Imagination flies on the wings of basics. Part 2

We got the Moist cooking methods down right? Let's move on to the dry.
 Here's something to know. Burnt tastes good. Well ok, not BURNED but caramelized. Sit down kids I have a story to tell.
 Once upon a time a very long time ago when we all ate raw Mastodons and Saber-Tooth Tigers ate us. Some unknown proto-chef dropped his cold haunch of yuck into the fire. Once he dug it out and pawed off all the ashes he (or maybe she) discovered something wonderful. Cooked food is better than raw.



There's some science here. See the thing is this, we don't digest raw food well, despite what the left-coast food-fascists tell us. We lack the enzymes to break down the cell walls of most proteins and vegetables. Although uncooked food contains more nutrients, we can't digest them if they are still inside those cells. Plus and YAY!! heat adds savoriness and color and also breaks down connective tissue which we can't digest without it. Take a bite of a raw Rib-eye if you don't believe me.
 Here's another fun fact. Our palettes are geared towards complex flavors. Nature steers us towards what's best. Trust your guts. Fire makes everything better.

we DO however need a certain amount of raw fruits and vegetables in our diet, so don't be stupid and refuse yourself the pleasure of a fresh apple, leafy greens etc. 

 Roasting: DRY
 This involves surrounding the item with intense heat. It's terrific for most proteins with surface fat and all vegetables. Renders fat and produces a succulent finished product.

roasting both chicken and vegetables

Grilling: DRY

I'm from Arizona. Grilling is our State sport. A friendly argument exists between the charcoal vs gas crowds but that's a different article. It's food placed over heat suspended by a grill. This works wonderfully for anything. I've grilled meat, vegetables and fruit. You cannot deny the loveliness of grilled peach halves then filled with a mixture of Ricotta and honey. 

Lisa K's Cumin and Lemon chicken

Bake: DRY

Done by surrounding food with heat. This applies to any layered meat or vegetable. Bake you say? Isn't that what we do to cakes, muffins and bread? Well sure, same process. What did you think Mom was doing to that casserole? Stick it in an oven and go nuts.

Who remembers Arthur the giant Zucchini?

Cooking with fat. NO, NO, COME BACK  HERE. Sit back down, fat loves you. 

Saute: DRY but with fat. See? It's ok

A tremendously useful cooking method. It involves cooking in a large hot surface with a small amount of fat. Absolutely my favorite cooking method. It can be applied to meats, vegetables and fruits. Heat up your widest pan. Add a splash of oil, butter, whatever and add SMALL amounts of your item. This creates caramelization and fond which can be used to create a sauce. 

do not crowd your pan

 When sauteing, always add a pinch of salt, it helps pull out water which in turn pulls out natural sugars and creates a lovely brown color and rich flavors. 

using fond and a splash of wine adds intense flavors

Pan-frying: DRY

 A layer of fat is used to brown an item that has been coated in batter or breading. Or not. Depends on the item. Flip. The only difference between this and saute is the amount of fat. Use a wide pan. If I'm doing fish I use batter, if I'm not then I don't. If I'm doing chicken-fried steak then I do, If I'm making my Pollo-Cacciatora then I don't. So is this a moist or dry cooking method? Ask me. 

pan-fried Catfish

Deep-frying. 

Submerged into fat, either a batter itself (donuts) or batter-covered item. I don't do this much, 'nuff said. Go to the Arizona State Fair and knock yourself out. This important thing to know is to keep an even hot temperature. 400 degrees usually does it. Keep it dry. Change your oil if it starts to stink. 

TODAY'S QUIZ. Again just one question. What did you cook today and what cooking method did you use and why? 

This is cooking poor, eating rich

get your grub on

Ciao

Imagination flies on the wings of basics. Part 1

"Oh no", you are saying to yourself. "Nick is getting on his soapbox again." Well yes, and no.
 The real secret to knowing how to cook is simple. Learn the basic cooking methods and what to apply them to. That's what we learn in Chef School and yes we pick-up a lot of recipes too.
 Let me ask you this.  What's easier, memorizing a book of recipes or learning some basic cooking methods and some simple facts about ingredients and applying them. Right.


Now then, there are two groups of cooking methods. MOIST and DRY. There's a quiz later so pay attention.

 The factor in deciding which to use is the consistency of our main ingredient. High fat and connective tissue? Or delicate, low in fat? Is it a fibrous vegetable? Is it a starch? Is it a protein? Fish? Beef? Whatever, there is a cooking method appropriate for it.

There are only a few cultures in the world that have codified this and they are often referred to as the "super-cuisines" what are they? 

To demonstrate, I'm going to be posting some photos from past articles, we've used just about all methods in the last three years. See? You were learning stuff and you didn't even know it.
 You're welcome.

Poaching: MOIST
 Done in hot but not boiling liquid. It's used for things like flakey white fish, eggs out of the shell or meats to remove any unwanted flavors or to par-cook it for finishing later. Sure, water is fine but think of the possibilities when you use fish, chicken or vegetable stock. Use white wine for shellfish or chicken. Add herbs, aromatics and spices to make your own mark.

Poaching the chicken for Mariam's Assyrian Chicken

Simmer: MOIST
 Bring to a boil and let simmer. Standard instruction on countless recipes but what exactly does that mean? Simmering is still kinda boiling but is JUST under a rolling boil. Boiling is a violent agitation of liquid and while useful in some recipes is absolute death to most proteins. Simmering is much gentler and gets you a better finished product. Keeping a lid on once you reach boiling and turning the heat down drastically gets you there. Check it often. Related to Braise which we'll talk about next.

bring chicken stock up to a boil, remove scum and lower to simmer

Braise: MOIST
 Braising is done by cooking in a smallish amount of liquid, usually stock, wine or whatever. It's great for large pieces of protein with lots of connective tissue. Meats are usually browned first and the liquid added after. Pot-Roast is a great example of this. It's also useful for fibrous vegetables like cabbage. Braising breaks down tough parts and slowly infuses the finished product with any flavoring agents incorporated in the liquid. If you've been following this blog you'll see it a lot. It can make even the cheapest cuts world-class.

wine makes a terrific Braising medium

Blanch: MOIST

Simply, used to par-cook or partially cook an item. If you've ever cooked professionally you know what this is. Blanch your green-beans and finish later. Great if you're in a position where you want to get as much cooking out of the way now. It's done quickly in full on boiling liquid, the item is put in, cooked partially and either held warm or chilled in ice-water. I use this method to remove peels from fruits or vegetables. The other useful trick is to Blanch pasta and set aside in ice-water, then remove and hold dry until added to a pan-sauce. The method that uses Blanching to remove peels is called "concasse" 

part deaux

Blanching part one

  
















Steam: MOIST
 Used like poaching for delicate foods or in cooking foods where you want to feature the natural flavors. Great for vegetables, chicken breast and fish. Adds moisture but leaves foods fresh tasting without adding any fat.


 Here's the answer to the question "what are the "super-cuisines?" They are of course The Italians, The French and The Chinese. Although there is a friendly argument that The Moroccans belong on the list. What they did instead of just handing down recipes is to examine and scientifically record WHAT method worked with WHAT ingredient. While there are some truly remarkable cultural cuisines out there, it is generally thought that the "supers" and their cooking methods are the basis for all of it.

OK the QUIZ.
 There's only one question. What did YOU cook this week and what cooking methods did you use?

I did Classic Chicken and Dumplings which uses Simmer, Braise and Steam. 

Next time...DRY COOKING METHODS

For now this is cooking poor, eating rich

get your grub on

Ciao