# Stupid Chef Tricks or Cool Chef Hacks **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [June 2, 2023, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-chef-tricks-or-cool-chef-hacks/984917 "2023-06-02T14:43:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2023, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-chef-tricks-or-cool-chef-hacks/984917/21 "2023-06-04T06:39:50Z")
Freezing ground meat. Put a pound in a gallon sized ziplock. Then smush it as flat as you can. Working the meat to all four corners. When you’re ready to defrost, it only takes about 3 minutes under a hot faucet. This method works great for soups and pasta sauces as well. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2023, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-chef-tricks-or-cool-chef-hacks/984917/22 "2023-06-04T06:46:52Z")
Most corn/tortilla chips greatly benefit from a minute in the microwave. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2023, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-chef-tricks-or-cool-chef-hacks/984917/23 "2023-06-04T09:55:11Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > Put a pound in a gallon sized ziplock. Then smush it as flat as you can. Working the meat to all four corners. That’ll work, but I do it differently. Starting with about two pounds of loose ground beef, I stack hamburger patties between sheets of parchment paper and freeze them in a large Ziplock bag. They’re on the thin side, so there’s no need to thaw them before cooking. I arrange the patties “diagonally,” two per each square of parchment paper, and then stack them “alternately,” so that the patties don’t coincide in their consecutive layers. That way, they don’t really stick together, and I can just use my hands to retrieve single patties. Works great for all recipes, not just hamburgers. Similarly, I stack and freeze chicken fillets, but they’re too big for two to fit on a single square of paper (and my freezer’s a little small), so I just stack ‘em up in a pile and pry off single frozen fillets with a table/butter knife. Works well enough, although it sometimes takes a minute or so to find an effective point of leverage. In that sense, it helps to stack them so that they don’t coincide perfectly. Some brands of parchment paper work better than others for this purpose. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2023, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-chef-tricks-or-cool-chef-hacks/984917/24 "2023-06-04T13:47:42Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > Freezing ground meat. > > Put a pound in a gallon sized ziplock. Then smush it as flat as you can. Working the meat to all four corners. > > When you’re ready to defrost, it only takes about 3 minutes under a hot faucet. > > This method works great for soups and pasta sauces as well. I do this! Also helps with freezer stacking. > [@jnglmassiv](#): > > Most corn/tortilla chips greatly benefit from a minute in the microwave. And if they’ve gone stale because the bag was left open, they be crisped back up with a few minutes in the oven press out on a cookie sheet. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2023, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-chef-tricks-or-cool-chef-hacks/984917/25 "2023-06-04T14:55:14Z")
If you have a sous vide circulator that you wish you used more often, it’s the ultimate thawing machine. Just set it to room temp or a bit higher. Thaws a brick of burger in a few minutes without wasting so much water running the faucet. We actually cook with ours a few times a month, but we thaw stuff with it at least twice a week. ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2023, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-chef-tricks-or-cool-chef-hacks/984917/26 "2023-06-04T15:01:01Z")
Great idea! ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2023, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-chef-tricks-or-cool-chef-hacks/984917/27 "2023-06-04T15:29:54Z")
The cool hack I see the most is for chopping onions. I was going to describe it, but there are plenty of videos. Here’s one: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/fs8cQ_tjsF8/maxresdefault.jpg "How To - chop an onion, with Jamie Oliver's mate Pete") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs8cQ_tjsF8) ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2023, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-chef-tricks-or-cool-chef-hacks/984917/28 "2023-06-04T17:08:35Z")
Wow ! You joined the SDMB on your birthday !? Double cake all round !! 🍾 ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2023, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-chef-tricks-or-cool-chef-hacks/984917/29 "2023-06-04T18:03:01Z")
Happy birthaversary to @medstar, Happy birthaversary toooo yoooouuu 🎶 ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2023, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-chef-tricks-or-cool-chef-hacks/984917/30 "2023-06-04T18:15:20Z")
