Dude. All the money and time you spent to not only show good examples, but bad examples is huge. This is literally my favorite cooking channel, for reasons like this (and the fact that everything I’ve made from you has been absolutely delicious).
@@BrianLagerstrom Just echoing the above sentiments, I'm a dude in his late thirties who stubbornly resisted learning how to cook for most of my life, and your channel has been both an inspiration and an invaluable resource. Literally has changed my life, and I'm not really exaggerating. Also the compliments I get for making your recipes for other people are very nice. ;)
I love it when he shows himself making stupid mistakes, like leaving the immersion blender in the container and walking away only to have it tip over. It makes me feel so much better about the stupid things I do and makes me so much more willing to try knew things and face potential failure and embarrassment. Brian let's us know it's okay, even funny, to be human.
one super underrated tip that is common practice in restaurants but not at home is serving hot food on hot plates and cold food on cold plates! Any time I'm cooking something hot I'll throw my serving plate in the microwave (or a low oven) before I plate and it keeps the food at an ideal eating temp for much longer. Same goes for cold dishes I'll pop the serving dish in the fridge or freezer to maximize the ideal eating temp! So easy to do and extremely underrated :)
Does depend on the material! Ceramic plates can get damaged by the microwave over time - I just prefer to wash them under hot tap water for about 30 seconds instead
IMO This is exactly the kind of content that sets you above and beyond the rest of the other TH-cam cooking channels. This really makes me feel like I can grow my skills as a home cook. Huge props to you man!
Agreed all around. Your channel is the perfect balance between entertainment and education. Joshua Weisman leaned too into the entertainment aspect and it got annoying in my opinion. And some of the more serious folks like Kenji (whom I really love still to be fair) just sometimes are too in the weeds with the science and protocol for me personally. Keep it up Bri, let's eat this thang.
@@fattdamon5342 Well put, you’re absolutely right. A lot of them also got fancy using expensive or rare ingredients because they now have access to it. Like, I’m never gonna buy an actual truffle, I don’t need these kinds of recipes. Bri is the king of affordable and easy to find ingredients OR giving us plenty of alternatives and substitutes. Now THIS really connects with my everyday cooking.
@@fattdamon5342 One of the things that really comes through in Brian's content is his background as a line cook and how that informs his approach to recipes and techniques.
1. Pat dry all meat, fish, seafood before cooking it 2. Add salt as you go 3. Measure with grams/weight versus volume - to get consistent results in food projects, not always necessary for 4. Press meat (and french toast, quesadillas, etc.) into the pan, firmly for 30 seconds 5. Oven searing and broiling 6. Dry-brine your meat 7. Pre-heat your sheet tray 8. Mise en plase - prepare in advance, watch video, and gather ingredients before adding heat 9. Finish cooking vegetables with steam, especially fibrous ones
Learning to oven sear was probably the best technique that dramatically changed how I did my cooking. It cuts down on time so much and it's a lot more leisurely and makes cooking a lot more calmer instead of stressful.
@@BrianLagerstromYour channel was the first cooking channel I ever saw to really do oven searing. Most of the time it was either to brown bones and veggies for stock.
Hi there, brief explanation on oven searing please? As my other comment noted, I do keto/ carnivore and eat a reasonable amount of meat. We usually cook it on the stove top and as Brian said, it's messy. I would like to not have that mess and the additional juices would be great for leftovers the next day. If you were cooking thick tri-tip or ribeye, how would you oven sear it? Would you put the pan in the oven to heat up with the oven first? Just a basic explanation would be really helpful. I appreciate it in advance. I do dry brine the meat for 24 to 48 hours in advance, this is a technique I have used for the past several months. You can do it with a roast or thick steaks, salt all sides fairly liberally and put the meat on a rack over something so that all of it is exposed to the air. It seemed weird at first to have a rack in the fridge with meat open to the fridge air but it doesn't create any odors. When you sear it it takes a very nice sear but doing it in the oven might up the technique considerably.
You should be very proud of your video productions. Over the last ~year that I've been watching your week-nighting and other videos I have picked all of these tips up and they have all truely made our cooking and eating so much more enjoyable from where we were 2 years ago. Not to mention I've lost about 20 lbs, Cheers to you, Bri!
You solved my meat problem!! It was always too wet!! I made some salmon today and I dried the heck out of it, then salted and let it sit for ten minutes. Threw it in a pan and it was the best salmon ever. Your advise of “dry your meat” will change my cooking forever. Thank you!!
11:58 "Mise en place" skyrocketed for me when I learned to *buy & use lots of small bowls for prep* (& one big one for waste like onion skins & stems). I used to think those small bowls were relentlessly stupid & unnecessary, now I can't live without them & it makes most steps of any dish nearly impossible to forget.
I have done the mise for years; turns out I was coping with the faulty working memory portion of my ADHD. His comment about realizing you don't have something before you put food on the fire hits home as well. The best part though is since everything is chopped and measured, you can clean a few dishes or wipe down your cutting board while the food is cooking. I've been doing a lot of Asian dishes lately, and for a stir-fry, you have 5-10 min tops of cooking. Trying to do it without prepping everything first is likely going to lead to a lot more failures.
I arrange my dry ingredients on a dinner plate, clockwise from 12 in the order I'll need them. I'll leave a space if it's a wet ingredient and I can't fit the bowl on the plate. As long as it's just chopped veggies and not raw meat then I'll also use the plate to serve up. Makes it foolproof and minimal extra washing up.
Brian I have been cooking and baking for well over 50 plus years. It does not mean I have nothing to learn. Thank you for taking the time to present this video as I have learned new techniques .. the whys and how's. Much gratitude.
Babish gave me a hobby. Weissman gave me a skill. Lagerstrom gave me a superpower. Seriously, the extent to which your videos have elevated my cooking is crazy. That one pot spaghetti recipe still blows peoples’ minds when I cook it for them, and let’s be real…spaghetti is so ubiquitous that it’s rarely mind blowing lol
The only thing I dislike about the emphasis on mise en place is that imo you need to know when to not do it or eat least not do it completely to maximize downtime. I wish more recipes considered this - sometimes your onions gotta brown for like half an hour and you can easily do some chopping in the meantime. Not saying you are guilty of this but I consider this an essential skill to make cooking time-efficient.
