#088 The Secret Chefs Don't Tell You

Master this technique and cooking becomes easy

I posted this picture of eggs & sourdough yesterday (the ultimate combination) and someone asked — how do you get such a good looking toast on your sourdough?

The key to a great toast, the perfect steak or even the best fried eggs for that matter comes down to mastering the sear. Once you learn how to sear, everything becomes effortless. If you don’t know how to sear, you end up with food that sticks to your pan and a soggy, uneven crunch.

The main premise of the sear:

1. Give time for the pan to come to temperature

2. Give time for the fat (in your pan) to come to temperature

3. Spread fat around the pan

4. Make sure your food is completely dry

5. Maximize contact during the cook itself

Without enough heat, there won't be a sear. Too much, and you'll burn whatever you're cooking. You need to find that happy medium, and this changes depending on what, and how much you're cooking.

You want the pan to come to temperature before you add the fat in. You can use the Leidenfrost Effect as a general guide to measure when a pan is hot enough (also makes it non-stick), but in general you don’t really have to. This is especially so if you’re working with fat that burns quickly like butter. Sprinkling droplets of water just to see the leidenfrost almost always makes the pan too hot where butter will burn. What I like to do instead is wash the pan, rinse off the residual water and wait for that to boil off instead. Usually gives you perfect timing that way.

Fat is the vehicle in which you transport heat from your burner to the food you're cooking through your pan. And that takes time. So make sure you give some time for the fat itself to come to temperature. Only then will it be ready to inject all that heat from the burner into your food. But it needs one thing to make sure the beautiful sear happens — maximum contact.

Whatever you've placed in the pan, your thick slice of sourdough, or a fatty ribeye, make sure you press down firmly. Even use a spatula to keep constant pressure if you need to (this is what I do for the perfect toast). Every possible inch needs to be in contact with your pan. Also make sure you lay it away from you slowly (as if you were pasting a sticker and avoiding air pockets). This guarantees the crust forms everywhere, without leaving any gaps.For meats, it's crucial to pat them dry with paper towels before searing. Excess moisture will create steam, preventing a good sear.

All you have to do now is wait. You don’t meddle with it, you don’t flip it, you don’t even touch the pan. Just wait. This is where all the magic happens. You let the crust form on its own and it will release itself from the pan. Wait roughly 2-3 minutes and then nudge with your spatula. It should peel off the pan beautifully. That is how you master the sear.

What’s the best cutting board?

Rubber? End grain? Glass? What’s the best material for a cutting board?

Want more Kitchenware tips? Here’s part one of our kitchenware handbook guide for Patrons:

Never lose the connection you have with food

We must never lose the connection we have with our food. Bring back beautiful floor to ceiling pantries. Bring back kitchen gardens. We must never forget all that we can do.

Elite (Cellular) Hydration

Hydration is more than just drinking water. It’s cellular. Spiritual. You want to nourish yourself with real liquids. Not flush electrolytes out of your body. Key difference.

The Olympic Games

The uglyfication of the Olympic games is sad to see. That opening ceremony is so horrendous I will not even post it. The Olympics are a celebration of peak human excellence. It's a display of the feats we can achieve; the limits we can break as human beings. The human spirit is the most powerful force in the universe.

❋ EARL GREY AND CARDAMOM HONEY CAKE RECIPE

GATHERATABLE.COM

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup sugar

• 1 cup honey

• 3 eggs

• ¾ cup sunflower oil (coconut oil works too)

• 1 tablespoon ground cardamom (or cinnamon)

• 2 ½ cups flour

• 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder

• 1 cup earl grey tea (from 2 tea bags)

• 4 tablespoons honey, to drizzle

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 160C/320F. Line 2 6-inch loaf pans or 3 4-inch ones with parchment paper.

2. In a bowl, combine the sugar, honey, eggs, oil, and cardamom and mix until well incorporated. Add the flour and baking powder and mix until just combined. Pour the tea over the batter and gently mix. Divide the batter into the pans and bake for 40-45 (30 if using the smaller loaf pans) minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  

3. Once the cakes have baked, while they’re still hot, drizzle 2 tablespoons of honey on each cake. It will absorb as it cools. Enjoy a warm slice.

This is such an incredible recipe with some of the most aesthetic pictures ever from the wonderful people at gatheratable.com. Check it out here.

❋ POTAGER PLANS AND GARDEN INSPIRATION

LANDOFLAUREL.COM

You see, the front yard (which I worked on a bit last summer with mixed results), I envision as this colorful, English country garden full of a chaotic mix of plants and some veggies with a meandering path leading around the house. Some of this will continue around the edges of the backyard as well. It will be full of life and slightly overgrown, a bit like this but more natural chaos. Lush greenery and bursts of color. Yum.

❋ MISO BUTTER ROASTED CABBAGE WEDGES

VIKALINKA.COM

Miso is an East Asian bean paste with additional fermented fungus. But don’t let that put you off! Let me explain why, besides the well-known health benefits of eating fermented foods, miso is such a brilliant seasoning and deserves a place in your kitchen. 

There are 3 basic types of miso; white, yellow, red/ brown all slightly nuanced in varying levels of robustness. For this cabbage recipe, I’ve used red/ brown which is the saltiest and most assertive, but if you already have one of its pals, white or yellow, use it! You might just need a speck more.

There is nothing you can’t add miso to that won’t be elevated and intensified, from cheese sauces to chocolate brownies! But let’s leave those for another day.

❋ HOW TO THROW AN EPIC OYSTER AND CHAMPAGNE PARTY

INAHALFSHELL.COM

Beyond having an excuse to throw a rockin' summer soiree for ourselves, this event gave each of us the opportunity to contribute our own unique strengths. My friend Chavelli designed a charming collection of invitations, tasting cards, and oyster identification cards (copy courtesy of Element Seafood). Matt curated the champagnes and graciously hosted the party at his uber-posh West Village pad. I naturally organized the oyster front: sourcing, shucking (big thanks to Eddie Oyster), and educating the masses. In our case, collaboration worked out well.

If you're planning your party with friends, make sure that everyone knows their roles and responsibilities up front. It also wouldn't hurt to have a main "party lead"—someone who is buttoned up and motivated to manage the entire effort.

Read July’s WARKITCHEN Magazine

Click on the image above for full access to our bison magazine. It’s a free Google drive PDF you can share. Click on the post below for a preview of what to expect.

#085 ISSUE 26 🦬

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#072 ISSUE 23

❋ Get your copy of Optimal Fuel: Your Nutrition Playbook here. It's a cookbook and nutrition guide — all in one. All proceeds goes towards an outrageous amount of hearty ribeyes and raw honey!

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Thank you for joining us on this beautiful Sunday ladies & gents. New WARKITCHEN issue out next week! Submissions for food and film are open, feel free to send in your submissions to rocky@warkitchen.net

Here’s an extra recipe for Patron Club members. Joining grants you access to exclusive guides and recipes as well as first dibs on all our digital and print drops (new print is coming soon 🥂)

Liver Pâté Recipe