Learn How To Cook Like The Real Private Chefs

	Braising May just be be my favorite way of cooking Braising is a cooking technique in which the main ingredient is seared, or browned in fat, and then simmered in liquid on low heat in a covered pot. The best equipment to use would be a crock pot, pressure cooker or Dutch oven. LeCrueset makes a range of enameled pots and pans that are good for either the stove or the oven. They work well too. Whether you choose to use the oven or the top of the stove, you will be pleased with the results. Braising is often used as a way to cook less expensive, tough cuts of meat. The end result is tender and flavorful. Other than great taste and economy, there are other reasons to cook this way. After searing the meat, the remainder of the cooking time (until sauce/gravy preparation) does not require much attention. Once the heat is reduced, you can go about cooking other things, do some chores or take a break. This is also a plus when entertaining: you have more time for your guests. Yet another plus of cooking with this method is that the meat tastes great and you also get delicious broth, sauce or gravy. It's one pot cooking at it's finest. There isn't much to cleaning up and anything leftover can be reheated or frozen and reheated for later. This method of cooking is great for tough cuts of meat but also works well with chicken, fish and/or vegetables. You can braise in a crock pot, pressure cooker, large saute pan or the most often used cooking vessel for braises, a Dutch oven. Some popular dishes you may have heard of that use a braising technique are osso buco, pot roast, braised veal & lamb shanks and braised cabbage. You can braise just about any meat, fish or vegetable you want and be as creative as you like with seasoning, but there are some ingredients that are better for braising and some you want to cook using other techniques like grilling or roasting.
	Grilling It's what us guys do best....at least that's what we think For all you guys out there who are already grill masters, read no further. But for the rest of us mere mortal home cooks who would like a few tips about grilling, read on. I have to warn you: when researching the technique of grilling, I found so many differing viewpoints that I decided to provide those tips that were in general consensus or made the most sense to me. From what I learned from reading and experimenting, the right way to grill is what works for you, and the only way to get really good at grilling is practice. I sometimes ask my wife when out for dinner, "How come when I grill fish it isn't perfect like this?" The answer is I may grill a piece of fish once every two weeks and professional chefs grill a lot of fish everyday. I guarantee if you grilled as much fish as one of these pros, your fish would be perfect too. I could do a whole article (and maybe someday I will) on the different cuts of beef which are best for grilling steak. You could write a book about how to use various rubs and marinades to enhance flavors. Also, we often use the terms grilling and barbecuing interchangeably, but they are different. Traditional barbecue is done slowly with low cooking temperatures and a lot of smoke. Grilling depends on a higher temperature to sear what you are cooking to keep the juices in. So here are some tips and ideas for grilling.
	Roasting Who doesn't love a roasted chicken or Sunday roast beef? In the beginning, roasting was done on a turning spit over an open fire and the juices ran over the surface of the meat basting it continuously. Roasting is a dry heat cooking method. A more specific definition includes roasting in an oven, before a fire, or buried in embers or very hot sand. Think about wrapping a potato up in aluminum foil and nestling it in the dying embers of a campfire. Since this is not a frequent scenario, most people consider roasting as cooking large pieces of solid food in an oven. This is a correct definition, as far as it goes, but it is also a very simplistic definition. Dozens of cook books have been written on the art and nuances of roasting: to baste or not to baste, proper roasting temperature, tied or untied, brine or marinate, bone in or bone out—the list goes on and on. Let's take an in depth look at roasting. We'll look at the history of roasting, equipment needed for modern roasting and what foods work well with this cooking method. Then, we'll address some of the age-old debates. At the end of the day, you can decide for yourself what method works best for you. Any way you slice it, though, armed with some know how and the right tools, you'll end up with a roast you can be proud of. A Short History of Roasting The earliest form of cooking was probably direct heat: man drops raw meat into fire. While this cooked the food, most likely the guy ended up with black char on the outside and raw in the middle with a thin margin of "cooked" in between. Next probably came roasting, also by accident: man leaves raw meat by the fire. The indirect heat cooked the meat more gently, albeit only in one direction - the side closest to the fire got cooked. Eventually, somebody thought of putting the meat on a stick and then turning it over the fire, and spit-roasting was born. Spit roasting was the state of the art for hundreds of years. First, there was the boy who turned the spit, and then someone (probably one of those spit-turning boys) came up with a way to turn the spit mechanically - weights and pulleys. For centuries, the heat source was fire that came from one direction - the hearth - and more and more elaborate methods of spit roasting were devised in order to produce an evenly cooked, moist and juicy end product. Eventually, someone came up with a box with walls that would absorb the heat from the fire and then radiate it back at the food from all sides at once. No more spits, no more turning the food constantly over a fire. Oven roasting was born.
