Tips of the week will vary in different areas of the food world. We could go from "You wanna really spice up those scallops......." , to "Don't use a colander for an umbrella" OK, the latter of the two, although a great tip, won't usually make the cut.
I would love you to grace me with culinary tips as well and those will be posted so we can all enjoy them. If you would like a tip in a general area, then please E-mail me and I will respond accordingly.
This Month's Tip
DON'T WASH THE PAN!!
This week's tip is a lead in to sauces, which I believe is the root of Culinary creations. I hear people complain that their sauces do not have flavor. I also hear people arguing whether or not to keep the "bits" of food in the sauce that are left over in the pan. Well, I am going to stifle that argument right now and tell you my title again "Don't wash the Pan".
If this tip is going to apply to you and your creations, you must first be utilizing the correct cooking technique. The technique I am speaking of is pan-frying. This method is also referred to as sautéing or searing. First let us clear up the definitions of each. Pan-frying , is umm, Frying in a pan, so you must start with a hot pan and some fat. The fat may be olive oil or other oil of preference or just lard or pork fat. Now, sautéing is similar although you use a lot less oil or lard. Also, sautéing really means to "jump around". So, use less oil and move the food around a lot and you are Sautéing. Now, Searing uses approximately the same amount of fat as sautéing except you Sear at high heat and you really do not move the food around much.
Ok then let us say you're searing or sautéing, because pan-frying would involve to much grease. While you are cooking this way you are developing what is known as a "fond" on the bottom of the pan. These are the goodies that you must incorporate into your sauce. After the food has been seared or what have you, remove it from the pan. Now you must "Deglaze" which means to liquefy your pan and release what has stuck to the pan into your liquid that you are deglazing with. After you deglaze then scrape the pan with a wooden spoon to release even more of the morsels. When your sauce is complete run it through a fine mesh strainer to remove the bits. This way they will not be in the sauce although flavor will not be sacrificed.
I can't even begin to scratch the surface with sauces in one tip. You can E-mail me though, and let me know if you want me to pursue this topic further. Everybody knows that you can make anything taste good with a good sauce. So Have Fun.
