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The Window of Doneness Along with knowing how to use salt, the ability to know when food is done is a cook’s greatest skill. When you’re cooking, the food spends a long time being underdone, a short time being cooked just right and then before you know it has moved on to being overcooked, a condition from which there is no hope of recovery. In other words, the window of perfect doneness is a small one and you better be ready to jump right through it. This is particularly true with grilling and now that BBQ season is upon us, its time to review the situation. To
begin, grills and charcoal fires vary greatly. Cooking times given in
grilling recipes are at best estimates. So a primary technique of the
craft is knowing when your dinner is ready to come off the fire. After
you have cook a thousand steaks, or chicken legs, you will probably be
able to tell just by a poke of the finger when the current one is ready
to eat. In
the meantime, I suggest you use the method favoured by chefs – taking
a quick peek. As
you may have guessed, this trick is simply a matter of picking up
whatever you are cooking and nick it with a knife so you can look inside
and check its state of doneness. That’s really all there is to it. No
guesswork, no thermometers. It doesn’t get much easier or more
accurate. Despite
this, many cooks shy away from this method. One reason is that some of
you feel that conveys your amateur status. Let me assure you, I have
watched professional cooks for over thirty years and they are constantly
touching the food to determine doneness. Another reason people avoid
cutting the meat is the thinking that all of the juices are going to run
out. Again, not true. Some juices do escape, but it’s not like putting
a hole in a balloon. The very small amount of juice you may lose pales
in comparison to serving a perfectly overcooked steak. This method truly
does not harm the food and if you feel that it mars the perfect
appearance then keep the tested portion for yourself. The
only other thing to remember when you peek is that the technique will
vary according to what food is being cooked. Contrary to its reputation,
fish is easy in this regard. It is very malleable so it’s easy to get
a look inside by bending or otherwise maneuvering it while leaving its
appearance untouched. This is fortunate, because fish has a very small
window of doneness. Stripped Sea Bass Salad 1 pound sea bass filet or use any other firm fleshed ocean fish such as grouper, or red snapper 2
tablespoons olive oil Sea
salt and freshly ground pepper 1
large tomato, cored and diced medium 1
small red onion, peeled and thinly sliced ½
cup thinly diced green onion ¼
cup chopped fresh basil ¼
cup chopped fresh mint 1/3
cup fresh lime juice 1
tablespoon minced ginger 4
to 6 dashes of Tabasco 1)
Rub the fish lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with the salt
and pepper and then grill over a medium hot fire for about 5 to 7
minutes per side. To check for doneness cut into one of the fish pieces
and check to see that it is just opaque throughout. 2)
Remove the fish from the grill and as soon as it is cooled flake
the meat from the skin with a fork; the meat will be tossed in with the
salad so don’t worry about small pieces. 3)
Place the fish in a medium bowl, add all the remaining
ingredients and season to taste. |
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