hot – this is useful for searing meats such as steak and tuna when a rare centre is desired and very quick cooking applies. Don’t hold your hand over at this temperature, it’s far too hot.
Handy hints for meat and fish
CHICKEN AND DUCK
To spatchcock a chicken
Place the bird breast-side down on a flat surface. Cut down both sides of the backbone, using poultry shears or sharp kitchen scissors. Discard the backbone and snip about 1 cm (½ in) through the wishbone into the breastbone, turn the bird over and press it down flat. To secure the bird in this flattened position it is sometimes helpful to insert two long metal skewers through the bird. Push one skewer horizontally through the wings and breasts and the other horizontally through the thighs. This also makes it easier to handle and turn the bird while cooking. It is best to start cooking a spatchcocked chicken bone-side down, as the heat will take longer to penetrate through the dense bones. You can spatchcock your chicken a day in advance and leave it prepared and covered in the fridge. The same procedure applies for quail, pheasant, poussin and any other bird.
To butterfly a chicken breast
Place the chicken breast on a flat surface. Hold the breast with one hand and, using a sharp knife, slice through the middle horizontally to cut it almost in half. Open the breast and lay out flat or use as a cavity to stuff the chicken breast. If stuffing the chicken breasts, secure the opening using several cocktail sticks or by wrapping the breast in Parma ham, vine leaves or foil. You can prepare your chicken breasts a day in advance and refrigerate, covered, until needed.
To prepare chicken wings
Cut the wing tips off through the joint, using poultry shears or sharp kitchen scissors. You can prepare the wings in advance and refrigerate until needed.
To speed up the cooking of drumsticks
Always make deep slashes through to the bone, on both sides of the drumstick, using poultry shears, sharp kitchen scissors or a sharp knife. This will ensure even cooking without burning.
To check if chicken is cooked through
Insert a small sharp knife into the thickest part of flesh, right down to the bone. The juices should run clear and not pink. If any juices are pink then continue cooking the chicken a little longer until only clear juices run when a knife is inserted.
To score a duck breast
Hold the breast firmly on a flat surface and, using a sharp knife, cut diagonal slashes, about 2 cm (¾ in) apart, through the skin to make a diamond pattern. Ensure that you do not cut right through the skin to the flesh or you will lose all the succulent juices during cooking and the skin will not achieve the desired crispiness.
RED MEAT AND PORK
To butterfly a leg of lamb
Put the lamb on a flat surface, skin-side down, and at the wide end of the leg cut around the exposed bone using a sharp, small knife. Cut a slit along the length of the bone to expose it and, using short, shallow cuts and scrapes, ease the bone away from the meat, trying to lose as little meat as possible. Remove the bone and discard. Hold the meat securely on a flat surface and, with the knife, make a lengthways slit through the two thicker parts of the meat, either side of where the bone was, and open out flat. The butterflied lamb can now be cooked flat or stuffed and rolled. Always secure your stuffed or rolled lamb using kitchen twine or long metal skewers. Alternatively, ask your butcher to do this for you.
To cook the perfect steak
Heat your griddle pan or barbecue to very hot. Lightly brush your steak with a little oil to stop it sticking. Cook your steak, pressing down slightly with a fish slice to ensure that the whole surface comes in contact with the pan and only turn your steak once! Always rest your steak for a couple of minutes before serving.
To cook steak to your desired doneness
For a 225 g (8 oz) steak cook for 1½ minutes on each side for a rare and very pink steak. It should be rare but warm all the way through. For medium-rare cook for 2½–3 minutes on each side. For medium to well done cook for 3–5 minutes on each side or until cooked through.
To cook sausages
Remember these three golden rules:
– Cook sausages slowly to ensure that the skin doesn’t burst.
– Never prick a good-quality sausage, as the casing helps to retain moisture.
– Cut the links between the sausages cleanly with a sharp knife. When cooked, a sausage should be cooked right through but still juicy and succulent and not charred.
To prevent sausages from burning on the barbecue
Pre-cook or poach the sausages in water before barbecuing. To pre-cook sausages put them in barely simmering water and poach for 20–30 minutes. Be careful not to cook them too fast or the skins will burst. Barbecue or griddle a pre-cooked sausage for 5–10 minutes over medium-hot heat. This will heat the sausages through giving them colour and a smoky flavour.
FISH AND SHELLFISH
To de-sand shellfish
Put the shellfish in a large bowl or bucket of seawater. Add a large handful of oats or flour and leave overnight. The sand will be sitting in the bottom in the morning. Always leave the bucket in a cool place, preferably outside.
To remove bones from salmon
Use sterilized tweezers or pin-nosed pliers. The bones running in a line just off the centre of the spine are called pin bones. For a boneless fillet, pull the bones out at the same angle at which they lie.
To open shellfish without cooking or shucking
Simply put them in the freezer in a single layer for about 1 hour. They will pop open and you will easily be able to remove the top shell.
To deal with a live crayfish
Choose one of the following methods. Plunge the crayfish in boiling water for about 2 minutes. Be careful, as it will try to kick and water may splash. Alternatively, place the crayfish in cold fresh water and it will eventually drown. If you have a sharp knife, and a strong arm, hold the crayfish securely on a flat surface and cut between the eyes – the crayfish will die immediately. Finally, you could place the crayfish in the freezer until it no longer moves.
To cut a crayfish in half
Place it belly-side down and insert a large knife into the cross mark right behind the head, then cut through the head. Turn the crayfish around and, holding it firmly, cut it in half right through the head to the tail.
To test if fish is cooked
Press the fish using your finger or a fork. The fish should “give” and just start to flake apart in the centre.
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