I’m making chimichurri pork chops this weekend. However, many recipes I’ve seen suggest seasoning the pork chops with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic, paprika, etc. While others only use salt and pepper? Also some recipes suggest rubbing some oil on the chops while others recommend patting them dry before cooking. Will salt and pepper be enough for a flavorful pork chop or should I just season with my heart?

Not sure if this is the right sub for this but I have a question about jerky. So I have a dehydrator, I use store bought jerky cure and prepare it all as per package directions. My question is, do you cook your meat prior to putting it in the dehydrator? All my life my dad has just put it straight into the dehydrator without cooking it before or after and we’ve never had issues. I’ve only made jerky a handful of times myself and have done the same thing. But I just read that you’re supposed to either cook it first or bake it afterwards as per the usda safety guidelines. So what’s the consensus?

So I recently moved into my own place, and while I hate cooking, (simply to damn tired to ever put something together besides mac 'n cheese lol) I was gifted an air fryer for Christmas and I'm really enjoying it.

Now, I've only made like the bare minimum things in it. Like chicken nuggets level of skill. But I want to try branching out and getting into preparing things for lunch. Starting small and all that. I want to try to get fresh vegetables into my diet, but my issue is I come from a very spice-adverse family lol. My one sibling likes things way to spicy for me so no-go for advise there.

Are there any spices I should buy for my place right off the bat? (I literally only own salt, pepper, and Lowry's seasoning salt). I'm sick of living like a frat guy with only frozen meals and an empty spice cabinet.

hi all, I am looking for ideas on what I should add to my omelette. this will be for after a morning gym session and I am looking to have 3 eggs, some sort of meat and anything that y'all might think would be good. thank you!

So I remember when I was younger my grandpa would tenderize meat with soda and I don't know if I understood right or made it up cause I was really young.

I would love to hear your take on it and maybe tips/advice/recipes if it is possible.

I have a bunch of steaks and ground beef and don't want to always do the same thing.

I just recently got a rice cooker so I’ve been making a lot of meals out of that. I want to properly learn how to cook over the stove though. I hear a lot of people save money cooking at home

I just got an air fryer I am learning how to use. Any tips on how to maximize the use of an air fryer for healthy meals?

I also wanted to ask about getting a crockpot and/ or a pressure cooker. I’m irrationally afraid these appliances will explode if I leave them on their own when I’m not home and burn the place down.

Every time I search for quick and yummy recipes, people mention a crockpot or a pressure cooker. Is there an alternative? Should I just stick to using the air fryer for now?

So i’m making a beef stew, it’s only been cooking for about three hours and I feel like I may have added too much beef broth, I plan to make rice with it but in this case when it comes closer to it being done can I throw in rice and let it all cook at once? or will the rice absorb it all?

Can i bake biscuits or something and huck it in my soup for same effect. Me cook no good.

I’ve made it like well over 10 times by now. I’ve had only the first batch come out successfully and maybe one dumpling per batch if I’m lucky, which is not often. Every time they’re dense and sad. Sad gummy… just awful. I’m not overworking my dough. Size seems to not be an issue, i do tend to make them little bigger than meatball sized. I tried big balls like a small fist and first batch was good but immediately after the next one was gummy. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong at this point. Maybe my simmer is too strong? My stovetops lowest temp which is supposed to be a simmer is more like a low boil. I try to not overcrowd pot i only do one layer

I've heard that putting a raw potato in with something too salty works, but then American Test Kitchens says that's a myth. Advice?

I'm new to cooking, and baking is intimidating. TIA!

I found a recipe online and it was pretty good, but I'm Cajun and love my spices. I have no idea what spices will go with this though, any ideas?

Recipe: sesame oil

Sesame seeds

Green onion

Kimchi

Canned chicken

Rice water

Enoki mushrooms

Tofu

Rice in a different pot.

I love juicy, flavorful, and tender meat, but I'm not sure which cooking methods are the best way to go about this. I find chicken to be particularly hard to keep tender and juicy.

