Category: chefs

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Chefs Share The Best Cooking Tips All Amateur Cooks Should Know

If you’re anything like us, this pandemic means you’ve had a sharp spike in your cooking show viewership.

We’ve spent the last year and change being baking champions, totally nailing things, chopping our way through challenges, and scoffing at everyone who tries to make a risotto in round one (that rice is totally going to be undercooked!).

For most of us, our culinary training consists of sitting on our couches munching on grown-up lunchables while we “learn” from TV chefs. There are, however, some brave souls among us who have actual kitchen experience and real room to talk… and they’d probably tell you not to try a risotto in round one.

Reddit user BigBadWolf44 asked: 

“Chefs of Reddit, what’s one rule of cooking amateurs need to know?”

Risky risotto aside, chefs have tons of cooking tips and tricks to share with we mere mortals. So let’s put down the remote, pick up a pan, and get this party started.

First put on pants, though.

Safety over everything—nobody likes burned bits.

Hold The Salt 

“A lot of the time when people add salt to a dish because they think it tastes flat, what it really needs is an acid like lemon juice or vinegar” 

– Vexvertigo

“Agreed. These are what I sometimes use to add acid depending on the recipe:”

“white/red/rice/malt vinegar, some chilli sauces, lemon or lime, wine, sherry, dry vermouth, preserved lemon.” 

– MayaSummerX

“Ah the discovery of citrus and vinegar was a great turning point in my cooking. I always call it the ‘tang,’ so I’ll hit it with a splash of vinegar/citrus and it just brightens up the flavors.”

“This was very important when trying to achieve proper Asian and Latin flavors.”

– Sheruk

We Like To Call It “Smaste” 

“Smell is very similar to taste, and if you’re not sure about combining various spices, open the bottles and smell them all together.”

– SuddenSenseOfSonder

“Smell literally is taste because of retronasal olfaction. The receptors on your tongue can only do the 5 basic flavors: sweet, salty, umami, bitter, sour”

– ChonglerV

“Oh, that makes a lot of sense!”

“I cook for myself with no training, but whenever I’m seasoning anything I always judge what to add based on how it smells. People often think I’m weird for it, but it always turns out pretty good.”

– AerialSnack

“WHAT? ITS THAT EASY?! IMA TRY THAT WHEN MY ROOMMATES ARE UP NORTH!”

“Its cookin time. I’m gonna make hella snacks.”

– Zenketski

“I’ve cooked professionally for years and I still do this.”

“If I’m not sure what a soup or dish needs, I take a bit of said soup to the spice rack and take a small taste, then smell a spice, seasoning or what have you.”

“Go down the line tasting and smelling til you find a combination that makes you go ‘mmmmmmm.’ “

– disgruntledcabdriver

Subtraction Isn’t A Thing, Unless You’re Adding

“You can always add, but you cannot take away.”

– El_Duende666

“I decided to put a couple globs of Mad Dog 357 in a pasta sauce. It’s like 300k something scoville but figured in a crock pot worth of sauce it won’t be too bad and add a little spice.”

“Made about 15 mason jars of sauce.”

“I regretted that decision. You cannot make something not spicy if you make it too spicy.”

“I made another pasta sauce but kept the mason jars from the other one too since I don’t like to waste. Now it’s Russian roulette every time I decide to eat pasta.”

– RedSquirrelFtw

“To build on that – when cooking, you must add to take away.”

“Say for example you add too much salt. Not to worry, just double everything else in the recipe and you’ve now halved the salt content.”

– MayaSummerX

And While We’re Talking About Too Much v. Too Little…

“Chill out with the flames.”

“If you’re not ready for high-heat, cooking many things at once, or if you simply can’t imagine staying by the stove for a long time to give the food your FULL attention then please, for the love of salt, turn the burner down!”

“You can always cook it more, you can’t un-burn it.”

– Lett3rsandnum8er5

“You can also always add more heat, but it is impossible to uncook something that is overcooked.”

– ForgettableUsername

“For grilling, I’ve always said you can undercook, then cook more, but can never uncook.”

– facelesspirit

On Fumbling A Knife

“Not really a cooking tip, but a law of the kitchen: A falling knife has no handle. Meaning don’t try to catch it, there is no safe way.” 

– wooddog

“I’m always so proud of my reflexes for NOT kicking in when I fumble a knife.”

“If I drop anything else, my stupid hands are all over themselves trying to catch it (and often failing).”

“But with a knife the hardwired automatic reaction is jump back immediately. Fingers out of the way, feet out of the way, everything out of the way.”

“Good lookin out, cerebellum!”

– sonyka

“Speaking of KICKING in…”

“On my first full time cooking job I had a knife spin and fall off the counter. My (stupid) reflex was to put my foot under it like a damn hacky sack to keep it from hitting the ground.”

“I’m insanely lucky; the blade went through the shoe, somehow between my toes, and into the sole somehow without cutting me.”

“Lessons learned: (1) let it fall; (2) never set a knife down close to the edge or with the handle sticking out; (3) hacky sack is not nearly as cool as it could be.”

– AdjNounNumbers

The Critical Click

“When you grab a pair of tongs, click them a few times to make sure they are tongs.”

– Kolshdaddy

“People really overlook this one. You’ve gotta tong the tongs a minimum of 3 times to make sure they tong, or else it can ruin the whole dish.”

– BigTimeBobbyB

“It’s also critical that you giggle and call yourself a crab when you do it.”

– CommodoreCliche

“It’s also good practice to sing ‘tong t-tong tong tongs’ a la Sisqo’s ‘Thong Song.’ It helps cement the idea that you are holding tongs.”

– larj_Brest

You’re Probably Making Veggies Wrong

“Really think about what size you’re cutting your vegetables in relation to cook time.”

“It’s better to have a perfectly cooked larger vegetable that you have to use fork and knife a bit to eat at the table than a bunch of overcooked, mushy bite sized pieces.”

“Generally speaking, the best simple preparation of cooking a vegetable is usually roasted on a sheet pan with olive oil, S&P.”

“And for god’s sakes, make your own salad dressings fresh!”

