Best cooking tips

[CardinalFang]

1) if you buy fresh herbs, save the leftovers. Chop up & dry out (spread on a plate for a few days, move them around a few times to even them out). Can be stored in cleaned out jam jars or similar. Or, better still grow your own & do the same.
2) prep everything at the start & store until needed. (I use plastic food/freezer tubs). don't chop ingredients on the fly as you go through a recipe, unless it's something that will quickly oxidise (avocado, basil etc).
3) olive oil has too low a burn/smoke point to sear meat properly. Use rapeseed oil or vegetable oil - they also have less flavour impact on the meat.
4) Meat for roasting, searing, frying, browning should be at room temperature before cooking. As well as the meat being 15degrees closer to browning temperature before it goes in/on, the fibres will be more relaxed.
1 is my own experience. 2, 3, 4 came from a cookery school a few years ago...

[C0ffin D0dger]

omniflow said:

When preparing green beans, only the stalk end needs to be trimmed. If you keep them in the plastic bag, spread the beans out and tap it a couple of times, you can trim the entire packet with one cut through the bag and the beans at the same time.

For reasons only known to me the tips offend me so I cut them off as well. I think it looks neater and they aren't scratchy when you eat them. My missus doesn't trim the tips and this really annoys me but I won't tell her to do it differently as I know it's not worth the hassle

[shakotan]

There's nothing wrong with cooked mussels that haven't opened.

It's the ones that are open before cooking that you should discard.

[anonymous-user]

To stop a pan boiling over, place a wooden spoon across the top

[NordicCrankShaft]

sgrimshaw said:

If you put it in ice cube trays to freeze, you could save on the gelatine.

Old habit really, used to using the gelatine from my chef days when I used it fresh.

[Mr Gearchange]

shakotan said:

There's nothing wrong with cooked mussels that haven't opened.

It's the ones that are open before cooking that you should discard.

Agreed - they are usually the plumpest and most tasty,

[Fermit The Krog and Sarah Sexy]

Not a cooking tip as such, but if you're re-heating pizza the next day in a microwave place a cup/glass/small bowl of water under the plate and it will re-heat perfectly without the crust becoming dry and chewy.

[Gandahar]

If you are making a roux sauce heat the milk up up in the microwave whilst the butter and flour is being done together in the pan. Then when you adding it, slowly, it is not cooling your mixture down.

Cook out the sauce for at least 20 mins to get rid of flour taste, do not skimp.

[98elise]

NormalWisdom said:

Gary marinading rump in a mix of balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, dijon mustard, salt&pepper. Transforms it (or any meat for that matter).

I've got to agree. I recently had a steak marinaded in basamic vinegar and it was one of the nices steaks I've had

[21TonyK]

98elise said:

NormalWisdom said:

Gary marinading rump in a mix of balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, dijon mustard, salt&pepper. Transforms it (or any meat for that matter).

I've got to agree. I recently had a steak marinaded in basamic vinegar and it was one of the nices steaks I've had

Not something I've tried before. Found a spec of equal quantities of balsamic, soy and Worcester sauce plus Dijon, garlic etc

Sound like the same thing?

BBQ tester tonight maybe.

[jas xjr]

when we bbq we often use natural yogurt as a marinade. always overnight . usually with onions , garlic as a minimum.

not sure if it this works with steak , i do not eat it , but works very well with lamb and chicken

[21TonyK]

jas xjr said:

when we bbq we often use natural yogurt as a marinade. always overnight . usually with onions , garlic as a minimum.

not sure if it this works with steak , i do not eat it , but works very well with lamb and chicken

More and more I find I am marinating meats, especially chicken, always seem to have a pot on the go in the fridge. Record stands ant 5 days in yoghurt, lemon, mint and a commercial tandoori blend. Fluorescent pink but it did taste good!

[battered]

21TonyK said:

Not something I've tried before. Found a spec of equal quantities of balsamic, soy and Worcester sauce plus Dijon, garlic etc

Sound like the same thing?

BBQ tester tonight maybe.

I don't reckon you will go wrong with that as a starter for 10. All good stuff. The key to it is starting with a recipe, seeing how you go with that, and then when you know what that's like you can play tunes with more/less garlic, a milder/hotter mustard, and so on.

[21TonyK]

battered said:

21TonyK said:

Not something I've tried before. Found a spec of equal quantities of balsamic, soy and Worcester sauce plus Dijon, garlic etc

Sound like the same thing?

BBQ tester tonight maybe.

I don't reckon you will go wrong with that as a starter for 10. All good stuff. The key to it is starting with a recipe, seeing how you go with that, and then when you know what that's like you can play tunes with more/less garlic, a milder/hotter mustard, and so on.

Well, just made up the marinate and picked up a couple of aged rumps to try it. Will report back.

[Whoozit]

CardinalFang said:

4) Meat for roasting, searing, frying, browning should be at room temperature before cooking. As well as the meat being 15degrees closer to browning temperature before it goes in/on, the fibres will be more relaxed.

Oh yes. Also with fish, especially when baked as it cooks so damn quickly and timing needs to be spot on.

And with eggs for frying. A quick 10-15 sec zap of the whole egg (before cracking) in the microwave will warm them up sufficiently to allow you to use lower temp oil, and "poach" rather than quick fry. Also works BTW for Caesar dressing, 1 egg for 20-25 seconds gets that juuust setting texture.

Edited by Whoozit on Monday 8th August 21:58

[21TonyK]

21TonyK said:

battered said:

21TonyK said:

Not something I've tried before. Found a spec of equal quantities of balsamic, soy and Worcester sauce plus Dijon, garlic etc

Sound like the same thing?

BBQ tester tonight maybe.

I don't reckon you will go wrong with that as a starter for 10. All good stuff. The key to it is starting with a recipe, seeing how you go with that, and then when you know what that's like you can play tunes with more/less garlic, a milder/hotter mustard, and so on.

Well, just made up the marinate and picked up a couple of aged rumps to try it. Will report back.

Jury's definitely out on this one. Marinated for 2 hours, cleaned up and oiled, then over hot coals.

Tasted like a "fake" BBQ. Dry and clawing on the palette.

Maybe if it was a gelatinous cut slow cooked, like a pork shoulder or ox cheek. But not a lean muscle meat.

Always ready to try new ideas but this one is not for me.

[battered]

Ah well, win some lose some. Got to speculate to accumulate. Sounds like a sausages and or pork ribs might work kind of dish.

[pointedstarman]

Spend more on your sharpening steel than you do on your knife.

Learn to use seasoning well including the use of acidity.

Brown your roast at the start. Rest your meat at the end (10 mins for a steak. 20 - 30 mins for a roast)

If you can't grow veg, grow herbs.

For Sunday roasts, cook your veg in advance and plunge in cold water then drain and leave to one side. When the roast has rested reheat the veg (preferably in a wok but otherwise in a pan) with seasoning and butter.

Find a butcher that properly ages their meat. Beats the s@@t out for anything a supermarket sells.

Be seasonal.

[Le TVR]

pointedstarman said:

Be seasonal.

+ 1000 best tip ever

[Dr_Rick]

Huff said:

*One of the best-balanced, best-judged for balance and shape knives I've ever owned was beaten out of a van leaf spring by a guy on Borneo for a few ringgit; I had to leave it there, couldn't fly home with it

I had the same experience with a parang when living in Sarawak. It came from a leaf spring too; the blade was still curved. I managed to get it to the UK in the sea freight when my parents moved back. But in the late 90's I handed it in to the police as it was too much of a risk in the UK and I'd never really use it anyway (limited rainforest in Kent).