Your detailed explanations are very well known among professional cooks like us. But the average consumer can often hardly understand many things due to the lack of knowledge about food chemistry and other scientific principles. It's good to see someone who is able to break down the complicated scientific phrases and translate them into plain English.
Your videos are a delight. My significant other was laughing that while having my breakfast instead of watching some series or other 'entertaining' content, I just watched your video on how to be a better cook😂 The thing is, your videos aren't just educational, they are super interesting to watch as well. Not only do you give valuable advice, you also show the examples of this advice influences the cooking. Everything is well-visualised and very well-explained. Honestly, the best cooking channel on TH-cam
Tip 9 is also great for hot sandwiches. I like to wrap mine in foil and let them sit after getting out of the pan. Helps melt cheeze and steam the inside of the bread so it’s softer.
100%, definitely do this for breakfast sandwich / burrito / bagel situations. Wrap in foil or paper and let everything rest for a few minutes, and it’s so much better.
Oh yum!!! Never thought about wrapping sammies to get the cheese nice and melted, without burning the bread. I'm definitely going to try this. Thanks for the suggestion!
I just found you last week and I'm already getting compliments from my family on how much better my nightly dinners have been tasting. I love the quick/easy meal ideas and basic tips. Thank you!
Info is immediately helpful and well-condensed. 'This is what happens if you make this mistake' has been so helpful for me to improve my cooking. Honestly, this is my favorite YT channel now. You're killing Bri
Over the last 5 years or so I've been on my own personal growth as a home cook. I've learned all but one of these in that time. The preheating the sheet pan one is great! I learned that one from your video with the sheet pan fajitas!! Whenever someone mentions wanting to learn to cook or get better, you're one of the 4 or 5 channels I recommend just because of this type of stuff. I'll also finish with a 10th tip that is usually my number one tip I offer when people ask me about cooking better. "The secret to learning how to cook is to be willing to order a pizza!" There will be times you are going to try something new and outside of your comfort zone. You have to push your skill if you want to get better, but the fear of trying something, messing it up, and then having nothing to eat is a real concern. When I plan on trying a dish dish or technique, I also have the idea of I can go get a pizza or something else. If I'm not worried about having dinner to put on the table, then I've removed that barrier to try something new.
Thanks for talking about the importance of salt. Many people erroneously think that salt is necessarily bad for you. If you don't suffer from high blood pressure or other vascular conditions, well-seasoned food is not necessarily bad for you. It makes vegetables and other healthy ingredients taste way better which makes you eat them more.
You've become one of my top chefs on TH-cam. Where others have been reduced to gimmicky videos you keep making good stuff that teaches us a lot. Thanks dude!
The prep before cooking is something I've always tried to do and learned it from my parents. I honestly don't like cooking that much, so I prep things sometimes days in advance of cooking even though it's not necessary. It reduces the barrier to get started and helps me figure out if I need to get something while grocery shopping. I've also been weighing things more and more. Mostly for accuracy when proportioning food, but it's been helpful for baking something new too.
Finally someone said it! Measuring is essential! I hate recipe's starting using cups, spoons etc. That's one of the main reasons why I love your vids Bri - you measure things properly. PS: I'm an engineer
I feel like I've seen so many tips and trick videos so I was not expecting I would learn anything but wow was I wrong. Even tips I knew I now have a better understanding of why they work. Can't wait to start sing these, thank you! Instant sub.
This is probably the most informative cooking video I have seen in a very long time. I make a lot of these mistakes, and can't wait to use my newfound knowledge for some dishes! Showing the examples of what not do also really helped because I can recognize, oh that's why that happens!
Im so glad I added you!! I've been following you for over 7 years now and my cooking game has gotten so much better now!! I'm a single dad with 2 girls. They love my meals and it means alot to me! Cause my lil brother and I grew up with bad cooks, my mom among others who watched us in the 80's and 90's lol. she tried but had some good meals and really bad meals. My lil brother was lucky to have me as a brother who loved him and could really eat!! Hence why I have learned how to cook! Started learning how to grill in the marine corps back in 2002. Thank you so much for all of your advice and videos!!!
Man I'm so glad to see your channel blowing up!!! Been with you since around 200K subs. Well deserved success Bri!!! Definitely my favorite cooking channel along with Jim over at Sip & Feast.
Tip 9 is the stir fry technique - quickly brown at high heat, add a bit of water/liquid, cover (or not). I usually just stir the veggies around, ensuring contact with steam. Not using a cover allows me to better monitor the cooking. Love the channel!
10th tips you showed us but didn't mention is resetting the electronic scale when adding ingredients to the same bowl instead of measuring them separately. So simple but saves so much time!
- people who consider themselves good cooks but bad bakers like myself will have a revision of that opinion one they start using a scale to measure the ingredients - you are going to pre-heat the oven anyway, so having the sheet pan in there will allow two jobs to be done at once and reduce the overall cook time by allowing the vegetables to begin cooking immediately at the correct temperature - along with mise en place I recommend another French kitchen concept: lavez en continu, basically clean as you go. Have your wash basin filled and try to clean surfaces as you cook so you can relax when you finally sit down to eat!
I’ve been heating my sheet pans when I roast chicken thighs (something I learned watching a Test Kitchen video) but I never thought to do it for veggies! And learning about mise en place from Worst Cooks was a game changer for me. Great video and tips, thank you!
Completely agree with you on the “finish with steam” technique. The Hong Kong style stir fried vegetables that I grew up with always finishes with a splash of water over the hot pan, followed by an immediate cover with the lid for 10-15 seconds. That brief steaming action softens the vegetables and makes them much more tender.
Dude! you have been helping me to improve my home cooking skills for years and i have to say: videos like this one or the other rating kitchen gadgets are as much helpful as the great recipes you bring us. these videos help us to save not only time, but money too. thank you so much and please keep it up!