I bought frozen squid from the fishmonger on a whim, and now I'm not sure what to do with it. I'm thinking of cutting the tentacles to do calamari rings, but I've never deep fried something so I'm wondering how I would go about this (if I could just put a thin layer of peanut oil or I have to put a larger amount and fry from that). Also not sure what to do with the main body either, since I don't have a grill.

Update: I scrambled the eggs with the sausage, added shredded cheddar, finished it with green onions and hot sauce, and put it in a burrito. No salt is needed 😋

I've recently gotten really deep into cooking - it's very fun and therapeutic, and helps around the house as I can have dinner started before my wife gets home.

I think my meals are good, and I've internalized a lot of techniques to do certain things (still very much a beginner, but deeply interested), but one thing I struggle with is getting that restaurant level of rich intense flavor. I taste very often as I cook, I use a lot of garlic and onion etc and I've really started using fresh herbs.

A couple weeks ago, I made grilled cheese tacos with chipotle ground beef, and they were really good - but a couple squeezes of lime absolutely kicked them waaay over the top into resturant-level delicious. Trying to capture that for every meal.

Last night I did steak macaroni and cheese (first time making a roux for cheese sauce!), and it was quite good, but neither steak nor the cheese sauce slapped. For that I was just following a recipe. Might've been undersalted or something.

What are those crucial elements in your cooking that take it from "good" or "great" to "mind-blowing burst of flavor"?

(I have the audiobook of "Salt Fat Acid Heat", but haven't started it yet - just in case anyone will refer to that)

So I am using this Hamilton Beach toaster oven from Walmart https://imgur.com/a/aOmlpLB

It has 4 settings and one is obviously pizza but when using this setting I can never get a good crust on the bottom. This is for all brands of frozen pizzas. Should I maybe try another setting? Just curious what you think the difference would be between the pizza one and cupcake one, I would think they're both for baking.

Thanks.

I live on my own and want to make ramen soup but whenever i do that i end up waisting st least some food because the portion sizes of everything are for one person, any tips on dealing with this?

im so terrified rn i made a burger using some ground beef out of a baggy thing i formed it into patties then i cooked it on each side for like 6 minutes on medium high heat and when i sliced into it at the end it was like brown on the inside which seems overcooked but like the patty felt kinda soft when i ate it ... did i do something wrong.. am i gonna get food poisoning.. it seemed cooked enough

I often cook chicken in my instant pot.. thighs or whole chickens...renders out a lot of broth/fat to use elsewhere, moist meat to use in different meals, and a STRANGE RESIDUE.

It's kind of white and...flakey is the wrong word..but like they in a moist liquidy way. It'll cling to the trivet....kind of a goop. It doesn't have much flavor..it's not fat. It reminds me of the egg bits in chinese egg drop soup (I sorta think it's likely just congealed protien)

Anyone know what it might be? (I'll put some pictures in the first comment)

This post lists black beans, orange peel, all spice, and onion as a solid dish. I’m using dried black beans and have been soaking them for 8 hours. My plan was to chop half an onion, cook the onion on the stove until transparent (maybe 8 mins), add the water and bring to a boil, add the beans, and simmer the beans for at least an hour.

• How do my steps sound so far?
• When do I add the orange peel and vegetable broth?
• Do I zest the orange peel or just put the solid clusters of orange peel into the pot?

Thank you:)

edit-embedded the link

I left 1.2kg of frozen pre cut and packaged chicken out to defrost at room temp for like 3 hours and went out. When I got back, I saw somebody else put it back in the freezer. Don’t ask me why.

Is that chicken safe to defrost at a later time?

Not exactly a beginner. But, I’ve never cooked marinated chicken in my home, only on an outside grill. I want to try a new recipe, which I have no issue with. However, I want to add chicken to this recipe as a protein. The original recipe is a seasoned roasted veggie recipe. I bought a bottle of marinade to put on chicken. But, I’m not sure how I should actually cook the chicken. (In all honesty, I probably should have seasoned the chicken the same way I’m doing the roasted veggies, but I won’t be going back to the store and I need to use the marinade since I have it already…)

Should I cook the chicken in a cast iron skillet on the stovetop? Should I cook it in a frying pan, not cast iron? Should I bake the chicken? I honestly do not know the answer to this very easy question. I don’t want it to come out rubbery, and I don’t want it to burn. I would be using skinless, boneless chicken breasts. What would yall do in this situation?

