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"Season to taste"
In our most recent This Week At ChefSteps newsletter, the kitchen crew discussed the phrase "season to taste" and how they like to think about what it means, both in recipe writing and in their own cooking. Do you have thoughts for how we use the phrase at ChefSteps? How other recipe publications use it? Do you think it's…
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“Dry brine"
This video with was chef Delfin Jaranilla of Leland Eating and Drinking House was making the rounds a couple weeks ago because of his "hot take" on the phrase "dry brining." ("It's not a thing. It's called a cure.") We chatted about it, and we transcribed a bit of the conversation for our This Week at ChefSteps newsletter.…
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**ALL THINGS NOMA**
THE CONTEXT This past week, Noma's been in the news because of a report in The New York Times detailing allegations of physical, verbal, and psychological abuse against René Redzepi, the restaurant's very famous chef. Many allegations had been collected online by Jason Ignacio White, who formerly worked at Noma's…
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Super Bowl—what are you doing?
All right, this one is for all the football fans out there: What are you making for Game Day? Our staff is woefully indifferent to sportsballs of all kinds, and that's a double shame this year since the Seahawks v. Patriots matchup would've been a perfect time for some light-heartedly serious in-office rivalry, since Tim's…
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What do YOU think of Diners?
If you've signed up for our weekly "This Week at ChefSteps" newsletter, this week you would've read about some our thoughts on diners—who likes them, who hates them (yep, we've got a hater). We were wondering what you all think of diners. Are they one of the best places to eat out at, no matter what stage of life you're…
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2025 Thanksgiving Cooking Hotline! Ask Us Anything!
Got Thanksgiving cooking questions? Well, we’re here to help! We want you to have a delicious and stress-free Thanksgiving, whether you're preparing an epic feast or bringing a side to a Friendsgiving potluck. Ask about anything and everything related to Thanksgiving, and we'll answer as quickly as possible. Our chef team…
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Sou Vide Chicken Breast / Thighs
After reading through a few different chicken breast and thigh recipes, I noticed that some call for a sear before bagging, while others call for searing after cooking in the sous vide. Is there a reason or benefit to doing one versus the other? To note, I would be using this method for meal prepping. Please let me know…
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Safety of Nonstick Pans
There have been a few comments (on the forum and on the course site) regarding use of nonstick pans and health concerns. WIth recent reports in the media about Teflon surfacing, I want to provide some info regarding this subject. * Most nonstick coatings are based on Teflon, which is the brand name for…
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Chamber Sealer Recomendations
Hi! I have been using a regular food saver style sealer but am looking into upgrading to a chamber sealer. Any recommendations? The 3 models I am looking into are:…
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Sou Vide Chicken Breast / Thighs
After reading through a few different chicken breast and thigh recipes, I noticed that some call for a sear before bagging, while others call for searing after cooking in the sous vide. Is there a reason or benefit to doing one versus the other? To note, I would be using this method for meal prepping. Please let me know…
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Brine
Hi Making a brine seems to me a bit laborious, what whith boiling a salt and sugar solution and then cooling it. I have made many a brine dissolving sugar and salt with a stick blender with perfect results. I assume you might say the stick blender could be contaminated to which I would reply: just run it in boiling water…
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Test Kitchen Confidential: Chicken-Fried Steak
Alright ya'll we're starting on a three day development sprint to develop the best Chicken-Fried Steak. This bad boy needs a glow up. I'm looking for opinions, insight, ideas, recipes, links anything you got related to chicken-fried steak. No wrong ideas! Non-negotiables: Has to be with beef (TBD on the cut), can be made…
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Soup Dumplings - Skip the Pleats!
I'm of the opinion that any food item that requires a high level of dexterity - Dumplings, hand pulled noodles, masa tortillas - im going out to eat. Had one of those "why didnt i think of this" moments with the viral dumpling 'lasagna' i've been seeing (we have been seeing?) online. TLDR: Copy this filling:…
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Pork collar sous vide - tonkatsu
Hi chefs, Would like to ask a quick question please, regarding a recipe. For the tonkatsu recipe, the porck neck sous vide is 60c for 16h. My question is, is there a way of achieving the same result and lower the cooking time? Less time and higher temperature? Really appreciate your help, Thank you all Best wishes
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L’Oreiller de la Belle Aurore
Continuing with CS's renewed interest in French cuisine, I think we need a recipe for this insane classic! The Belle Aurore Pillow (L’Oreiller de la Belle Aurore) Made with a fragrant pork stuffing, sweetbreads, and black truffle. Adorned with inserts of mallard duck, poultry, foie gras, and pigeon. The Belle Aurore Pillow…
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Stocks and extraction
As someone who thinks about extraction soluble material with water all day long, I can't help but think about vegetables and stock. Unlike coffee it seems like there is nothing in the vegetables we don't want (in terms of solubles that taste good), so the ideal would seem to be to get as much as possible, as quickly as…