Great point about the salt! I just watched an America's Test Kitchen video on this. Salt takes time to diffuse into ingredients. They demonstrated the same amount of salt added right at the end, making it unbearably salty as opposed to done throughout the cooking process making it well seasoned, like you said. This is especially a good point for people trying to watch their sodium levels and consume less salt. Great video again, as always. Thanks Brian!
Nobody who's watching their sodium levels is going to benefit by copying the way Brian throws handfuls of salt into his dishes. He uses WAY too much salt.
@@ExiledStardust I don't think you understood my comment. Also, that is hyperbole. Brian does not throw handfuls of salt into his dishes. Do you even know the actual amounts of salt he uses and what it is per servings in his recipes?
Crazy, I loved this video so much because I literally do all of these already, except the steam finish. But then again, I have been watching your videos for at least 2yrs now and incorporating many of your recipes into my families meals. You're just so dang educational in all of your videos while you're cooking, I guess I've learned alot from you. You're a great teacher, not JUST showing us that u can make something pretty. Highest quality content Bman, love it!
I learned this from grilling whole fish. If you dry out the outside of the fish with a fan or in the fridge, it grills perfectly and looks like a food magazine cover shot🙂
Salting to 90% of your desired saltiness and then finishing salting at the end is such a good tip!!🤯 Can’t tell you how many times I’ve accidentally over salted a dish that I worked so long and hard on. No more! Thanks Brian!!!
Dude. This is wonderful stuff! I HATE cooking meat because I am so bad at it and you’ve given me some really solid ways to improve my techniques here. Thank you!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
I basically learned my very humble cooking skills watching all of Alton Browns good eats episodes (back in the day), you have officially taken the spot as my number one favorite cooking instructor 😊 Sidenote, please never be a host on a completely staged reality cooking show 😂
Totally agree with you on this. I learned so much from Alton Brown and Emeril over the years but the food network has become an absolute joke. Thanks to people like B-man, Jim at sip & feast, Ethan C. and a few others, we can still learn real world skills and valuable cooking techniques.
This is one of the best videos for cooking I have ever seen. You gave us techniques that cost no money and used terms used in actual kitchen and explained them well. Thank you bro!
I work from home and will sometimes mise en place my ingredients for dinner at lunch. Chop veggies, make a marinade or spice blend, or even just putting items in the same place is a game changer for when if I am debating between cooking or ordering in.
I'm a pretty accomplished home cook, but I always learn something new from your videos. Bulk browning meats on a sheet tray is one of the ideas I picked up from your channel a while back and it's such a time saver. Thanks for all the great tips and tricks you share!
Being "placed out" makes a night and day difference. The fact you emphasized its more fun to Cook like that is incredibly important. Definitely one of my favorite cooking channels
WOW! This goes in my "Best" folder. Easy, inexpensive, quick, healthful, beautiful. [ Wait while I go back to the adjective box for more words. ] Fantastic, impressive for guests. "The Steam Finish" gets my vote for most useful technique. Thanks, Brian.
I can't understate how much just being prepared really helps. Check all the ingredients, weigh them out ahead of time and the actual cooking becomes a whole heap easier. Sometime it feels like you're being a 'TV chef' but you can do the prep whenever you have some free time and save time when you're cooking which is likely the point of the day when you have the least time.
Really really appreciate you showing comparisons and bad examples all the time. That must be so much extra work and effort you put into this. Thank you! Every video I learn something new from you. I did not really cook by your recipes yet but my wife and I LOVE watching you cook. Fav cooking channel!
Echoing others, this is why you are the top of my food TH-camr ecosystem. The combination of your professional knowledge and making that accessible to home cooks is something I think only Kenji can match at this level. Some of them I've learned from you since I've been following you... in the last year+, oven searing ground beef & meat for stews is something I picked up from your vids. Some of these are brand new concepts to me, and some are just "... how did I not think of that?"
Dry brining is soo underrated! It’s an absolute game changer when it comes to steaks. Salt liberally & leave in the fridge uncovered overnight. Huge difference
As soon as I get home from the store I remove meat from the package and repackage. I either get it ready for freezing, such as bacon or italian sausages, I put on parchment paper on a sheet pan and freeze and then put in freezer bags. Any meat I want to use I will pat dry and wrap or put in ziploc bags for use in the next day or two. I am now a big fan of salting meat, putting it on a rack, and letting it air dry in the fridge for 24 hours. Both for steak and chicken, especially a spatchcocked chicken or game hen. I will cook everything in the oven, if possible. Oven roasting, best way to cook vegetables. I'll hafta try that last technique of tenting them! Thanks Bri! Happy cooking everyone!
I've slowly implemented almost all these tips over the last few years (still don't get fully "placed out" and the steam finish was new!) and can attest, these really do instantly make you a better cook. Great video!
Great suggestions! I've been cooking for decades and I don't use most of these techniques, but they all make sense. I'll be trying them out for sure. Thanks for the h great video.
So much invaluable info in this one! I’ve always loved that your videos teach us to be better cooks along the way, not just recipes. I hear your voice say “at the pro level we season as we go not all at the end” almost every time I cook. Thanks, Bri!
For patting dry meat, how would that work if I'm searing meat that has previously been in a wet marinade? And what if I steamed my veggies first, and then sauteed or roasted them?
One thing I learned and have never forgotten when I did my training was the 5 (or 6) P's: proper preparation prevents (p*ss) poor performance. This can be applied to more things than just cooking 😊
I'm so happy I do all of these things except #9 by habit. I steam some things, but I've never thought of trapping the heat and letting vegetables steam after roasting, thanks Bri! // Random swedish dude.
Hey Bri, you are a great Chef in many people hearts, very kind of you to give professional tips to home cooks like us! Your TH-cam videos are valuable and worth to spend quality ingredients and times Thank you 🙏❤️
This was a great educational video. Not just for those starting out, but also as reminder for the more experienced. I've found myself rushing to grab an ingredient simply because I didn't go over what steps were required for the recipe. Often because I've made it many times and thought to myself that "Hey. You've got this. Don't worry about it." And then, I'm scrambling. Great vid. Always look forward to them.
