Kitchen Tips & Secrets

Hackmaster said:
Good stuff.
Need to absorb all this.
We love watching cooking shows. Cooks Country is where most of our food ideas come from.
Most of my belly fat too, the rest comes from beer. :rolf:
Click to expand...
Cooks Country has some great recipes, tried and true.
I used to watch a show called America's Test Kitchen, where they would take one dish and make it a dozen different ways to find the best method. Then they would break it down as to why certain methods & ingredients worked better than others. I like that they went into the science of it rather than just giving the procedure. Alton Brown used to do that a bit too, he worked with a lady named Shirley Corriher who wrote the book Cookwise and had some great ideas.
 
My addition to this thread would be to purchase the best tools you can afford. Cutlery. Pots/pans. Etc. It doesn’t make you a better cook, but from experience.... it does make the job easier.
 
Tips from ChowHound - compiled from the original thread by HankHanover
What is one tip you learned about cooking that was simple but made a huge difference: Part 2 - Home Cooking


Kosher salt, in a dish, by the stove.
TASTE and season as you go.
Never use a dull knife.
Always preheat an oven.
Al dente pasta is the only way to go.
Use room temp eggs.
A separate freezer is a home cooks best friend.
Put a thin (3/8” to 1/2") steak in the freezer for 15 minutes or so before cooking will allow you to get a
nice sear on the outside without overcooking the middle. Works for tuna, too
A slower, longer rise results in a better tasting bread.
Allow meat to rest before carving
Fresh juice is better than bottled
Don't crowd food in a pan when browning
brewing a clove or two of garlic into the boiling pasta water
Zest has more flavor than juice
add seltzer water to the pancake mix for fluffiness
Separate the eggs and beat the whites for fluffier pancakes
flick water at the oiled griddle and it dances, it's the right temperature
WAIT till the pan gets hot
Brown meat for extra flavor then deglaze pan to capture the flavor of the fond in your sauce
Fresh herbs are far better than dried.
Use herbs toward end of cooking process (chefs say, "the last thing you add is the first thing you taste")
When making a sauce add cold liquid to hot ingredients for the sauce to be lump free
Pull your pasta when it's pre-al dente and finish cooking your pasta in the sauce
Baking bacon is better than frying
 
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more from Hank's thread:

Use good knives
Save veggie scraps and peelings in ziplock bag for stocks
add a teaspoon or two of water to the pan after the egg starts to cook and then put a lid on the pan -
steam from the water cooks the top of the egg without overcooking
Bring eggs and meat to room temperature before cooking
Read the entire recipe before cooking
Mise en place in order of use
Dry the meat before searing
Hot pan, cold oil- food won’t stick
Season as you go and taste as you season
When scrambling eggs remove the pan from the heat a few seconds before they are done.
Keep a garbage bowl nearby
Clean as you go
Taste it before serving
Warm plates before serving
Use a meat thermometer
Use a digital scale
Fresh bay leaves are better than dry bay leaves
Use kitchen timers
Use the water from cooking the potatoes to make the gravy
Cook mashed potatoes in half n half or milk instead of water
Buy an oven thermometer
A bit of sugar tames the acidity in tomato rich dishes
Some grated carrot tames acidity too, an old Italian trick
Freshly ground pepper is lots better than pre-ground
Keep your chicken bones for stock
Add a dash of salt to any baked good
Microwave clams and oysters for 10 seconds to open easily
When cooking ground beef, once the beef is starting to get brown, use a pastry blender to break it up into small pieces.
Brine pork and chicken for a juicier product
Make a big batch of roux and store it in a sealed jar in the fridge to speed up gravy making
you can bake the steak to get it to the doneness you like without charring the outside, after first searing it in a pan.
"Better than Bouillon" beef and chicken bases are far better than bouillon cubes and enhance broths
for gravies and pan sauces.
Braise in an enamel coated cast iron dutch oven.
Home made stocks are far superior to anything else.
Use a whisk when making gravy and sauces to prevent lumps
Season in layers 1/3 early 1/3 in the middle and 1/3 last
Microwave sliced mushrooms until they give up their water then sauté for better browning
Store fresh lemons in a jar in the fridge.
Putting a chicken or turkey, uncovered, in the fridge for a few hours enables a crisp skin
 
One trick that's worked very well for me in tiny apartment kitchens - I open the drawer nearest the stove and lay a cutting board across it, then hang a grocery bag off the end of the drawer. This gives me both extra counter space and a receptacle for garbage, handy to have right by your elbow while cooking.
 
more from the Chowhound thread:

Use paper towels to sop up grease from ground beef.