“It takes no time, you likely have what you already need in your pantry, and it tastes 10x as good as the crap in the bottle. You’ll be surprised even how much better Ranch dressing tastes if you get the dry seasoning packets and mix it with some fresh milk and mayo and let it set for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.”

– JasonK87919
“Roasted vegetables are great. I used to hate them, and my problem was I wasn’t roasting them long enough.”

“They’d either be hard and undercooked, or mushy. The key for me was to cook them past the mushiness stage to get them to where a lot of moisture is out of them and they have browned a bit (or more!).”

– putsch80

“One of the main reasons people saying they don’t like roasted veggies is not fully preheating their oven before putting the sheet pan in.”

“Yeah you put your timer on for the right time, but the first 5 maybe 10 minutes don’t really count. Now everything is just weird.”

– wickedzeus

… um, okay yeah that last comment might have hit a little too close to home. I promise from now on to actually wait for the pre-heat to be over before I put things in the oven.

Or at least to TRY and wait.

And to sigh and go “Reddit was right” every time I forget and my veggies come out gummy.

It’s the least I can do.

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Bad Cooks Share Some Real Bad Cooking Stories

Cooking is pretty hard.

One time I burnt Ramen noodles. I would go into the details but my insurance company has me on a gag order. They said Ramen isn’t supposed to go into a molten state like that. The authorities were called, biochemical weapon sanctions were placed. It was a weird afternoon.

These “cooks” are on much the same skill level. Read their full confessions of debauchery below.

1. Third time’s a charm.

And every time a mitt burns a shrimp a get its wings… That was funnier in my head.

2. Haircut on a budget

I used to do the same thing in college to save money. I mean the hair, not the ramen. I used a Flowbee. It was magical.

3. Nothing like a fluffy, yummy fish cake from the pan.

Syrup, please?

4. The Greening

I’ve had worse. I have had better… Would still eat. Happy Thankspatty Day

5. Thicc as a juicy ham.

Eggs and bacon served on a bun. 86 coffee, tho.

6. “Can I offer you an egg in these trying times?”

Hard as boiled.

7. The chocolate chips do bear a resemblance.

Doc told me to lay off the sodium.

8. The Gordon Bombrownie.

I made a Mighty Ducks reference because hockey. Fiskey!

9. Care for another egg…in these even more trying times?

Does water burn? Yeah?

10.   Fryin’ up a baking dish.

They don’t rewarm well.

11. Toaster>Towel

If you can’t take the heat get out the toaster.

12. Rice and water makes delicious rice

Rice and no water makes functional charcoal.

Any bad cooks gone worse reading this? Any horrible stories you want to share?

Do that in the comments, fam!

Thanks!

The post Bad Cooks Share Some Real Bad Cooking Stories appeared first on UberFacts.

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What Cooking Tips Should We All Know? Chefs Were Nice Enough to Offer Their Advice.

No matter how much experience you have working in restaurants or even just in your home kitchen, you can always learn new tips about how to make food and make the process smoother.

And that’s exactly what we’re going to dive into today!

Let’s check out some awesome cooking tips from folks on AskReddit!

1. For beginners.

“Two things for beginners:

First, taste as you cook. At various stages of cooking, while safe (not raw meat) taste your food as you cook it. This lets you know if you have too much of something or too little. It also helps you develop your palette for what different seasonings do.

Second, if you’re just starting out and don’t know which spices to buy. Pick a specific cuisine you like. Are you a fan of Italian food? Focus only on Italian recipes for a while. Most use similar herbs and spices because the cuisine of the area used what they had available to them.

This will let you learn several recipes without having to buy massive amounts of spices to make it work. Eventually you will build up a good stock and be set to handle most things.”

2. Yummy.

“Soy sauce goes on more than Asian foods.

Try a dash in scrambled eggs or towards the end of your caramelized onions.

It is a savory salt flavor that compliments many dishes.”

3. Some tips.

“The spice measurements in most online recipes are way too small. I usually double them.

Cinnamon isn’t just for sweet foods. It can be really really good in savory foods.

Don’t forget the acid. A bit of citrus juice or vinegar can really make a dish pop and bring out the other flavors.

Don’t be afraid to deviate from a recipe, but be careful with baked goods. If you make big changes in baked goods you might get a dud unless you know how it will effect the baking process.”

4. Spice it up.

“Salt is seasoning. It makes food taste more like itself.

Acids, like citrus or vinegar can also do this. If your food tastes flat, or like it is missing something, try some salt or acid. Acid is also critical for balancing very rich fatty foods.

The reason Americans love tomato ketchup so much is the fact that it adds acid and salt to their food. Adding a bit of “heat” like a pinch of cayenne can also accentuate a the flavor of a dish. Spices are something else. They bring a new and different flavor to the dish.

In sweets, sugar often takes the place of salt and is usually balanced by acid – see passionfruit, raspberry, citrus, etc. But salt plays an important role in sweets as well – often in unexpected ways. Try putting a pinch of kosher salt into your next batch of whipped cream.

I could keep going but I’ll leave it there. If you can master these concepts you will have a big advantage over most home cooks.”

5. Nice and easy.

“If you’re getting annoyed because it’s taking you too long to peel garlic, place an unpeeled garlic clove under the flat side of your kitchen knife and press on it with your hand.

The garlic peel will separate easily and your garlic will be crushed.”

6. Ouch!

“A falling knife has no handle.

The worst cut I’ve ever had was from trying catch one on reflex.

I got sliced across all my fingers, great tip to internalize.”

7. Good advice.

“Everything in it’s place. Have everything cut, seasonings and ingredients measured before you start cooking. This way you can focus on cooking.

Brown meats in small batches, do not overcrowd the pan. It will cause meat to sweat and will not brown properly.”

8. Keep it simple.

“Learn basic cutting techniques for cutting vegetables.

Keep it simple. The number ingredients doesn’t say anything about the taste of a dish. Go for dishes you can make in 30 to 40 minutes with 6 to 8 ingredients.

Keep a notebook. Gather a list recipes and dishes you do regularly. Expand gradually with new stuff. Don’t just buy cookbooks you never really use.

