Professional chefs keep their cooking tricks a secret, sharing them only
with their students. But we are sharing some drops of cooking wisdom
right here. These tips, brought to you by professional chefs from around
the world, will help make your dishes taste as good as Gordon Ramsay's,
or better!
1. The perfect steak
If you've just taken a piece of meat out of the fridge, don't fry it.
Leave it to set for an hour or two before cooking, until it's at room
temperature. Then fry the meat evenly, and regardless of how you like
your steak done, you'll get a great meal. For a brown crust on your
steak, get rid of all the moisture in the meat.
2. The juiciest meat
It takes time to fry chicken or pork properly, yet you can dry them out
very easily. But European chefs use a simple trick to ensure that the
meat gets cooked properly: they put the meat in a brine. To make a good
brine, take 3 cups of water, add 1/4 cup of salt and 1/4 cup of sugar.
Then pour the brine onto your meat, ensuring that the liquid covers it,
putting it in the fridge. The time it takes to marinate will depend on
the thickness of the chops. But roughly calculate about 1 hour for 1kg
of meat. Just be sure to not let your meat marinate for more than 8
hours or less than half an hour. If preparing chicken wings, the time
should be based on an average weight of one wing. Be sure to pat the
chops dry before cooking.
3. Flavoring spices
Want a taste of spices in your dish? To enhance the taste, toss them in a pan over medium-high heat, toasting until fragrant. Then use a mortar and pestle to grind your spices. When using black pepper, you can supplement with black peppercorns, cracking the seeds. This will add a better aroma and flavor.
4. Light and airy dough
For the perfect dough, follow this simple rule: take the butter and eggs out of the fridge the night before, so that they are at room temperature.
5. Fish with a delicate crust
Want to fry fish on a grill? Spread some mayonnaise on it to get a
tasty, delicate crust. Using a pastry brush, dip the tip in the sauce,
and lightly apply mayonnaise to the fish. Add some salt, then grill it.
This will guarantee you a perfect golden crust. Keep spices to a
minimum, and use salt instead. When the fish is done, spritz it with
lemon juice for the best result.
6. Cooking steak without oil
One of the world's most famous chefs, Alain Ducasse, revealed his secret for cooking a great steak. He suggests placing the steak on its edge because it renders the fat while creating an appetizing crust on the edges. You also don't need to use oil while cooking. Easy!
7. Creamy mashed potatoes
Before turning boiled potatoes into mashed, dry them properly. Place
them in a clean heated frying pan and keep them there until the remains
of water dry out. When dry, you'll get the best creamy mashed potatoes.
To avoid hot milk splashing you when you make mashed potatoes, mash some
of them in a pan, then add the milk.
8. Excellent cream soup
Before you start cooking vegetable cream soup, fry all the vegetables separately with olive oil. Then add some water or a broth. Frying will caramelize the sugar in the vegetables and enhance their flavor. This will make the dish taste exquisite and tasty. This can also be applied to a vegetable stew.
9. The best pancakes
Regardless of the recipe you follow, add two tablespoons of sour cream to the mix. This trick suits all kinds of pancakes well, ensuring that they will turn out to be very tasty, fluffy and free of cracks.
10. Sugar is not for sweetness
Sugar is as great a seasoning as salt. So add a bit of sugar to a dish with pickled or fresh tomatoes or a tomato paste - the sugar will reduce their natural sourness, making the meal taste better.
11. Perfectly fried eggs
There are 3 components to making a perfectly fried egg. First is a
thick-walled frying pan, some butter, and minimum heat. Heat the frying
pan and add 1/2 a tablespoon of butter. Allow the butter to melt slowly,
without sizzling. Break the eggs and cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Add salt
and enjoy!