How to boil shellfish
After preparing shellfish, this is how to boil them correctly. Once you have your batch of clams, mussels or oysters ready to go, add them to a pot of steaming water. It should be roughly ½ cup of water for every pound of shellfish. You can replace one cup of water with one cup of white wine, as well as adding parsley, thyme and lemon juice. You should steam for roughly two minutes and remove the shellfish as they open. If some haven’t opened, leave them slightly longer but discard any unopened shells.
Boiling vegetables
The vegetables should all be the same size and if you are cooking root vegetables, these will take longer. To reduce cooking time, you can cut them into small pieces. Initially, you must entirely cover the vegetables with cold water as they will cook much better and will lessen the risk of overcooking. The water should be half an inch above the vegetables and can be seasoned with salt. Keep the heat on high and bring the water to a boil. You can cover the pot to make this process faster. You should then reduce the heat and cover the pot. Then check the vegetables every ten minutes to ensure that they don’t overcook. Remember, different vegetables require different cooking times. Make sure you drain the water as soon as they are cooked as they will continue to cook whilst sitting in the water.
The water should be half an inch above the vegetables and can be seasoned with salt. Keep the heat on high and bring the water to a boil. You can cover the pot to make this process faster. You should then reduce the heat and cover the pot and check the vegetables every ten minutes to ensure that they don’t overcook. Remember, different vegetables require different cooking times. Make sure you drain the water as soon as they are cooked as they will continue to cook whilst sitting in the water.
How to boil meat and fish
Fish, like cod and salmon, should always be poached at a temperature cooler than the boiling point. Otherwise, they will quickly become dry and break apart. The amount of water should be around 3 liters for 500g of fish and the minute it begins to boil, turn off the heat. You can put the fish in now, which works well with shellfish and smaller pieces of fish. You can put the fish in the water from the beginning, too. It is always better to underboil rather than overboil.
With meat, it can quickly become dry after boiling, but it can be an effective method of cooking chicken. You can place the chicken in a storage bag or put the meat in without. The trick is to keep the heat high but for no longer than fifteen minutes or the chicken will overcook. You can season the water as you would with shellfish or fish, and you must check that the meat has been cooked all the way through. Again, it is better to undercook and return the meat to the stove than overcook with no going back!
It is always better to underboil rather than overboil. With meat, it can quickly become dry after boiling, but it can be an effective method of cooking chicken. You can place the chicken in a storage bag or put the meat in without. The trick is to keep the heat high but for no longer than fifteen minutes or the chicken will overcook. You can season the water as you would with shellfish or fish, and you must check that the meat has been cooked all the way through. Again, it is better to undercook and return the meat to the stove than overcook with no going back!