Weighing is also easier than measuring volume in general. For example, adding flour on a scale until it says '200g' is way easier than dunking a measuring cup, or spooning the flour in, then leveling it, etc.
Mise en place is probably the best cooking advice for home cooks. Not only that, it applies to all aspects of life. Do everything you can in advance. Prepare as much before as possible. Do as much as you can today for tomorrow.
I’ve gotten really serious about mise en place lately and it’s such a game changer. I’m so much less stressed when I cook that way. And I just write out all the extra steps in the recipe to prep so I don’t have to think about it . Great tips!
Loved the side by side on the chickens, really proved the point in a way that's hard to ignore and a huge win compared to the effort you need to put in. Congrats on the 1MM subs, you earned it!
Very helpful! I've struggled with searing meat and I often thought it was that I couldn't get the pan hot enough but now I realize it was due to me putting wet meat into the pan and not pressing it down. Next time I cook a steak I'll definitely give it a good pat off & press in the pan!
#9 works really well for fried potatoes too. We like our potatoes soft and tender, not crispy at all; after they come out of the oil, they'll go into a glass bowl in a warm area and get covered with foil. They come out perfectly. Several of these others were really useful though. Thanks!
So two things I need to thank you for Brian...I bought the meat masher to make your Sloppy Josephs. It works so good, we even use it to mash potatoes. I sent one to a friend and now she uses it for everything too. I tried your bulk roasting of chuck pieces in the oven. They turned out so good. I can make beef and gravy, BBQ shredded beef sandwiches, and I am going to make some beef and barley soup in the next day or so.
Pressing meat into the pan is IMO the best tip here. I got it from another of your videos and it's been a game changer, especially for salmon. Skin on or off!
Excellent stuff. I especially use the oven sear for curries so the main ingredient (chicken, paneer, eggplant etc) is roasting whilst I'm a making the "gravy" which then gets combined and allowed to mingle'n'merge for a while. So much time saved and way less stressful. Learnt the steam finish method here which will be applied from now on. Thanks dude. You're the best 🙂
Nice! You’re the reason I bought a kitchen scale, way back in the Weeds & Sardines bread making era. I can’t live without it now, especially for French press coffee.
Nice! I've found that just getting all the ingredients on the counter - not measured into their own little bowls - is usually sufficiently "placed" - but I have lots of counter space. I'm excited to try the "end with steaming" idea on roasted vegetables.
You did such a great job illustrating each point you were trying to make. It's amazing the benefits gained from drying meat prior to cooking or, collecting and organizing ingredients at the beginning of the process. But, until you see the results they just sound like good ideas.
So true on the mise en place tip! I used to think that was just for fancy pants restaurant chefs, but I started to find cooking a lot more fun, meditative, and enjoyable when I didn't have to sprint across the kitchen to the pantry to find a can of crushed tomatoes while my veggies were sweating down. I'd like to think that that extra enjoyment when cooking comes through in the final dish! My girlfriend thinks I'm an amazing cook, but really I'm just a girl who watches your channel and takes your advice. Thanks for all the great advice and recipes!
Dude. All the money and time you spent to not only show good examples, but bad examples is huge. This is literally my favorite cooking channel, for reasons like this (and the fact that everything I’ve made from you has been absolutely delicious).
Thanks very much. I hope showing the stuff helps drive home the point
@@BrianLagerstrom Just echoing the above sentiments, I'm a dude in his late thirties who stubbornly resisted learning how to cook for most of my life, and your channel has been both an inspiration and an invaluable resource. Literally has changed my life, and I'm not really exaggerating. Also the compliments I get for making your recipes for other people are very nice. ;)
My favoeir is pro mome cook.
Esppaicly his older video
He did this excet video , 5 year ago
@@mesiroy1234 learn English before the hate comments
I love it when he shows himself making stupid mistakes, like leaving the immersion blender in the container and walking away only to have it tip over. It makes me feel so much better about the stupid things I do and makes me so much more willing to try knew things and face potential failure and embarrassment. Brian let's us know it's okay, even funny, to be human.
As one of your non-american viewers, I really appreciate the addition of degrees Celsius in the video. Thanks! :)
94% percent of the world agrees!
one super underrated tip that is common practice in restaurants but not at home is serving hot food on hot plates and cold food on cold plates! Any time I'm cooking something hot I'll throw my serving plate in the microwave (or a low oven) before I plate and it keeps the food at an ideal eating temp for much longer. Same goes for cold dishes I'll pop the serving dish in the fridge or freezer to maximize the ideal eating temp! So easy to do and extremely underrated :)
I would never have thought of this!
Super useful tip! Thanks! I will try it. Tho, i think special plates are required, specialy for putting in the oven..
I literally worked at restaurants and forgot this 🤣@@pieceofpeace35
Does depend on the material! Ceramic plates can get damaged by the microwave over time - I just prefer to wash them under hot tap water for about 30 seconds instead
Totally agree. Aso, for anything I am adding syrup to such as pancakes, French toast, etc. is to warm it first. Hate cold syrup hitting my hot waffle.
IMO This is exactly the kind of content that sets you above and beyond the rest of the other TH-cam cooking channels. This really makes me feel like I can grow my skills as a home cook. Huge props to you man!
Thanks DOC!
Exactly! Please, more content like this 🙏🏼@@BrianLagerstrom
Agreed all around. Your channel is the perfect balance between entertainment and education. Joshua Weisman leaned too into the entertainment aspect and it got annoying in my opinion. And some of the more serious folks like Kenji (whom I really love still to be fair) just sometimes are too in the weeds with the science and protocol for me personally. Keep it up Bri, let's eat this thang.
@@fattdamon5342 Well put, you’re absolutely right. A lot of them also got fancy using expensive or rare ingredients because they now have access to it. Like, I’m never gonna buy an actual truffle, I don’t need these kinds of recipes. Bri is the king of affordable and easy to find ingredients OR giving us plenty of alternatives and substitutes. Now THIS really connects with my everyday cooking.
