Ronald Phillips Shares Kitchen Techniques for Beginners

Long-time cooking enthusiast Ronald Phillips believes that a few simple cooking tricks can transform a bland dish into something delectable or simplify your entire cooking process. Here are five basic cooking techniques to add to your repertoire:

1. Avoid overcrowding the pan.

You may believe you have enough room in your skillet for an extra piece of chicken, but it’s probably best not to try to squeeze it in. As Ronald Phillips notes, this is because, with an overcrowded pan, there is always a chance the heat won’t get to the rest of the food in the pan, which could ultimately end up affecting flavor or even pose a health risk. As a precaution, leave half an inch between each item to ensure thorough cooking.

2. Allow red meat to rest before cutting into it.

After removing a steak from the stove or grill, Ronald Phillips suggests placing it directly on top of aluminum foil to help it retain its juiciness. Next, wrap the steak in foil and set it aside for 5 minutes. Then, allow the juices to settle before cutting into the meat.

3. Always store spices in their proper location.

Keep your spices in a cool, dark place and avoid storing them on the stove because heat and humidity can alter their flavor.

4. Turn off the heat before your eggs finish cooking.

If you want to cook the perfect eggs, you must not overcook them. When scrambling, frying, or poaching eggs, remove them from the heat a few minutes before they appear done—even if they seem a bit runny. The remaining heat on the pan will cook them until they are fluffy.

5. You should chop herbs with salt.

Do your herbs keep flying all over the place when you chop them? Ronald Phillips always sprinkles a little salt onto his cutting board to keep herbs to keep them in place.