Have you ever sat down at the dinner table after a long ordeal in the kitchen only to be underwhelmed by the results? That doesn’t have to happen again, because a bland meal is often just a few simple steps away from delicious dining. Try out these professional cooking tips from a seasoned culinary expert.
Boost Flavor with Simple Ingredients
If your cooking ever seems under-seasoned, the answer likely isn’t heaps of extra ingredients or complicated sauces – it could be as simple as adding a little extra salt during the cooking process, plus a dash more right at the end. The bitterness of salt is all it takes to highlight the flavors that are already in your food. If your ingredients are naturally bitter, then a pinch of sugar added to the mix can bring balance to the dish. You can even cut the richness of fatty foods with an acidic addition like vinegar or lemon juice. If you are prepping a sauce and want that glossy finish and velvety texture you see in restaurants, just ease off the heat and swirl in a few cuts of cold butter right at the end.
Be Patient with Steak
As soon as a steak hits the pan and that wonderful aroma kicks up, many cooks are tempted to poke, prod, and flip it. However, all this movement will interfere with the dark brown sear that is expected from a properly cooked steak. In order to achieve that mouth-watering sear, you need to let the steak cook undisturbed on each side for a few minutes each. When the beef is sufficiently seared, you’ll find that it no longer sticks to the pan. When the steak comes off the heat, you’ll still have to wait a bit longer, as it must rest for about 10 minutes to let the juices settle evenly through the meat.
Deglaze Your Pan
When you take your food off a hot pan, you may see some browned bits stuck to the metal. There’s a lot of flavor in that caramelized layer, and you can use it to make a delicious sauce by deglazing the pan. While the pan’s still hot, carefully pour on some stock or other liquid, then stir to mix it all into the base for your sauce. Deglazing your pans will also make them much, much easier to clean when the cooking is over.
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