Did you grow up watching your parents effortlessly create mouthwatering family recipes? Or was your family a fan of TV dinners and takeout? Whether you've known your way around the kitchen since you could reach the cupboards or are learning to cook as an adult, brushing up on the basics is always worthwhile.
Knowing essential cooking techniques and understanding why they work is the key to sharpening your culinary skills, especially when it comes to creating juicy, tender meat. If you're ready to graduate from a cautious cook to a confident chef, here are three essential cooking skills that can help you build delicious instincts.
Basting
To baste or not to baste is the question almost every family debates on Thanksgiving, so you've probably heard plenty about this cooking technique during the holidays even if you've never used it. Basting involves ladling butter, stock, or drippings onto food while it cooks with a spoon, basting bulb, or brush. The purpose is to infuse food with flavor and moisture while adding a mouthwatering color.
So, why is this technique so hotly debated when it comes to turkey? Some people think that frequently opening and closing the oven door actually dries out the turkey by prolonging the cooking time, while others swear that it's the best way to achieve a perfectly browned, tender bird. The jury might be out on whether a basted turkey is best, but it's almost universally agreed upon that butter-basting a steak delivers a rich, even flavor.
Frying
Cooking food in hot oil is one of the most universally delicious cooking techniques. Hot oil easily transfers heat, allowing food to cook quickly and creating a crispy, delectable texture. This cooking technique brings out the flavor in plenty of ingredients, from chicken wings to sweet potatoes.
When frying food, it's important to choose the right type of oil. Organic grass fed beef tallow is one of the best fats for frying since it has a high smoke point and a rich, delicious flavor. High-quality beef tallow is also rich in essential nutrients and vitamins A, D, E, and K and is known to aid in the absorption of other fat-soluble vitamins.
Searing and Baking
When you're cooking with high-quality meat, you want to get the most out of your ingredients. After all, grass fed meats have a delicious flavor, plenty of nutritional benefits, and a tender, juicy texture, and the proper cooking techniques can help these perks shine. The sear-and-bake technique provides the best of both worlds when it comes to cooking meat.
Whether you're preparing chicken or steak, this method can bring out the rich flavor of your ingredients and accomplish a tender, juicy texture. First, sear your meat by quickly cooking it in a hot pan to create a crisp exterior. Then, transfer your ingredients to the oven until it reaches the ideal temperature. The result should be a tender, juicy, flavorful dish!
With these three cooking techniques, you can sharpen your culinary skills and create delicious meals.
About Primal Pastures
Whether you're enjoying a filet mignon so tender that it practically melts in your mouth or a creamy chicken pasta, you know that the quality of your food plays a huge role in its taste. For ethically raised meat that sets the gold standard for flavor and nutrient density, turn to Primal Pastures. While Primal Pastures began as a backyard pasture raised chicken farm, this family-founded company has grown to become America's leading source of grass fed beef and other clean meats. Although the size of this company has changed since 2012, their values have stayed the same. By raising their corn and soy free chicken flocks using mobile chicken coops and providing their cattle with space to graze, Primal Pastures continues to set a new standard for delicious, environmentally conscious meat.
Find naturally flavorful ingredients at https://primalpastures.com/
Original Source: https://bit.ly/3R5JpuA
