Cooking Tips & Techniques

It happens to the best of us. Time gets away from you, and suddenly you’ve got an overcooked piece of beef. Learning to cook specific cuts of meat, like steaks or brisket, can take a lot of practice. And along the way, you’re bound to overcook, but worry not!

Turkey meat is consumed all year long and not just on Thanksgiving. According to the National Turkey Federation, in 2021, the average U.S. consumption of turkey meat was 5.1 billion points. That is about 15.3 pounds per capita. 

Millions of Americans enjoy sausage created in various forms. Typically, cooked sausages become perishable, lasting about seven to 14 days when refrigerated. Smoking sausage can help extend the shelf life of sausage while filling it with flavor and texture. Continue reading to learn more about how to smoke sausage: 

When you think of traditional Mexican food dishes, tamales may come to mind. The question is how to steam tamales. After all, tamales aren’t one of the easiest Mexican recipes to make.  There are plenty of super easy Mexican foods (hello, tacos, fajitas and burritos!). On the other hand, Tamales require quite a few more …

It’s happened to most of us. We are getting ready to grill a delicious shrimp dinner, but when we open our utensil drawer, we realize that we’re out of wooden skewers for grilling shrimp. Then you’re left wondering how to grill shrimp without skewers.

If you’ve only had creamy Brie cheese as a dip for crusty bread, you’re missing out on some delicious meals. Are you wondering how to eat Brie? The answer is every chance (and in every way) you can! While authentic Brie is found only in France, you can buy stabilized versions at most supermarkets. The …

Are you ready to plunge into your smoking adventure? If you just purchased an electric smoker, you have the convenience of push-button starting and temperature controls. The electric heating element turns wood shavings into fragrant wood smoke for reliably smoking delicious, nitrate-free bacon every time. Here’s how to smoke bacon in an electric smoker effectively.

There’s nothing like a plate full of hot, tender, flavorful short ribs. But what are some of the best ways to cook them as part of an amazing meal with great sides? First, it’s important to understand short ribs so you can determine the best cooking methods for short ribs’ flavor & texture.

If you’re looking for ways to enhance the flavor of your ribeye, the good news is that you’ve got a lot of great options. Creating a great-tasting quality ribeye is all about how you cook it and how you season it (and what you serve with it).

Smoked sausage is a quick and easy meat product to make for a meal, offering many different variations for various sides and condiments. Several ways to cook smoked sausage, including baking, pan-frying, deep-frying, boiling, and grilling, create a juicy sausage perfect for entrees, sandwiches, or stir fry. 

Roast beef is a luxury and can be costly, whether purchasing a shoulder roast or whole tenderloin or beef arm roast. So, of course, there will be a bit of a price difference between these two cuts of beef. However, you do not want to dry any of them out while roasting them (and making …

Steak is a very delicious and popular high-protein food, but certain cuts, like eye of round, have the tendency to be tough if they aren’t cooked in the right way. Here’s how to cook an eye of round steak to make it more tender, along with background information on prepping & different cooking methods.

Preparing your own steak at home can be an awesome experience but there are concerns that have to be addressed. How to cook cube steak so it’s not tough is a regular question since cube steak is a tough cut of beef. To learn more about the ins and outs of proper cube steak preparation, …

Cooking a tender and juicy brisket is one of the biggest challenges in the meat world, but it is worth it once you get that perfect brisket. You can take several steps to ensure that you get the tender and delicious brisket that you want. This article will define briskets and the best cooking methods …

Known as the most premium cut of beef in the world, Wagyu steak is a delicious, melt-in-your-mouth meal that doesn’t need much extra flavoring. Due to its beautiful marbling and high-fat content, cooking Wagyu results in a tender, juicy steak (or burger) that pairs well with light vegetables and salads. It’s best to eat Wagyu …

Italian sausage makes a great meal that is quick and easy to prepare. The method you choose to cook Italian sausage depends on your preferences and available cooking tools. Popular ways to cook Italian sausage include on the stovetop, grill, and oven (and even air fryer!).

