Cooking Techniques, tips, and basics!

[tkav1980]

i wonder if a mod could sticky this because i have a feeling that if more members knew the basics of food prep we would all enjoy dieting much more.
in this thread im going to discuss basic cuts, different cooking techniques, flavor profiles, and indespensible kitchen equipment.
anyone who has any question on technique or cooking methods feel free to post and ask. if you have a favorite food even if its fast food ill show you how to get that flavor out of something healthy(flavor profiles). i wont really go into recipe's because there is a different thread for that. but i hope to teach you all the basics you need to be able to make great healthy food.

First: different cuts
theres are many different ways you can cut your fod to make it more pleasing to the eye or make it easier to manipulate temperature or a specific function. you cant make a potatoe chip with a 1 inch thick slice of potatoe.

1. slice - a thin cross section of the food. if its a carrot it will be round, if its a starfruit it will look like a star. a slice can be thick or thin. it doesnt realy matter until you decide what application you are going to use it in.
2. julienne - thin symetrical strips, verry thin. the best way to think about this is its alittle bigger than shreded. the strips should be much longer than wide. think of a salad with thin strips of red bell pepper.
3. rough chop - its just that, theres no wrong way to do this, were not looking for symmerty on this just a simple breakdown of whatever your cutting.
4. fine chop or dice - an extremely small cut. first slice what ever your cutting, rotate 90 degrees and slice again. then basically keep running the knife through it until you have tiny pieces of what ever it is your cutting.
5. mince - its like a dice but you want to keep going until its almost a paste.
6 shiffonade - its like a julienne but the strips are as thin as you can get them and made on a bias so it has the shape of penne pasta and is pointy on both ends.

those are the basic cuts you will need to begin. my best advice is go out and get a good knife, preferrably an 8 inch Wusthoff cheffs knife. and just keep using that knife until its almost like a part of your hand. it will make everything much easier. keep that knife extremely sharp. to save trouble buy a samauri shark, yuo the one from tv. and whenever it cant effortlessly slice a ripe tomatoe without tearing it apart run it through the sharpener. thst particular sharpener will not ruin the edge. if you but something else you WILL ruin your edge. more later.........

 

[tkav1980]

cooking techniques

cooking anything is about temperature control. minimal cooking retains flavor. however this is a double edged sword. your body actually has an easier time extracting nutrients when something is cooked more so well keep a happy medium.

Roasting - for me i think this is the easiest thing to do. you set and oven temperature, put the food in and get to walk away for a bit. but its also a great way to dry out your food if your not careful. for just about anything to get the internal temperature to 160 degrees F you want to roast it at 350 for 10 min per lb. 160 in enough to kill bacteria and worms(yes theyre in food) and not have your food overly dry. for a piece of beef this is a nice medium rare. for beef, lamb, pork, veal...ok anything but poultry i roast right in the bottom of the pan. with poultry i always use a rack in the pan, it gives it a nice evn color and temp all the way around. the best part about roasting is its nice and slow, it really allows the flavor of the food and seasoning to develop properly and for all the individual flavors to really balance and layer properly. for roasting never trust your over...just because it says 350 on the dial doesnt mean it is. get yourself a meat thermometer to be sure. after roasting it is important to let whatever you cooked to rest. if you cut it before the residual heat uniformly spreads out through the food the cut will force out a god portion of the natural juices making your food dry. usually 5 min is sufficient.

 

[tkav1980]

sauteeing

sauteeing is quickly cooking something in a fat at medium high heat. the fat source you use will work to permiate flavor into the food as well as seal the surface to keep in natural flavor. any fat source form bacon to olive oil can be used to sautee. sauteeing requires constant attention and nice hot oil. always get the pan hot before adding the oil. when you pour the oil in it should dance in the pan. in the case of olive oil it should smoke alittle. when your sauteeing its important to taste as you go, this is done for 2 reasons. one is to check the seasoning and the other is to check doneness. for veggies you want a soft exterior with lots of flavor from the pan and a slightly crunchy interoir...this is call Al Dente. chicken must always be cooked through. for other meats anything at a 1 inch thickness needs to sautee for 5 min on each side. dont forget that if you notice it start to blacken at all reduce the heat. once its burnt theres nothing you can do about it.

 

[tkav1980]

Blanching

blanching is a fast boil. you can use anything from stock to wine to water to even oil(temps are lower than for sauteeing, oil must be under 210 degrees F) when you blanch anything it is done for prep for another cooking method to follow. if you always blanch green veggies the will retain color when you grill or sautee or roast. to blanch you need a liquid at a rolling boil. then all you need to do is put whatever your cooking in it for no more than 4-5 min. never take anything from blanching directly to oil, it MUST dry first. trust me youll burn yourself, alot.

 

[tkav1980]

Brasing

brasing is similar to blanching except that your going to fully cook your food in the liquid. with brasing its important that you constantly check seasoning. every time you add an ingredient you need to re season. brasing is a great way to keep whatever you cook extremely moist and tender. brasing is different than poaching or a slow simmer in that you wont fully cover the food in a liquid and that brasing will be done in a pan in the oven. picture a roasting pan with 2 london broil steaks in it, half of each submurged in a liquid. when you buy a tough piece of meat like a pot roast brasing will make it as tender as filet. one important factor is a source of acid. for fish lemon juice or white wine added to the liquid, for beef or veal, cabrenet is best or balsamic vineger. you want to make sure the source of acidity matches the flavor of whats cooking, if its dark and hearty so should be the liquid, and if its light and clean the liquid should be the same....for meat a thermometer is a must. for fish anything 1 inch thick will take roughly 15 min to cook. this is only good for meatier fish like tuna steaks, salmon, bass, shark, shellfish. anything like flounder will simply fall apart. oven temperature should always be at 350 degrees F for brasing.