Basic Cooking Tips & Tricks Everyone Needs To Know

Not everyone finds great joy in cooking. Let’s be honest–most of us don’t. But when cooking becomes a necessity, you may feel overwhelmed. How do I prepare meat? What’s the proper temperature? Why is everything so bland and dry? Have no fear–Grico’s blog is here! We’ve searched the internet for some great tips and tricks to take your cooking from mediocre to world-class cuisine. 

Some Important Cooking Tips…

Sanitary Surfaces

Keeping a clean kitchen is keeping a safe kitchen. But how can you be both sanitary and efficient? 

• Pull out all your tools and keep them readily available so you don’t have to rummage through drawers.
• If you’ll be working with raw meat or eggs, be sure to keep your trashcan close by so you can easily dispose of all of the waste.
• Used a wood cutting board to cut raw meat? Disinfect it by hand washing the board with vinegar.

Meat Me in The Kitchen

When cooking meat like steak or even chicken, a lot could go wrong. But a lot could also go right. If you aren’t typically the one to prepare meat, check out these tips for preparing and serving your dishes.

• Keep your meats at a distance when using a skillet. It’s important that you leave enough room to ensure that heat is evenly distributed amongst the meat. If you don’t, not only could your meat be overcooked in some places and flavorless, it can also mean that some meat is undercooked and unsafe to consume.
• Rest red meat before cutting. You look forward to that delicious steak you’ve been gingerly grilling. But to preserve the juices and flavors, you need to let the meat rest before cutting into it. Wrap the meat in foil and let it sit for five minutes before serving.

A Few Eggcellent Ideas – Cooking Tips for Eggs

Nothing says breakfast like eggs. But when you usually order them at a restaurant, you may not know how to prepare them yourself.

• No matter how you like your eggs, be sure to turn off the stove prior to them being cooked all the way through. This allows the heat to rise through the eggs and perfectly cook them rather than getting not so dippy eggs or scorched scrambled eggs.
• If you are poaching your eggs, add a teaspoon of white vinegar to the water once it simmers so your egg yolk won’t break.
• Eggs aren’t just for eating on their own. If you are baking, make sure to take your eggs out of the refrigerator early enough so they reach room temperature.

Seasoned to Perfection

When you’re new to cooking, there is often the mistake of over or under seasoning your dishes. We have a few ways to ensure your food tastes just like an executive chef made it for you!

• The most important rule is to always, always, taste your food before you season it.
• Allow steaks and other meats to reach room temperature before you season them.
• Store your herbs and spices in a place away from heat and humidity as both can cause the spices to lose their flavor faster.
• In moderation, salt is a good thing. Cook with kosher salt and season with sea salt.

Now that you have some of the tricks of the trade, grab your apron and get cooking!