First slicing, then cooking, or the other way around?

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I would like to try out a recipe for a gratin of beets and potatoes. For this I will need sliced potatoes and beets. I always like to cook vegetables for a bit before putting them in the oven to make sure they're done.

Should I first slice the beets and potatoes and then cook them, or the other way around? On the one hand, first slicing feels kind of weird. On the other hand, I'm worried that after cooking, they will be too soft to slice properly. I can't cut the beets in small pieces before cooking (because then the slices will be too small), so the inside will be much harder than the outside as well.

Is there a clever way to do this?



Best Answer

With a gratin, the idea is that the vegetables (traditionally just potatoes) are sliced so thinly that they cook very easily in the cream/cooking liquid while retaining some texture. If you pre-cook the vegetables, they will just disintegrate into a mush during baking.




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Should you slice meat before or after cooking?

Before You Cut\u2026 The reason behind resting is that steak needs a few minutes after cooking to let its juices run back through it. If you slice it immediately, you'll lose all those juices on your plate, leaving the steak dryer and chewier than it would be if you let it rest for a few minutes.

What should be the direction of meat when you cut it?

For tender meat, you have to cut it against the grain. But some cuts have fibers running in different directions, making it difficult to identify the grain. To identify which direction the grain of the meat is running, look for the parallel lines of muscle fiber running down the meat, and slice perpendicular to them.

What are the 3 basic techniques used to cut food?

5 basic cutting techniques you should know
  • The chop. This is the more \u201cloosey-goosey\u201d type of cutting you'll use in the kitchen. ...
  • The dice. Dicing is like chopping, but when you dice it's imperative that the pieces you cut are uniform in size and shape. ...
  • The mince. ...
  • The julienne. ...
  • The chiffonade.


Is slicing a cooking method?

We Like To Cook!Slicing is the cutting of food into thin, relatively broad slices. Slices may be used as they are or processed further to produce other specialty cuts such as rondelles, diagonals, obliques, and lozenges. Slicing may be accomplished by hand or machine.



Basic Knife Skills




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