What Are Your Favorite Cooking Tips And Tricks?

[RichardFlack]

@David K o l i n

Don’t be afraid of salt and heat

+1

[RichardFlack]

@Chris Blum

Roasted potatoes

Oven to 425ish, convection on.
Cut potatoes into desired size
Put some fat (butter is nice for browning) in a baking pan an put in the oven
Cook medium low in sugared water for a few minutes (just enough to break down the outside)
Drain, toss w fat, salt, pepper, and any herbs. Be rough, you want to beat them up a bit to create a slurry of fat and potato starch as a coating.
Dump the coated potatoes and slurry into the hot baking pan.
Cook high for 10-15, then you can turn them down.

Or, Duck fat

[RichardFlack]

@Chris Freemott

Never underestimate the value of foil and parchment to aid cleanup.

Reheat pizza in a skillet. Start in the oven but finish on range top. Crisps the crust back up.

Never let my wife cook if you want to enjoy the food.

Your wife is not on WB?

[cjsavino]

Keep a container of duck fat around. If you do not use it regularly, keep it in the freezer and take off pieces as needed.

[Brian_Tuite]

@cjsavino

Keep a container of duck fat and a bottle of Lipitor around. If you do not use it regularly, keep it in the freezer and take off pieces as needed.

FIFY!

[RichardFlack]

@cjsavino

Keep a container of duck fat around. If you do not use it regularly, keep it in the freezer and take off pieces as needed.

+1

Terrific for roast pots, or fried eggs.
#2 for fried eggs would be olive oil.

[Chris_Freemott]

Ha. No, Richard she isn’t. However. If she read that she would agree. It’s not a secret she is terrible in the kitchen.

Excellent veterinarian. Can’t make toast. No joke.

[Brian_Tuite]

@RichardFlack

@cjsavino

Keep a container of duck fat around. If you do not use it regularly, keep it in the freezer and take off pieces as needed.

+1

Terrific for roast pots, or fried eggs.
#2 for fried eggs would be olive oil.

I grew up on bacon fat for fried eggs.

[CJ_Beazley]

@Brian Tuite

@RichardFlack

@cjsavino

Keep a container of duck fat around. If you do not use it regularly, keep it in the freezer and take off pieces as needed.

+1

Terrific for roast pots, or fried eggs.
#2 for fried eggs would be olive oil.

I grew up on bacon fat for fried eggs.

+1

[Ron_Kramer]

When trying to remove a piece egg shell from a dish, wet your finger which will enable you to remove the shell forthwith.

[Andrew_Morris]

@PeterH

@Bill Tex Landreth

Bring water to right at 100 Deg C to cook pasta.

Tough to do if you are thousands of feet above sea level.

P Hickner

Also hard if you have added any salt.

[Mel_Hill]

Subscribe to Cook’s Illustrated for a few years, read Serious Eats website often. Read recipes start to finish prior to starting to cook. Do all your prep work prior to starting a dish. Clean as you go. Have a clean kitchen towel to wipe down your workspace often. Don’t listen to family members who want their beef cooked beyond medium rare (leave the pan so they can fire their portion to their liking)

[Henry_Kiichli]

I like to cook spaghetti in our largest frying pan. The water boils faster, and the entire length fits in immediately.

[Victor_Hong]

@Mel Hill

Subscribe to Cook’s Illustrated for a few years, read Serious Eats website often. Read recipes start to finish prior to starting to cook. Do all your prep work prior to starting a dish. Clean as you go. Have a clean kitchen towel to wipe down your workspace often. Don’t listen to family members who want their beef cooked beyond medium rare (leave the pan so they can fire their portion to their liking)

I do that, and can serve each meal amid almost no remnant clean-up.

[Elliot_Steele]

@Victor Hong

@Mel Hill

Subscribe to Cook’s Illustrated for a few years, read Serious Eats website often. Read recipes start to finish prior to starting to cook. Do all your prep work prior to starting a dish. Clean as you go. Have a clean kitchen towel to wipe down your workspace often. Don’t listen to family members who want their beef cooked beyond medium rare (leave the pan so they can fire their portion to their liking)

I do that, and can serve each meal amid almost no remnant clean-up.

Speaking of clean up the best one trick pony in the kitchen has to be Bar Keeper’s Friend. There’s nothing it can’t do.

[Victor_Hong]

I use a squeegee to keep my kitchen counter clean, dry, and grease-free. Just wet the granite with water, and squeegee any mess into the sink. Saves from using paper and soap, and leaves plenty of sanitary work space during cooking.

[RichardFlack]

@Brian Tuite

@RichardFlack

@cjsavino

Keep a container of duck fat around. If you do not use it regularly, keep it in the freezer and take off pieces as needed.

+1

Terrific for roast pots, or fried eggs.
#2 for fried eggs would be olive oil.

I grew up on bacon fat for fried eggs.

Bacon fat is pretty tricky IMHO. I’m assuming your talking about real bacon, I still find it hard to keep it from browning badly and discoloring the eggs. (And of course the slurry you get from supermarket bacon should not be used to cook anything).

[RichardFlack]

@Andrew Morris

@PeterH

@Bill Tex Landreth

Bring water to right at 100 Deg C to cook pasta.

Tough to do if you are thousands of feet above sea level.

P Hickner

Also hard if you have added any salt.

Huh? Salt raises the boiling point a little, doesn’t it?

[Andrew_Morris]

@RichardFlack

@Andrew Morris

@Bill Tex Landreth

Bring water to right at 100 Deg C to cook pasta.

Also hard if you have added any salt.

Huh? Salt raises the boiling point a little, doesn’t it?

Unless my Chemisty Professors were lying.

[Colby_Scott]

@Jason T

What a great thread. So many ingenious tricks here!

Agreed. Love stuff like this.

My only tip is to make your next lobster roll with King’s Hawaiian sweet hot dog buns.