Handy Kitchen. Techniques

Transcription

1 Handy Kitchen Techniques

2 How to Turn a Whole Chicken into Ten Serving Pieces Packaged chicken parts are often poorly trimmed, randomly sized, and more expensive pound for pound than a whole chicken. By cutting up a chicken yourself, you get more evenly sized pieces for grilling, frying, sautéing, or stewing. A sturdy chef s knife and a washable cutting surface are the only tools you need. As a bonus, the leftover chicken back is a great addition to the stockpot you can freeze it until you re ready to make stock. 1. Pull out each of the wings and cut through the first joint, leaving the meatiest portion of the wing attached to the breast. 2. Hoist the chicken off the surface by the end of the drumstick to loosen the leg. Slice through the skin to expose the leg s interior. 3. Forcefully bend the leg away to expose the joint. Insert the knife point between 302 HANDY KITCHEN TECHNIQUES

3 4. Cut the leg away from the body as close to the backbone as possible. Repeat steps 2 through 4 for the other leg. 5. Follow the line of fat that divides the drumstick from the thigh to cut down through the joint that separates the two parts. 6. Starting at the tail end, cut through the ribs to free the backbone. Chop through the collarbone to completely cut off the back. 7. Flatten the breast with your hand, then cut down through the breastbone with some force to separate the halves. 8. Divide each half breast in half again; cut at an angle to make HANDY KITCHEN TECHNIQUES 303

4 Trimming a Rack of Ribs Start by scraping away any excess fat with a small knife; a little fat is fine, but too much will cause your fire to flare up if you re grilling the ribs. 1. On the bone side of the rack cut a horizontal slit in the tough membrane just below the rib tips. Wiggle your finger beneath the membrane to get it loosened, then pull. 2. Find the skirt the meaty flap that curves down the bottom of the bone side and trim off the thick white membrane on its edge. 3. Using a chef s knife, cut off the rib tips but save them for the grill. Feel where the first large rib bone ends and cut horizontally you re cutting cartilage, not bone. 4. Cutting off the tips just makes the ribs easier to handle you won t have that floppy part sitting on top. 310 HANDY KITCHEN TECHNIQUES

5 Peeling and Deveining Shrimp 1. Use your fingers to pry open and pull back the first few sections of shell, starting at the large end. 2. Remove the rest of the shell by gently tugging on the very end of the shrimp s tail. 3. To expose the sand vein, make a shallow cut along the shrimp s back. 4. Gently lift out the vein with the tip of your knife. 318 HANDY KITCHEN TECHNIQUES

6 Julienning a Carrot 1. Peel, then, using a sharp knife, square off the sides of the carrot to make a rectangular section of whatever length you need. 2. Slice lengthwise into 1 8-inch-thick slabs for julienne. 3. Stack a few slices and cut them into 1 8-inch-wide strips for julienne. 322 HANDY KITCHEN TECHNIQUES

7 Peeling and Seeding a Tomato 1. Score an X into the skin at the bottom of the tomato. 2. Plunge a ripe tomato into boiling water for 15 seconds, an underripe tomato for 30 seconds to loosen the skin. 3. Immediately transfer the tomato to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. 326 HANDY KITCHEN TECHNIQUES

8 4. Starting at the X, peel off the skin with your fingers or by pinching it between your thumb and a paring knife and pulling it off in strips. 5. Cut the tomato in half crosswise and squeeze out the seeds. Don t squash the tomato; if the seeds are stubborn, use a finger to flick them out. HANDY KITCHEN TECHNIQUES 327

9 Cutting Segments from an Orange or Other Citrus Fruit These neat segments, also known as supremes, are great in a salad. 1. Slice off both ends of the orange with a small knife. Stand the orange on one of its cut ends and slice off the skin in strips. Try to get all the white pith off, but don t sacrifice too much of the sweet flesh to do it. 2. Working over a bowl to catch the juices, cut the segments free from the membranes, letting them fall into the bowl. Once all the segments are free, squeeze the empty wheel of membranes to get the last of the juice. 334 HANDY KITCHEN TECHNIQUES

10 Zesting a Citrus Fruit 1. Using a hand grater. Use the grater s smallest holes and don t press hard enough to scrape the white pith. A pastry brush helps free the zest from the grater. 2. Using a zester. A five-hole channel zester makes quick work of zesting. Its shallow blade, dragged against the peel, won t go any deeper than the zest. 3. Using a rasp-type grater. This tool is ideal for creating fine feathery zest. Its shallow, sharp teeth allow you to efficiently zest an entire fruit without removing any of the bitter pith. (Hold the rasp in one hand and gently pull the fruit over the teeth of the rasp.) HANDY KITCHEN TECHNIQUES 335