Page 88 - YC Cooking School

7. Try not to turn your meat too much

Although it’s tempting, every time you turn the steak over, you’re actually
removing it from the heat and slowing down the cooking process. If the meat is
getting darker than you like, turn the heat down instead.
8. Don’t crowd the steak
Too much meat in the pan will make the temperature of the pan drop radically,
causing the meat to weep and then stew. When stir-frying, it’s best to cook the
meat first, in batches if needs be. Simply keep the cooked meat to one side and
then add it back to the wok once all of the vegetables have cooked. This will give
the meat time to rest and will also give it that delicious crust you’re searching
for.

9. Deglazing the frying pan is really important if you’re making a sauce
By adding water, stock or alcohol to the pan, you can use up all of the delicious
crusty bits that remain after the meat has been removed.
10. Rest your meat before serving or slicing
We know you’re hungry, but this is really important. Why? As we taught you in
lesson 1, it can be the difference between retaining all of those delicious juices in
the meat and leaving them lying neglected on the carving board.

A few notes on flambéing

Flambéing is a technique where you deglaze the pan with alcohol and set it alight in the
process. While it may help the alcohol to evaporate more quickly, it has little impact on the

overall flavour and is a technique mostly used to show off a bit! There’s nothing wrong with
wowing your dinner party guests by doing this at home, but take extra care and only use
the alcohol specified in the recipe. If you’re working with gas, stand back and tilt the pan
slightly so that the alcohol catches the flame. If you’re working on an electric stove, you’ll
need to light it with a match. The flambé flame can reach quite high so this is not something
to try in a small kitchen or if you have a fitted extractor fan. If in doubt, just let the alcohol
evaporate without actually setting it alight.

Learn to cook online at learn.yuppiechef.com

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