If you wrap foil all the around a drip rack and close up so that is entirely enclosed, then punch holes in the top. Put the whole thing in a Jelly roll pan and form a free form meatloaf on the foil. The fat drains away and after everything is cool, you can unwrap the rack and throw the foil and the fat away.

Put sliced mushrooms in a bowl with plastic wrap on top. Nuke in microwave for 4 minutes on high. Most of the moisture will have been cooked away. You can then saute the mushrooms and they will brown up quickly.

You can make a better cream of mushroom soup than Campbell's by throwing those sauteed mushrooms from above in a bechamel or white sauce.

If you are knife challenged, you can slice mushrooms with an egg slicer.

Brushing a meatloaf with a ketchup and worchestershire mixture makes a the meatloaf a beautiful color instead of that gray color.

If I clarify a pound of butter (makes about 3/4 of a pound), the resulting butter has a much higher smoke point that is much harder to burn. You can even saute with it.

An easy shortcut when caramelizing onions is to sprinkle in a little brown sugar

Brining pork and chicken before cooking makes a huge difference.

When cooking scrambled eggs, turning the flame off a minute before the eggs are done keeps the eggs from drying up.

Only add a tablespoon of milk per egg to scrambled eggs. It makes a big difference.

Fresh ground pepper makes a huge difference. A good and unfortunately expensive pepper mill does too.

Home made stock especially chicken is so much better and really makes a difference in the final results.

A coffee filter tied with string or a cable tie makes a great bouquet garni.

Old tee shirts work better than cheesecloth to filter stocks.
 
When blending hot liquids for smooth texture, first let cool for 5 minutes or so, then transfer to a blender, filling only halfway. Put the lid on, leaving one corner open; Cover the lid with a kitchen towel to catch splatters and pulse until smooth.

If you want truly velvety texture from a blended soup, use cheesecloth in a striner or collander. If you do it often or in large quantities, buy a chinoise.

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- When putting raw meat into water to cook, if you want the flavor to stay in the meat, the water should first be hot. If, as in making stock, you want the flavor to be in the liquid, put the meat into cold water.
- If you want salt and pepper to be absorbed into meat, apply them when the meat is hot.
- If using apples in a marinade, include the peel and core because that is where most of the pectin is, and the pectin will make the marinade cling to the flesh better.
 
A thick stone countertop will thaw food faster than on a plate. It is a greater heat sink.

First heat the pan, then add the oil.

Never walk away while cooking garlic or making roux. They burn and turn bitter in a few seconds.

Spend real money on your knives and learn how to keep them sharp.

Go to Youtube and learn how to cut up a whole chicken. Your budget will expand greatly.

Pick a memorable day and always renew your herbs and spices on that day. If they smell like tea, they are past dead.
 
If using recipes prior to about 1965, milk means whole milk, cream means whipping cream, and butter is unsalted. Cooking times for meats are based on them starting at room temperture.

When buying shellfish, have the monger tap on each one to ensure they are alive. Once had over 6 people patiently waiting behind as he tested 6 lbs.of mussels, and discarded about one in ten. Everybody was expecting the same level of service.

Most fish has been frozen at some time in its travels. Everything else has been iced down on the way back to the dock. Learn how to identify fish worth the price by the eyes and gills.

The wealth of Angus branded meat and the resulting increase in price is due to superior marketing rather than superior flavor.

Learn how to identify prime meat sold as choice. Learn to read the marbling of fat.

Fat equals flavor. Which is why veal schnitzel is cooked in butter. Try a taste test of 97% beef hamburger versus the average 80% beef, 20% fat. Then stick with the one you prefer.
 
The first time, follow the recipe exactly. The next time you can revise it to your personal taste.

Life is to short for bad wine.

Dried herbs affect a dish differently from fresh herbs. Fresh ground pepper is vastly different from ground pepper in a can.

Kosher salt, sea salt, pickling salt, and iodised salt are all different. Learn the strengths of each. And use appropriately.

Making your own salad dressing wows the masses. Learn a couple that you enjoy and stick with them.

Iceberg lettuce is not from the Dark Side. Try cooking with it as well as in salads.
 
There are many ways to boil rice, boil eggs, make toast, fry an egg. My way isn't necessarily the best. Try new stuff.

