Cooking Techniques
Source of Recipe
The Reluctant Gourmet
Recipe Link: http://www.therelcutantgourment.com
Braising--
Braising is a cooking method where meat or vegetables are first browned in a little fat, then slowly cooked in a tightly covered pot with a little liquid over low heat for a long period of time. This method of cooking is great for tough cuts of meat since the long slow cooking tenderizes the meat by breaking down the sinewy connective tissues without breaking down the muscle fibers while adding flavor at the same time. Here's how it works. Muscle fibers consist mainly of water. When muscle fibers are heated, they contract and squeeze out the water causing shrinking and drying out. Connective tissues consist mainly of collagen and when heated also contract and squeeze out water. However, when the collagen in the connective tissues reach a certain temperature it melts into a rich flavorful gelatin. The dry muscle fibers then absorb this flavorful gelatinous liquid and braising is complete. Braising can be done on top of your stove or in the oven. Check out my Braised Pork with Brown Cabbage or Ossobuco for examples of this cooking method. Make sure to use a tight fitting lid on your pot to prevent the liquids from evaporating.
Grilling--
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 of grilling 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.
First of all grilling is a lot like broiling. Both use indirect heat, but when grilling the heat source comes from below and when broiling the heat source is from above. Both methods are great when cooking tender cuts of beef, chicken, fish and vegetables. Make sure whatever you are cooking isn’t too thick or it will burn on the exterior by the time the inside is done. Although grilling is considered a healthy way of cooking because much of the fat will drip into the fire, be careful to avoid flare-ups from the fat. Not only will you potentially burn what you are cooking and give it an acrid flavor; you can create a nasty fire hazard.
When I was growing up my father (the self-appointed grill master) only used charcoal as a fuel source. (I’m not even sure they had gas barbecues back then.) He made the common mistake of not using enough charcoal at the start or replacing it when it burned down. Result, the food never seared properly so the juices were released and the meat dried out. He also used the self-starting charcoal briquettes that gave the food a funky chemical taste. I’ve been told you can buy real lump charcoal with no additives and it makes a big difference, but I’ve never been able to find it so I opted for a gas grill. Easy to control the heat and even easier to maintain. I’ve even experimented with adding some pre-soaked chunks of Hickory wood to give an additional boost of flavor.
It’s critical you start with a clean grill. There’s nothing worse than grilling a beautiful Filet Mignon and having it taste like red snapper. The time to remove all the residue with a wire brush is right after you finish cooking while the grate is still hot. If you wait until it’s time to start cooking, some of the scrapings can fall into the flames and cause a flare-up. Before you begin heating the grill, brush it or spray it with a little vegetable oil to prevent food from sticking. This is especially important if you are using a sugary basting sauce.
It’s also vital that your grill is hot well before you start. Many of us, especially with gas grills, wait until right before we start cooking before we crank up the heat. Mistake. Preheat that grill 15 to 30 minutes before you intend to start cooking. Have all your cooking tools ready and standing by. This not only includes apron and utensils, but seasonings and basting sauces as well. And be sure to have a spray water bottle on hand in case of flare-ups. Know thy Grill. Every grill is different and will have different hot and cool spots. It’s important you learn where they are and use them to your advantage.
Prepping ingredients. If you’re grilling up a steak you may want to cut off any excess fat and season with a little salt before you start. However with chicken, you may want to pre-cook it in the microwave or oven to cut down on cooking time and give you more control of browning. With fish filets, I like to place them in a zip lock bag with a little olive oil and herbs but you can also prepare a glaze to coat them just before grilling. Remember to bring items to room temperature before grilling.
Marinades are great for adding flavor to what you are grilling. Check your cookbooks for which marinades work best for your ingredients. The longer you marinate the better. It’s best to marinate overnight in the refrigerator and if you are going to use it for basting, make sure you boil it first to kill any bacteria that may be present. Also be sure to pat dry the meat, chicken, or fish before grilling so the marinade doesn’t cause flare-ups. Barbecue sauce is used to baste what you are grilling and although commercial barbecue sauces are a big business, the essential ingredients are: tomatoes, vinegar, onion, mustard, and brown sugar. So experiment and create your own special sauce.
I guess the most frequent questions I’m asked are "how long do you cook it for?" and "how can you tell when it’s done?" Although every cookbook you pick up has guidelines for each ingredient, it once again comes back to experience and touch. I would suggest you follow your favorite cookbook guides to grilling but start touching the foods at different intervals to get a feel for firmness and texture. For example, as a general rule, I like to cook a 1 1/2-inch New York Strip steak for a total of ten minutes. I start by grilling for 2 1/2 minutes, then turning it 180 degrees and cooking for another 2 1/2 minutes, flip the steak over to it’s other side and repeat the process thus giving the steak the classic grill marks. At the same time I test the steak with my finger to feel for various degrees of firmness. Medium cooked feels like touching your cheek. If you really want to get specific, you can use an instant thermometer. For steak, 115 – 120 degrees is rare, 125-130 degrees is medium rare and 135 – 140 degrees is medium.