Adding is easy, removing is hard. People here argue to liberally add butter and seasoning. Tastes differ, though. It’s totally fine to put in less if that’s what you fancy.

You don’t need a gazillion utensils. In your daily cooking, a basic kitchen knife already does a lot of the heavy lifting. Learn to use that properly.

Observe. How do ingredients act when you combine them? What happens when your put them in a pan or pot and apply heat?

Always be cleaning. You have idle time? Clean the sink.

Don’t be afraid to fail. Learn from your mistakes. Also, don’t pretend you know better then the recipe. Especially if you never made a recipe before.”

9. All about timing.

“The amount of garlic flavor is dependent on WHEN you add the garlic.

Add it early for light flavor, add it late for bold flavor.”

10. Fond.

“Massively improve the quality of your proteins with fond. Doesn’t matter the protein. Bird, beef, pork, tofu. Fond is the dark brown stuff that sticks to your pan when you’re cooking.

Its not burnt unless is actually black. To get it off the pan on on the food, pour in either an alcohol or acid to dissolve it and get the now brown liquid to coat your protein. Different proteins work best with different alcohols.

Good rule of thumb, dry white for chicken or any lighter meat. Red for beef. Lemon juice works great for almost everything.”

11. Brine is good.

“Brine your dang birds.

Like salt, sugar and water makes a basic brine; let it sit in there overnight.

Juicy bird guaranteed.”

12. Good stuff here.

“Your pan does not need to be on maximum heat.

You have to cook meat to a specific internal temperature to kill bacteria, anything more is just trying it out (generalized).

Lemon zest and garlic with a cream sauce makes anything delicious.

Wash your hands, tools, and area after dealing with raw meats. Watch the water splatter from the sink when washing aswell.

When a recipe calls for you to let something ‘sit’ or ‘rest’, do not rush this step. Good things happen to the food in that time.

You are less likely to cut your self with a sharp knife, compared to a dull one.

Sifting flour, when adding it to baking recipes, can improve the results.

Test your yeast before committing to using it.

When cooking for a group, season lightly, and use hot spices sparingly; they can both be done after its served.

Puree or fine grate veggies such as carrots or zucchini into sauces, or even peanut butter, to get kids to get some nutrients.

Buy a rice cooker. Uncle Roger said so.

Sanitize, sanitize, sanitize.

Wet hand / dry hand while breading or coating food.

Never pry anything out of an electrical appliance. No metal in toasters or microwaves.

Dishwashers have a ‘gunk trap’ or general area where stuff collects. Clean this. Also check the water outlets as lemon seeds and other things can clog them.

Herbs and spices can be annoying to eat, such as twiggy pieces of rosemary or peppercorns. Put them in a cheese cloth, or emptied out tea bag, draped in the liquid, to give their flavours but not the textures.

Dont pan fry bacon in the morning with no shirt on.

Buy local as often as you can.”

How about you?

What cooking tips would you like to share with the world?

Do it in the comments, please!

The post What Cooking Tips Should We All Know? Chefs Were Nice Enough to Offer Their Advice. appeared first on UberFacts.

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Chefs Offer Cooking Tips They Think All of us Should Know

Have you been spending a ton of time cooking (or learning how to cook) during the pandemic and the quarantine?

You’re definitely not alone on that one!

And we have a treat for you today!

Chefs on AskReddit offered up cooking tips that will help all of us out. Let’s take a look.

1. Watch the temp.

“Watch your cooking temperature! You don’t need everything blazing hot. In fact, with high heat you’ll usually end up burning/drying out your meal. Medium heat is your friend. It gives you more time to get it right.

A simple example is a good grilled cheese sandwich. If you make it in a skillet on medium heat, it might take a while. BUT you’ll have enough time to make sure the toast is perfectly crispy without getting burned.”

2. Take it all in…

“Learn how to hold a knife and cut correctly.

Use acid – it’s your friend! Lemon juice, vinegar, microplaned zest, whatever. It brightens up everything.

Season every step of the way and taste as you go. Don’t overdue it, obviously, but you want to season every layer and taste.

Keep in mind that acid will then also amplify things like salt – keep everything in balance.

Someone else said it, but it’s true – it’s easier to add than to take away.

And if you’re making something like soup or stock or sauce – if it’s something that will reduce down season lightly as you make it, and then when it’s finished season at the end to get it where you want it.

If you haven’t noticed, a lot of mine are about seasoning. The vast majority of home cooks (and even some restaurant dishes) are under seasoned. Sometimes all you need are salt and pepper, but most people don’t use enough – salt especially. It shouldn’t taste SALTY, but just shy of it.”

3. I love risotto.

“When you make risotto, add the rice to the pan and cook it on very low heat until the edges turn slightly translucent before adding any liquid.

Your risotto will be much more tender and evenly cooked”

4. Roast ’em up.

“You can roast almost all veggies and they turn out delicious. It’s also really easy.

Take the veggie, cut it into bite sized pieces give or take (can be larger if you want, just adjust cooking time and test for tenderness). Place in a bowl and toss with olive oil until everything is lightly coated. Spread out on a baking sheet (can put a layer of parchment paper on it to make clean up easier) and season with a thin layer of kosher salt and pepper on all pieces.

Place in an oven at 350F or above and once well browned, remove and eat. You can roast at 450F if you want but just know that it will take less time at this temp and more time at lower temps. Do it a lot and you’ll gain experience and figure out what temps you like. For me, it often depends on what else is in the oven and I just go with it and check it periodically.

If you want to kick it up a little, sprinkle some diced garlic and some red pepper flakes (go light if you’re sensitive to spice) over the veggies as well. Cook the same. They are delicious.

Works with almost everything – broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, carrots, all squashes, etc.”

5. Listen up!

“Too much salt in a soup? Add potatoes. Potatoes soak up salt like mad, I swear.

Whole roasted chicken will make two meals, plus create stock. First will be roasted chicken. Second will be chicken soup. Finally, boil bones to make stock.

Don’t be afraid of acid, like vinegars, citrus, pickled items. Fermented things as well. Add more jarred olives to your recipes, they will expand flavors.

