30 Top Chef

Secrets
Eat This, Not That!
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30. Bake your bacon.

The secret to perfectly
cooked bacon: Skip the
pan or the skillet. Bacon's
tendency to scrunch up
makes for uneven
cooking. Instead, place no
more than a half pound of
bacon on a 12 x 18 baking
dish or baking sheet with
sides and roast in a 375F
oven for 12 to 15 minutes,
for that perfectly crisp
(but not too crisp) texture.

29. Cushion your cutting board.

Avoid a visit to the
E.R. Place a damp
kitchen towel
underneath your
cutting board to
prevent it from
rocking or slipping
while you're
chopping or slicing
foods.

28. Master the broiler.

Think of a broiler as an
inverted grill, ready to
bring serious,
concentrated heat to
whatever food you place
below it. Chicken
breasts, pork chops, and
steaks take about 10
minutes to broil; just be
sure to flip them midway
through the cooking
process, as you would
when grilling.

27. Time your salting.

Time your salting
well. If you add salt
to vegetables as
soon as they hit
the pan, the
sodium will draw
out moisture.
(They'll steam, not
brown.) For deep,
flavorful
caramelization,
add salt at the end.

26. Immerse your meat.

Put steaks and
chops in a zip-top
bag and then
immerse the bag in
tepid water for 30
to 60 minutes
before cooking.
Raising meat's
internal
temperature makes
it easier to cook
evenly all the way

25. Salvage wilted produce.

Freshen up limp
vegetables: Drop
your aging produce
into ice water
before cooking.
Plants wilt due to
water loss; ice
water penetrates
their cells to
restore crispness.

24. Brighten and balance flavors.

Keep a spray bottle of
sherry or rice vinegar
on hand while you're
cooking. "Misting a
scallop, a piece of
fish, or even a salad
really helps brighten
and balance all the
flavors," says Wylie
Dufresne, chef at New
York City's wd-50.

23. Protect your fingers.

Don't dice a digit.
Cut awkward-toslice vegetables
such as
mushrooms,
carrots, and
peppersby first
cleaving them in
half. Then rest the
flat parts on the
cutting board.

22. Revive overcooked meat.

Overcooked meat?
Salvage dinner: Slice the
meat thinly, put it on a
plate, and top it with
chopped tomato, onion,
and jalapeo. Add olive
oil and fresh lime juice
(or a few spoonfuls of
vinaigrette; see #6). The
acid and oil will restore
moisture and fat to the
mistreated meat.

21. Prepare plates beforehand.

Warm food served on a
cold plate is a ROOKIE
MISTAKE. Heat your
dishes in a 150F oven
for 10 minutes before
plating a meal. On the
flip side, lightly chilled
plates (use your
freezer) boost the
freshness of cold
dishes like summer
salads.

20. Spice up your TV dinner.

Instantly improve
your next TV
dinner. After
cooking, add fresh
herbs, a squeeze of
citrus, and a drizzle
of olive oil to
transform any
frozen entree.

19. Cook fish skin side down

first.
Always cook fish skin
side down first. The skin
keeps the flesh of the
fish from drying out and
provides a crunchy
counterpoint to the
tender meat. Cook your
fillet undisturbed for 75
percent of the time on
the skin side (about 5
minutes), and then flip it
to the flesh side to finish.

18. Drain pasta prematurely.

If you want perfect al
dente pasta, adapt the
box directions. Drain
the pasta about 1
minute before the
package tells you to.
Dump the noodles
back into the pot and
stir in the heated
sauce. The pasta will
finish cooking in the
pot.

17. Pat meat and fish dry.

Pat meat and fish
dry before cooking.
Surface moisture
creates steam
when it hits a hot
pan or grill,
impeding
caramelization. If
your fish has skin,
use a sharp knife
to squeegee off the
water trapped

16. Shop on Wednesday.

Go to the supermarket on
hump day. Research shows
that only 11 percent of people
shop for groceries on
Wednesday, making it the
best day to be in the aisles.
And only 4 percent of people
shop after 9 p.m. You may
have to track down somebody
to fetch fresh stuff from the
back room, but what else do
they have to do at that hour?
Plus, shorter checkout lines
mean less time reading the
National Enquirer.

