14 Practical Cooking Tips From Famous Restaurant Chefs
How to avoid bland chicken, save wilted herbs, and prep an all-purpose sauce that'll make your week ahead way easier.
If there's anyone who knows how to cook a great meal, it's the chefs working day in and day out in restaurants.
They have the tips and tricks to nail any recipe and make it extraordinary.
Here are 14 of their tips, tricks, and techniques that you can use in your own kitchen:
1. Brine your chicken to keep it moist and infuse it with flavor.
Marcus Samuelsson, chef and owner of Red Rooster, swears by brining his chicken before cooking it. This extra step of soaking chicken in cold, salted water adds extra flavor and keeps the meat perfectly juicy.
2. And fry it twice to make it super crispy.
After your fry your chicken once, let it rest for 10 minutes, then fry it again for three minutes to make it extra crispy.
3. And if you want to try something different, try marinating the chicken in koji to give it a ultra-savory flavor and help caramelize the outside.
Basically, koji is the thing that makes miso, soy sauce, and sake possible. It's not used very much in the U.S., but can be easily purchased online. Chef Angela Dimayuga, creative director of food & culture at Standard International, uses a sweet and savory koji paste to marinate her chicken. Not only does it infuse it with an intense savoriness, but it helps make the crust nice and golden.
4. If you want to add miso to a dish but are afraid of making it too salty, cut it with butter.
David Chang, chef and owner of Momofuku, cuts the intense saltiness of miso by mixing it with softened butter. The mixture allows him to add the deep savory flavor without adding too much salt.
5. Use a cast-iron pan to give meats and veggies the best sear ― and clean it out with salt and oil, not soap.
In an interview with Bon Appétit, Justin Smillie, chef of Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria, said, "Cooking with a cast-iron pan gives you an incomparable crust, for both vegetables and meat. To clean ours, we just douse it in oil and salt, burn it out, then wipe it clean."
6. To makes flavors shine, finish your dishes with a touch of acid...
Chef Daniel Boulud has said that his number one cooking tip is "finishing with a splash of acid." Acid helps flavors shine, and it cuts through rich sauces and fatty dishes. Try using a splash of lemon juice, wine, or vinegar in your next recipe to kick it up a notch.
7. And use a splash of clam sauce to amp up the flavor of any seafood dish, too.
In an interview with Uproxx, chef Fabio Viviani said, “For any seafood dish, add a little bit of clam sauce." Although you might not be able to pick the flavor out, the little pop of brininess will take your seafood dishes to a whole new level.
8. Taste your food during every step of the cooking process.
This one may seem obvious. But as Leah Cohen, chef and co-owner of Pig & Khao, told Today: "As a chef, it is important to taste everything all the time at every stage of the cooking process." Tasting during every step of the process makes sure nothing has gone wrong, and it gives you time to fix any mistakes.
9. Save your nonstick pans for things like eggs, but not much else...
Amanda Cohen, chef and owner of Dirt Candy, says nonstick pans shouldn't be your go-to for everything. “It’s a different kind of heat with nonstick pans," says Cohen. "It’s not quite as hot, it doesn’t get things as crispy, since it’s really protecting things from the heat underneath.”
10. Make a flavorful stir-fry sauce and freeze it into cubes to make weeknight cooking easier.
Cooking during the week is hard, but chef Amanda Cohen has a secret weapon that makes it less of a chore. During the weekend, prepare a flavorful stir-fry sauce using fresh herbs and freeze it into cubes. That way, all you have to do is throw some rice and veggies into a pan and add a cube to give it a pop of fresh flavor.
11. Soften dried tortillas by heating them on a skillet with a squirt of equal parts water and oil.
Aarón Sánchez, owner of Johnny Sánchez, uses this clever trick to warm them up and make sure they're the perfect consistency.
12. Steep fresh herbs in honey before they're about to go bad.
If you find yourself with fresh herbs that are about to go bad, do as chef Alex Guarnaschelli does and simply heat honey until it's melted and bubbling, then add whatever herb is about to go bad. Let it steep for a few days and it'll be ready to drizzle over cheese, fruit, or anywhere you could use a pop of fresh favor.
13. If you accidentally get some egg yolk in your whites when making a meringue, add a bit of cream of tartar.
When whipping egg whites, fat is the enemy. So, if you accidentally get a little bit of yolk in your whites, do as Dominique Ansel does and add some cream of tartar. It'll help the whites whip up and you won't even taste it.
14. Easily make kimchi at home — and don't be afraid to use untraditional ingredients in place of cabbage.
Kimchi may seem impossible to make at home, but Esther Choi, chef and owner of Mokbar, told Food & Wine that the only things you need are a mason jar, and time. For ingredients, spices, salt, and some fish sauce is it — and don't feel like you have to stick to cabbage. Ramps, cucumber, and other veggies make delicious versions of the classic.
Let's get cooking!
Want more cooking tips? Check out these posts:
• 17 Clever Cooking Tips I Learned While Working In Restaurants