	Pan Roasting How professional cooks do it. A little pan searing. A little oven roasting. If I could teach you just one chef's technique that will help you save time in the kitchen and deliver a thick cut of meat to the table with a perfect sear and juicy medium-rare throughout, it would be pan roasting. This is, hands down, one of the best and most efficient cooking methods around. Pan roasting takes advantage of conductive heat from the stove plus radiant and convective heat in the oven to cook thicker cuts perfectly and in short order. You won't find this pan roasting technique in many cookbooks but is a technique taught in every culinary arts school and used by professional chefs every day. Some chefs use this technique as part of their mise en place. They sear the meat during prep time, hold it in a low boy refrigerator and finish the cooking process to order in the oven. Even if the technique is used without any holding time, this cooking method saves time over straight oven roasting and is more practical than pan frying for thicker cuts of meat. Here's what you will need: a heavy pan that will retain heat and is oven safe (cast iron is really ideal for this) a lean cut of meat at cool room temperature canola oil salt and pepper kitchen tongs and oven mitts. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, F. Preheat the pan over medium-high to high heat. Make sure the pan is good and hot. The trick is to have it hold its heat as much as possible once you put the meat in. That's why cast iron is ideal—even though it is not as conductive as some metals, once it heats up, it stays hot for a very long time. Once the pan is very hot, add enough canola oil (or other neutral oil with a high smoke point) to coat the bottom. Wait a minute or two for the oil to get good and hot, season your meat with salt and pepper, and place it in the pan. Make sure there is a lot of pan real estate around the meat. You don't want to crowd the meat and risk steaming rather than searing.
	Poaching A moist heat cooking method for cooking eggs, fish, chicken, meat and fruits & vegetables. Gentle cooking for maintaining moisture & nutrients. Have you ever poached an egg to make Eggs Benedict? Poached pears in wine for dessert? Or delicately cooked a fish covered with water, stock or wine (poaching liquids) in a covered pan to preserve the moistness of the meat? These are examples of poaching you are probably familiar with. It is the method accomplished with the least amount of heat, and, therefore is a gradual, gentle cooking process. Poaching is best for very delicate foods, such as eggs, fish, white meat chicken and fruit. It is a very healthy cooking method, because liquid—not fat—carries the heat into the food. Poaching is ideally done at temperatures between 160°F and 180°F, or well below a simmer. The best way to tell if a poaching liquid is at the correct temperature is with an instant read thermometer. Short of that, look at the liquid in the pan. There should be a slight convective current in the liquid, as the warmer liquid rises to the surface. The liquid should be gently moving, but it should not be bubbling at all. Poaching is Patience Poaching takes patience. Poaching allows the proteins in foods to uncoil, or denature, slowly, without squeezing out moisture. If you were to drop a delicate chicken breast into boiling water, the proteins would seize up so quickly that all the moisture would be squeezed out, and you would end up with a small piece of dry rubber! Poaching Liquids You can poach in water, milk or a flavorful broth. The broth used in poaching is called a court bouillon. It consists of the poaching liquid itself (often broth or stock) an acid (wine, lemon juice, or vinegar), a bouquet garni (a small bundle of aromatics tied up in cheesecloth, or just tied together with kitchen string (bay leaf, parsley, peppercorns, garlic, thyme, etc) and mirepoix (onion, celery and carrot. Traditional proportions for a white mirepoix is two parts onion to one part each celery and carrot). For dessert preparations, fruit is often poached in sweet wine and water with some spices (star anise, clove, cinnamon, etc). Eggs are generally poached in water with a bit of vinegar. The acid in the poaching liquid helps to speed up the protein coagulation on the outside of the food. This helps hold delicate foods together during the poaching process (think eggs).