Red wine is required for the best beef dishes.”

6. That’s all you need.

“Kosher salt, cracked black pepper, olive oil, garlic, lemon, butter.

That’s all you need to season anything. Any protein, any roasted veggie, any salad- keep it simple.

Also, a working meat thermometer will never let you down. Take the guesswork out.”

7. Now I’m hungry.

“Flour and fat makes a roux. Roux makes sauces thick.

You want a white country gravy? Put equal amounts oil and flour in a pan. Cook over medium heat while stirring until flour turns a little brown. Pour milk and whisk together. Crack black pepper. Reduce. Done.

You want thick sauce with some chicken or meat? Sear the meat and set aside. Sauté your vegetables in oil or butter. Sprinkle flour on it until it soaks up the oil. Stir it until it browns the flour a little. Pour in broth or milk for a sauce. Put meat back in to finish in the sauce.

Creamed spinach? Add oil to pan. Sprinkle with a little flour and a dash of nutmeg and pepper. Cook couple minutes just to get rawness of flour gone. Add milk and reduce to desired consistency. In separate pan sauté finely minced onion in butter and EVOO. Add garlic until fragrant. Wilt spinach. Mix together when they are both to your liking.

You want gumbo? Add flour and oil to big pot. Stir constantly until it gets dark (about milk chocolate color). Collect the roux. Sauté vegetables. Add roux and broth. Add chicken and sausage.

Seafood gumbo? You cook the roux until peanut butter color instead of super dark. Sauté veg. Add roux and broth. Add crawfish, shrimp, and blue crab.”

8. Good info for you.

“- Prepare ingredients before cooking them. This means get spices, seasonings and condiments ready to hand before you cook anything, and chop up everything you need.

Some recipes can be more forgiving and you can chop stuff while something’s cooking, but other dishes have a quick cooking time, and it can get chaotic if you’re trying to find a certain spice while your food is getting burnt.

– Clean as you go. One thing I hate about cooking is cleaning up after, but I try to clean every item that I use as soon as I’m done with it, so that there isn’t a mountain of cleaning up afterwards. I’ve lived with people who do not do this, and they put off the washing up because there is so much to do.

– Learn from mistakes. I have a few staple recipes that I can do pretty well, but I have f*cked up cooking on many occasions (even the stuff I usually get right), and have made stuff that I would throw away if I didn’t care about food waste and wasn’t hungry.

That being said, I try to figure out where I went wrong while I’m eating, and either look for a different recipe, or retrace my steps on the method to see what I could do better.”

9. Makes sense.

“If it grows together it goes together.

Want a tropical-tasting dish? Find a fish that lives in tropical climates and add tropical fruits. Want something Italian? Roma tomatoes, oregano, Italian parsley, they all come from the same region.

Of course, you can add things from other climates, but it’s a simple rule to follow.”

10. From a veteran.

“Things I would add to the list of tips given my time running restaurants:

Build a pantry of ingredients you can use…this includes dried spices/herbs, different vinegars, maybe a fancy(finishing) salt and regular salt. You won’t use them all every meal, but it’s good to have a bunch of stuff to work with. Think of a good mechanic. They have toolboxes full of various tools for any problem they may come across. This is the same for cooking.

Grab some small bowls…these will be your mise en place bowls. Prep your stuff out, place them in bowls and then use them as you need. There’s a reason you see cooking shows have all of their ingredients in bowls. It’s easier to NOT scramble around trying to chop up some veggies while trying to not burn the onions you put in the pan. Make sense?

Taste. Taste. Taste. Taste. Always taste the food. Somebody mentioned how different garlic tastes depends on when you add it to the process. That is absolutely true about EVERYTHING. Always taste as you add stuff and cook longer.

Don’t buy substitutes. They’re generally all trash. Get the regular butter. Get the regular mayo. Avoid “olive oil added!” For “health reasons”. They’re generally full of more crap and additives than the regular version. “Low fat” or “reduced calories” are the in the same boat. This is a broad stroke comment – for those with medical issues this may not apply. Everybody is different.

Keep trying stuff out. Try the same dish multiple times. Don’t get too hard on yourself. I’ve been doing this for 12 years and STILL cook some crappy meals or come up with dish ideas that just kind of suck. It’s going to happen. It’s not a 100% success rate with good food. You’re going to f*ck up dinner a few times. We’ve all done it. We’re going to do it again. It’s a craft. It takes time.

Hope these tips help! Keep cooking. Don’t stop. Make some funky meals. -From a chef de cuisine from Chicago.”

11. Practical advice.

“Keep a waste container.

As you chop stuff, put waste in the container. When you’re done, toss the waste in the garbage (or save vegetable scraps for stock).

No running to the garbage every second and no mixing of waste and your food.”

Do you have any great cooking advice you’d like to share with us?

If so, please talk to us in the comments.

Thanks in advance!

The post Chefs Offer Cooking Tips They Think All of us Should Know appeared first on UberFacts.

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Hilarious and Accurate Memes About What It’s Like to Work in a Kitchen

I think everyone should have to work in a restaurant at some point in their lives.

Maybe it’s in the kitchen or maybe working in the front of the house, but either one is going to expose you to the general public and it will make you appreciate how annoying and difficult a lot of people can be out there…

And you’ll definitely be a better tipper for the rest of your life.

Here are some hilarious memes that get to the heart of what it’s like to work in a kitchen. Let’s take a look.

1. Wait your turn to cry.

We’ve all done this, right?

Photo Credit: Demilked

2. Uhhh, are you sure about that?

Doesn’t sound right for some reason…

Photo Credit: Demilked

3. It will be a fight to the death.

Who will survive?!?!

Photo Credit: Demilked

4. Uh oh…this could get ugly.

You better get the manager out here!

Photo Credit: Demilked

5. You gotta make ’em feel a little bit better.

That usually works!

Photo Credit: Demilked

6. A blast right in the face.

Am I melting? I feel like I’m melting…

Photo Credit: Demilked

7. Just remain calm, cool, and collected.

And everything will be just fine.