Everyone seems to have their own favorite grilling techniques, tools, marinades, family recipes....often secret. And if you like gadgets, you'll love grilling since there are a plethora of great tools to enhance your grilling experience. Check out my Kitchen Drawer for a few examples.
This only touches the surface of what there is to learn about grilling as a cooking method. The best advice I can give any home cook is practice as much as you can. It’s a great way to cook without a lot of mess, especially in the summer when it’s too hot to cook inside.
Roasting--
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. Nowadays most roasting takes place in the oven and offers a fast method of cooking tender portions of meat, poultry, and fish. You want to start with an oven that's preheated at a high temperature to seal the meat thus preventing a loss of juices while at the same time caramelizing the surface. After 10- 20 minutes, lower the temperature and continue roasting until done. Some meats will require basting to keep from drying out while some cuts of meat like pork are fatty enough and will require no basting. Sometimes it is necessary to bard (tie pieces of fat to the surface of) what you are cooking to help with basting. Birds should be cooked breast down to start and then finished on the other side to allow the juices and fat to flow into the breast meat.
Make sure you have a roasting pan that is the correct size for what you are cooking. Too big.... and the food may burn, too small and your roast may stick to the sides of the pan. Too shallow... and your oven will be a mess, too deep.....your food will steam, not roast. And be sure to retain the wonderful, incredible pan juices by deglazing the roasting pan for gravies and sauces, an extra dividend to the roasting method.
Pan Roasting--
I read about how this technique is used by many professional chefs but have not been able to find much about it from my selection of cookbooks. From talking to chef friends and the little I've been able to find in cookbooks, it is a technique that starts by searing what you're cooking on top of the stove to brown and crust then finishing in a hot oven. It's a great technique when cooking tender cuts of meat, chicken, or fish where you want a nice crust on the outside, but want to keep it moist on the inside. It's important that you use a heavy bottomed pan that can be placed in the oven. Also, since you will be getting that pan real hot, make sure you use an oil has a high smoking point such as canola or vegetable. Don't crowd your pan with what you are cooking. And make sure you have a good kitchen mitt or pot holder when removing from the oven. I can tell you from experience.....it's HOT!
You start buy getting your pan hot on top of a med-high burner, add a little oil, heat the oil until it's almost smoking, sear your food , then finish in a hot oven. The timing depends on what you are cooking. Check out my recipe for Pan Roasted Veal Chops.
Sauté--
Probably the most important technique I can share with you is how to sauté properly. 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 is cooking food quickly in the right amount of oil and/or butter over high heat. You can use a skillet or sauté pan, but make sure it is big enough to comfortably contain what you are cooking. Preheat it--you need high heat when sautéing to cook ingredients quickly; otherwise the internal moisture tends to push to the surface and your ingredients won’t brown.
Butter or Oil? - Butter will give your food the best taste and a wonderful golden crust but burns more easily. Olive oil produces a nice crust and will not burn as quickly, but also doesn’t leave as rich a flavor or color as butter alone. So, the Reluctant Gourmet uses a combination of the two. What you cook and the amount you’re cooking will determine how butter and oil you use. For example, use about 1 to 1-1/2 tablespoons of each for 2 or more chicken cutlets and 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of each for 2 or more fish fillets.
Basic Technique - You will know your pan is hot enough and it is time to start when the butter stops foaming and begins to turn a pale brown. Add your ingredients and be careful not to let it start smoking (it happens and it’s a pain to eat your meal in a roomful of smoke). Cooking time will vary, depending on what you are cooking. For example, I cook chicken cutlets for approximately 3 minutes on one side and then 3 to 4 minutes on the other. For fish filets, 2 to 3 minutes, flip and another minute on the other. Never use a fork for flipping, it pierces the meat and lets the juices escape. You should serve immediately but if you want to make a pan sauce (and you probably will), transfer components to a plate and keep in a warm oven. Check out my recipe for Sautéed Chicken Breasts with Shallots and Garlic, it incorporates this technique beautifully.
Deglaze--
Now that you now how to sauté, the Reluctant Gourmet would like to follow up with Deglazing, a technique often used to create a base for making sauces. After you finish the sauté and remove the excess fat, you will notice small amounts of flavor rich browned food particles stuck to the pan. To loosen these bits, just add a small amount of liquid, (wine, stock, lemon juice for example) to the pan and start stirring. It is important you remove the pan from the heat when adding any liquids with alcohol so you don't end up with singed eyebrows. You can now use this mixture to create a wonderful sauce to accompany your meal.
Stir Fry--
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 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. Check out my recipe for Chicken and Broccoli Stir-Fry but experiment with different marinades, aromatics, and vegetables to create your own special stir-fry.
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