15 tricks from professional chefs that you will not find in any cookbook
Professional chefs keep all their cooking tricks secret, and only share them with their students. However, we managed to learn some useful cooking tips.
We've put together the cooking tricks of renowned chefs from around the world to help you make your dishes as wonderful as Gordon Ramsay. Or even better. There is also a bonus for you at the end of the article: the most unusual cooking trick you have ever heard.
1. The perfect steak
Do not fry the meat you just took out of the fridge. Leave it for an hour or 2 hours before cooking to reach room temperature. Now you will fry the meat evenly and you will have a wonderful meal, no matter how you like the steak. If you want a nice brown crust on your steak, get rid of all the moisture from the meat before frying it.
2. The juiciest meat
It takes time to properly fry chicken or pork and they can dry very easily. To avoid this, many European chefs use a simple trick: they put the meat in brine. It is very easy to make a good brine: take 3 cups of water and add ¼ cup of salt and. Cup of sugar. Pour the salt water into your meat so that the liquid covers it and put the bowl in the fridge. The salting time depends on the thickness of the steaks you have - about 1 hour for 1 kg of meat. Do not leave it for more than 8 hours or less than half an hour. If you are cooking chicken wings, the salting time depends on the average weight of 1 wing. Do not forget to lightly beat the steaks before cooking.
3. Aromatic spices
To extract natural flavors and improve the flavor of black pepper or cumin on your plate, put it in a saucepan over medium heat, cooking until flavored. After that, you can use a mortar and pestle to grind your spices. You can replace ground black pepper with peppercorns and crush the seeds. When you add it to your dish, you will have a much better aroma and taste.
4. Light and airy dough
If you want to cook the perfect dough, follow this simple rule: take the butter and eggs out of the fridge the night before to allow them to reach room temperature. You will thank us later.
5. Fish with a thin crust
If you want to grill the fish, spread a little mayonnaise on them to have a delicious and delicate crust. Take a pastry brush, dip its tip in the sauce and lightly spread the mayonnaise on the fish. Add a little salt and then bake. We guarantee that they will have a perfect golden crust. Use the minimum amount of spices in your fish. It is better to use salt. When the fish is done, add lemon juice for even better results.
6. Cook the steak without oil
Alain Ducasse, one of the most famous chefs in the world, revealed his secret to cooking a great steak. According to him, the steak must be placed on its edges to melt the fat. After that you can cook the steak in beef fat, as it creates a delicious crust on its edges. This way you do not need to use oil during cooking. It is so simple.
7. Creamy mashed potatoes
Before turning the boiled potatoes into puree, you must dry them properly. Just place them in a clean heated pan and leave them there until the water remains dry. Do not let the fire fry them. When the potatoes are dry, they make the best creamy mashed potatoes. A little secret: to avoid splashing hot milk when making mashed potatoes, crush some of them in a saucepan and then add the milk.
8. Excellent creamy soup
Just before you start cooking vegetable soup, fry all the vegetables separately with olive oil. Then add a little water or broth. Frying will caramelize the sugar in the vegetables and enhance their taste. The dish will be excellent and delicious. The same trick can be applied to the vegetable stew.
9. The best pancakes
Regardless of the recipe you follow, always add 2 tablespoons of sour cream to the mixture. This trick can be applied to all types of pancakes making them very tasty, fluffy and without breaks.
10. Sugar does not only give sweetness
Sugar can be as good a spice as salt. Add a little sugar to a pickle dish or to fresh tomatoes or a tomato paste - the sugar will reduce their natural acidity and make them taste better.
11. The hardest part: perfect fried eggs
The 3 ingredients for perfect fried eggs are: pan, butter and minimal heat. Heat the pan and add 1/2 tablespoon butter. It should melt slowly but not burn. Break the eggs and cook for 4-5 minutes. Add salt and enjoy the perfect fried eggs.
12. Transparent broth
A clear broth is the main ingredient in many soups, sauces and other dishes. To make a crystal broth, you need to cook the chicken on low heat without a lid for at least 3 hours. Do not let it boil and remove the foams as they appear. After cooking for 1,5 hours, you can add parsley, celery, carrots and onions. When cooking a beef or lamb broth, you may want to cook root vegetables before adding them to your soup. Just cut them in half and put them in a heated pan without oil. Fry them until a dark brown crust appears and then add them to the broth. This trick will make the taste of your dish very rich.
13. Crisp bread
If you bake at home, you may have difficulty with the crust: it is either too uncooked or too thick. You can solve this problem very easily by putting a bowl of water in your oven when you bake it. The steam will do magic to have a good crispy crust of bread.
14. Cook the onions properly
Use a medium heat for frying and add both cooking oil and butter to the heated pan. Chop the onions and fry them with a little salt. Salt does 3 good things: it relieves the unpleasant smell of onions, helps them cook faster and caramelizes them by adding a sweet taste. You should only use butter for frying onions. If you want to avoid the dark color, use melted butter.
15. Do not be afraid of garlic
Not only vampires are afraid of garlic! The smell of it can ruin a business meeting or a romantic dinner. If you still like to eat it, but do not want to scare the person you are dating, do not put garlic on the plate. Instead, you can add a little garlic juice. This way you will avoid the unpleasant smell and you will enjoy your favorite taste.
Bonus: Say no to non-stick pans!
Have you ever noticed that it is very difficult to cook something with a crispy crust in a non-stick pan? The reason is the non-stick coating. Use this type of pan only for frying eggs and pancakes. But if you want your meat or fish to have a golden crust, buy a new pan without a non-stick coating. You will taste the difference.