Photo Credit: Demilked

8. Business up front…

A wild part in the back…

Photo Credit: Demilked

9. Can’t you see that I’m very busy?

I haven’t stopped moving the whole time!

Photo Credit: Demilked

10. We all need a place to cry.

No shame in that!

Photo Credit: Demilked

11. We’ll see about that!

Can I ask you what the hell you’re doing here?

Photo Credit: Demilked

12. You know you do it!

We all do it…

Photo Credit: Demilked

Have you ever worked in a kitchen?

Or maybe in the front of the house in a restaurant?

If so, please share some funny work stories with us. We can’t wait to hear from you!

The post Hilarious and Accurate Memes About What It’s Like to Work in a Kitchen appeared first on UberFacts.

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10+ Chefs Share Some of Their Favorite Recipes That You Can Make at Home

Do you like to cook, or are you the type of person who burns water? Well, who better to get some recipes and tips from than trained chefs, who are out there cooking yummy meals for us day in and day out?

In this AskReddit article, culinary professionals share some of their favorite recipes, most of which are easy enough for even the most inept home cook to get great results!

1. Wings

“Righto, you want some hot wings? Heres my EC Wings recipe, not for the faint of heart y’all. The EC – Existential Crisis – wing recipe is all about level of burn and interaction of different SHU levels in chilli tastes. Let’s get her rollin ey, cos this one will take at least a day to throw together.

Wings, part 1

Get yerself 4 wings – This recipe is for 4 of em so multiply ingredients if needs be – and chuck em in a sealable freezer bag SKIN ON. This ain’t about dietary concerns. Add about

80mls of Soy Sauce (Sweet Soy if you’re skipping the sauce step further down)
30mls of Red Wine Vinegar
60mls Lime Juice, fresh squeezed. None of that bottled shit.
2 cloves of Garlic (finely diced, or a heaped tablespoon of Garlic Paste)
a heaped Teaspoon of Carolina Reaper Paste. For the Reaper paste I recommend Chilli Factory’s one, although this can be substituted for whatever you want heat wise – Sometimes I’ll use a smokey Chipotle instead if I’m cooking for others who ain’t on my chilli level. Regardless: for this recipe, the hottest chilli yer using is for the Marinade.
Mix all that up in a Blender or in a bowl with a fork if you’re old fashioned like that, pour it into the bag with the chook and seal it. Give her a good shake for coverage and chuck it in the fridge overnight – absolute minimum of 12 hours to marinate.

The sauce:

Another overnighter, borrowed this recipe from online and tweaked it a bit. Not a necessary addition, but you’ll be robbing yourself if you don’t do it as well.

12 finely diced Birds Eye Chillies (Peri Peri)
One clove of Garlic
40ml White Vinegar
1/2 teaspoon of salt
Combine and let her sit in room temperature for 12 hours or overnight, longer the better IMO. Now, before cooking the chicken – as the sauce has gotta cool – drop the sauce mix into a small saucepan on medium heat. Add a teaspoon of Caster Sugar and stir through, bringing it to the boil. Then crank yer heat down and let it simmer till the chillies are soft. Pour out and let that cool, I usually chuck mine in e freezer for 30 mins then fridge it. Once cooled, blender time til nice and smooth.

Guess what you just made? SRIRACHA. Noice. Well, Sriracha is with Jalapeños but whatevs, I’m manly and jalapeños are nothing to me. Plus, Jalapeños are in the Part 2 of the chicken.

Anywho, whilst the sauce is chilling in the fridge, pour 100ml of Orange (or Mango, mango works great too) Juice and a shot of Grand Marnier into a small saucepan. Reduce at high heat, whilst sprinkling more caster sugar in slowly, continuously stirring when it comes back to the boil. Once the consistency is thick like cream, take it off the heat, combine it with the homemade Sriracha, and chuck it back in the fridge. You’re left with a fruity dipping sauce that will punch you in the face if you look at it wrong.

Chicken, part 2

Almost there. This step is entirely optional as well, but in for a penny eh?

Finely dice about 6 decent sized Habaneros and [follow this guide here] (https://np.reddit.com/r/spicy/comments/3j5lqs/my_homemade_habanero_powder_xpost_from_rfood/). PROTIP: open all your windows and maybe even chuck on a face mask as the fumes get stuck in the back of your throat pretty damn well.

Chicken part 3, the final chapter

Get yerself a bowl with a few whipped up eggs in it, and two shallow bowls. To one of em, add…

Half a cup of Breadcrumbs
Tablespoon of Salt (I use Himalayan Pink Salt because I’m classy as fuck like that)
Tablespoon of Cracked Black Pepper (Sichuan Peppercorns if you got em, distinct flavour base change for the better)

Sprinkle of Cayenne pepper

Dried Chillies from earlier. If you didn’t do that shrug your loss IMO, cos it makes the recipe.

To the other bowl, chuck a cup of flour in it. Grab your wings one at a time but keep the rest of the Marinade. Give the wings a shake to get rid of excess Marinade, even pat em down with a paper towel. Why, you ask? All that acid from the vinegar and juice earlier has already penetrated the meat like a Seviche and brought the Reaper paste and garlic flavour with it so it’s only needed just prior to cooking now. Give it a dredging in the flour, and carefully dip through the egg wash. Next, hold over the bowl with the chilli breading bits, grab a handful of the mixture and sprinkle it on til you can’t see the meat anymore. DO NOT dredge it in the Breading Mix, trust me. Place the wing on a lightly oiled pan, and when fully loaded back in the fridge uncovered for an hour. This should set the breaded bits.

Finally, preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius and slide those bad boys in there for 15 minutes give or take. Baste over the top with the extra Marinade every 5 minutes, and turn over.

After that long and complicated process, you’ll have the Best Goddamn Hot-Wings you’ll ever eat, or my name ain’t Fatbeard. Which it obviously ain’t, but y’know what I mean.

Who’s hungry?”

2. Tips from dad

“My Dad is a chef and he always makes unusual and delicious stuff. Homemade spicy cocktail sauce with grated jicama in it. Marinade jalapeno slices in soy sauce, it’s great.