Are you looking for an alternative to ground beef? An excellent alternative ground meat is ground turkey; however, it can be more challenging to determine if the meat is fully cooked. Since ground turkey meat is very lean, the last thing you want to do is overcook it; however, if it is undercooked, there is …

Cooking chicken sausage for the first time can be pretty confusing if there are no instructions on the label. You might have many questions, such what is the best way to smoke or cook sausage, as well as how to tell if chicken sausage is cooked. Here is an overview that will help you determine …

Chicken drumsticks are generally simple to cook in a number of ways, but knowing when they’re done and ready to eat isn’t that simple. This is partly because of the bone in the drumstick and partly due to how the chicken was stored prior to cooking.

Unlike many types of meat, the internal temperature of fresh fish does not need to reach 165 degrees Fahrenheit for it to be safe to eat. However, if you cook catfish to a high temperature, you will likely dry it out. Here’s how to tell if catfish is cooked –

Bratwurst, or brats as they are known in the States, is the most loved German sausage. These sausages are delicious and there is never any leftover no matter how many you cook.

Good barbecue requires meat, fire, and smoke, which can be combined to create food that is both delicious and addictive. It takes practice and a lot of knowledge to get consistently great results.

After spending time cooking a ham, you pull it out of the oven to discover it is overcooked and dried out. There is no need to throw the ham away. Instead, consider different methods to help revive dry ham, so you can enjoy the dinner you originally planned to serve.

Prime rib is a large cut of beef that is attached to seven rib bones. Prime rib is one of the nine cuts from a side of beef, in addition to beef chuck and beef loin. Serving prime rib is often associated with a holiday or special occasion- and serving it provides the wow-factor that …

There is nothing like warm crispy fried chicken at dinner, at family gatherings outdoors, a potluck, or even in your lunch box. But cool soggy chicken does not come close. Technically they may be the same, but truly they are not comparable. Here are some solid tips if you are trying to figure out the …

There is nothing more pleasing to the appetite, or taste buds, than a good well cooked sizzler steak.  You want to cook your own restaurant style sizzler steak at home instead of going to a fancy restaurant to get a piece of beef that has been seasoned and cooked just right.  You can cook steak in such a way that …

Cecina is a salted and dried meat, prominently served in Spanish cuisine. You may experience its unique, oak smoke flavor in authentic dishes, and wish to try your hand at cooking it at home. Knowing how to cook cecina on stove can be the deciding factor in a successful dish. While it only takes up …

Banquet Meals produces many budget-value easy-prep meals that work well for many different situations, including when eating alone or when preparing a quick dinner. Their Banquet Salisbury Steak with Gravy meal is a very popular option that provides you with large amounts of protein and a decent taste, but with some critical drawbacks (like any …

Bacon is a breakfast favorite, and any foodie knows it makes almost anything taste better. Cooking it in the comfort of your home is simple, and can be done in any number of ways. But have you ever tried cooking bacon in an electric skillet?

Pork or beef neck bones can be cooked in many different dishes, and they are often used to flavor large pots of beans, cabbage, greens, and stews. If you’ve never cooked neck bones before, then you’re probably nervous about ensuring that you cook them properly (same with other underused pork dishes like chitlins, fatback, rose meat, jowls, …

Bacon is a wonderful and tasty treat, and it’s a staple of many dishes from hearty breakfasts to rich stews.  While bacon is a classic addition to many dishes as well as a standalone side dish itself, it’s not always simple to cook. Because of the salt and grease content in and on bacon, it can …

There are many different types of bacon. Each of them is delicious and worthy of exploring. Cottage bacon is perhaps the most recognizable bacon to those who grew up with streaky, American-style bacon. Sometimes known as Buckboard bacon, cottage bacon is cured pork made from cuts of the pig other than the pork belly, the …

Let’s talk about one of America’s favorite dishes of all time. People clamor for some pulled pork barbecue whenever they can get their hands on it. In fact, some cities are made famous by their ability to produce incredible barbecue that people from all walks of life greatly enjoy. Think about Kansas City and the …

Tell your houseguests that you are planning on serving quail when they come over for a dinner party and watch their eyes light up. This is a meal that people do not soon forget when they treated to it. You will have people asking when the next time is that they can come over and …

Sausage is a rustic comfort food that stands as a tribute to our ancestor’s dedication to preserving their natural resources and ability to coax complex flavors out of simple ingredients.  Perhaps no sausage better showcases those abilities better than the Polish kielbasa.