10x the most common cooking mistakes so you don’t have to make them

Cooking is something you have to learn, and where learning takes place, mistakes are made. Who hasn’t ruined a cake, overcooked cauliflower or fried steak in butter that was so burnt you could no longer taste the meat? Fortunately, you’re not the only one, so here are ten examples of common cooking mistakes you no longer have to make.

1. This often goes wrong with Brussels sprouts

There are still plenty of people who hate this vegetable, often arguing that it is too bitter. That bitterness usually comes from preparing them incorrectly. People boil them for so long that they become incredibly bitter; boil them for 6 to 8 minutes (large Brussels sprouts a little longer) and they’ll be delicious and milder in flavor. Extra tip: prick a sprout with a knife; if you feel a little resistance but the tip does go in, they’re ready.

2. This often goes wrong with scrambled eggs

Most people make scrambled eggs by heating a pan until it’s very hot and cooking the eggs in it very quickly. This often results in large lumps of overcooked eggs that don’t taste very good either. You can make it much easier on yourself by cooking them at a low temperature while stirring constantly. Add a good amount of butter (after all, butter makes everything better) and you’ll never do it any other way again.

3. This often goes wrong with gravy

Many people don’t have the courage to make their own gravy and use those nasty packets instead. As a result, you miss out on everything that makes real gravy so delicious. Simply add some stock, optionally with a splash of wine, to the browned bits left in the pan and thicken it with a roux made from flour and fat. In no time, you’ll have the most delicious gravy.

4. This often goes wrong with risotto

Most homemade risotto is served too dry, which makes it much less delicious. Fortunately, this is easy to solve by loosening the risotto a little just before serving it. Do this by adding a little extra stock and stirring. And if you’re as crazy about butter as we are, add an extra knob of butter, of course—yum! FavorFlav’s Sharon always turns off the heat when not all the liquid has been absorbed yet, so the last bit of liquid slowly evaporates in the hot risotto. Worth trying too.

5. This often goes wrong with fish

Many people fry their fish for so long that the result is completely dried out. This is one reason many people say they don’t like fish: they’ve never eaten it properly prepared at home. So make sure you don’t fry your fish for too long and that it stays deliciously juicy.

6. This often goes wrong with steak

Every time I see someone struggling with a steak on the grill, I die a little inside. A lot can go wrong when grilling and serving steak, too. Make sure you don’t keep turning or moving your steak around. Heat it over an even heat source (so don’t keep lifting the pan). Turn the steak only once. And don’t forget to let your steak rest before slicing it; that way, you’ll avoid a bloodbath on your plate!

7. This often goes wrong with rice

Many people still have a lot of trouble cooking rice. How do you get that perfect rice—not too sticky or too hard? The easiest answer is… buy a rice cooker. After using it a few times, you’ll have perfect rice for the rest of your life. Doesn’t that fit your budget, or do you simply not have room for a rice cooker? This method for perfect rice (for long-grain rice such as basmati, jasmine or pandan rice) works too. Wash the rice to rinse off the starch, making it less sticky and fluffier. After rinsing, put the rice in a pan and add one and a half times as much water. Season with a pinch of salt and bring to a boil over low heat. Then let it cook dry with the lid on the pan; this takes about 10 to 20 minutes. Let it stand for another 10 minutes and you’ll have perfect rice.

8. This often goes wrong with Shepherd’s Pie

When making Shepherd’s Pie, things often go wrong as early as the grocery shopping. Most people use ground beef to make this delicious English casserole. That means you’re technically making a different dish. Real Shepherd’s Pie is made with lamb.

9. This often goes wrong with pork tenderloin

This Christmas, I discovered that I had always been taught the wrong temperature to heat pork tenderloin to. I had been heating it to 80 degrees all this time, which resulted in a dry, leathery piece of meat that you might as well throw straight in the trash. I eventually did some research myself and discovered that you only need to heat pork tenderloin to around 60 degrees in the center. Ta-da: everyone enjoyed it!

10. Also never do this again: overcrowded pans

When frying things such as meatballs, most people fill the pan so much that the meat ends up boiling in the liquid it releases. This gives the meat an unappetizing gray color. Once the meat is no longer pink, they assume it’s cooked through. And it is cooked through, but you get a much more delicious flavor by actually frying the meat and allowing it to brown. By putting less in the pan, or by frying until the water evaporates and letting the meat brown in the remaining fat, everything will taste much better!

Read also:

• 10x the craziest dishes from Rate my plate
• 10x dishes chefs find incredibly annoying to make
• Good news: cheese is healthier than we thought

Source: BoredPanda