bath. I tried repeatedly to get a good picture of this, but none of the pictures through the microwave door turned out and I am not putting my camera in the microwave with it turned on. When the microwave is done cooking, you need to quickly get the burger out of the microwave, out of the bag, and then out of the box, as the steam that was once vital to your Krystal's rebirth if now deadly, as it could waterlog your Krystal. Just be careful as the Krystal is bound to be blazin hot! But then, some of us like it that way. No, I do not yet have a solution for reheating frozen Krystals. I cannot bring myself to willingly freeze a Krystal. I know in the past there were Frozen Krystals you could buy at the grocery store. I havent seen them in years and I don't even know if they still make them. It hurt my heart to see the poor little guys sitting in the freezers at the store, waiting for Luke Skywalker to come save them.  |
