Knowledge

Taking an accurate internal temperature of your food is the ONLY way to know when it’s cooked to your desired doneness. To do so, you need to use an instant-read food thermometer that reads quickly and accurately. Here’s how to use one correctly.

Cutting against the grain gives an entirely different ‘mouthfeel’ to meat during eating. It can be the difference between the same cut of meat feeling tough or wonderfully tender. So learn how to cut against the grain in our guide to getting the best results from meats you cook.

Despite its common name, a sharpening steel doesn’t actually sharpen, it simply hones. But what does it mean to hone a blade? How do we do it, and why? Learn how to use a sharpening steel in our guide to this essential knife sharpening tool.

There are four different types of knife sharpener. Which do you have? Are you using it correctly? In this guide, we detail step-by-step how to use every kind of knife sharpener, with instructional videos to help, so you can be sure you’re getting the most from your efforts.

Food continues to cook and rise in temp after coming off the heat, be that a grill, smoker, hob, or oven. Understanding this and planning for carryover cooking is essential if you want to nail the correct doneness of your food every time and not serve it overcooked.

Wet brining is a fantastic way to drive extra flavor into meat, while helping to retain moisture after cooking. Great for whole birds such as chicken and turkey, but can also be used for smaller cuts to add extra tenderness and a big punch of flavor.

Dry brining gets seasoning deep into the meat and not just sitting on the surface, which increases the flavor considerably. And contrary to belief, it does not lead to dryness! In fact, it helps meat hold onto moisture for a more tender and delicious result.

In this article, we look at the many different parts of a knife. You will find detailed descriptions, along with illustrations, of each piece of a knife from end to end, so you will be able to understand common terminology when discussing knives with others.

You often have to cook food ahead of time, so it’s ready early, and then keep it warm for serving later when guests arrive, so you get to spend some time with them instead of slaving away in the kitchen. Here’s how to do so for hours, without loss of quality.

It pays to keep a stock of charcoal, so you never run out when needed. But are there rules for storing charcoal? Are there things to do and things to avoid? Can charcoal go bad or be ruined by storing incorrectly? And what are the best containers to use?

Ever defrosted some food, reheated it, but then found out you didn’t eat all that you reheated? Can you re-store it, then reheat it AGAIN? How many times can you safely reheat food? Does the quality suffer? We explore this in depth below.

Liquid smoke is made by condensing down real smoke into a liquid form. It’s often used in place of cooking food on a smoker to add a smoky flavor. This article looks in-depth at how it’s made, its flavor profile, and what the experts think about its use.

Why do we rest meat? What is the science behind it? Is it worth doing, or is it pointless and just somehow ingrained into our psyche? This guide digs into the facts, dispels the odd myth, and answers all your questions on resting meat.

Not all pork ribs are created equal. They are different sizes, yield different amounts of meat, and need different techniques and times to cook them. Learn all about spares, baby backs, St Louis ribs, and more in our guide to the different types of pork ribs.

Thermometer accuracy can drift over time, so they need calibration to prevent false readings that can lead to woefully under— or over-cooked food and potentially even unsafe food. So follow the steps below to calibrate your thermometers, so you can trust them.

Many people mistakenly call a griddle a grill…and vice versa. But they are different cooking surfaces, suited to different food types, requiring different techniques to use. This guide answers all your questions on griddle vs. grill, so you know how to use each and when you should pick one over the other.

Can you roast and bake on your outdoor grills and smokers? Of course, you can! You can perfectly mimic your kitchen oven outdoors and cook anything on your grills and smokers you can in your oven with the proper technique. Here we look at exactly how.

Prime rib, also known as a standing rib roast, is cut from the rib primal. It’s usually roasted bone-in as an impressive centerpiece for a dinner party, and it’s a fantastic cut for grilling or smoking if your aim is to impress. Learn all about it here.

Porterhouses are T-bones, but not all T-bones are Porterhouses. Confusing?! We do away with the confusion in this guide by discussing the differences between these two premium steaks. We also discuss how to buy, select and prepare each, and how to cook them.

When planning a meal or party, you need to know how much meat to buy and cook per person. It’s not always obvious and depends on the type of meat, whether a main ingredient or side and how much weight is lost during cooking. That’s where this guide will help you.

Here’s how to take any cut of meat from tough to melt-in-your-mouth tender. With five different methods to choose from that suit any kind or size of cut, there’s bound to be a way for you, using stuff you already have in your kitchen.

If you marinate chicken too long, it can go soft and mushy. If you don’t marinate long enough, the flavor doesn’t penetrate. So in this guide, we look at just how long you should marinate chicken to achieve perfect tenderness and flavor penetration.

The Maillard reaction is what we traditionally call ‘browning.’ It adds incredible flavor and is something you need to master if you wish to serve food at its very best. Grilling is one of the very best ways to create a seared crust via the Maillard effect, and today we learn all about it.

Can you reuse unburned charcoal for your next cook? Is it advised? If so, how? And are there any other uses for only partially used charcoal? Yes, you can reuse unburned charcoal, there are other uses too, and we detail 8 of them in this guide.

Despite what some people say, that horrible baked-on grease and old food on your grates is NOT extra flavor. It’s dirty, acrid-tasting junk. Get it cleaned off! Here’s how to get your stainless steel grates looking like new and how to keep them that way.

If your BBQ sauce is a little too runny, but you don’t want to change the flavor, try these eleven awesome tips for thickening. All use common ingredients you already have in your kitchen, so no need to go shopping. You’re bound to have one at hand!

Cast iron grill grates can last more than a lifetime if they are adequately cared for. This means regular cleaning, oiling, and ongoing general maintenance and care. Here are the four most effective, easy-to-use ways to restore your CI grates to their former glory.

Countless tips and tricks get passed around the BBQ community, becoming widely believed as gospel truth, despite many being wrong. So in this article, we list many things people believe — that are wrong — and then say what is actually right. There’s some great learning in here!

Do you know the cooking technique of broiling? It’s similar to grilling, yet also very different because the heat comes from above, not below. Can this be achieved on our standard BBQs and grills? Why would we even want to bother? Find out below.

It’s best to cook multiple racks of ribs to make the best of your time and fuel, which leads to storing and reheating them later. But how do you reheat ribs? What is the best way? Here’s how to reheat ribs, keeping quality high as if fresh off the smoker.