Is there any place/book/youtube channel that teaches the very basics of cooking to people who are borderline retarded?
Like in most recipes they tell me to boil chicken but they don't tell me how much water to put in it, or what that dark foamy thing that forms on the surface is, and whether I should keep it there or throw it out. They also don't tell me whether the fire should be high/medium/low.
Or I've seen once someone frying meat in a pan with oil, and after it was done they put water over it and covered it with a lid for like 10 minutes, but I thought you weren't supposed to put water over hot oil?
It's tough being a beginner and a dumbass. Any general tips/advice or personal wisdom would be appreciated.
What's it called when you put chicken in a pot with water and boil it? I'm ESL.
Tyler Phillips
>Is there any place/book/youtube channel that teaches the very basics of cooking to people who are borderline retarded?
Sure. Good Eats with Alton Brown. Pic related is also a fantastic beginner cookbook.
>>they don't tell me how much water to put in it That's because it doesn't matter. As long as there is enough to completely contain the food you're boiling it will work.
>>foamy thing That's protein that's come out of the meat. You throw it out.
>>fire should be high medium or low High heat at first (you don't want to sit around waiting a long time for the water to start boiling, right?). Once it starts to boil then you lower the heat to maintain a nice low simmer.
>>and after it was done they put water over it and covered it with a lid for like 10 minutes, but I thought you weren't supposed to put water over hot oil?
Yep. You identified someone doing a bad job of cooking. There's a lot of that out there.
>>Any general tips/advice When you're a noob I'd avoid using the internet as much as possible. Stick to using it to look up terms you don't understand, or to watch/read beginner cooking info. There's an awful lot of bullshit online (either deliberate trolling or people who mean well but are honest fuckups). When you're a noob the massive amount of info can be overwhelming, and you're not experienced enough to separate the BS from the legit stuff. Stick with a beginner cookbook or cooking program. Once you've gotten some experience then you can branch out.
Brayden Mitchell
Gently boiling meat is called poaching, and is a great way to cook chicken. This guy is just having an an aneurysm.
Julian Edwards
>What's it called when you put chicken in a pot with water and boil it? Yes, that's what it's called.
But it's also a crappy way to cook chicken. It will have very little flavor and the chance of overcooking it and having it be tough and chewy is very high.
Blake Wood
>Alton Brown You mean shun shekelstein Right? Fucking hack and shill
Jace Ramirez
>Fucking hack and shill
Yep. But regardless he does a great job teaching basic cooking to noobs.
Jack Sullivan
Bullshit.
Dominic Wright
Thanks user, I'll give those a try. Video tutorials should be easier because it's harder to screw it up if I follow exactly what they show me, so Alton Brown seems like a good start.
Landon Cruz
If it's immersed in water the whole time it will never get hot enough to cause the malliard reaction. No browning = no malliard = no flavor.
At the very fucking least poach it in some broth or court bullion if you have some kind of aversion to browning it.
Veeky Forumsfag who's irrationally afraid of using oil to sear it in a pan? You can brown it using the broiler or a grill without oil.
Juan Green
Believe it or not, chicken has flavour even if you don't brown it. Of course I'm not averse to browning it, but if you're slicing or shredding it for a sandwich or salad, poaching is going to be the most reliably tender and moist and easy way of doing it.
My brothers can't cook for shit, but even they can follow this. There's a section in the back that lists all the tools the recipes may call for, a glossary of the terms used and a few tips on common shit. Generally stick enough water in the pot to cover whatever you're cooking, though if you're unsure add too little rather than too much liquid since you can add more later. The foam is fat, you skim it from the top with a spoon and discard it. Usually a recipe will tell you if you need medium/etc heat, but at least start with a hot pan and then keep it on low if you're really unsure.
You only add enough oil in the pan to brown the meat, a couple tablespoons or so depending on how much you're doing. This doesn't leave much in the bottom of the pan to explode when you add water.
Pic related, babies first cookbook.
Gavin Johnson
>Believe it or not, chicken has flavour even if you don't brown it. Yeah, if you're lucky enough to get a proper free-range one. If we're talking about factory-farmed supermarket chicken? That tastes of very little.
>>but if you're slicing or shredding it for a sandwich or salad, poaching is going to be the most reliably tender and moist and easy way of doing it.
Searing it first then braising it slowly with aromatic vegetables and a little white wine will kick the shit out of poaching it. As will choosing leg meat rather than breast.
Angel Jenkins
Whoops. Here.
Thomas Richardson
Sure, just let me chop up my aromatics, pop open the wine and warm up my dutch oven so I can make a damn sandwich.
Aiden Johnson
That looks delicious.
Jose Turner
Yeah it's a pretty solid book all in all, starts off with a lot of very low effort breakfast recipes, but the desserts and the mains are fairly varied. There are better recipes out there of course, but this one holds your hand until you get the gist of a dish.
I use the fudge recipe regularly though, it's really good for how simple it is. Here's a main.
Joseph Bennett
>Sure, just let me chop up my aromatics, pop open the wine and warm up my dutch oven so I can make a damn sandwich.
Yep. It's called planning in advance. Make that whenever you have the time. Portion it up and freeze for whenever you want a sandwich.
Liam Ortiz
Most of this book isn't for retards, but there is a solid chunk of it that literally just spells out which flavors mesh well if you are trying to make a dish. Very useful guide I recommend to every aspiring chef. Can be downloaded for free illegally if you don't want to drop any money either
Carter Perez
I had never cooked before and watched Food Wishes on YouTube and since there is video I was able to follow along. Now I'm doing alright at cooking.
Cooper Cruz
>Good Eats with Alton Brown
I came here to post the same thing. I know several people that make quality food that learned how to cook from watching his show. He explains which tools you should use and how to use them. He also explains the science behind what is going on so that you know WHY you something a specific way. The show is also highly entertaining. When putting the show together, he wrote down three things: Julia Child, Monty Python, and Mr. Wizard. Teenage faggots on here can meme all they want, but Good Eats was a great show.
