19 Cooking Tips From Gordon Ramsay That Will Save You From Being Told to "Eff Off"

By Erin Cullum
Fox
Fox

If there's anyone we want cooking advice from, it's Gordon Ramsay. The world-renowned chef and television host never fails to entertain us or impress us with his recipes (if you've never made his beef wellington recipe, you're truly missing out). It's no surprise that the chef has an ingenious method for scrambling eggs, an odd ingredient that makes pan gravy taste better, and many more simple hacks that will make you a more skilled home cook. So don't be an "idiot sandwich," and upgrade your culinary game with his best tips and tricks (mental yelling voice optional, but encouraged).

  1. Let pancake batter rest, covered, for 15 minutes so it can thicken and create fluffier pancakes.
  2. Leave the root of the onion on while you chop, and make long horizontal slices toward the root.
  3. Rinse rice under cold water in a colander before you cook it to prevent clumps.
  4. The key to skinning fish is a sharp but flexible knife.
  5. Sharpen your knives before and after each use.
  6. Season pasta water with salt (for flavor) and olive oil (to prevent sticking) before cooking it al dente.
  7. Season raw eggplant with salt to remove bitterness, and then squeeze out the excess water.
  8. When marinating meat, gently score the fatty side so that it absorbs the marinade even more.
  9. Add sherry to paella to give it a deeper flavor.
  10. For Gordon Ramsay's best-ever scrambled eggs, add crème fraiche (plus other secret techniques, like cooking off the burner). Also, never add salt to eggs before cooking them, because it "ruins the texture and dulls the color."

Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Anna Monette Roberts

  1. To cook a perfect steak, let the meat sit for 15-20 minutes so it comes to room temperature. Then, "get the pan piping hot and don't put any oil into it until that pan is smoking. Liberally season the meat, rub it with oil, and put that into the pan. Don't oil the pan; just the marinated steak. Two and a half minutes each side, take it out and let it rest," he told Bon Appetit.
  2. His most important piece of advice to home cooks? "Get out of your comfort zone."
  3. When making pan gravy, add chopped tomatoes to thicken it and give it freshness.
  4. To quickly peel a whole head of garlic, gently crush it, put it in a covered bowl, and shake for 10 seconds.
  5. To keep a clean kitchen while cooking, always keep a "waste bowl" next to you on the counter so that you don't have to make constant trips to the trash can.
  6. For perfectly minced garlic, add a pinch of salt "for abrasion, which helps break the fibers of the garlic down."
  7. Never throw out the pods from vanilla beans because there's so much flavor left in the skin. "Stick inside jars of sugar and leave to infuse."
  8. To keep herbs fresh for up to a week, keep them in a glass of water.
  9. Don't throw away scraps from fresh herbs — use them in olive oil to flavor salads, pastas, and more. "Place washed and dried stems in a bottle, cover with warmed olive oil, then seal and leave to infuse."