Cooking tips I've learned being married to a chef

[Nateo]

My better half used to work as a sous chef at a fancy Italian restaurant. I've picked up a lot of tips from cooking with her, and thought I'd share them with the world.

1) Learn how to use a knife. I've been cutting things my whole life without actually knowing how to properly use a knife. Start here:
[ame]http://youtu.be/D9Qzz8R_J1c[/ame]
and
[ame]http://youtu.be/YT2EHRqcO2U[/ame]

2) Don't fear spices. The first time I saw her make marinara sauce, I was shocked at how much basil and oregano she used. Use fresh spices, and use a lot of them. Most mediocre cooking can be improved with more spices and more salt. If your spices are more than a year old, toss them out and get new ones.

3) Don't fear the burn. Get a cast-iron skillet and turn the heat up. Most stuff you cook in a pan would benefit from a little bit of charring. It's called "wok hei" in Chinese cooking. It's a combination of caramelization and Maillard reactions. I used to "sweat" everything, which is where your cooked veggies get limp and flaccid over medium heat. Throw the veggies into high heat and they'll get cooked but stay crispy.

4) Brown/char almost everything, especially slow-cooked meats. If you're throwing anything in the crock pot, throw it in that hot skillet for a few minutes first to get a good char on it. The skillet cooking breaks down the outer layer of the meat to allow the hot liquid to penetrate deeper, quicker, which means it will cook more thoroughly and faster. Also, if you're going to use marinades, char the meat first, then apply the marinade, and it will soak in deeper into the meat.

5) Butter is awesome. You know those awesome steaks you get at fancy steakhouses? Drenched in butter. A little bit goes a long way, so try mixing a bit in with whatever oil you're using in your skillet.

Well those are the main ones that come to mind. I'll post more if I think of anything else.

 

[cvstrat]

+1 to butter on the steaks. It's the only way to go.

 

[HokieBrewer]

Marinading after cooking works great as mentioned above. I grill vegetables and after they're finished immediately toss them in an herb vinaigrette. They absorb a ton of flavor that way.

 

[dataz722]

Marinading after cooking works great as mentioned above. I grill vegetables and after they're finished immediately toss them in an herb vinaigrette. They absorb a ton of flavor that way.

Recently many people are starting to believe that marinading after cooking is actually better.

 

[HokieBrewer]

Recently many people are starting to believe that marinading after cooking is actually better.

I would be one of the aforementioned people.

 

[TheDudeLebowski]

What!!! Brining didn't make the top 3!!!!

 

[Nateo]

What!!! Brining didn't make the top 3!!!!

She's in charge of all the roasts. I don't think I've ever personally brined anything, but I know she usually does.

 

[jetmac]

My better half used to work as a sous chef at a fancy Italian restaurant. I've picked up a lot of tips from cooking with her, and thought I'd share them with the world.

1) Learn how to use a knife. I've been cutting things my whole life without actually knowing how to properly use a knife. Start here:
http://youtu.be/D9Qzz8R_J1c
and
http://youtu.be/YT2EHRqcO2U

2) Don't fear spices. The first time I saw her make marinara sauce, I was shocked at how much basil and oregano she used. Use fresh spices, and use a lot of them. Most mediocre cooking can be improved with more spices and more salt. If your spices are more than a year old, toss them out and get new ones.

3) Don't fear the burn. Get a cast-iron skillet and turn the heat up. Most stuff you cook in a pan would benefit from a little bit of charring. It's called "wok hei" in Chinese cooking. It's a combination of caramelization and Maillard reactions. I used to "sweat" everything, which is where your cooked veggies get limp and flaccid over medium heat. Throw the veggies into high heat and they'll get cooked but stay crispy. .

You don't need a cast iron pan to caramelize sugars.

Do you know at what temperature sugars caramelize?

 

[Nateo]

You don't need a cast iron pan to caramelize sugars.

Do you know at what temperature sugars caramelize?

You're right, I know you don't NEED a cast iron skillet, but thick and heavy pans hold heat better. It's much harder to get a good stir-fry, for instance, in a flimsy pan than a hot cast iron skillet.

 

[jetmac]

You're right, I know you don't NEED a cast iron skillet, but thick and heavy pans hold heat better. It's much harder to get a good stir-fry, for instance, in a flimsy pan than a hot cast iron skillet.

So, do you know at what temperature sugars caramelize?

 

[hamiltont]

Excellent tips. Thanks for sharing!! Cheers!!!

 

[TheDudeLebowski]

The fun thing about cooking is the learning. Subject was "what I've learned" but I do agree a thermometer is your friend. I'm pretty sure there's been a couple of books on how to cook and a lot of learning

PS - A little distracted from your avatar Jet.

 

[motobrewer]

Most mediocre cooking can be improved with more spices and more salt.

I think this is really key. I notice this a lot on cooking stations, it's shocking how much salt they put in, especially hosts that are "real life" chefs. Anne Burrell is a good example.

however, i just don't like giving my family that much sodium.