With a new stove or cooktop, it is a good idea to get a pot of water and see how long it takes to come to a boil, and what setting produces a good simmer. In other words, take it for a trial run to find out how it performs tasks.

Keep the manuals for the large kitchen appliances you buy, as well as for the small electrics.
 
Buy good knives. If you can afford it, buy very good knives. If you can afford it later, trade up. If you can't afford it, buy the best you can afford, and just keep cooking.

Let pancake batter rest before pouring it onto the hot griddle.

You can use a teaspoon to seed cucumber and hot pepper halves.

Smash garlic cloves lightly, and easily pull off the papery skins.

Wash mushrooms, and use a dry paper towel to wipe off the dirt.
 
Layer celery stems in a long plastic oblong container (such as a salad greens container from Costco or similar) with a folded paper towel on the bottom and another folded paper towel on top. Add greens on the top with another layer of paper towel at top. Lid and refrigerate.

If you have extra celery that's already been cut up, wrap it in foil and refrigerate. It'll stay usable for a week or more that way.

Heat your skillet at medium heat, or possibly at med high, depending on your stove. Never heat a skillet at high heat unless you are planning a demon meat sear.

It is bad form to leave a messy kitchen for the cleanup crew. If the cook is the cleanup crew, it is even worse. Clean and put away, as you move along the cooking steps.
 
Dry sherry. I only discovered this about ten years ago- until then, all I knew of sherry was the syrupy stuff old ladies drink in the afternoon. Dry sherry is a competely different animal. Not sugary, but it is fortified so it doesn't spoil - you can keep a bottle next to the stove for months, and just use some whenever you feel like it.

It's very affordable. A really good wine can set you back hundreds. A bottle of the best dry sherry can be had for well under $30. I'm fond of La Gitana.

Adding a splash or two of sherry to many dishes instantly takes them to “gourmet”. I use it in soups, stews, sauces, quiches etc. Imparts a rich wine flavor.

Of course you can use sweet sherry for cooking too if you want; it can be treated the same way as you'd use Marsala - adds a rather mellow, almost nutty flavor.
 
One really important kitchen tip I learned is having a well thought out Master List if I'm doing an elaborate gathering or a complex dinner. I work best from a list that includes the time each dish goes into the oven, when the wines are decanted, candles are lit, etc. I find that the more details I include on my list, the more efficiently my kitchen runs and the less stressful/more enjoyable my cooking experience is.

-And of course for a complex meal mise en place is essential.

-Since I generally have several dishes being prepped or cooking in different places around the kitchen I have the recipe for each dish right next to it (or taped onto an overhead cabinet, or the wall).

-Having one side of the sink filled with soapy water makes cleanup easy and keeps counters free of dirty bowls, utensils, etc.

- For mise en place I use anything disposable I can; paper plates, waxed paper, cupcake liners for spices.

-I have several of anything I use frequently, like numerous sets of measuring spoons so that when one Tablespoon spoon is coated with oil I can grab another, instead of having to stop and wash during prep or cooking. Also tongs, rubber spatulas, slotted spoons, wooden spoons, whisks, flexible plastic chopping mats, measuring cups - liquid & dry, and even meat thermometers (having had a digital one die on me during cooking was a near disaster). My rule is; If I use something in the kitchen frequently, have more than one on hand.
 
-Invest in a heavy 6qt or larger stockpot or French oven that is either enameled iron, hard anodized, or tri-ply clad all the way up the sides. If you’re making something deep like soup or a stew, you want the sides of the pot to conduct heat throughout the whole pot. If the only heat is coming from the pot’s bottom, the stuff on the bottom of the pot can scorch while the stuff on top doesn’t cook thoroughly, unless you stand over it stirring frequently. A good quality stockpot/French oven in my opinion is worth the investment if you put alot of effort into your cooking.

-I love having perfect rice easily which is why I use a rice cooker (it can also be used for other cooking applications if needed). I also keep frozen packages of good microwavable white or brown rice, in case we run out during dinner... 3minutes - excellent rice!

-As in every restaurant kitchen, ALWAYS have a kitchen specific fire extinguisher. Be smart, know where it is, and know how to use it.
 
-Any vegetable that can be roasted tastes infinitely better that way than boiled or steamed. And grilled is even better. So if we're firing up the BBQ I throw on as many veggies as there is room for, saving any extra for later.
 
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