Go to the Article: Tips & Tricks: How to Mince a Shallot
nothing funny about shallots, grant. get it together.
What do you do when you get to the base?
When you have the passion you can even have fun at cutting a shallot!
THIS is the type of thing that may bring in more newbies IMHO. :-)
Fantastic!!
We hope so, Todd! Thanks!
We cut as close to it as we can, and then chuck it. The base part is woody anyway. If you really want to use it, you can basically repeat the process you did with the rest of the shallot, except on a teeny tiny scale!
Feel free to share it with any newbies you know, Todd!
Good stuff. I always treated it like an onion, but having professional confirmation is good!
More of this type of thing is good! +1
Thanks
I would love to see more prepping tips like this!
This is much more fun than watching Sous Vide! The basics never stop being important ...
Save it for stock
Another great video, guys!
Captain Obvious says: "The difference between making this work or fail is a sharp knife."
That is my #1 tip to any one of my friends who complains about chopping onions/shallots/leeks etc.
Yipee, skipee. I do love shallots. Thanks for the fun!
This is the most commonly used method now, actually, it's nothing new. The -real- important thing to note is that your knife must be sharp. It's only easy if your knife is sharp.
I can mince it like a demon. It is peeling the damn thing that takes all the time. I have a hard time taking a full layer like I often do on an onion.
Whilst I knew this one this is exactly the sort of thing I would love to see more of. Knife Skills, prep tips and plating and presentation skills. Love this site.
I actually do the same when mincing garlic...
any tips for not crying when chopping shallot/onions? because, i start crying like a little baby....
I've never understood the reasoning behind the horizontal slices. As the shallot (or onion) half lays on the board, it already has natural horizontal slices between each layer. I skip the horizontal slices and I still end up with beautiful dice/mince. Just sayin'.
Great videos and great website! Keep up the great work!
You could use a garlic press for that, it's a lot faster and you don't even have to peel them
Keep your mouth closed and don't open it until you have finished cutting the onion. Works for me
Don't get emotionally attached to the onions. π
Chill Dimitri! PV=nRT
Thanks for the feedback Steve. We've got some really fun stuff in the pipeline. Stay tuned!
Sharp observation, pardon the pun. I do the same thing.
And i still believe and hope there will be a Master class for pacojet. Because everybody has oneπ
its not totally necesarry, but at the sides where the layers are vertical youll end up with a few larger pieces if you dont do the horizontal cuts.
Anyone know who makes that lovely knife used in this video?
If you blanch them for a few seconds, skin comes off quickly and easily. I too once had that problem. This small extra step is worth it. IMHO.
shared on FB and sent private links as well Jess! I'm hopeful these videos will start a snowball with a section of the market and walk them into the other great techniques and components. :-)
Hey Steve, if you're looking for more plating and presentation tips, try our Design a Dish project (if you haven't already!) https://www.chefsteps.com/projects/design-a-dish/landing#/
Well, that is sort of true, you will end up with more large random bits if you don't slice all three dimensions.
Very true. Everything is lovelier when your knife is sharp:)
http://www.chefsteps.com/knife-collection
These are my favorite knives, they are by a recently deceased artist named Asai and the line is Hayabusa. They didn't sell because people thought they looked plain, but i can tell you they are the loveliest knives in the world.
Thanks Grant!!
Also...I find an even quicker way is to cut off the root, and the tip, peel the shallot whole and make thin slices on a sharp mandoline or benriner and then mince the slices with a sharp knife.
if you know how to use a knife, I can't possibly see how this is quicker. Maybe a way to get a more uniform mince, but just get better at using a knife then.
Oh nooo ... that's a sad news.
I own a beautifull Asai santoku for some years and I love it. Makes me really sad to learn Mr Asai passed away on this forum ...
It does however give the dishwasher more to do
Ick on all counts
Hey! The one thing Grant did wrong, was HE CUT OFF THE ROOT! Grant, don't EVER cut off the root end of a shallot, or an onion...man, that's what holds the shallot or onion together when you're mincing (or dicing) it. Geez!!
I agree, but I have seen a lot of chefs doing that. It would be nice to know WHY they do so. Does it make it easier to peel, or is there any other reason?
But he really didn't cut it off. Just the dirty part, he even said that in the video.
I am the dishwasher....no thanks.
But I do love my mandoline too!
Going to have to start doing this from now on
It holds them together. With onions, this technique prevents your eyes from watering.
I just picked up the Ryusen Gyuto. It is as beautiful a knife as Mr. Crilly has described.
Well..as we say in my business ( surgery ) there are as many good ways to do it as good people doing
it. The point is to end up with small pieces of shallot that are about the same size. If you can do that with a chain saw you are doing it right.
@Krystia I'm not sure how many onions you've actually cut, but your above statement is false. Onions make you cry because of chemical defense mechanism of the cells when they are ruptured: releasing a combination of sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, sulfuric acid, and syn-propanethial-S-oxide. It has absolutely nothing to do with the roots. Particularly because the shallot is a root!
Awesome
I skip the horizontal cuts, and get the same results.
I have heard all my life how important cutting onions is and Ill tell you a secret it isn't important at all. I have never known a chef that was critiqued on there knife skills accept by other chefs that were watching them. If you can cut with a knife and you don't cut yourself or anyone else don't believe the hype. Knives cut food if that gets done learn how to emulsify or how to safely bring food to temp or how to deep fry. Basically if you can get them to the needed size you have learned all you need to.
Me too
One nice trick, from Gordon Ramsey of all people, is to angle the horizontal cuts downward at a slight angle (not exactly parallel to the cutting board). The first cut, closest to the board, terminates short of the root end by a fair distance. Your fingers are safely out of the way. Give it a try.
The size of the dice is very important to the outcome though. If you want even cooking, you need a consistent dice. Yes I notice the difference when I eat at restaurants.
Correct. You don't need the horizontal cuts on shallots or onions, because the layers will separated by themselves
Thank you so much Chef, I am pretty well skilled at using my knife, however watching this video just invigorates me and gives me the push to get up and start cutting/slicing/dicing. I always have something to learn. THANK YOU!!!!!
Couple of comments. I also don't use the horizontal cuts. Also, when I'm slicing shallots (or onions or ...) and I get close to the root end, I throw it into a ZipLoc bag in my freezer for the next time I make stock.
When I am going to dice onions or shallots, I split them in half and peel them, keeping the root on -- same as the directions above.
The thing that I do different is that I then slice vertically down the halved onion, the width of each half moon the width I want the dice to be. So across the equator of the onion. Keep all of the half moons together and tip them down so they're all overlapping. Then I just slice all the half moons at once creating my diced veggies. This slice is basically from pole-to-pole (keeping with globe terminology). It's very fast and easy.
