Onion Skin Into Stocks

There's 2 types of chicken stocks... a white stock and a brown stock (or dark chicken stock). The white stock is done with raw chicken bones where the brown stock is done with roasted chicken bones (and often some of the veg too) in order to infuse a richer flavour and darker liquid.

White stocks are a crapload easier to make (simply throw everything in a pot a boil away) but often lack the rich colour so a little trick to saving time by not having to roast the bones etc for an hour is to simply throw in the onion skins into the stock. This will act as a natural colouring agent and will deliver a colour similar to the below stock.

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Dark Chicken Stock
Photo: Tim Elwin

Herbs Like Flowers

To have your herbs stay fresh for longer simply cut off the bottom 1cm of the stalks and place into a fresh glass of water. You can leave this on the bench top.  i.e. Treat them like flowers! Change to water every few days.

For added longevity cover the herbs with a freezer bag

Stocks & Jus into Ice Cubes

Freeze down you chicken, beef or veal stocks (whether homemade or store bought) into ice cube containers. Once frozen, crack them into a ziplock bag and leave in the freezer for easy access to perfectly measured tablespoons every time!  The other method is to half fill a ziplock bag and freeze. you can then snap off what you need. 

You can throw them into such things as sauces , stir fries or pastas.

Cooking the Best Steak

Here's a couple of Tips for getting the best out of your steak!

•  Almost a Minute: 1cm thick steaks are thicker than a minute steak... we like to call them a 2 minute steak. Less likely to overcook you simply cook them on a super high heat for 1 minute each side then rest for 1-2 minutes... This will give you perfect medium rare...
• Salting Your Steaks: salt your steaks right before cooking and after patting dry. Leaving salt on for more than a couple ofminutes will draw out the moisture of the steak leaving moisture on the surface which will reduce the chances of a nice crust.
• Add Pepper after Cooking: Pepper burns on high heat so best to add your pepper after cooking.
• Room Temperature: Ensure your steaks are at room temperature, this means bringing your steaks out of the fridge for at least 1 hour before cooking and up to 2 hours. Don't worry, there is no way you meat can go off in this time.
• Marinating: We suggest you only marinate you steaks before cooking "if" it is a budget steak. Otherwise, cook it with salt and either post marinade (recipes here) or add the flavour on the plate.
• Criss-Cross Marking: To get the checked chriss-cross marking on your steaks place the steak on an angle onto the grill. if doing a 1cm thick steak then cook for 30 seconds on the angle, turn  flat 180 degrees and cook for another 30 seconds then flip the steak and repeat.
• Resting Your Meat: Make sure you rest you steaks for half the time you have cooked it for or at least 2 minutes if a thin steak. This will ensure the juices are retained in the meat and not on the plate. It will also deliver a more tender piece of meat. 
• Post Marinating: check out some of our post marinating recipes. 

Healthier Alternative to Bacon

If you are trying to reduce you calorie intake a clever way to still get a tasty breakfast and alternative to bacon is to fry up a couple of pieces of Prosciutto. The difference in calories? well 2 slices of prosciutto (avg. 25gms) is around 56 calories where 25gm of bacon, which wouldn't even be a slice, would be 135 calories...

Mustard Coated Meats

Coating meats in mustard (Dijon Mustard works best) prior to cooking will impart an amazing depth of flavour. 

As simple as painting mustard over every part of the meat and letting sit for 15-20 minutes prior to BBQing or roasting.. You can always add a few herbs into the mustard if you like.

In the above image i have used dijon mustard and rosemary and rubbed it all over some lamb loin chops.   

Fresh Herbs Near the End

Adding herbs to steaks and other meats at the end of the cooking process instead of the beginning ensures that you get a beautiful fragrant dish with less herbs.

Woody herbs such as rosemary & thyme are great for land meat where softer herbs such coriander etc are perfect for sea meats

Silky Smooth Scrambled Eggs in Seconds!

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To get silky smooth scrambled eggs in seconds, simply make your egg mixture, heat a nonstick pan on high, add a nice big chunk of butter pour in the egg mixture and using a silicone spatula, keep folding the cooked egg mixture over itself collecting the uncooked mixture for approximately 15-20 seconds then immediately take out of the pan onto a plate.

Best ensure your toast and other accompaniments are ready!

Crispy Skinned Chicken, Every Time

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To get perfectly crispy skin on chicken (the only reason to eat chicken) simply place oiled and salted pieces of chicken skin-side down into a cold pan then turn onto a medium to medium-high heat for around 10 minutes until golden brown and shatteringly crisp! Turn over the chicken pieces and cook for 3-5 minutes or until cooked through. Rest for 5 minutes before serving...

BBQ'ing Bacon

BBQ'ing your bacon will give it a little extra smoky flavour, really crisp up the fat (the only reason i eat bacon) and also keep the kitchen clean. win win!