Cooking Techniques to be a Great Cook

Cooking is simple, really. You buy food (often the most difficult part), cut it up (while leaving fingers intact), combine a few flavors, and apply heat. The result - once you know what you’re doing - is predictable and is called dinner. But you can eat well or poorly.
There are fewer than 10 distinct cooking techniques, and five are your go-to plays: roasting, broiling/grilling, braising, boiling, and sautéing. Master them and the possibilities for creating simple, delicious, healthy food in your kitchen become endless.

At the end of the article I´ll give you 3 low-fat cooking tips to be a complete Great Cook.

The Technique: Roasting

Roasting employs dry, indirect heat to add a tasty crust to meat or to brown a pan of vegetables. It’s also a great way to intensify the natural sweetness of fruits and vegetables
You want to start with an oven that’s preheated at a high temperature to seal the meat thus preventing a loss of juices while at the same time caramelizing the surface.
After 10- 20 minutes, lower the temperature and continue roasting until done. Some meats will require basting to keep from drying out while some cuts of meat like pork are fatty enough and will require no basting.
Sometimes it is necessary to bard (tie pieces of fat to the surface of) what you are cooking to help with basting. Birds should be cooked breast down to start and then finished on the other side to allow the juices and fat to flow into the breast meat.
Make sure you have a roasting pan that is the correct size for what you are cooking. Too big…. and the food may burn, too small and your roast may stick to the sides of the pan. Too shallow… and your oven will be a mess, too deep…..your food will steam, not roast.
And be sure to retain the wonderful, incredible pan juices by deglazing the roasting pan for gravies and sauces, an extra dividend to the roasting method.

The Technique: Grilling

First of all grilling is a lot like broiling. Both use direct heat, but when grilling the heat source comes from below and when broiling the heat source is from above. Both methods are great when cooking tender cuts of beef, chicken, fish and vegetables. Make sure whatever you are cooking isn’t too thick or it will burn on the exterior by the time the inside is done. Although grilling is considered a healthy way of cooking because
much of the fat will drip into the fire, be careful to avoid flare-ups from the fat.

It’s critical you start with a clean grill. There’s nothing worse than grilling a beautiful Filet Mignon and having it taste like red snapper. The time to remove all the residue with a wire brush is right after you finish cooking while the grate is still hot. If you wait until it’s time to start cooking, some of the scrapings can fall into the flames and cause a flare-up. Before you begin heating the grill, brush it or spray it with a little vegetable oil to prevent food from sticking.

It’s also vital that your grill is hot well before you start. Many of us, especially with gas grills, wait until right before we start cooking before we crank up the heat. Mistake. Preheat that grill 15 to 30 minutes before you intend to start cooking. Have all your cooking tools ready and standing by. This not only includes apron and utensils, but seasonings and basting sauces as well.

An advice: The right way to grill is what works for you

The Technique: Braising

Braising is the technique responsible for the most-tender meats and the most-complex flavors. This method of cooking is great for tough cuts of meat but also works well with chicken, fish and/or vegetables. You can braise in a crock pot, pressure cooker, large saute pan or the most often used cooking vessel for braises, a Dutch oven.
Some popular dishes you may have heard of that use a braising technique are osso buco, pot roast, braised veal & lamb shanks and braised cabbage. You can braise just about any meat, fish or vegetable you want and be as creative as you like with seasoning, but there are some ingredients that are better for braising and some you want to cook using other techniques like grilling or roasting.

What’s Best For Braising?

Meat

When it comes to meats, you want to stick with the tougher, less tender cuts that come from an animals more exercised muscles. These cuts tend to have more connective tissue that breaks down making the meat tender and flavorful. A lean cut from the loin area is a waste to braise.
Braising meat is about breaking down tough connective tissue and changing it into collagen by applying moist heat for a period of time depending on what you are cooking. With more time and heat, the collagen breaks down and dissolves into gelatin. It takes a temperature of about 140 degrees F. to break down the collagen into gelatin.
What happening to the muscle fiber while this connective tissue is breaking down (collagen is melting)? The fibers start to contract, coil and expel moisture. In effect, the heat is drying out the meat like squeezing a sponge. As the process continues and the meat breaks down, you end up with very tender but very dry meat.
The good news is at some point, the muscle fibers have had enough and they begin to relax. When this happens, they begin to absorb back some of the moisture which just happens to be the melted fat and gelatin giving the meat a wonderful texture and flavor. And don’t forget you have all this wonderful liquid made up of melted fat, gelatin and whatever cooking liquid you started with.
And this is why braised meat tastes so incredible when cooked properly.
Somee good cuts of meat for braising include: Top Blade Roast, Chuck Eye Roast, Seven Bone Roast, Ribs, Brisket and Shanks

Chicken

The best cuts of chicken, in my opinion, are the legs and thighs although lots of people like to braise a whole chicken. You also want to be sure to use chicken on the bone with skin so you get all the fat and connective tissue. There’s really no reason to braise boneless, skinless chicken breasts. You are better off sauteing or grill them.

Fish

Although you can braise just about any fish you like, I think large, firm fish are the way to go. Shark, swordfish are worthy of a braise but tender filets like tilapia or even cod will just fall apart on you. If you do braise a more tender cut like flounder, be sure to shorten the braising time.

