Thanks for your link which I found interesting. I like the way this chef explains the reason for everything he does even if his voice comes across as somewhat robotic.
Apologies if I have posted this before but I have a top tip for making brochettes.
I find that when you turn a brochette to grill the uncooked side, unless you have speared the meat through its center of gravity, the heaviest side of the meat tend to swing downwards. To avoid this, use two skewers instead of one. To make loading the brochette easier, drill two skewer sized holes in a piece of wood (in my photo I have used the handle of a vegetable cutter) this leaves two hands free to assemble the pieces to be grilled.
Interesting idea. We have some long skewers bought in Rethymno in the 1980s, and they have an oval cross section, presumably to prevent the meat turning freely.
And on that topic, I used to work with someone who decided to have a pig roast as a leaving party. He bought his piglet, acquired a long iron bar to use as a spit and then discovered a distinct lack of ability to turn the pig. In the end he found more bar and spot-welded it across the body inside the pig, then wired the carcass to the bar. He also discovered that cooking something the size of a pig without an oven around it is much more difficult than expected.
Many years ago I was told by the proprietor of a professional cookware shop to never wrap my thumb around the handle but to keep it with my other fingers.
Excellent video.
A blunt knife is far more dangerous than a blunt knife.
I confess I use the stupidly dangerous technique. It is safer for the user and I never sharpen if there is someone else in the kitchen. It moves the blade away from the user. It also moves the sharpened edge towards the steel rather than away from it reducing the burr problem.
It is best to avoid drawing the sharpened edge over the work surface when cutting stuff as it quickly blunts it. It is better to rest the tip only on the surface and draw the knife towards you.
And, as my woodwork teacher used to yell at us, “let the blade do the work”. In other words, draw the blade gently across the tomato don’t press it or use force.
Think you mean a sharp knife😉
I did Mark . Thank you for the correction. I plead anno domini for my negligence.
I still have a scar on my thumb to remind me of using my mother’s veg knife on a swede, probably 30 years ago.
Did I post this earlier this year?
A moment’s carelessness chopping onions. In contradiction to the video above, my observation is that a round steel can still sharpen a knife blade.
The heart because you had the presence of mind to take a photo.
My worst was when I used a mandoline for the first (and last) time, and took off the side of my thumb. It took weeks to heal, because although it created a flap, I thought it would be better to remove that.
No photo
Thank you
Me too, and yes, it takes a long time if you remove the flap, as I did too. There was quite a bit to regrow.
I use a victorian butcher’s round steel to keep my kitchen knives nicely sharpened and I would never, ever use any of those knives to cut paper, I almost yelped when the chap in the video slashed away…
Our steel came from the outlaws. The handle is bone, and it could be Victorian too.
family items, handed down, always make me feel good when I use 'em.
We used to frequent a very traditional restaurant near our previous address. It was a long room with meat cooked on an open fire at the end. Most people were regular locals, several of whom just drop in for a chat at the communal table near the fire
Just inside the door was a beautifully made rustic cabinet with many small drawers which various men would visit from time to time. When I asked the owner what the small drawers were for, he explained that each one was allocated to a local to keep his knife in, usually a Laguiole. It reminded me of the good old days in a pub where locals would order a pint in their own private mug kept on a hook behind the bar.
In the same restaurant, I started laughing halfway through the meal. When my wife asked the reason I explained that I must be nearly French. She was still none the wiser so I showed her my feet. I still had my slippers on!
Me too.