	Saute learn to saute properly and you will be able to create hundreds of dishes without a recipe. Probably the most important technique I can share with you is how to sauté properly. When you learn how to saute, you can prepare hundreds of meals with this technique. What Is Saute? Saute in French means "to jump" and can be a method of cooking or a way to describe a dish like sauteed chicken breasts. The reason the French called this technique "to jump" is because you are cooking at a very high heat and you don't want it sitting too long in the pan. To be successful, you need to move the ingredients either with a pair of tongs or like they do on TV by tossing it in the air. Saute is a type of frying which is a dry heat method of cooking requiring high heat and some sort of liquid fat to cook with. What Is the Difference Between Sauteing & Pan Frying? Although they are both considered dry heat cooking and use a fat to transfer the heat of the pan to the food, the only real differences is the amount of heat and the size of the ingredient you are cooking. Pan frying uses a little less heat and you cook whole pieces of meat like chicken breasts, steaks or fish fillets. You also don't move the ingredients around in the pan that much except to turn them over occasionally. Also, don't confuse pan fry with shallow fry where you typically use enough oil to reach almost halfway up the ingredient you are cooking. A good example is when you pan-fry eggplant for eggplant parmesan. The Advantages of Sauteing Once learned and in your repertoire, you will be free to be creative and devise your own recipes with whatever ingredients you have around. As a novice, this technique is easy and allows you to prepare meals in a moment's notice. This includes sautéing chicken, fish, vegetables, or meat. That's the beauty of learning a basic technique. Compare it to learning how to read a financial statement. Once you know how, you can effectively read any company's report. sautéing The Formula To A Great Saute Proper Saute = Good Saute Pan + High Heat + A Little Fat + Uniformly Cut Ingredients The Right Pan For The Job Some say the pan the pan should have sloped sides, others say straight. To me it doesn't matter as long as the pan has a dense, heavy bottom that spreads the heat evenly without any hot spots. It has to be big enough to cook your ingredients without crowding so buy accordingly. Non-stick is ok if you don't plan to make pan sauces but you need a little sticking to create the "fond" or the brown bits that stick to your pan that are responsible for those delicious sauces served in your favorite restaurants. I use a non-stick pan for my sauteed spinach and broccoli rabe but prefer metal for everything else. To learn more about what to look for in a good saute pan and how to purchase the best one for you, check out my Choosing A Good Saute Pan.