Dds

I'm not even a beginner with cooking, but I wouldn't say I should open a restaurant. There are two things I always mess up no matter what I do differently: pan searing meat and cooking dry rubbed chicken.

I read a recipe. Says to cook the chicken breast on medium heat for 7-8 minutes then flip and repeat. I decided to heed the advice of "don't touch it until it's time to flip". I had my stove top set to 4.5/5. Eight minutes because it's a big piece. Flipped aaaaand it's black. Everywhere. And the inside is still raw. What am I doing wrong??

EDIT: When I say 4.5/5, I mean I set it somewhere between 4.5 AND 5, the knob goes up to 9. I should have clarified.

And TIL that all ovens/stoves vary, not just, for instance, a gas stove vs an electric. But that all electric stoves will vary from each other, and so on. Come to think of it, I don't remember having this problem prior to moving into this house, so I suppose that's my bad for not knowing better. I just assumed all of the dials would be the same temperature across the board.

Thank you everyone that commented. I thought i was going crazy, or somehow forgot how to cook after having a baby, or something 🫠

Hello. Can you please give me a recipe for Mongolian beef marinade? I will be using a wagyu skirt steak.

I found a recipe but it calls for baking soda. I have read mixed reviews on rinsing after if you use baking soda. If I follow the recipe do I rinse the meat after?

Do you have another recipe that will make the meat tender without needing to rinse? I was told even if wagyu is tender I would still need to marinate. Thank you.

Hey everyone! My roommate and I attend school that has a low-quality/poorly upkept cafeteria and live in a dorm where all we are allowed to cook with is a microwave (no toaster ovens, air fryers, self-heated pots, etc. allowed).

I say allowed because we have a mini crockpot and burner plate w/a few pans that we use when we want to cook small things (skillet freezer foods and the like) since microwave food can't be lived off-of. Having done this for three years, our recipie pile is pretty limited since we only have those two things and food can get cold pretty quick. Some of the meals we make are:

• Tacos w/Rotisserie Chicken
• Toasted Sandwiches and Soup
• InnovAsian Crispy Chicken and Rice
• Skillet Potatoes w/Chorizo
• Spaghetti and Turkey Meatballs

We like Asian, Italian, and American cuisines the most, but trying to put together main courses and sides with only those cooking methods has proven difficult since it A.) Requires a different tool, B.) Takes too long since we have only 1 burner, or C.) Is difficult to make safely in the dorm (and you can only do Sandwiches so many times lol).

Does anyone have any suggestions? This can literally be from easy cooking methods to store out of sight or mains and side dishes that are flavourful and healthy; even dishes that we can freeze for future use would be great!

Thanks in advance from two college kids just trying to cook 😁👍

I'm cooking rice, mushroom, carrot, and chicken but wondering what sauce to add to bring it together. I've tried Butter Chicken but it didn't quite mesh well with the flavors. All help is appreciated!

Silly question but I’m new to cooking and can’t find any answers online. I cooked chicken I took it to work but didn’t end up eating now I’m home and I’m thinking of putting the chicken back in the fridge to eat tomorrow for lunch, is this okay or bad idea?

Update: I threw the beautifully cooked chicken away thank you everyone lmao❤️❤️😭😭😭

I don't want to get bacteria in my mayo jar and touch the raw chicken over and over again cause you have to do both sides of the chicken. It was kinda messy using a butter knife and I had to touch the chicken both sides 4 times in total and it was messy and kind of uneven. And I was worried about bacteria/cross contamination the whole time. I used a spoon so it was kinda difficult to do the right amount of mayo as well before applying with a butter knife .

Edit: Very happy and surprised at the amount of support for my silly question. I love this sub. I will keep trying my best as a cooking beginner..thanks all.