@@fattdamon5342 One of the things that really comes through in Brian's content is his background as a line cook and how that informs his approach to recipes and techniques.
1. Pat dry all meat, fish, seafood before cooking it
2. Add salt as you go
3. Measure with grams/weight versus volume - to get consistent results in food projects, not always necessary for
4. Press meat (and french toast, quesadillas, etc.) into the pan, firmly for 30 seconds
5. Oven searing and broiling
6. Dry-brine your meat
7. Pre-heat your sheet tray
8. Mise en plase - prepare in advance, watch video, and gather ingredients before adding heat
9. Finish cooking vegetables with steam, especially fibrous ones
THANK YOU - And thank you for taking the additonal step and showing us the difference, and not just telling.
Glad you appreciate that. It took a whole day haha
@@BrianLagerstromThe roast chicken comparison blew my mind! I so appreciate your attention to detail.
Learning to oven sear was probably the best technique that dramatically changed how I did my cooking. It cuts down on time so much and it's a lot more leisurely and makes cooking a lot more calmer instead of stressful.
It's one of my favorite moves. Thanks for watching
@@BrianLagerstromYour channel was the first cooking channel I ever saw to really do oven searing. Most of the time it was either to brown bones and veggies for stock.
Hi there, brief explanation on oven searing please? As my other comment noted, I do keto/ carnivore and eat a reasonable amount of meat. We usually cook it on the stove top and as Brian said, it's messy. I would like to not have that mess and the additional juices would be great for leftovers the next day.
If you were cooking thick tri-tip or ribeye, how would you oven sear it? Would you put the pan in the oven to heat up with the oven first? Just a basic explanation would be really helpful. I appreciate it in advance.
I do dry brine the meat for 24 to 48 hours in advance, this is a technique I have used for the past several months. You can do it with a roast or thick steaks, salt all sides fairly liberally and put the meat on a rack over something so that all of it is exposed to the air. It seemed weird at first to have a rack in the fridge with meat open to the fridge air but it doesn't create any odors. When you sear it it takes a very nice sear but doing it in the oven might up the technique considerably.
@@KyarrixLook up reverse sear. You can also do it in an oven if you want. Low heat, then high heat (broil) to brown.
This is so well put. Pan searing is messy, time consuming and doesn't always work that well. Last time I made beef stew I didn't bother.
You should be very proud of your video productions. Over the last ~year that I've been watching your week-nighting and other videos I have picked all of these tips up and they have all truely made our cooking and eating so much more enjoyable from where we were 2 years ago.
Not to mention I've lost about 20 lbs, Cheers to you, Bri!
Thanks so much for watching Brad
You solved my meat problem!! It was always too wet!!
I made some salmon today and I dried the heck out of it, then salted and let it sit for ten minutes. Threw it in a pan and it was the best salmon ever.
Your advise of “dry your meat” will change my cooking forever. Thank you!!
Yes! I'm excited to try this!! Thank you!
Wow, finally a cooking channel that helps me understand how to improve my cooking, what have I been watching up until this point?? Thank you!!!
11:58 "Mise en place" skyrocketed for me when I learned to *buy & use lots of small bowls for prep* (& one big one for waste like onion skins & stems). I used to think those small bowls were relentlessly stupid & unnecessary, now I can't live without them & it makes most steps of any dish nearly impossible to forget.
I have done the mise for years; turns out I was coping with the faulty working memory portion of my ADHD. His comment about realizing you don't have something before you put food on the fire hits home as well. The best part though is since everything is chopped and measured, you can clean a few dishes or wipe down your cutting board while the food is cooking.
I've been doing a lot of Asian dishes lately, and for a stir-fry, you have 5-10 min tops of cooking. Trying to do it without prepping everything first is likely going to lead to a lot more failures.
A big, $15 stack of stainless steel prep bowls in various sizes is probably the most impactful thing i've ever bought for my kitchen
I arrange my dry ingredients on a dinner plate, clockwise from 12 in the order I'll need them. I'll leave a space if it's a wet ingredient and I can't fit the bowl on the plate. As long as it's just chopped veggies and not raw meat then I'll also use the plate to serve up. Makes it foolproof and minimal extra washing up.
But all that washing up though...
Me too! I have a lot of little glass dishes, but recently added deli containers. It helps so much!
Brian
I have been cooking and baking for well over 50 plus years.
It does not mean I have nothing to learn.
Thank you for taking the time to present this video as I have learned new techniques .. the whys and how's.
Much gratitude.
Babish gave me a hobby.
Weissman gave me a skill.
Lagerstrom gave me a superpower.
Seriously, the extent to which your videos have elevated my cooking is crazy. That one pot spaghetti recipe still blows peoples’ minds when I cook it for them, and let’s be real…spaghetti is so ubiquitous that it’s rarely mind blowing lol
Love those 1st 3 sentences. In fact, I love this comment.
The only thing I dislike about the emphasis on mise en place is that imo you need to know when to not do it or eat least not do it completely to maximize downtime. I wish more recipes considered this - sometimes your onions gotta brown for like half an hour and you can easily do some chopping in the meantime. Not saying you are guilty of this but I consider this an essential skill to make cooking time-efficient.
Your detailed explanations are very well known among professional cooks like us. But the average consumer can often hardly understand many things due to the lack of knowledge about food chemistry and other scientific principles. It's good to see someone who is able to break down the complicated scientific phrases and translate them into plain English.
Your videos are a delight. My significant other was laughing that while having my breakfast instead of watching some series or other 'entertaining' content, I just watched your video on how to be a better cook😂 The thing is, your videos aren't just educational, they are super interesting to watch as well. Not only do you give valuable advice, you also show the examples of this advice influences the cooking. Everything is well-visualised and very well-explained. Honestly, the best cooking channel on TH-cam
Honored to get to join you for breakfast. Thanks so much for the thoughtful comment.
