CT 001| How To Pan Roast Duck Breast
This video will teach you how to pan roast duck breast, a technique that we discussed in-depth in SCS 6| Sauté ing, Searing & Pan Roasting.
Welcome to Stella Culinary's Cooking Techniques Video Index. If you're a fan of Chef Jacob and his podcasts, you've probably heard him proclaim "technique is king" time and time again. Understanding how a technique is used and executed on a professional level will give you the foundation needed to take you're cooking to the next level.
Once you've mastered various cooking techniques, you can start creating your own dishes and recipes by "painting" flavor structure over the top.
This video will teach you how to pan roast duck breast, a technique that we discussed in-depth in SCS 6| Sauté ing, Searing & Pan Roasting.
Sautéing is a technique in which you cook food very quickly in a small amount of fat, in a skillet or sauté pan, over very high heat. The word sauté in French means “to jump.” This refers to the sautéing motion of flipping the contents in your pan from front to back, causing them to “jump” out of the pan.
Although there are numerous ways to cook a rack of lamb, one of my favorite methods is pan roasting. Pan roasting is the process in which you first sear your meat in a pan and then finish the "roasting process" in a hot oven. This is the most common method among professionals to cook most proteins, including poultry and fish.
Pan roasting at the simplest level is starting a food product in a hot pan on the stove-top and then finishing in the oven. In this video, we pan roast a piece of halibut to give it a great crust and a succulent texture. The number one key to this technique is to never peak at your crust side and trust your judgment.
This video will teach you how to cook a steak using the basic pan roasting technique. As an added bonus, the video will also demonstrate how to make a pan sauce from the "fond" left behind in the roasting pan.
The most important decision one can make in their kitchen is which methods of cooking to apply to any given product. It doesn't matter how expertly a cooking technique is executed, if it's the wrong technique for the end product, you'll never achieve a good result. For example, you would never braise a filet mignon or steam a beef short rib. Understanding how different cuts of meat or even vegetables react to heat and time will allow you to make an informed decision, choosing the best method of cooking to apply; an understanding which is the very foundation of the culinary arts.
Here's a quick video on how to pan roast a chicken breast. In this technique we use an airline chicken breast that is first brined, seared skin side down and finished in a hot oven without ever flipping.
Polenta is coarsely ground yellow corn meal and is a staple of northern Italy. It is served as an everyday starch, either by itself with a little tomato sauce, or as a starch accompaniment to a protein (as part of an entrée). Polenta is extremely versatile and absolutely delicious, making it a must-know addition to any cooks technical repertoire.
In a previous video, we went over how to make a basic version of creamy polenta. In this video, we take the leftover creamy polenta, let it set in a mold overnight, slice and pan fry. The fried polenta cake is then topped with a simple caprese that makes a great summer dish that's perfect for a quick lunch on a sunny patio.
In this video, I demonstrate the technique of covered saute and glazing that can be universally applied to most produce, especially root vegetables such as carrots, onions, parsnips and radishes. To demonstrate the glazing technique, we take a trip down "Classic Flavor Lane," using minced ginger, carrots and turmeric as our main flavor profiles.
This video demonstrates how to pan roast a fillet of salmon.
Here's a quick video that demonstrates how to fry herb leafs in the microwave. When done with a tender leaf like basil, it will become flat and translucent which gives the leaf a cool effect.
In this video, I demonstrate the restaurant method of par cooking risotto and then finishing it later on the "pick-up." While the par cooking step is optional, it allows for a faster execution which is necessary in a restaurant environment. It can also be used to make the risotto cooking process more convenient for week night dinners or parties. Risotto can be par cooked and stored in your refrigerator up to three days in advance.
In this Culinary Q&A, I answer a viewer question on the difference between braising and stewing.
In this video, I answer a viewer question on when to use, and not use, a non-stick pan:
I don't often see professional chefs using nonstick pans, probably because of the heavy use one would get, resulting in more scratches and throwaways. However, for a home cook, do you have suggestions as to when to use a nonstick pan versus an all-metal pan? I have high quality pans and can't seem to get the food I cook not to stick. Is there a video that addresses this?
James W,
Dutton, Michigan
When it comes to roasting a whole chicken, this is my absolute favorite method to use. And although this approach is fairly simple, there are some finer points that you may want to examine if you're unfamiliar with process of spatchcocking.
Quick Correction: In this video, I refer to the technique applied to the chicken as Spatchcooking, when it's really Spatchcocking. I feel compelled to make a witty joke here, but I have to remind myself that we're not in a closed kitchen. Feel free to create your own punch lines...
As Spring transitions into Summer, stone fruits start to ripen and make an appearance at local markets. Since stone fruits and pork have an affinity with one-another, it seemed only natural when I went to cook dinner the other night and saw my favorite stone fruit from a local California farm; cherries! I grabbed a pork tenderloin, some fresh basil, a bottle of brandy and was ready to cook.
In this video I demonstrate the simple technique of cooking pasta and then saucing it in a pan, using the fresh tomato sauce we created in our previous video.
Oven roasted potatoes are one of my favorite, go-to side dishes when cooking at home. In this particular technique, we first blanch the potatoes using a cold water start (just like we would with any other root vegetable) and then roast in a hot oven until golden brown.
Rib Eye is one of my favorite steaks to cook and eat. In this video, I show you a simple preparation that calls for pan searing the steak on both sides, and then we end the video with a simple, mushroom reduction sauce.
In it’s most basic form, braising consists of a tough cut of meat with a lot of connective tissue, combined with liquid, aromatic vegetables and fresh herbs; this mixture is then cooked in a low oven until they becomes tender. The connective tissue responsible for the chewy texture is collagen, which is a triple helix of gelatin. When moisture along with slow, steady heat are applied, the triple helix unravels into three individual gelatin strands, leaving gaps in the muscle tissue it used to bind together, giving the impression of tenderness.
Mashed potatoes are classic comfort food 101. To the untrained eye they can appear deceivingly simple, but the best mashed potatoes require proper technique, a decent fat to potato ratio, and being aware of common snares that trip up the uninitiated along the way. By the time you're done watching the above video and reading through this article, you'll be able to whip up a great batch of mashed potatoes every time, whether you're creating a simple Sunday Super, or bringing the thunder on Thanksgiving.