Chopping/Slicing/Dicing/Chiffonade How you get it done

[Too Tall]

For myself, it seems like chopping onions is ever evolving. Lately, I've been cutting them in half than slicing most of the way thru and cutting from the end facing me. This is for a rough or fairly fine dice, it works.

Go for it. Onions, carrots etc. all in the soup so to speak. Y'all have skills, let's see it.

* Making a massive pot of Cuban black beans.



garlic1.jpg

onions1.jpg

[hampco]

I do it the same way but I leave the root end on the onion to give me a little handle.

I even have the same knife... great minds and all of that.

Somewhwre is a video of my breaking down a chicken, I'll see if I can upload that.

[Too Tall]

That would be great. That knife must be 60 years old Sabatier which I was taught to use when I could see over the counter. Kewl.

I do it the same way but I leave the root end on the onion to give me a little handle.

I even have the same knife... great minds and all of that.

Somewhwre is a video of my breaking down a chicken, I'll see if I can upload that.

[Ras72]

Ah, deboning a chicken...This is one my favorite examples of how its done!

[Rayburn Shaun]

Great chicken vid. I hadn't seen that one- thanks for posting it- great technique!

[Rayburn Shaun]

TooTall-

I do it your way + leave root end and I add a couple of horizontal slices (not all the way thru to the root) before the verticles. The butt end just gets a plain old caveman style chop to remove root and reduce waste.

Tom

[Octave]

The butt end just gets a plain old caveman style chop to remove root and reduce waste.

Somewhat off-topic but I tend to do this with nearly all veggies (we make a large salad every night - carrots, cucumber, radishes, whatever's in season - so there's lots of chopping done in our house) and then take that butt-end and toss it in a freezer-bag along with carrot fronds, garlic butts, radish greens/ends..etc. and about once every 10 days when a gallon freezer bag is full we make a few liters of stock from it. Haven't bought stock in about 5 years using this method. For making the stock, heat a bit of oil in the bottom of a very large pot, throw in some rough-chopped onion, garlic, leek or whatever you have around plus some herbs, fry for a minute or two then dump the freezer bag full of veggie butts in, fill to the brim with water and slow simmer for a few hours. Strain and if needed, reduce. I usually add about a tablespoon of salt and a half of pepper towards the end too, but that's all up to your taste.

[Rayburn Shaun]

Great idea: frying before adding the water. Thanks for the tip!

[Octave]

Great idea: frying before adding the water. Thanks for the tip!

Yeah, it definitely adds some depth. The immediate water added from throwing in the frozen veggies also acts as a basic deglazing, though if you want to get fancy you can fry your aromatics, deglaze with a touch of wine, then add the rest of your ingredients. This'll help make sure you get 100% of that good flavor. Also, always add a couple of bay leaves (a couple assuming you're doing 2+ liters at a time of broth) - one of those oft-overlooked additions that makes a huge difference in the end.

[caleb]

Looking at TT's pile of garlic reminds me of this Jaques Pepin video: Jacques Pepin: How to Chop Garlic - Video - NYTimes.com

(sorry, I can't figure out how to imbed it)

[Too Tall]

Looking at TT's pile of garlic reminds me of this Jaques Pepin video: Jacques Pepin: How to Chop Garlic - Video - NYTimes.com

(sorry, I can't figure out how to imbed it)

Love that guy. I puree the same as J.P. using my nice heavy German chef's knife but that knife slap he uses is brilliant. I've allways been vexed that my hands become so sticky from peeling garlic that skins begin to stick. More J.P. is the cure.

[DJB]

I hope the private Jacques is a cool as the public Jacques.

[mzilliox]

oh i like this, ill get something up soon.

[j44ke]

For small stuff like herbs, anchovies and garlic (or even shallots with a quick pre-cut) we use an OXO chopper. Take the bottom off and chop directly on the cutting board. They come in two sizes. We mostly use the smaller size. We have very sharp knives (and the lacerated kitchen towels to prove it,) but I am much better off doing small stuff with the chopper so I keep my fingernails.

[Too Tall]

That cat rocks my world.
When I'm cutting veg. it's a standard joke in my house to indiscriminately scream "why me why why why oh g-d make it stop" all the while never stop slicing.
If you do what Jacques does you don't really need to look at what you are doing. Your knuckles and the back spine of the blade act as a guide.
FWIIW my go to kitchen knife is a 10" Sabatier that dates from the 60s. Does everything except breakdown poultry.

PS Dear Jorn. Jorn Jorn Jorn Jorn. That's one degree from a Ronco vegematic my brother. Intervention time.

[mzilliox]

For small stuff like herbs, anchovies and garlic (or even shallots with a quick pre-cut) we use an OXO chopper. Take the bottom off and chop directly on the cutting board. They come in two sizes. We mostly use the smaller size. We have very sharp knives (and the lacerated kitchen towels to prove it,) but I am much better off doing small stuff with the chopper so I keep my fingernails.

are you gonna start to ride an ebike now too? i kid i kid

[j44ke]

The Japanese knives we have go through a fingernail without you knowing it. I do everything else but the small stuff, no thanks. I don’t want any more smiley faces in a fingernail.

[Ras72]

Yes, that all too familiar feeling of the knife passing thru something that's a little more dense than what you intend on cutting. You feel that slice then afraid to look down.

[Mark Kelly]

The Japanese knives we have go through a fingernail without you knowing it. I do everything else but the small stuff, no thanks. I don’t want any more smiley faces in a fingernail.

Are they Euro style Japanese knives (eg Global) or traditional style ?