Tip 9 is also great for hot sandwiches. I like to wrap mine in foil and let them sit after getting out of the pan. Helps melt cheeze and steam the inside of the bread so it’s softer.
100%, definitely do this for breakfast sandwich / burrito / bagel situations. Wrap in foil or paper and let everything rest for a few minutes, and it’s so much better.
I do that but with parchment paper. foil would work better probably. great for chopped sandwich hoagies though
Oh yum!!! Never thought about wrapping sammies to get the cheese nice and melted, without burning the bread. I'm definitely going to try this. Thanks for the suggestion!
I just found you last week and I'm already getting compliments from my family on how much better my nightly dinners have been tasting. I love the quick/easy meal ideas and basic tips. Thank you!
Info is immediately helpful and well-condensed. 'This is what happens if you make this mistake' has been so helpful for me to improve my cooking. Honestly, this is my favorite YT channel now. You're killing Bri
Over the last 5 years or so I've been on my own personal growth as a home cook. I've learned all but one of these in that time. The preheating the sheet pan one is great! I learned that one from your video with the sheet pan fajitas!!
Whenever someone mentions wanting to learn to cook or get better, you're one of the 4 or 5 channels I recommend just because of this type of stuff.
I'll also finish with a 10th tip that is usually my number one tip I offer when people ask me about cooking better. "The secret to learning how to cook is to be willing to order a pizza!" There will be times you are going to try something new and outside of your comfort zone. You have to push your skill if you want to get better, but the fear of trying something, messing it up, and then having nothing to eat is a real concern. When I plan on trying a dish dish or technique, I also have the idea of I can go get a pizza or something else. If I'm not worried about having dinner to put on the table, then I've removed that barrier to try something new.
Thanks for talking about the importance of salt. Many people erroneously think that salt is necessarily bad for you. If you don't suffer from high blood pressure or other vascular conditions, well-seasoned food is not necessarily bad for you. It makes vegetables and other healthy ingredients taste way better which makes you eat them more.
And even the "avoid salt if you have heart / blood pressure issues" is, itself, up to scientific debate
You've become one of my top chefs on TH-cam. Where others have been reduced to gimmicky videos you keep making good stuff that teaches us a lot. Thanks dude!
I still love Josh, but I so wish he'd stayed on his original trajectory! It was so worthwhile. And I was comfy in the cupboard.
The prep before cooking is something I've always tried to do and learned it from my parents. I honestly don't like cooking that much, so I prep things sometimes days in advance of cooking even though it's not necessary. It reduces the barrier to get started and helps me figure out if I need to get something while grocery shopping.
I've also been weighing things more and more. Mostly for accuracy when proportioning food, but it's been helpful for baking something new too.
Finally someone said it! Measuring is essential! I hate recipe's starting using cups, spoons etc. That's one of the main reasons why I love your vids Bri - you measure things properly. PS: I'm an engineer
Are you? He promotes "weighing", not "measuring"
I feel like I've seen so many tips and trick videos so I was not expecting I would learn anything but wow was I wrong. Even tips I knew I now have a better understanding of why they work. Can't wait to start sing these, thank you! Instant sub.
This is probably the most informative cooking video I have seen in a very long time. I make a lot of these mistakes, and can't wait to use my newfound knowledge for some dishes! Showing the examples of what not do also really helped because I can recognize, oh that's why that happens!
Im so glad I added you!! I've been following you for over 7 years now and my cooking game has gotten so much better now!! I'm a single dad with 2 girls. They love my meals and it means alot to me! Cause my lil brother and I grew up with bad cooks, my mom among others who watched us in the 80's and 90's lol. she tried but had some good meals and really bad meals. My lil brother was lucky to have me as a brother who loved him and could really eat!! Hence why I have learned how to cook! Started learning how to grill in the marine corps back in 2002. Thank you so much for all of your advice and videos!!!
Man I'm so glad to see your channel blowing up!!! Been with you since around 200K subs. Well deserved success Bri!!! Definitely my favorite cooking channel along with Jim over at Sip & Feast.
Jim is legend. Thanks for Being here.
Tip 9 is the stir fry technique - quickly brown at high heat, add a bit of water/liquid, cover (or not). I usually just stir the veggies around, ensuring contact with steam. Not using a cover allows me to better monitor the cooking. Love the channel!
10th tips you showed us but didn't mention is resetting the electronic scale when adding ingredients to the same bowl instead of measuring them separately. So simple but saves so much time!
Also, common sense....
@@derekwalters2826 It's not. Most people I know don't do it that way and neither did I.
In this video, you can see that he was tare-ing the scale when he was adding the three liquids
@@markbanister5534 Yes, that's what I was saying
@@markbanister5534That was the point of the comment. Some people probably didn't catch what he was doing there if they don't mess with scales.
All the effort and money in this video are greatly appreciated. Thanks Brian, you're the man!
- people who consider themselves good cooks but bad bakers like myself will have a revision of that opinion one they start using a scale to measure the ingredients
- you are going to pre-heat the oven anyway, so having the sheet pan in there will allow two jobs to be done at once and reduce the overall cook time by allowing the vegetables to begin cooking immediately at the correct temperature
- along with mise en place I recommend another French kitchen concept: lavez en continu, basically clean as you go. Have your wash basin filled and try to clean surfaces as you cook so you can relax when you finally sit down to eat!
I’ve been heating my sheet pans when I roast chicken thighs (something I learned watching a Test Kitchen video) but I never thought to do it for veggies! And learning about mise en place from Worst Cooks was a game changer for me. Great video and tips, thank you!
Completely agree with you on the “finish with steam” technique. The Hong Kong style stir fried vegetables that I grew up with always finishes with a splash of water over the hot pan, followed by an immediate cover with the lid for 10-15 seconds. That brief steaming action softens the vegetables and makes them much more tender.
Seasoning is an art and the most underrated part of cooking
Thanks for the video Brian 😎
Agree. Thanks John
Very few cooking "science" and technique videos on TH-cam. Always love and appreciate videos like this
Dude! you have been helping me to improve my home cooking skills for years and i have to say: videos like this one or the other rating kitchen gadgets are as much helpful as the great recipes you bring us. these videos help us to save not only time, but money too. thank you so much and please keep it up!