The best is something that only other chefs are ever excited to try, but it’s so amazing. Stick with me on this. . . Blue cheese cinnamon rolls.

Start with a good yeast dough, fill with a cinnamon mix that is heavy on the cinnamon and a bit a nutmeg and all spice, and light on the brown sugar. No white sugar at all.

One risen and baked sprinkle with blue cheese crumbles while still warm. Once slightly melty drizzle with a white glaze.

Do not use cream cheese frosting. Do not frost. Light on the sugar glaze, do not treat it like you think you’re Johnson’s corner.

I promise it’s amazing.”

3. Cookies

“Chicago Crunch Chocolate Chip Cookies. My mom originally saw the recipe in Woman’s Day or Family Circle years ago but this is the same one from Recipeland. She’d make these every holiday gathering and when my younger brother and I had curriculum day early release. Some people think it’s weird to put corn flakes inside of your cookies, but it’s actually pretty common in some places. I’ve just never seen it done quite like this before.”

4. Peposo

“Peposo (a black pepper based stew) is pretty great for home cooks. It looks classy as sh!t, it’s easy, doesn’t take much work, and absolutely “holy hell how can something be this good” delicious if you don’t cook often.

The only downside is that they don’t get to see you make it since the “impressive” part of the cooking happens about 3.5 hours before the finishing.

All you need is short rib (bone in you savages), a bottle of Chianti, and a ludicrous quantity of pepper. Of course, salt, tomato paste, a couple herbs, and some rice is definitely a plus.

Smash/crush some garlic, mix with tomato paste and liberally smear onto the short rib.

Buy whole black pepper corns. Crush some using a cutting board and skillet, maybe 2 tablespoons for 3 pounds? I’ve never measured, and usually add ground pepper too.

Put the beef in a pot/saute pan, add pepper on top. Poke in some herbs/ bag leaves/whatever if you have it. Pour in most of a bottle of Chianti. The cheap but not completely shit kind with work. Set it on high heat, turn down as low as you can right before boil. Add lid. Leave for 2 hours. Optionally flip beef prices and if possible, slide the bone out. If you take the bones out, leave them in the pot. Cook for another hour-hour and a half. It’s basically impossible to overdo this stuff, so just don’t stop until it’s basically falling apart when you touch it. Remove the herbs, beef, and bones. Give the bones to the dog. Enjoy his eternal love. Uncover and turn the heat back as high as it will go. Reduce until it’s nice and thick or it’s half the volume it was. Salt to taste (taste your food numbnuts). Put rice/polenta on a plate in a pretty shape. Stack some meat chunks on top. Pour over your sauce (you might need to whisk it to combat separation).

Make sure to make sexy eyes when they take a bite, they will have a spontaneous orgasm.

Honorable mention for learning to make your own marinade so that all your meat tastes better.”

5. Yummy!

“I make a grilled guacamole. Pretty standard guacamole recipe but everything gets charred on the grill and then cut and mashed. Creates the most delicious smoky flavor and takes guac to the next level! Something I thought couldn’t be done.”

6. Blew away the competition

“Mashed potato recipe I found online that blew away the competition this thanksgiving.

Boil 5 lbs of quartered, unpeeled Yukon gold or Idaho gold taters in 4 cups of whole milk, 4 cups of heavy cream, 9 sprigs of thyme, 8 cloves of garlic, 3 bay leaves. Once they are mashable, strain potatoes, remove herbs, mash, then fold the strained milk concoction back in slowly. Fold in 2-4 tablespoons of butter, roughly 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt, pepper, and 3 tablespoons of grainy mustard.

I made turkey too so I took the bacon I used to keep the turkey moist and minced it and threw that in the mashed taters as well. Finally, to make it healthy, I threw in a handful of chopped parsley. Gold it up nicely. Watch as your taters are annihilated at thanksgiving and the sad, russet potato, dry as f*ck mash remains untouched!”

7. Beer bread

“Beer bread. It is one of the easiest things to make and who doesn’t like fresh bread. Take a can of beer, 3 cups of flour, 3 teaspoons of baking powder, 1 teaspoon of salt and mix it together. Put it in a bread pan and throw it in the oven at 375 for an hour. That’s it.”

8. Biscuits and Gravy

“Ok, I have worked as a professional chef, and here’s something wonderful for you out of my recipe file:

Special Biscuits and Gravy for a crowd

Gravy:

1 stick unsalted butter

1 medium sweet or yellow onion, very finely chopped or processed

2-3# fresh, good quality pork sausage

~1/4 c AP flour for thickening

2 c half and half + ~ 2 cups whole milk, preheated to below boiling in microwave

1/2 t fresh nutmeg

pinch cayenne pepper

salt & pepper to taste

In a medium dutch oven, over med heat, melt butter and then sauté onions until they are deeply caramelized, stirring often. Set onions aside, spray dutch oven with nonstick spray, add pork sausage, cook until heavily browned. Reintroduce onions, add flour, tossing mixture to combine – no flour specks should be visible.

Add hot milk mixture to pork and onions, using whisk or wooden spoon to scrape up fond and combine. Increase heat to med-high, stirring constantly, then drop to low when it starts simmering. Add nutmeg, cayenne, salt & pepper to taste.

Biscuits:

3 c cake flour

3 c AP flour

2 sticks butter, chilled, cut into slices

2 c shredded sharp cheddar cheese, frozen

1 T kosher salt

2 T baking powder

1/2 c finely chopped green onions (optional)

~2 c chilled cream

Preheat oven to 350F convection, 375F standard oven.

Process the cake flour with 1 stick butter until only small specks of butter remain, dump into stand mixer work bowl. Repeat with AP flour. Add cheese, salt, baking powder, green onions. Mix on low in stand mixer to thoroughly combine. Put flour mixture in freezer for 20 minutes. Add cream until a wet, sticky dough is formed, don’t overmix, make sure nothing dry remains on the bottom of the work bowl.

Using a greased spatula, turn dough out onto a heavily greased half sheet, pressing it into the corners. Bake, turning pan once, until golden, about 25 minutes.

Split hot biscuits, top with gravy.”

