Not everyone was born with the ability to crack an egg in one hand or—let's be real—crack an egg without getting obnoxious little pieces of shell in the egg white every single time, and that's OK. Cooking can be complicated, and there's lots of room for user error.
Below, we clear up some of the most aggravating culinary confusions with a few pro moves from chef Marcus Wareing, owner of the two Michelin-starred Marcus in London and on-set chef consultant for Bradley Cooper's new movie Burnt. Master these hacks, and that coq au vin recipe will suddenly seem très casual.
Problem #1: "Broken eggshell pieces are swimming in my egg white."
Wareing has a tip for quickly fishing out those stubborn pieces of shell: "When you crack an egg and separate the egg shell, use the large piece of the shell to remove the broken pieces from the egg. It's quite sharp and actually cuts through the egg white easily," he says. "The same principle applies if you're separating the egg yolk from the egg white and you get little speckles of egg yolk inside the white—you can get it out using the egg shell." You'll want to use a side with a clean cut for the best results.
Problem #2: "I bought this entire pack of fresh rosemary, but I'm only using one sprig."
We hear you. Recipes typically call for a dash of fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme, cilantro and basil for cooking or garnishing, but you don't have to watch your untouched fresh herbs go bad in the fridge. One common solution suggests placing your herbs in an ice cube tray filled with olive oil and freezing. Wareing, however, says, "freezing olive oil with herbs inside doesn't really do anything for me. Put herbs inside a sealed bottle and fill it with olive oil instead."
Problem #3: "I like a lot of flavor. Is one sprig enough?"
If you want to extract more flavor from your herbs when you cook, there's a knife trick for that. "Use the back of your knife to break down herbs like rosemary or thyme before you cook them," advises Wareing. In other words, if you use your knife as a hitting tool rather than a chopping tool, "it helps to bring out [the herb's] natural flavor."
Problem #4: "I've got a whole chicken to cut up, but no kitchen shears or knife skills, to be honest."
Time to get resourceful. "A good pair of garden shears are fabulous for cutting through or breaking down bones and carcasses," says Wareing. "For game and chicken, they are absolutely perfect."
Problem #5: "Whoops, burned the onions."
The obvious way to keep anything from burning on a pan is to put a lid on it, which creates a steam vacuum. Say you can't find the lid—throwing salt on those onions is another way to prevent burning. "Salt draws water away from the onion itself, then the moisture from the water [on the pan] stops the onions from burning." explains Wareing. "Remember that vegetables like onions, fruit, meat and fish have quite a large content of water, so you need to utilize that water to help you cook."
Problem #6: "Aaand...also burned the roast chicken."
Yikes. Well, Wareing has a few pointers for your next roast chicken dinner. "Recipes always say to put the oven [temperature] high, then to color [the chicken], turn it down. I completely disagree." Wareing recommends adjusting your oven to a medium to high temperature and "allowing the bird to caramelize slowly. You don't need to start high then turn it down. The skin will naturally brown with slow cookery and longer [time] in the oven."
To get perfectly golden, even color on your chicken, brush the skin with butter. "It's like sun bathing," says Wareing. "If you get in the sun without any [sunscreen], you'll burn. The same principle applies."
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