Food always seems to taste better when you eat at a restaurant, but the cost of dining out can quickly add up. Thankfully, you don’t need to have this problem, as you could just practice your cooking skills to emulate the dining-out experience at home. We’ve provided some excellent home-cooking tips to this effect.
Understand Cooking Techniques
Another important tip for making restaurant-quality meals at home is to ensure you properly understand basic cooking techniques, such as roasting, grilling, sautéing, and braising. Each method offers unique advantages for different types of food, and by mastering these techniques, you can apply the best method to each ingredient, enhancing the overall quality of your meals.
Balance Flavors and Textures
When you first start cooking, it can be tempting to throw in seasonings, spices, and ingredients carelessly, but it’s important to achieve a balance of flavors and textures, which will elevate your dishes from good to extraordinary. Combine sweet, salty, sour, and umami elements to create depth, and don’t forget to contrast textures by pairing crunchy and creamy or tender and crisp components, ensuring every bite is an exciting experience.
Make Homemade Stocks and Sauces
If you’re still using stocks and sauces from a can, you should stop that as soon as possible. Homemade stocks and sauces add richness and depth to your dishes, and they’re cheaper and healthier, too. While they may be time-consuming to prepare, you can prevent this by preparing a variety of stocks and sauces in bulk. Trust us–your taste buds will thank you later.
Master the Basics of Seasoning
Perhaps the most essential skill to make restaurant-quality meals at home is to master the art of seasoning. As Cole & Oak explains, salt enhances flavors, while herbs and spices add depth and complexity, and pepper brings out deeper flavor profiles. Learn when to use these seasonings, amongst all the other options out there, and you’ll notice an enormous difference in how tasty your home-cooked meals are.
Invest in Quality Cookware
All the cooking skills in the world won’t help if you’re using budget cookware, so consider investing in some quality pots and pans, which will make a significant difference in the kitchen. Grab yourself a sturdy skillet, a heavy-duty pot, and a sharp chef’s knife, and you’ll find that your meals are not only cooked better but easier to prepare. Your cookware will be easier to maintain and clean, too.
Embrace Fresh Ingredients
An important aspect of cooking that people often overlook is the freshness of the ingredients that you use. When an ingredient is fresh, it brings vibrant flavors to your dishes, but unfortunately, many products sold in stores have been sitting in factories for days or weeks. So, try to visit local farmers’ markets or specialty stores for the best produce, meats, and dairy, and your meals will taste noticeably better.
Practice Plating and Presentation
While it may not affect the taste, the presentation makes a huge difference when plating home-cooked meals. Learn the basics of plating to make your dishes visually appealing, such as using contrasting colors, textures, and heights to create interest. It will bring you closer to the restaurant-quality meal that you’re craving.
Experiment with Aromatics
A lot of aspiring chefs are using aromatics like garlic, onions, and herbs in the wrong way, which is an important mistake to correct, as these ingredients form the flavor base of many dishes. You need to sauté these ingredients in oil or butter to release their aromas and deepen their flavours; don’t just chop them up and throw them in at the end.
Control Cooking Temperatures
Another essential cooking skill that newbies often overlook is temperature control, which is crucial for achieving the desired texture and doneness. Don’t just judge this by your senses; use a food thermometer to ensure meats are cooked to the right temperatures. You’ll soon find that it’s much easier to achieve perfection when cooking at home.
Utilize Marination and Brining
Even some experienced chefs don’t realize how much marinating and bringing food will enhance the flavor and tenderness of their dishes. Marinate meats with herbs, spices, and acidic ingredients to infuse them with flavor while making them more tender. Brining also does wonders, especially for poultry, helping it to retain moisture during cooking, resulting in juicy and flavourful dishes.
Don’t Skimp on Garnishes
Some newbie chefs see garnishes as pointless, but they’re missing out. Garnish adds the final touch to a dish, enhancing flavor, scent, and presentation. Fresh herbs, citrus zest, and edible flowers can brighten up a plate significantly, whereas a sprinkle of nuts or seeds can provide a satisfying crunch that complements the main texture of your dish. Don’t be afraid to experiment.
Leverage the Power of Acidity
If you learn about the place of acidity in cooking, you’ll soon be cooking just like they do in restaurants. Acidity balances flavors and can transform a dish from bland to brilliant, so incorporate acidic elements like vinegar, citrus juice, or fermented products into your meals. You’ll be amazed at how much these ingredients can brighten up a dish, cutting through richness and adding a refreshing zing.
Understand and Use Umami
Perhaps the least well-known albeit most important aspect of tasting is umami, the savory fifth taste, which adds immense depth and richness to your dishes. Ingredients like mushrooms, soy sauce, and aged cheeses are high in umami, so incorporating these elements, as well as a small pinch of MSG can greatly enhance the overall flavor profile, making your meals more complex and satisfying.
Perfect Your Knife Skills
Never underestimate the importance of having good knife skills in the kitchen, which makes food preparation quicker, safer, and more efficient. Basic techniques such as chopping, dicing, and julienning will make your life easier, and this will encourage you to cook more. What’s more, you’ll never end up with uneven chunks of ingredients in your dishes again.
Implement Prepping and Planning
Just like perfecting your knife skills, learning how to plan your meals and streamline your meal preparation will make your cooking process so much easier, encouraging you to cook more at home. Plan your meals for the week, make a detailed shopping list, and prepare ingredients in advance, helping to reduce stress, save time, and even save money.
Use High-Quality Ingredients
It should go without saying that you will want to use high-quality ingredients if you’re keen on recreating restaurant-quality dishes. Choose the best meats, vegetables, and pantry staples you can afford, as high-quality ingredients have superior flavor and texture, making a noticeable difference in the final dish. As long as you’re not on a budget, cheaping out on cooking will never be worthwhile.
Incorporate Fresh Herbs
Regular ground herbs will certainly enhance a dish, but using fresh herbs instead will take things to the next level. They’ll add a lot of brightness and complexity to your dishes, so consider growing a small herb garden or purchasing fresh herbs from your local farmer’s market. You’ll be surprised at how much of a difference the freshness makes.
Practice Proper Timing
Another top tip for making restaurant-quality meals at home is to practice your timing, which is essential for perfect cooking results. Understand how long different ingredients take to cook and plan accordingly; start with items that require longer cooking times and add quicker cooking ingredients later. Proper timing ensures everything is ready simultaneously and at its peak and that no ingredients become burnt or soggy.
Develop Your Palate
If you haven’t explored enough ingredients, you won’t have a refined palate, which is essential for creating the best recipes. To help you better understand flavor, experiment with new ingredients and taste how they affect your cooking as you go, adjusting accordingly. This will help you truly understand cooking rather than just following recipes.
Enjoy the Process
Above all, cooking should be an enjoyable activity, not just a means to an end. So, try to embrace the process, experiment with new recipes, and take pride in your creations. The more you enjoy cooking, the better your meals will be; any restaurant chef will tell you that passion and enthusiasm will always translate into delicious, high-quality dishes.