	Stewing How to stew beef, chicken, fish & vegetables at home All About Stew Nothing hits the spot on a cold, snowy day than a rich and steaming bowl of stew. But what is, stew, exactly? Stew is not only the name of a dish, but it is also a cooking method. Stew, the dish, is loosely defined as meat or fish and vegetables cooked by stewing. Stew, the cooking method, is a moist heat cooking process by which meat and vegetables are slowly simmered in a flavorful liquid. Stews v. Braises I don't know about you, but that pretty much sounds like braising. And it's true; there is really very little difference between braising and stewing. In a stew, the meat is generally cut into chunks while meat is often left whole in a braise. In a stew, the liquid usually covers the meat, and in a braise, the liquid might only come halfway up the sides of the meat. Those are differences of degree, though. For my money, these two cooking methods - and the dishes created using them - are almost identical. A little Stew History Cooking by boiling has occurred for literally tens of thousands of years. This technique has been refined over the years, of course, and references to more modern stews can be found throughout recorded history, from the lentil stew in the Biblical story of Cain and Abel to Hungarian Goulash with paprika in the 1700's to Byron's reference to Irish Stew in 1814. Stews exist all over the world, although they might not be called "stew." Other names you might have heard include Kentucky's burgoo, French Cassoulet, Ratatouille, Beef Bourguignon and Bouillabaisse, India's infinite number of curries, Louisiana's gumbo, Hungary's famed goulash, and Mexican/Tex-Mex Chili con Carne. Furthermore, people all over the world stew every day without a recipe and without calling it a specific name. What to Stew The best cuts of meat for stewing are the toughest cuts - the ones found nearest the "hoof and the horn." Prime stewing candidates include shank, brisket, chuck, oxtail and round. Don't limit your stews to beef, though. Irish stew shines because of lamb or mutton, and carnitas is a fantastic crispy pork stew. And don't forget the chicken. After all, dark meat chicken is the star of Coq au Vin. The best fish to stew are thick, meaty steaks. Since all seafood is relatively lean, you certainly don't want to cook a fish stew for as long as you would a beef or pork stew. Consider cod, halibut, snapper, grouper, shark and sea bass as appropriate candidates for stew. Stewing time may be as short as ten minutes, so be prepared, and make sure you read your recipe carefully. You can also stew vegetables. French Ratatouille is just stewed vegetables, and good individual candidates for stewing include eggplant, tomatoes, celery, celery root, leeks, cabbage, fennel and almost any tough greens, such as collard greens, chard, kale or mustard greens.
	Stir Fry Quick, easy, nutritious, and a lot of fun Every week or so I get a craving for Chinese food. There's something about those crunchy vegetables, tender meats, and incredible flavors that forces me to dig out a menu buried in a kitchen drawer and order from a local restaurant. The Chinese have a way of manipulating food that I wanted to learn about so I dug out the wok that I inherited when I got married and started reading up and experimenting. What I learned about the ancient technique of Stir-Fry is you have to be prepared before you start. Often I talk about prepping ingredients before you start cooking, but this is a must when doing stir-fry. In fact prepping the ingredients will take longer than the actual cooking. Once you get your pan hot…..you can't stop. Stir-frying will also give you some practice with your cutting skills since each ingredient will be bite size (Have you ever seen a knife in a Chinese restaurant?) and have different cuts. Once prepped, I like to put the ingredients in individual bowls separated by cooking times. The technique is to quickly fry the ingredients in a large pan over high heat while constantly stirring to preserve flavor, color and texture of the food and keep the vegetables crisp. Easy enough. Typically one uses a wok; a large deep bowl made of thin metal with gentle curved sides. The heat concentrates at the bottom of the pan and the curved sides allow you to push the ingredients to cooler areas. You can use a typical frying pan, but it won't cook as fast thus keeping your vegetables as crisp as you would want. Other than a few specialty ingredients, you can use whatever you have on hand to make a stir-fry. It's a great way to clean out the vegetable drawer. Because you'll be cooking at very high heat, you want to use a high smoking point oil like peanut, safflower, corn, or canola. Some of the specialty ingredients that you should be able to find at your local supermarket are soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and chili sauce. Short or medium grained rice is best for accompanying your stir-fry. You start by prepping the meat or chicken. Cut the meat into thin bite-size slices and marinate to protect it from overcooking. The marinade can be made with a variety of liquids depending on the flavor you are trying to obtain. Typical marinade ingredients include chicken stock or beef stock, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, chili sauce, corn starch, brown sugar, rice wine or dry sherry. Marinate for a least one hour, longer is better. Prepare an aromatic mixture consisting of finely chopped herbs and spices that will add flavor and aroma to the stir-fry. Typical aromatics include garlic, scallions, red pepper flakes, shallots, and chili peppers to name a few. Next prepare your vegetables by cutting them into small pieces and separating according to their cooking times. Slower cooking vegetables like asparagus and green beans will be added before faster cooking vegetables like pea pods and tomatoes. Now you're ready to stir-fry.