The Technique: Boiling

Put food in water. Boil until done. You, too, can employ this technique for a healthy soup made with fresh, end-of-summer vegetables. Or trade the seasonal vegetables for pasta or root vegetables for a hearty, midwinter variation.

The Technique: Sautéing

This technique is easy and allows you to prepare meals in a moment’s notice. This includes sautéing chicken, fish, vegetables, or meat. That’s the beauty of learning a basic technique
Sautéing is cooking food quickly in the right amount of oil and/or butter over high heat. You can use a skillet or saute pan, but make sure it is big enough to comfortably contain what you are cooking.
Preheat it–you need high heat when sautéing to cook ingredients quickly; otherwise the internal moisture tends to push to the surface and your ingredients won’t brown.

Butter or Oil?

Butter will give your food the best taste and a wonderful golden crust but burns more easily. Olive oil produces a nice crust and will not burn as quickly, but also doesn’t leave as rich a flavor or color as butter alone. So, the Reluctant Gourmet uses a combination of the two. What you cook and the amount you’re cooking will determine how butter and oil you use. For example, use about 1 to 1-1/2 tablespoons of each for 2 or more chicken cutlets and 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of each for 2 or more fish fillets.

Low-Fat Cooking Techniques

Whether you usually eat out or at home, it isn’t always easy to choose the healthiest foods. Be honest: How many times have you told yourself that you’re “getting your vegetables” because of the lettuce leaf and tomato slice in your burger?

When you’re cooking at home, however, there are many ways to cut fat without compromising the taste of your food. If you cringe at the idea of “tasteless” low-fat food but would like to start eating healthier.

Technique Nº1: Oven “frying”

Definition: Baking your own items to reduce fat.

Why you should try it: Crunchy tacos are an American favorite, but the shells are deep-fried and contain a lot of unhealthy fat. Fortunately, there is a way to make them healthier without losing the taste and crunch. Use the following to replace fried taco shells and cut 5 grams of fat per serving.

Recipe: Lightly coat corn tortillas with olive oil cooking spray and a bit of salt. Place them on a baking sheet and bake for 2 minutes at 400°F. Next, fold the tortillas in half and bake another 8 minutes, until golden and slightly crisp but still flexible.

Extra tips:
• Using ground turkey instead of ground beef slashes 146 calories and 15 grams of fat.
• Replacing regular cheddar with reduced-fat shredded cheese eliminates 44 calories and 5 grams of fat.
• Choosing nonfat sour cream instead of the full-fat stuff cuts 16 calories and 5 grams of fat.

Technique Nº2: Low-fat marinating

Definition: Replacing olive oil with yogurt in marinades to cut fat.

Why you should try it: Using 2 cups of nonfat yogurt instead of 1 cup of olive oil will save you an incredible 265 calories and 36 grams of fat per two-skewer serving of beef kebabs.

Recipe: Reduce the fat in your favorite meat recipes by choosing lean cuts of meat. However, lean meat is tougher to marinate, which leads many people to use a high-fat olive oil marinade in order to soften it and add flavor.

Instead, try this marinating mixture:
• 2 cups plain nonfat yogurt
• ¼ cup grated onion and its juice
• 2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

Add the meat (cut into cubes if you want to make kebabs or simply add the meat in its entirety) and mix thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate.

Since yogurt is slightly acidic, it helps break down protein tissues in beef, chicken, fish, as well as other meats, and allows spices to penetrate.
Once the meat is ready, place it on the barbecue or a stove-top grill. Avoid frying, which will only add fat to your meat.

Extra tip: When selecting meat, avoid fatty lamb and opt for sirloin beef tri-tips. That alone will cut 63 calories and 12 grams of fat.

Technique Nº3: Poaching

Definition: Cooking fish or chicken in boiling water rather than frying it.

Why you should try it: If you usually deep-fry your fish because you love that crunchy breaded taste, it’s time you tried poaching instead. This recipe will slash 118 calories and 17 grams of fat per serving and the fish will actually be more flavorful.

Recipe: Bring 8 cups of water to a boil in a deep 12-inch nonstick skillet and add 1½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns, 1 large onion (sliced), 3 bay leaves, and ¼ cup white wine vinegar. Let it boil for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to medium-high and add 4 thick Chilean sea bass fillets (about 2 pounds). Cook for 6 minutes on one side, turn the pieces over carefully, then cook for 6 to 8 minutes on the other side until the fish is opaque. Serves four people.

This technique can also be used with salmon, swordfish, flounder, halibut, cod, or even skinless, boneless chicken breasts.

Extra tips:
• You can still get the crunchiness of breading by adding a light coating of breadcrumbs (covered in a bit of olive oil, garlic and lemon juice) after poaching, which will save 107 calories.
• If you eliminate the eggs usually used in the breaded coating, you’ll save an extra 37 calories and 2.5 grams of fat.

Source reluctantgourmet askmen men.msn

Related Posts

• The new Ratatouille. A great recipe for a special dinner!
• A fresh Mediterranean Salad, what else could you ask for?
• Recipes and tips for Warm Salads for Dinner!!
• Parkour, movement, philosophy and art.
• Fresh herbs and the right way to handle them