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Pizza is a tasty and satisfying dish that goes perfectly with any table.

  1. You will need 900 g flour; 10 g yeast (fresh); 0.5 l of water; 10 g vegetable oil (or olive oil); 20 g of sea salt (finely ground). Be sure to knead the dough in a calm, warm atmosphere and in a good mood. To make the dough airy, sift the flour through a sieve. In a bowl, dilute the yeast with cold water until completely dissolved. Gently add half of the flour and mix thoroughly so that there are no lumps. Then add the rest of the flour and salt.
  2. It is better to add olive oil to the mixed mass, which will give elasticity. We knead everything thoroughly. Then put the dough out of the bowl on the table and knead it until it lags behind the hands.
  3. Divide the dough into several pieces and leave it to rise at room temperature for about 1 hour. It should double in volume. Roll out the dough in a thin layer with your hands. Sprinkle flour on the surface of the dough and begin to gently stretch it from the middle to the edges. In this case, it is advisable to hold the middle of the cake with your hand. We make the edges a little thicker for the sides.
  4. Grease the baking dish with olive oil and sprinkle it with flour so that the dough does not stick to the baking dish. We spread the filling and send it to a heated oven (180-200 degrees) for about 10 minutes.
  5. For a pizza of medium diameter, add no more than 3 tablespoons of sauce. As a sauce, we use not only traditional tomato paste, but also delicate cream cheese, hummus, squash caviar, or pesto sauce. We monitor the consistency of the sauce: it should not be liquid.
  6. Be concise and don’t use more than 4 ingredients in one pizza. There should be only one layer of filling and no more than 1 centimeter. Do not fill the entire surface of the dough with ingredients, because there will be a layer of grated cheese on top. Place ingredients such as greens and lettuce on the pizza before serving.

How to choose good meat

On the market

  • The first thing you should pay attention to is the color of the meat. It should be deep red. The color may vary: fresh beef is just red, lamb is a little darker, pork is pink, veal is deep pink.
    Take a closer look at the color of fat and bones. Some unscrupulous sellers refresh stale meat by soaking it in a solution of potassium permanganate. In this case, the fat will be pinkish, and the bones will be yellow. Very yellow fat is a sign of an old animal. This meat will be tough and will take much longer to cook. Good young beef has white fat and crumbles, and fresh pork has white-pink elastic layers of fat.
  • Do not be afraid to taste the meat with your finger: it should spring back when pressed.
  • Another important nuance is the smell. If you even feel a subtle unpleasant scent, go to another seller. But there is a subtlety here: for example, the meat of non-castrated pigs can look and smell just perfect when raw, and when frying will give a terrible stench. Ask the butcher to cut a small piece and light it with a lighter. If it smells like barbecue, you can take it.

In the shop

  • In the store, the situation is different: in most cases, meat is now sold in vacuum packaging. The main thing is that it is not swollen.
    The piece of meat must be solid and of the correct thickness. For example, for ribeye, it is 2.5-3 centimeters.
  • After unpacking, the meat must be allowed to breathe for 15-20 minutes, and it is better to wrap it in parchment and leave it overnight: in the morning you will see a significant color difference.
  • But it is better not to buy ready-made meat in marinades – not the freshest pieces are most often used there.

Cooking

  • The steaks are best grilled on an open grill, but a grill pan will work at home.
  • Take the meat out of the refrigerator one hour before cooking and let it sit at room temperature.
  • For Medium roasting, first crust on both sides and then roast the meat for another 2-3 minutes on each side. You can turn it over every minute – so the juices are better distributed inside.
    If cooking in a skillet, add fresh thyme, rosemary, and garlic during frying, and at the very end add a lump of butter (3 x 3 cm).
  • Transfer the meat to a baking sheet with a wire rack and let it rest for 4-5 minutes. It is now that the meat can be salted.
  • Serve the steak with a light green salad or mint avocado, seasoned with lemon juice and olive oil.

To make a delicious and juicy steak, you need to choose the right piece of meat. For meat, as for all products, quality is a decisive factor. Let’s figure out how to choose the right meat.

  1. Look at each steak carefully and thoroughly. If you want the steak to remain juicy and tender when grilled, there should be a lot of white or yellow grease in the meat part. It is such meat that is called marbled.
  2. Do not trim this desired fat from the steak. The fat helps keep the steak juicy and maintain its shape during cooking. It also improves the taste of meat. If you still want to trim excess fat, do so before serving.
  3. Correct meat flavor. The meat should smell like meat, and the aroma should be light and almost subtle. The stronger the smell, the less fresh the meat.
  4. The steak must be of the correct thickness for proper browning. A good steak should be at least 2.5 cm thick.
  5. Choose steaks based on their marbling. The lower the degree, the tougher the beef. Prime is the highest grade, most tender meat. The choice is medium and the selection is minimum and the toughest meat.
  6. Want a perfectly cooked steak – buy a meat and steak thermometer. There is nothing better than using a digital thermometer to instantly and easily know that the steak is ready. And no guesswork is needed.
  7. According to butchers, the best steak is Ribeye steak. From the point of view of tenderness, maximum juiciness, as well as rich aroma, this steak is ideal.