Great point about the salt! I just watched an America's Test Kitchen video on this. Salt takes time to diffuse into ingredients. They demonstrated the same amount of salt added right at the end, making it unbearably salty as opposed to done throughout the cooking process making it well seasoned, like you said.
This is especially a good point for people trying to watch their sodium levels and consume less salt.
Great video again, as always.
Thanks Brian!
Nobody who's watching their sodium levels is going to benefit by copying the way Brian throws handfuls of salt into his dishes. He uses WAY too much salt.
@@ExiledStardust I don't think you understood my comment. Also, that is hyperbole. Brian does not throw handfuls of salt into his dishes. Do you even know the actual amounts of salt he uses and what it is per servings in his recipes?
Hey Brian! Tonight, I applied your very first tip (dry the meat) & OMG! It made such a huge difference 😊. Many thanks ❤. Keep up the great work.
Crazy, I loved this video so much because I literally do all of these already, except the steam finish. But then again, I have been watching your videos for at least 2yrs now and incorporating many of your recipes into my families meals. You're just so dang educational in all of your videos while you're cooking, I guess I've learned alot from you. You're a great teacher, not JUST showing us that u can make something pretty. Highest quality content Bman, love it!
Getting surface moisture off of meat helps a ton. Putting stuff on a wire rack in the fridge overnight is great too
I learned this from grilling whole fish. If you dry out the outside of the fish with a fan or in the fridge, it grills perfectly and looks like a food magazine cover shot🙂
Salting to 90% of your desired saltiness and then finishing salting at the end is such a good tip!!🤯 Can’t tell you how many times I’ve accidentally over salted a dish that I worked so long and hard on. No more! Thanks Brian!!!
Dude. This is wonderful stuff! I HATE cooking meat because I am so bad at it and you’ve given me some really solid ways to improve my techniques here. Thank you!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
I basically learned my very humble cooking skills watching all of Alton Browns good eats episodes (back in the day), you have officially taken the spot as my number one favorite cooking instructor 😊
Sidenote, please never be a host on a completely staged reality cooking show 😂
Totally agree with you on this. I learned so much from Alton Brown and Emeril over the years but the food network has become an absolute joke. Thanks to people like B-man, Jim at sip & feast, Ethan C. and a few others, we can still
learn real world skills and valuable cooking techniques.
This is one of the best videos for cooking I have ever seen. You gave us techniques that cost no money and used terms used in actual kitchen and explained them well. Thank you bro!
I'm a heavy consumer of youtube food content but there was a few tips in here i haven't seen anywhere and I'm going to implement. Thank you!
I cant get over the cinematography and editing! So clean, pleasing to watch..not to mention the quality of sound.. and ooh, the content! :)
You are the best. I thank you and those who eat my food thank you!
I work from home and will sometimes mise en place my ingredients for dinner at lunch. Chop veggies, make a marinade or spice blend, or even just putting items in the same place is a game changer for when if I am debating between cooking or ordering in.
I'm a pretty accomplished home cook, but I always learn something new from your videos. Bulk browning meats on a sheet tray is one of the ideas I picked up from your channel a while back and it's such a time saver. Thanks for all the great tips and tricks you share!
Being "placed out" makes a night and day difference. The fact you emphasized its more fun to Cook like that is incredibly important. Definitely one of my favorite cooking channels
Excited to try the steam finish technique. I stopped roasting broccoli because it would come out so dry but sounds like this will solve that.
Thanks man! Love the dry brine plug. I am a huge fan of dry brining, especially for large cuts!
WOW! This goes in my "Best" folder. Easy, inexpensive, quick, healthful, beautiful. [ Wait while I go back to the adjective box for more words. ] Fantastic, impressive for guests. "The Steam Finish" gets my vote for most useful technique. Thanks, Brian.
I can't understate how much just being prepared really helps. Check all the ingredients, weigh them out ahead of time and the actual cooking becomes a whole heap easier. Sometime it feels like you're being a 'TV chef' but you can do the prep whenever you have some free time and save time when you're cooking which is likely the point of the day when you have the least time.
I thought I would already know whatever was in this video, then you hit me with the steam finish. Always something to learn. Great video again Brian.
I usually keep some beef tallow close by for the pan sear. Patting the protein dry is key. Good stuff!
What exactly is beef tallow? Is it from rendering beef? Or something you buy?
The vegetable steam finish is a game changer for me! Thanks
Really really appreciate you showing comparisons and bad examples all the time. That must be so much extra work and effort you put into this. Thank you! Every video I learn something new from you. I did not really cook by your recipes yet but my wife and I LOVE watching you cook. Fav cooking channel!
Did two of these -- dried the meat and pushed it down in the pan. Best pot roast sear Ive ever had!
Echoing others, this is why you are the top of my food TH-camr ecosystem. The combination of your professional knowledge and making that accessible to home cooks is something I think only Kenji can match at this level.
Some of them I've learned from you since I've been following you... in the last year+, oven searing ground beef & meat for stews is something I picked up from your vids.
Some of these are brand new concepts to me, and some are just "... how did I not think of that?"
Dry brining is soo underrated! It’s an absolute game changer when it comes to steaks. Salt liberally & leave in the fridge uncovered overnight. Huge difference
As soon as I get home from the store I remove meat from the package and repackage. I either get it ready for freezing, such as bacon or italian sausages, I put on parchment paper on a sheet pan and freeze and then put in freezer bags. Any meat I want to use I will pat dry and wrap or put in ziploc bags for use in the next day or two.
I am now a big fan of salting meat, putting it on a rack, and letting it air dry in the fridge for 24 hours. Both for steak and chicken, especially a spatchcocked chicken or game hen.
I will cook everything in the oven, if possible. Oven roasting, best way to cook vegetables. I'll hafta try that last technique of tenting them! Thanks Bri! Happy cooking everyone!
