At the heart of Cooking with Coley lies an aspiring cook. A rookie in the chef universe. Someone who’s passionate about becoming more than just an amateur. As I navigate along the way, with my mind, hands and taste buds exploring the culinary world, I’m learning more than I could have imagined. Keeping up with the motto of Cooking with Coley, “…anyone can cook if they just give it a try,” I’m launching a new post series that will help share those simple, basic tips that you may not already know but will be sure to retain: “Tuesday Tips for the Novice.”
So come be my apprentices. And let me be yours. Every Tuesday, I’ll share with you some quick tips that I’ve learned along my journey, and I hope you’ll return the favor and send me some of your tips too. Maybe I’ll even post one next Tuesday!
Tuesday Tip for the Novice #1:
Bring meat to room temperature before cooking
Before frying, stir-frying or grilling red meat, pork or chicken, take it out of the fridge and bring it to room temperature.
Why? If you stick a cold dense piece of meat in a hot pan or oven, you risk drying out the exterior of the meat before the inside has a chance to cook through. For example, you are grilling two steaks: one straight out of the refrigerator, another that was removed 20 minutes prior. Within a few seconds, the outside of each steak will reach an almost identical temperature and will look similarly seared. However, the center of each piece of meat will vary by 60°F or more. If you want your meat to cook evenly, let it come to room temperature first.