I hope now it will be easier for you to choose and prepare the most delicious steaks!

On the most masculine holiday, we reveal the secret of cooking the most brutal dish. Throwing the meat into a frying pan and serving it to the table in a couple of minutes is not all. We study the cooking technique with passion.

USEFUL TIPS

  1. The ideal steak thickness is 2-3 cm. This makes it easier to get into the desired roast;
  2. Large steaks can be put in the oven for 15-20 minutes without frying;
  3. If grilling, turn the steak so that the grill marks form a nice mesh;
  4. The taste of marbled beef is very bright, it is usually seasoned only with salt and pepper;
  5. Don’t use “heavy” side dishes. Fried meat is better absorbed when paired with salads and vegetables.
  6. Be sure to cut the finished steak across the fibers, so the meat will be much more tender.

HARMFUL TIPS

  1. Wash the meat before cooking. What if it’s dirty?
  2. Place the steak in the freezer after purchase. Probably, it will be better preserved this way.
  3. They say that beef is always tough, so be sure to beat or marinate the steak properly.
  4. The steak must be completely roasted so that the meat is dark gray. It seems like you can’t eat uncooked meat.
  5. It is best to cut in the middle of the steak to check the doneness.
  6. It is unlikely that the meat will lose its juiciness.
  7. Together with the steak, you need to buy ready-made sauce. Most likely, only with the sauce will the meat be tasty and juicy.

Is it possible to cook perfect steaks at home while being self-isolated? It is possible, and even necessary.

  1. Choose the fattest meat. Do not be afraid of white layers, they have all the taste. For example, striploin: is moderately fatty, has a rich meaty flavor, and is cheaper than a ribeye.
  2. After buying Dry Aged meat in a store, keep it in a vacuum or store package for another five days. The meat will then exactly “reach” the desired condition of softness. Do not be afraid if you have everything in order with the temperature in the refrigerator, nothing will happen to the meat.
  3. Remove the steaks an hour before cooking, cut 2.5-3 cm, cover with cling film, preferably gauze and let them reach room temperature.
  4. Take not a ribbed frying pan, but an ordinary solid one – heavy, cast iron, with a thick bottom, which holds and transmits heat well.
  5. If you have a regular electric stove (0-9), steaks should be cooked for 8. Heat a frying pan and pour butter: 50/50 oil and butter, quite a lot, 30 grams each. Next, put a sprig of thyme or rosemary, a couple of cloves, crushed by hand, garlic.
  6. Salt the steaks just before frying. Not in 10 minutes – we do not need marinated meat, we need the salt to react with the meat and give a perfect crust
  7. Put the steaks and add the temperature. Fry for 2 minutes on each side, uncovered. Otherwise, instead of steak, you will get a piece of stewed beef. If you want a higher degree of roasting, lower the temperature and increase the time, but in the end, still, give a boost for the crust.
  8. Let the steak rest for 5 minutes and you can serve. The perfect side dish is vegetables: broccoli, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms – anything!

The sauce is an important element of pizza. It should be juicy, rich, but at the same time not too bright. Such that it would set off and emphasize the taste of the filling, but not drown it out.

  1. Don’t be lazy. Want to make the right sauce? Do not use prepared tomato paste as a basis. Instead, use canned tomatoes in your own juice: you can find both Russian and Italian ones in large supermarkets. Drain, grind and add spices. Provencal herbs, salt, pepper – done!
  2. Experiment. Unable to buy canned tomatoes? Nothing wrong. A great sauce can be made with fresh tomatoes. Peel them, cut, and pour them over with boiling water. Simmer in a skillet for 10 minutes, then pass through a blender. Add spices: oregano, garlic, bay leaf. Return the sauce to the stove and boil it about twice.
  3. Don’t overdo it. There should not be too much sauce. The most delicious pizza recipes emphasize no more than three tablespoons of sauce per standard circle of dough.
  4. Watch the consistency. Make the sauce too runny and your pizza will float.
  5. Get creative. Classic sauces are made from tomatoes, but the beauty of pizza at home is that you can invent new unusual combinations for it. You can substitute hummus or squash caviar for tomatoes. Or take cream cheese – it goes well with chicken and pineapple.
  6. And a little bonus: Jamie Oliver’s perfect and easy sauce. Prepares in 10 minutes. You will need 3 cans of canned tomatoes in their own juice, 4 cloves of garlic, a bunch of basil, 8 tablespoons of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Chop the garlic, fry it with the basil in olive oil. Add the tomatoes, salt, and pepper. After a couple of minutes, remove from heat, pass through the city. And simmer for another 10 minutes over low heat.