9. Simple and awesome

“I make a great coconut curry. It is so simple and tastes awesome.

To make the spice mix combine:

1/2 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp coriander 1/2 tsp cardamom 1/2 tsp ground cloves 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 1/4 tsp chili powder 1/4 tsp ground ginger 1/4 tsp turmeric salt and pepper to taste red pepper flakes to taste

In a medium sized sauce pan with enough olive oil to cover the bottom, brown some meat of choice (preferably, cubed beef, chicken or ground lamb in little meat balls).Add a diced medium sized onion once the meat is 3/4 cooked through. Once the onion goes translucent, add 2 cloves minced garlic. Add a sliced hot pepper (or peppers of your choice) and the spice mix. Stir through for 20-30 seconds and then add a can of coconut milk. Stir that and bring to a simmer. Take off the stove and serve over rice.”

10. Ooooohhhh this sounds good

“PEI POTATO CHOCOLATE CAKE

1 cup hot mashed potatoes, not seasoned
1 cup lukewarm water
2/3 cup soft margarine
2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 eggs
2 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350°F . Prepare cake pan (tube pan) by lightly greasing & then dusting with flour. Whisk water into well mashed potatoes until a smooth mixture is formed. Cool to lukewarm.

Beat margarine & sugar with electric mixer until combined. Add vanilla & beat 2 minutes at medium speed. Add 2 eggs and beat until blended. Add remaining 2 eggs. Beat at medium speed until blended. Sift together dry ingredients & stir to combine. At low speed, add 1/3 of the sifted dry ingredients, alternately with half the potato mixture, until all is blended.

Fold in chocolate chips. Turn batter into prepared pan. Bake in over for about 55 minutes. Cool on rack. Top with confectioners’ sugar.

Enjoy!”

11. Carnitas!

“There was a carnitas recipe on Reddit not long ago… tried it, even went to a special grocery store for Mexican coke since the recipe is different than typical American Coke… it was heavenly. And so inexpensive. And freezes so well. Three criteria for a great bulk recipe that makes your life easier, your wallet richer, and your soul happier.

Edit to add recipe from original post. If you want to find it, its on r/slowcooker

Inspired by /u/Lalalaraee !

4 pounds (or 2 kg) pork butt (or shoulder)

3-4 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon dried oregano (or Mexican oregano)

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 large brown or white onion, cut into wedges

8 cloves garlic, smashed

2 limes, juiced

2 large oranges, juiced (or 3/4 cup natural orange juice)

3/4 cup Original coke (Mexican coke is ideal)

2 bay leaves

Combine everything and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Don’t discard liquid!

Place on baking sheet, cover with 1 cup of liquid and broil. Watch closely!

The recipe recommended broiling for 15 minutes but I only broiled for 5, any longer and ours would have burned. Enjoy guys!”

12. A good bargain

“I did the chef thing for a while but didn’t like the end-game. Switched focus to bodybuilding but still have some ezmode recipes that even redditors can’t screw up.

Fish. Tilapia / Salmon / Whatev

Let sit till room temp. Put it on a sheet of foil.
Drizzle with olive oil.
Add lemon pepper and creole or season-all.
Pinch of parsely. Can be fresh, doesn’t matter.
Fold it up in foil, like a pouch, so no fluid will escape. Bake it at 425F (Make sure oven is preheated.) for 10-12 minutes depending on how big it is. 10 will be safe to eat for any size and 12 won’t overcook the smallest pieces so set your timer for 10 minutes and if it sits in the oven an extra 2 don’t stress.

Unwrap it and you’re good to go. Restaurants will charge a good $15-30 for this and you can make this for under $5.”

13. CHILI

“My mom’s super easy white chicken chili recipe, and my all time favorite. This recipe has won 3 different chili cookoffs and nobody knows just how easy and effortless it is.

1 cup sour cream

15 ounces chicken broth, maybe a little more depending on preference.

2 cups freshly shredded Monterrey jack cheese

1 small can green chilis

3 cans Great Northern beans (those white beans, whatever they’re called)

Chicken breast. I usually do 2 or 3 depending on the size.

How to make:

Cook chicken however you want, shred it or chop it, your choice. I usually just bake the chicken for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. My wife prefers shredded, I prefer chopped cuz ain’t nobody got time for that.

Drain the beans, rinse em if you want. I mash half of them, my mom doesn’t, do what you want here.

Once chicken and beans are done, throw them in a pan and add everything else on the list and mix it up, bring it up to a medium heat and just mix it around until it’s all hot, usually 20 minutes or so. The longer the better. Just cook it until your hunger decides enough is enough. When we do this chili we usually go the Crockpot route – add everything to the Crockpot and cook on low for anywhere between 3-9 hours.

Chili best enjoyed poured over fritos, with lime sprinkled over the top.”

14. Making it for decades

“Beef Wellington with mushroom pate. Never fails…been making it for decades!

2 filet mignons, about 1 inch thick

salt and pepper, to taste

1 recipe mushroom pate (see below)

1 pkg frozen puff pastry shells or dough

1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon milk or cream

Thaw puff pastry. Season filets with salt and pepper. On a board, roll out 2 puff pastry shells (or if using sheets, roll out the sheet) cutting a round big enough to encase the filets. Spread the pate on top of each filet. Wrap the filets in puff pastry, pate side down so the seams are on the bottom of each wrapped filet. Seal the edges with the egg mixture. Brush egg mixture all over pastry to give a glossy sheen. Roll out another sheet of pastry. Cut out shapes you desire and and decorate each wrapped filet. Brush again with egg mixture. Bake the wrapped filets on cookie sheet in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes. The pastry will be golden brown. The filets will come out medium rare. If you are a well done lover, this will not work. Tenderloin is best under-cooked. It might get tough if you cook them till they are well done.Mushroom Pate:

Ingredients10 Tbsp butter, cut in pieces.2 1/2 c flour1/2 tsp salt1/3 c sour cream1 egg, slightly beaten4 Tbsp butter3 Tbsp finely chopped shallots1/2 lb finely chopped mushrooms2 Tbsp flour1 c heavy cream (whipping cream)1 Tbsp finely chopped chives1/2 tsp salt1/2 tsp lemon juice parsley sprigs, optional for garnish.