Ahh thanks!!! ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2023, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-chef-tricks-or-cool-chef-hacks/984917/31 "2023-06-04T18:15:50Z")
Thanks soloist!!! ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2023, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-chef-tricks-or-cool-chef-hacks/984917/32 "2023-06-04T19:00:13Z")
> [@medstar](#): > > Thanks soloist!!! ⁢ That’s exactly how I always read their name. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2023, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-chef-tricks-or-cool-chef-hacks/984917/33 "2023-06-04T21:15:52Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > > [@medstar](#): > > > > Thanks soloist!!! ⁢ > > That’s exactly how I always read their name Everybody on this board seems to read my handle that way. Trust me, you probably don’t want me playing backup, let alone soloing. For some reason, whenever I’ve joined message boards in the past I can never come up with a good handle. “solost” came from the last season of _Lost_, when I came out of lurkerdom in 2010 to join the _Lost_ show discussion. Y’know, because I was ‘so lost’ watching that hot mess of a last season and trying to follow the nonsense. Now I kind of hate my handle but I’m stuck with it ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Blindmellowjelly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindmellowjelly/32/13920_2.png) [@Blindmellowjelly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blindmellowjelly)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2023, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-chef-tricks-or-cool-chef-hacks/984917/34 "2023-06-05T04:33:58Z")
If i don’t get the Grouper or other sport, “good eatin’ fish”, down in Florida. I will often eat the leftover shrimp or squid baitfish. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2023, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-chef-tricks-or-cool-chef-hacks/984917/35 "2023-06-05T04:39:28Z")
I throw bagels/rolls in the freezer because I can’t eat them all. When I want one, I’ll put it in a Zip-Lock and throw it on the dashboard of one of the cars for a half hour. Perfectly thawed, soft and ready for toasting. Depends on the time of year, and prevailing weather conditions, but a closed up car works mighty good as a low-level toaster oven. Everybody knows the trick to removing Avocado pits, so I won’t bother… ---
**Author:** ![Blindmellowjelly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindmellowjelly/32/13920_2.png) [@Blindmellowjelly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blindmellowjelly)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2023, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-chef-tricks-or-cool-chef-hacks/984917/36 "2023-06-05T05:47:27Z")
> [@"Gatopescado](#): > > Everybody knows the trick to removing Avocado pits, so I won’t bother… I just wonder what oil they fry their deep fried avocadoes in for the cheescake factory avocado egg rolls… so good, nevet ate them “cooked” till then. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2023, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-chef-tricks-or-cool-chef-hacks/984917/37 "2023-06-05T14:05:00Z")
I just saw this (although it seems there are plenty of videos on it for some time): Best way to crack an egg so you do not get little bits of egg shell in your recipe…drop the egg. It will crack evenly. - [https://www.youtube.com/results?search\_query=drop+egg+to+crack](https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=drop+egg+to+crack) ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2023, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-chef-tricks-or-cool-chef-hacks/984917/38 "2023-06-05T14:08:26Z")
Wash that egg before dropping the shell in your pan. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2023, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-chef-tricks-or-cool-chef-hacks/984917/39 "2023-06-05T14:13:06Z")
Eggs are washed in the US before they get to market (which is why we [have to refrigerate eggs in the US](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/13/insider/why-do-americans-refrigerate-their-eggs.html)). Also, I would think whatever you are using the egg for it will be cooked so I think you are ok here. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2023, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-chef-tricks-or-cool-chef-hacks/984917/40 "2023-06-05T14:17:17Z")
They’re indifferently washed by a machine, and sometimes have visible debris caked on. They may also have been touched by people in the store assessing whether any in the carton are broken. My rule is that anything that goes through a cloaca gets washed before I use it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-chef-tricks-or-cool-chef-hacks/984917.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-chef-tricks-or-cool-chef-hacks/984917.md?page=3)