cooking tips for morans

[edfurlong]

I feel like the cooking for a living thing has moved back to slighty less retarded levels, but for some reason cooking schools are still filled to the brim.

[piradical]

kosher salt is not better than sea salt, but most sea salts are not unprocessed evaporated products. I use both and use sel gris added to salad when served.

[punkass]

I use kosher salt for almost everything. Table salt or finer grains are better for baking and pickling.

A lot of beginner or casual cooks only cook on high heat. The stove has more than 2 settings.
Please, don't over cook a steak. It makes me cry.
If you deepfry, use a lot of oil. It will not make your food greasy. In fact, the oil will keep its tempurature when you put cold food in and that helps keep your food less greasy.
If you are deep frying a turkey, make sure you know what the hell you are doing.
Don't keep opening the oven to check on your food. It just adds more time.

[Snafu'd]

"pre salt steaks and bring to room temperature before cooking"

I didn't see anyone clarify why to do this so forgive me if has already been answered. The salt is for seasoning and helping form a crust on the outside of the meat. The reason to bring the meat to room temperature prior to cooking is so the meat will cook evenly and faster. If you throw on a steak right out of the refrigerator the center of the steak will remain cold while the exterior is cooking. It also helps the juices to redistribute evenly throughout the meat prior to cooking which makes for a juicier piece of meat. The same concept applies to letting a piece of meat rest prior to cutting. Also, the larger this piece of meat is, the longer you should let it rest. I generally allow steaks to rest for at least 5 minutes and a brisket up to 30 minutes.

Has there been an "Ask Me Anything About Cooking" thread? I think it would be cool to have sort of a panel of chef and professional cook posters to participate in a thread where they will answer anything kitchen/cooking related. But maybe this thread serves that purpose, I don't know. I'd just like to see guys like CSC participate.

[SamIAm]

[ QUOTE ]
I've got a tip about garlic...(maybe stuff in general)

Generally, smaller things are more potent...

I use garlic as an example because if you use elephant garlic(larger than normal, usually sold with "EASY TO PEEL!!") it pales in comparison to regular garlic.

[/ QUOTE ]
Elephant garlic actually isn't garlic at all, but a leek. Still, your rule is a good one: cutting garlic smaller makes for a stronger taste.

Pressed > Minced > Sliced > Whole.
-Sam

[canis582]

If you are French, try putting carrots, celery and onion in everything.

If you are from Louisianna, use green bell pepers, celery and onion in everything.

[Ron Burgundy]

[ QUOTE ]
Speaking of butter, does Paula Dean freak anyone else out or is it just me?

[/ QUOTE ]

lol, she eats more mayonaise than anyone on earth.

[Ron Burgundy]

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Without some amount of saturated fat from creme, butter, lard, meat fat, cheese, sausage, bacon, or pancetta, most foods end up tasting very bland and unsatisfying.

[/ QUOTE ]

How unfortunate for you.

[Aloysius]

[ QUOTE ]
As a random question -- how long before the cooking fad dies out? Seems like it's approached critical mass, akin to poker and any other number of things that got really, really cool and then sort of faded back to mroe normal levels (though please, god, don't let the federal government ban cooking. Or rather, ban financial transactions that support grocery stores and restaurants. Or whatever...)

[/ QUOTE ]

El Sapo - I don't actually think it's similar to poker (as a fad where it's hitting / nearing critical mass) - speaking strictly about United States:

I think while it's true that Food Network brought in some % of home chefs that tried to make a couple things they saw on TV, gave up, and went back to fast food or something - the real driver for increased home-cooking has been (I could be off here, haven't thought too much on this) a greater awareness / appreciation of food and different cuisines. I think this translates to - "hey I want to cook this at home!" Also, perhaps efficiency increases in available, quality kitchen instruments (lowering the price) has helped (again, not sure total guess).

America has not historically been a nation that loves food (compared to say France or China) - but I think it's getting there.

-Al

[nyc999]

I agree with Al, but I think it is a combination of his explanation along with the increasing awareness of how bad casual/fast-food is for you, specifically the ingredients and processes used (e.g. trans-fats & Fast Food Nation), which has resulted in more people taking control over what they eat.