15. Sample as you cook.

The best tool in
your kitchen is
your mouth. Taste
a dish at least
three times during
the cooking
process, adjusting
the seasoning
every step of the
way.

14. Puncture your meat.

The problem: Dense meats
like steak, pork, or chicken
legs can burn on the outside
before they're fully cooked
on the inside. The solution:
Insert a clean stainless-steel
rod or nail into the thickest
part of the meat, and finish
cooking. "The nail will act as
a conductor, drawing in heat
and cooking the meat from
the inside out," says Roland
Henin, CMC, U.S. coach for
the 2009 Bocuse d'Or
Culinary Olympics.

13. Preheat the pan.

Pan roasting is a popular
restaurant technique rarely
employed by home cooks.
Preheat a cast-iron or
stainless-steel pan on the
stove with a bit of olive oil
until you see wisps of smoke
rise. Add your chicken,
steak, or fish, and cook until
one side is nicely browned
about 3 to 4 minutes. Then
flip it and place the entire
pan in a 400F oven to finish
cooking.

12. Zap citrus fruits in the

microwave.
More pucker for the
price! Zap lemons,
limes, or oranges
for 15 seconds in
the microwave
before squeezing
them. The fruit will
yield twice as
much juice.
Another round of
G&Ts, anyone?

11. Know when to shake and

when to stir.
Great cocktails
need serious
shaking. Bond was
wrongmartinis
(and other drinks)
that are made with
clear spirits should
be stirred. Shake
only cocktails
made with fruit
juices.

10. Save your Teflon.

Teflon coatings can
deteriorate on high
heat, so save your
nonstick pans for
gentler tasks like
cooking omelets
and sauteing fish.

9. Blend butter and olive oil.

Try cooking with a
50:50 mixture of
butter and olive oil.
Butter brings big,
rich flavors, but it
burns and blackens
at very low
temperatures. Oil
prevents the milk
solids in butter
from charring,
allowing you to

8. Refrigerate with caution.

Never store
tomatoes in the
refrigerator. And
keep peaches,
potatoes, onions,
bread, garlic, and
coffee out of there,
too. Cold
temperatures
compromise the
flavor and texture
of these staples.

7. Water down your pasta

sauce.
The secret to great
pasta sauce? The
cooking water. Save a
cup of the pasta's
cooking water before
you drain it, and add the
water to your sauce as
needed. The starch in it
helps the sauce adhere
to the pasta, creating a
creamier, more flavorful
final product.

6. Make your own vinaigrette.

Bottled dressings are a
waste of money and
calories. Make your own
vinaigrette by whisking
together three parts oil
(olive, canola, or
sesame) with one part
vinegar (balsamic, redwine, or rice), plus salt
and pepper. Build extra
flavor by adding minced
shallot, Dijon mustard,
fresh herbs, or honey.

5. Let meat rest.

If you slice into your meat
right after it comes off the
grill, those precious
juices, still circulating with
residual heat, will bleed
out onto your plate. Let
the meat rest: Wait 5
minutes before biting into
burgers or grilled chicken,
7 minutes before cutting
into steaks, and at least
15 minutes before carving
a turkey or a larger roast.

4. Salt and refrigerate raw

chicken.
Nothing beats
crispy chicken skin.
Buy a whole
chicken the day
before you'll cook
it, sprinkle on a
tablespoon of
kosher salt, and
leave it uncovered
in the fridge. The
air and salt will
draw out excess

3. Don't overcrowd the pan.

For deeply flavored foods,
don't overcrowd the pan.
Ingredient overload makes
a pan's temperature
plummet, and foods end
up steaming rather than
caramelizing. This adds
cooking time and subtracts
taste. All ingredients
should fit comfortably in
one layer, so use a pan
that's big enough for the
job, and cook in batches if
necessary.

2. Counterbalance salt with

vinegar.
Oopstoo much
salt? Use a splash
of vinegar to
provide a
counterbalancing
punch of acid and
sweetness.

1. Lose your saltshaker.

Proper seasoning is
paramount. First,
lose your
saltshaker. Pinch
kosher salt straight
from a dish. The
coarse grains and
the touch of your
fingers give you
maximum control.
Add a pinch, taste,
and repeat if