In heavy skillet melt butter. Add shallots cook for 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Shallots should not brown. Blend in mushrooms. Cook until all moisture evaporates, about 10-15 minutes. Sprinkle flour over mixture. Mix well. Stirring constantly, add cream and bring to a boil. When mixture thickens, reduce heat and simmer for a minute or 2. Remove from heat. Stir in remaining ingredients; cool.”

15. Moroccan food

“Shakshouka. Moroccan dish. It’s basically eggs poached in tomato sauce with veggies. Easy to make, delicious and flexible.

Add a generous amount of olive oil in a pan. Add thinly sliced onions. Saute. When they’re half-done, add thinly sliced red, yellow and green peppers (bell or horn, either works). Saute a bit more. Add diced garlic and pepper. This is the point where I add a splash of cold water to prevent burning and lower the heat to minimum.

Take a can of tomatoes and pour them in a bowl. Crush them with your hand and remove the harder parts (where the stem was attached). Add a pinch of salt and sugar (you need sugar to balance out the acidity of tomatoes).

When the water evaporates, pour in the tomatoes. Simmer for a minute or two, then mix in any herbs and spices you want – oregano, thyme and basil all work. Simmer for 10-20 minutes and enjoy the aromas. At this point, you can stop cooking and have an AMAZING pasta sauce. However, that is not shakshouka. You can also take a break at this point – say, if you’re prepping it for tomorrow, you can put it in the fridge until then.

In any case, when you want to eat, bring it to what’s effectively a boil, then reduce the heat. Use a tablespoon to make small holes in the sauce, then break in eggs. Salt to taste and a twist of black pepper. Garnish with chives, parsley and/or chili flakes. Serve with bread on the side.

If you want it hot, you can infuse the oil or just add chili peppers with regular peppers. You can also use whatever other veggies you have – for example, zucchini add thickness and volume, so you’ll want to use more water. :)”

The post 10+ Chefs Share Some of Their Favorite Recipes That You Can Make at Home appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

15 Professional but Totally Unnecessary Things Chefs Do During Meal Prep

With the increase in popularity of shows on the Food Network (shoutout to the Pioneer Woman), meal kits, and recipe blogs on the internet, it’s easier than ever to feel like a professional chef at home.

However, sometimes those outlets make us think we need to be too fancy. Thankfully, these 13+ chefs are here to tell you the steps/processes that you can go ahead and skip.

#15. Beautiful grill marks

“Giving the meat a quarter turn a few minutes before it’s done on the grill. It gives the meat beautiful cross hatched grill marks but does nothing for the quality of the meat.”

#14. Frenching

“Frenching. You usually see it on fancy cuts of meat like tomahawk steaks or racks of lamb. It improves the look of the cut, is pretty easy to do and most people have come to expect it when ordering more expensive cuts of meat. This step is unnecessary to me though because the part that is trimmed off is super tender and fatty and delicious, so if I have the option, I request an unfrenched cut.”

#13. Sounds more sophisticated

“Truffle oil. I feel the vast majority of the time it’s added only so that the dish sounds more sophisticated.”

#12. A little fire

“Flambé is bullshit. It’s literally just setting the alcohol on fire that has already boiled off from the dish and doesn’t burn hot enough at the surface to create any Maillard reaction products. I do it to entertain my three year old. He loves it.”

#11. Tiny stems

“Tiny stems in fresh parsley, cilantro, rosemary, thyme, tarragon, basil etc.

Seperating that last 2-5 mm from the leaf to the stalk is not important and generally speaking, it’s both tender and packed with flavor. But, but, muh atention too detales…”

#10. Zero nutritional value

“Adding edible gold to any food. It does not affect the taste and has zero nutritional value, as it will just pass through your digestive system without being absorbed. Well, at least you will literally be shitting gold after eating it.”

#9. Choking hazards

“Leaving the tails on shrimp for ornament. In stir fries, curries, etc., now I have to get in there and remove something it was actually easier to just take off with the rest of the shell.

Why leave these choking hazards in an otherwise entirely edible meal to be discreetly stashed at the side of a plate or in a napkin?”

#8. Sure, it’s pretty, but…

“Garnishing with fucking micro greens that you have to clean and fucking pick the seeds out of. It takes forever and most people just take them off anyway. Sure, it’s pretty, but spending 45 minutes of my prep time going through a box of them really sucks.”

#7. Peeling

“Peeling carrots and potatoes. Give them a good wash and they’re fine. Hell, potato skins improve mashed potatoes, imo.”

#6. Baker’s napalm

“Traditional French desserts like croquembouche and gateau st honore only exist to make me feel like a failure.

Cream puffs have no business being in a conical shape held up by baker’s napalm.”

#5. No one wants to try and cut into that mess

“the food tower… it may look nice, bit no one wants to try and cut into that mess.”

#4. Suddenly you’re fancy

“Parsley. Put it on anything, and suddenly you’re fancy.”

#3. Plate appeal

“Plating.

High-end restaurants take great pains to make sure meals are plated well and look appealing from a purely aesthetic standpoint.

When cooking at home, I generally don’t put as much effort into the “plate appeal”.”

#2. A few

“Here are a few

Vanilla beans. I LOVE them and they are so complex and beautiful. It’s professional to bring them out in dishes, but really not necessary. Vanilla extract, though not as good. Will work just fine. Especially when a vial of 3 beans costs $10.
Those paper things that go on the bone stumps of a cooked turkey. So useless I won’t even google their name.
Blowing smoke into your cloche dome. Revealing your plated food as smoke bellows out from it and revealing the dish is cool as hell and professional. Though it technically adds flavour, you likely also used the smoke gun earlier in the cooking process to add flavour that it is not needed again.”

#1. Miniature bowls (looking at you, Ree Drummond)

“Putting all the ingredients in miniature bowls.”

Here’s to your next delicious meal at home!

The post 15 Professional but Totally Unnecessary Things Chefs Do During Meal Prep appeared first on UberFacts.