Pro tip of the day.

[Nmiller21k]

Quality side towels.

[Seattle_Ben]

Quality side towels.

Very true. I staged at a pretty prestigious place that washed their side towels in the dish sink at the end of the night and they were so disgusting.

[Jeff B]

Quality side towels.

And several of them!

[Drewski]

Quality side towels.

What makes a side towel "quality"?

[jacko9]

On the topic, how about a Konosuke pastry scraper....

Ooooo yaaahhhhh... a Blue 2 damascus scraper... with kanji

Hot Dang - I'd buy one of those!!!!!!!!

[dAviD]

Another great trick or tip I picked up working down here and seeing the way other Cooks did things at taco trucks.

Was a simple wood handled wide putty knife.
Makes for a great way to scoop up small stuff off the flattop without trying to juggle it between two thin spatulas.

now I don't know if that tip is very helpful in a home kitchen........but it's here now!

Definitely going to be looking for cheap 6" carbon pans for eggs. I'm sick of blowing though the non stick ones. So if anyone see something cheap please let me know. I normally buy 6 at a time and it's about time again.....

[dAviD]

Quality side towels.

What makes a side towel "quality"?

Honestly the best side towels are the ones that are still thick but have been used and washed enough so that they don't leave lint everywhere.
Plain white or there abouts.

I'm fortunate enough that I had a few that I've snagged from jobs that I just OxiClean and bleach and use here at the house. but I'm sure if you looked up commercial kitchen towels you'd see most kitchens normally use.
If I really wanted I just order an extra bag and take it home and bring them back before the linen company comes to pick them up at the restaurant...most I don't destroy towels at home like I do at work.

Another alternative is actually the red towels or rags that you could pick up at auto stores in a bundle.
after you wash them a few times they work just the same and they're great. when I worked at a steakhouse we had those ones.

Basically a cheap thick towel that you won't worry about having to throw out or destroy....lol.

[Jeff B]

Quality side towels.

What makes a side towel "quality"?

Generally a highly absorbent cotton towel.

I use these because they absorb a lot, dry stuff quickly, work great to wet and wipe things down, are a very convenient usable size and are very cheap to replace at just over .50 each. https://www.samsclub.com/sams/bakers-ch ... roduct_1_1

[HectorFuego]

Silicone baking mats. Good to 450 (ish) degrees F. Nothing sticks to them. Put one of those mats on a cookie sheet and bake your butternut squash on it and clean up is a breeze. They're cheap and re-usable (many times).

I started using them instead of foil to line my cookie sheets after reading more and more how aluminum is being linked to Alzheimers. I'm 71, and don't need to help that disease along.

Hector

[Kit Craft]

Oh, the baking mat idea sound great. Not tried that. Note taken!

As for side towels, I like flower sack towels. Cheap, easy to find and work well. Plus when they start to wear out you can use them on the sharpening station or in the garage. They really take the water and mud right off a blade.

[Seattle_Ben]

For baking mats we switched to parchment paper that we buy at Cash and Carry. They appear to be a west coast only but you can buy this at any restaurant supply store. They come in a full sheet pan size which means you'll need to cut them in half which doubles your buy for home use and will likely be a near lifetime supply.


For further showing off, if you've got an ISI container it does more than make whip cream.

It's stupid but seemed to really impress people when we did it for amouse bouche you can carbonate grapes and other porous fruit by charging the container with a liquid and grapes inside.

You can also pressure marinade as well if you're not making a too large amount of meat and the cuts aren't too big.

[jmcnelly85]

Pro tip:

More salt.

[Jeff B]

Pro tip: Don't show off in kitchen by juggling your knives.

[mfishsauce]

Pro tip: Don't show off in kitchen by juggling your knives.

Ouch. Luckily wasn't using a cleaver

[Seattle_Ben]

Pro tip:

More salt.

The best way I ever heard another cook describe this was something to this effect.


Your mom is always worried that she's put too much salt in there, where you need to be asking if you've put enough in.

[Nmiller21k]

Citrus juice to finish dishes
Don’t use olive oil to sauté food

[Igalor]

Pro tip:

More salt.

+1

[lsboogy]

Pro tip:

More salt.

+1

Good salt - have several colors in flaked and rock

[Cutuu]

Pro tip:

More salt.

Definite +1. I'm opening a cheesesteak food truck. I was training one of the guys in cooking them. He was seasoning them and cooking them by himself. He cooked one for his brother. I asked his brother to rate it 1-10. He said 8. I said," ok, what would make it a 10." He said," I don't know." I tasted the meat on the next one that the guy was making and realised more salt. All of a sudden it was a 10 for his brother. That's what can make the difference between an 8 to a 10.

[Seattle_Ben]

Also more fat. That's fine dining 101 and essentially the gist of any culinary degree or your first week in fine dining.

The graduate degree is that there is very little that will be hurt by either frying or smoking.