I've slowly implemented almost all these tips over the last few years (still don't get fully "placed out" and the steam finish was new!) and can attest, these really do instantly make you a better cook. Great video!
Great suggestions! I've been cooking for decades and I don't use most of these techniques, but they all make sense. I'll be trying them out for sure. Thanks for the h great video.
So much invaluable info in this one! I’ve always loved that your videos teach us to be better cooks along the way, not just recipes. I hear your voice say “at the pro level we season as we go not all at the end” almost every time I cook. Thanks, Bri!
Bri bro, Love you our us all, please never shut up, you are as you are, family friendly, I Love your sense of humor, spicy spice talk Godspeed
For patting dry meat, how would that work if I'm searing meat that has previously been in a wet marinade?
And what if I steamed my veggies first, and then sauteed or roasted them?
One thing I learned and have never forgotten when I did my training was the 5 (or 6) P's: proper preparation prevents (p*ss) poor performance. This can be applied to more things than just cooking 😊
I'm so happy I do all of these things except #9 by habit. I steam some things, but I've never thought of trapping the heat and letting vegetables steam after roasting, thanks Bri!
// Random swedish dude.
You remain the don of TH-cam cooking. Your channel is always a pleasure and always educational. Keep up the great work!
Hey Bri, you are a great Chef in many people hearts, very kind of you to give professional tips to home cooks like us! Your TH-cam videos are valuable and worth to spend quality ingredients and times Thank you 🙏❤️
This was a great educational video. Not just for those starting out, but also as reminder for the more experienced.
I've found myself rushing to grab an ingredient simply because I didn't go over what steps were required for the recipe. Often because I've made it many times and thought to myself that "Hey. You've got this. Don't worry about it." And then, I'm scrambling.
Great vid. Always look forward to them.
Weighing is also easier than measuring volume in general. For example, adding flour on a scale until it says '200g' is way easier than dunking a measuring cup, or spooning the flour in, then leveling it, etc.
#10.) Shred your own cheese. 💯
By far my favorite cooking youtube. Helpful, reasonable, down to earth and every recipe has become a family favorite. THANK YOU
The tips themselves are great but the explanation behind them really takes it to the next level. Thanks!
Thank you Brian God bless you and your beautiful family hugs from Angola in African
Mise en place is probably the best cooking advice for home cooks. Not only that, it applies to all aspects of life.
Do everything you can in advance. Prepare as much before as possible.
Do as much as you can today for tomorrow.
I’ve gotten really serious about mise en place lately and it’s such a game changer. I’m so much less stressed when I cook that way. And I just write out all the extra steps in the recipe to prep so I don’t have to think about it . Great tips!
The tip for shrimp will be a game changer. Never thought of covering for a gentle steam. Thx!
Loved the side by side on the chickens, really proved the point in a way that's hard to ignore and a huge win compared to the effort you need to put in. Congrats on the 1MM subs, you earned it!
Very helpful! I've struggled with searing meat and I often thought it was that I couldn't get the pan hot enough but now I realize it was due to me putting wet meat into the pan and not pressing it down. Next time I cook a steak I'll definitely give it a good pat off & press in the pan!
#9 works really well for fried potatoes too. We like our potatoes soft and tender, not crispy at all; after they come out of the oil, they'll go into a glass bowl in a warm area and get covered with foil. They come out perfectly.
Several of these others were really useful though. Thanks!
Good points all. And your "dope chili" is the best recipe of all. Thanks, Brian!
Technique 8 is very important. It really does take the stress out of cooking and allow more time to concentrate on the actual cooking itself.
So two things I need to thank you for Brian...I bought the meat masher to make your Sloppy Josephs. It works so good, we even use it to mash potatoes. I sent one to a friend and now she uses it for everything too. I tried your bulk roasting of chuck pieces in the oven. They turned out so good. I can make beef and gravy, BBQ shredded beef sandwiches, and I am going to make some beef and barley soup in the next day or so.
Pressing meat into the pan is IMO the best tip here. I got it from another of your videos and it's been a game changer, especially for salmon. Skin on or off!
Dry brining my meat has been the most noticable upgrade to my cooking; it makes a HUGE difference
Excellent stuff. I especially use the oven sear for curries so the main ingredient (chicken, paneer, eggplant etc) is roasting whilst I'm a making the "gravy" which then gets combined and allowed to mingle'n'merge for a while. So much time saved and way less stressful. Learnt the steam finish method here which will be applied from now on. Thanks dude. You're the best 🙂
Thanks afain for your great content Brian. I appreciate that you're teaching folks to cook, not just execute recipes.
Nice! You’re the reason I bought a kitchen scale, way back in the Weeds & Sardines bread making era. I can’t live without it now, especially for French press coffee.
Nice! I've found that just getting all the ingredients on the counter - not measured into their own little bowls - is usually sufficiently "placed" - but I have lots of counter space. I'm excited to try the "end with steaming" idea on roasted vegetables.
You did such a great job illustrating each point you were trying to make. It's amazing the benefits gained from drying meat prior to cooking or, collecting and organizing ingredients at the beginning of the process. But, until you see the results they just sound like good ideas.
I'm always impressed how you go on to LITERALLY answer the exact question I had 5 seconds later.
This is why I follow your channel. Win!
Brian,thank you for sharing all your culinary knowledge.I love your recipes,every time I make them they are a success.
So true on the mise en place tip! I used to think that was just for fancy pants restaurant chefs, but I started to find cooking a lot more fun, meditative, and enjoyable when I didn't have to sprint across the kitchen to the pantry to find a can of crushed tomatoes while my veggies were sweating down. I'd like to think that that extra enjoyment when cooking comes through in the final dish!
My girlfriend thinks I'm an amazing cook, but really I'm just a girl who watches your channel and takes your advice. Thanks for all the great advice and recipes!
Your insightful techniques are what elevates your channel over others for me. Thanks for the great tips!
I always boil my roasting potatoes first, until we'll done. Then drain and toss to fluff them up before roasting. Perfect crispy roasties.
Or great smashed potatoes with all the crispy crags.