Being extraordinary at cooking and baking are all about “those little tricks.” Those little tricks that make a dish go from average to unforgettable. Using these 25 top chef secrets will level up your dishes in no time!
#1 Salt!
Salt your food! Salt it before you start cooking, salt it while you are cooking, and salt it when the dish is finished cooking, if necessary. Salting from beginning to end, the deeper and more concentrated the flavors will be. Salting only at the end of cooking will make the dish taste salty.
#2 Always dry your meat before cooking.
Drying your meats before cooking allows the exterior skin to get nice and crisp. This goes for all meats, fish, and seafood you are going to sear, fry, or bake.
#3 Nothing can compete will homemade broth/stock.
Making your own chicken, beef, vegetable, or fish stock is one of the top chef secrets.
#4 Add vinegar to your egg poaching water.
Adding vinegar to your egg poaching water will help the egg whites coagulate together. I like to use about ½ cup vinegar in 2 cups water. Check out this post for more tips on eggs.
#5 Your pasta water should taste like sea water.
Before adding your pasta to the water, add enough salt to the water that it tastes like the sea.
#6 Always weigh your ingredients when baking.
Baking is a science. Weighing your ingredients will significantly change the outcome of the finished product.
#7 Let meat rest.
Don’t slice meat immediately after it is finished cooking. Allowing the meat to rest will let the juices redistribute throughout the meat, leaving it juicy.
#8 Cook sizable portions of bacon in the oven.
There is no need to slave over the stove and create a monstrous grease mess if you have a big crowd or family to cook for and need mounds of bacon. Spread the bacon out on a sheet pan in the oven and bake about 15 minutes in a 350° oven.
#9 All oils are not created equal.
Oils all have a different smoking point. This means that different oils can be heated to different temperatures.
#10 Don’t overcrowd the pan.
Overcrowding results in food sweating. This means it will not brown, it releases water and ends up in a steam bath. This goes for frying, roasting, sautéing, and browning.
#11 Cream sugar and butter together
When baking, cream the butter and sugar together about five times longer than you think is necessary. A longer creaming method will result in the sugar dissolving and helps creates an aerated batter that will increase the volume of your finished product.
#12 Do not add oil to your pasta water.
Adding oil to the water does not prevent sticking. Be sure to heavily salt the water. Make sure to stir the pasta while it is cooking. Reserve a cup of the liquid the pasta was in before draining. This water is full of starches and when added back into the pasta it is the absolute best option to keep your pasta from sticking together.
Depending on the quantity of pasta you cooked, add the water back into the pasta a little at a time until it is absorbed by the noodles. These top chef secrets will turn your pasta game around.
#13 Have a screaming hot pan to sear meat.
If you are searing steak, chicken, lamb, scallops, etc., in a pan, make sure the pan is screaming hot before you place the meat inside. Just add a pinch of flour to see if it sizzles. Having a hot pan will ensure you get a great crust on the surface.
It is often necessary to finish cooking the protein in a 425° oven until the center reaches the required or desired internal temperature. Follow these top chef secrets for the ultimately best cooked proteins.
#14 Use the freshest ingredients possible.
Using the freshest ingredients available will always result in the best finished product possible. This ideology was brought about in the 1970’s by the one and only, Alice Waters.
#15 Pour hot water over garlic.
Place fresh garlic cloves in a bowl and pour boiling hot water over them to release them from the skin.
#16 Develop good knife skills.
Developing knife skills is beneficial for a several reasons. It will reduce cooking time, it is safer, and the food will look and taste better because everything is cut in a uniform size and shape.
#17 Create a flat surface to cut foods.
Cut an end off of round foods to create a flat surface to stabilize the food for cutting. Leave the bulb side of an onion to keep it together.
#18 Wait for the bubbles.
One sure way to know when a pancake is ready to be flipped is when the top is covered in bubbles.
#19 Cover it with oil.
Have leftover homemade pesto? Place it in a mason jar, cover it with oil, then a lid. Dump the oil off when you are ready to use it again (within a couple of weeks.) Same goes for guacamole, but just overnight.
#20 Use fresh herbs.
Fresh herbs will highlight, brighten, and add layers of flavor to most any dish.
#21 Marinate or brine lean meats.
Chicken, flank steak, pork, and other lean meats benefit from marinating or brining. The brine or marinade help denature the proteins, aiding in tenderization and juiciness.
#22 Mise en Place
Which means, everything in place. Have everything cut, weighed, greased, measured, and at your side before you begin. Things will ALWAYS run more smoothly!
#23 Salt, Fat, Heat, Acid.
When making a dish, ask yourself does it have salt, fat, heat, and acid. If the dish is lacking is something, it is likely missing one or more of these.
#24 It is ALL about the sauce.
This is my mantra. Have a few secret sauce recipes hidden up your sleeve. Sauces can turn any dish into pure magic.
#25 Last but not least, recipes are a guide.
If you read my homepage, you will see one of my favorite quotes by Thomas Keller. “A recipe has no soul, you as the cook must bring soul to the recipe.”
Do not be afraid to substitute ingredients into a recipe that you may not have on hand. Culinary wise, it is much easier to substitute ingredients in and out of recipes.
You must let go and trust yourself. If it is your first time in the kitchen, okay, follow the recipe. But if you have even spent a few months cooking, let yourself go.
Incorporate these top chef secrets into your repetoire and you’ll be a gourmet cook in no time!
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