 

[hamiltont]

Speaking of SALT. Here's a good link on preparing a steak with salt.Perfect Steaks Cheers!!!

 

[Nateo]

Speaking of SALT. Here's a good link on preparing a steak with salt.Perfect Steaks Cheers!!!

Awesome! thanks for sharing.

 

[jetmac]

Any pan will be able to do it but cast iron works much better, especially for larger cuts of meat.

Why would a cast iron pan work better at caramelizing sugars?

 

[jetmac]

Caramelization is closely related to and overlaps with Maillard browning.

I tend to dissagree. Maillard browning happens at a much lower temperature and most brewers confuse this with caramelization. You can get caramelization at the surface of your pot where the liquid touches it if the temperature is hot enough and the sugars remain on the surface long enough.

 

[dataz722]

If you know at what temp sugars caramelize you know how hot your pan is.

Not necessarily. It would just mean that your pan is at least that hot.

Why would a cast iron pan work better at caramelizing sugars?

Because it holds the heat much better and will stay at a much higher temperature when cold meat or ingredients are added.

If you had a heavy cask iron pan, a POS thin aluminum pan from walmart, and an IR thermo you could easily prove it. Get both pans to the same temp and add a steak to both. After 2 minutes see which one is browned better.

 

[jetmac]

Not necessarily. It would just mean that your pan is at least that hot.

That's what I meant

Because it holds the heat much better and will stay at a much higher temperature when cold meat or ingredients are added.

If you had a heavy cask iron pan, a POS thin aluminum pan from walmart, and an IR thermo you could easily prove it. Get both pans to the same temp and add a steak to both. After 2 minutes see which one is browned better.

What if you had a nice triple layered bottom aluminum pan from Macy's? Compared to a POS light cast iron pan from K-Mart, wouldn't they be pretty equal?

 

[dataz722]

What if you had a nice triple layered bottom aluminum pan from Macy's? Compared to a POS light cast iron pan from K-Mart, wouldn't they be pretty equal?

It would be better but still not quite as good as cast.

 

[Nateo]

You can find good cast iron pans at yard sales and thrift stores for basically nothing.

They require a small amount of easy maintenance, so everyone hates them.

 

[dataz722]

And normally the older the better.

 

[motobrewer]

aluminum has about 3x the thermal conductivity of iron.

 

[strat_thru_marshall]

You could add "great ingredients = great food". When using whole, fresh, high-quality ingredients, it's easy to make something that is amazing...but it's just about impossible to turn cheap, low-quality ingredients into something really special.

 

[jetmac]

aluminum has about 3x the thermal conductivity of iron.

So does this mean, using an aluminum pan vs. cast iron, I can expect my cold meat to heat faster because the aluminum pan is conducting the transfer of heat from the flame to the meat faster?

 

[RDWHAHB]

Yes, but cast iron has more heat capacity, so a hot cast iron pan has a lot more thermal energy to transfer.

 

[motobrewer]

So does this mean, using an aluminum pan vs. cast iron, I can expect my cold meat to heat faster because the aluminum pan is conducting the transfer of heat from the flame to the meat faster?

if it's a thin piece of meat, yes. if it's a larger piece of meat, since iron has much more thermal capacity, it will be able to heat it quicker and much more even....er

 

[jetmac]

Yes, but cast iron has more heat capacity, so a hot cast iron pan has a lot more thermal energy to transfer.

Sure, but if the aluminum pan is transferring the heat from the flame(which is way hotter than what I need) thru the pan 3x faster than the cast iron....would it take fewer IBU's to heat my meat? And wouldn't I have more control of the cook, and wouldn't the meat cook in a shorter time period?

 

[o4_srt]

Sure, but if the aluminum pan is transferring the heat from the flame(which is way hotter than what I need) thru the pan 3x faster than the cast iron....would it take fewer IBU's to heat my meat? And wouldn't I have more control of the cook, and wouldn't the meat cook in a shorter time period?

Heating with alpha acids? Is that even possible???

I'm guessing you meant btu's

 

[motobrewer]

Sure, but if the aluminum pan is transferring the heat from the flame(which is way hotter than what I need) thru the pan 3x faster than the cast iron....would it take fewer IBU's to heat my meat? And wouldn't I have more control of the cook, and wouldn't the meat cook in a shorter time period?

no, you'd have less control. greater thermal mass means you can keep an constant temp much much easier.

it's like trying to dial in 155F on 1 cup of water instead of 5 gallons of water. with 1 cup, you'll be constantly over/under/over/under.

as soon as you throw a 1" thick ribeye into your al pan, all the heat is going to be lost, and it has to regain it again. sure, it's quicker than iron, but it's nowhere near instant.

throw a 1" thick ribeye into a cast iron pan and not much heat is lost, and it's still gaining heat from the flame.

i don't think anyone's arguing you can't cook a great steak in an AL pan, but I believe cast iron is better for browning big pieces of meat.