I want all my friends and family to see this. They think my collection of reused, to-go, plastic containers is so ghetto. I want to tell them that, David Chang himself, approves of at least one of my life choices!
it's just smart and better for the environment. (i do note that eventually those takeout containers will break after years. But, so does most tupperware.)
He described the All-Clad as the one great thing America produces, meanwhile gushing about his Lodge Cast Iron skillet -- produced right here in Tennessee!
Lodge is not best in class for cast iron. But the best is ridiculously expensive, and Lodge is ~$20. He isn't entirely correct about All-Clad though. The cooking surface isn't that hard to scratch up. (But thankfully it's just cosmetic damage.) And even the cookware that contain copper aren't going to perform as well as Mauviel or Bourgeat, since it's only 20-50% copper vs. 90% or whatever the French stuff is. All-Clad have crappy handles too, although the higher end lines have better handles now. So best in class is arguable. They are very good though.
@@jc3drums916 Lodge cast iron is ok but their new Blacklock line of cast iron is much better. They are not polished but are pretty thin more like some of the vintage cast iron. Now if you strip them, polish and re season they are about the best you can get at a reasonable price without searching for vintage pieces, or paying for the foo foo brands. I don't understand the All-Clad thing? At 20s in he mentions french copper clad specifically Mauviel. The All-Clad line he was talking about was the stainless tri ply which was the invention that put the company on the map. A lot of companies have copied what they do after their patent expired but their manufacturing is world class. I have both stainless tri ply and LDT that are over 30 years old and the handles are cast stainless steel with an ergonomic design that are polished and riveted into the pan. IMO better than the French pots.
I remember hearing that part of the esteem (douschiness) of a restaurant decked out with copper pots is that they patina like crazy if you're not meticulous about maintaining them. Even if you never cook with them, you have to be diligent. So it's one of those things like, "Look how shiny and red all of our copper is. With this attention to detail, you know our kitchen doesn't serve uncleaned shrimp. Your chicken will not be overcooked, there will be no eggshells, and we don't break sauces. And the bill will shock you." And while I don't know much about French cuisine and never go to pricey restaurants, it seems like a very French thing.
I’ve cooked in a handful of high end, James Beard restaurants… they all used almost exclusively cheap pots and pans. They’re black and burned and NOT all clad or anything expensive with very few exceptions.
Firstly, copper pans aren't that finicky. They're a nuisance to clean, when the getting used, but they're not that bad. The reason why chef's love copper is conductivity though. Copper responds adroitly to churches in temp, so things that require fast heating are quicker to produce, but things that take precise temperature are also easier to maintain. You tend to see copper in chocolatier's kitchens a lot.
Rachel T. My aunt just gave me homemade Easter chocolate in, social distancing was practiced, I will wash it and return. Otherwise I won’t be getting Christmas chocolate.
they're also really perfect for sharing food with friends and neighbors no need to return them (unless filled with good stuff to eat) makes life easier
You definitely don't want to keep those restaurant take out containers for too long. It's built with a lighter plastic (with unknown chemical addititves) that breaks down more quickly than heavy duty Tupperware. I definitely don't recommend keeping it for too long unless you don't mind the possibility of those chemicals being absorbed into your food. Do some research on the type of plastic and source before you use them in place of Tupperware. I personally recommend airtight glass storage containers. Food smells are less likely to linger in those. Some can also be put in the oven and microwave.
@@Zeus-ne2oe "got milk" is the slogan of the milk producers/industry. So she's basically implying that I'm working for a big glass producer and am selling their product.
With everybody making sourdough in quarantine these days, try it in your Le Creuset Dutch Oven. The crust is a revelation, thanks to the uniform heat distribution.
Cast iron actually has poor heat distribution, espeically when compared to aluminum and of course copper. However, its volumetric heat capacity and heat emissivity are very high. That's what makes the great crust.
He does a podcast called The Dave Chang Show. It is my favorite podcast. It is informative, funny and very personal. Especially right now as he is talking about his, his family’s and his company’s struggles through Covid19.
You can sharpen the serrated knives, which most of the time are for cutting bread. You do need a diamond hone for the little coves, then take the flat side to the 1000 grit knife stone. Some times just touching up the flat side does wonders. I am too cheap to throw one away. I do have some specialty sharpening goodies in my wood shop for my wood lathe toys, which are not commonly found for knife sharpening.
Yeah a chef's knife is about as essential as any of those items. I think you could swap out the copper sauce pan for a chef's knife and you'd have a more complete functional set of tools. The dutch over would cover 99% of the tasks that the sauce pan would be used for. Plus a $150 copper sauce pan does the same job that a $10 aluminum sauce pan does.
KaMak719 I think they made the list fancy for GQ. I read an article he did one time where he said just get everything at a restaurant supply store. All clad stainless pots and pans, a cast iron, and cheap utensils like that paring knife.
I'm pretty sure that there's no one who comments on here that has a serrated bread knife that's been used for so long that it becomes a back scratcher. That's a lot of cutting with a freakin bread knife. Only applies to pros like David. And im sure he has a few back scratchers of this kind.
Just moved to a place and haven't stocked it yet. Cooking with just a pairing knife is unbelievably annoying. I think he just forgot somehow, because it's more essential than a pairing knife.
stryfetc1 Literally anyone can learn how to use a sharp chef’s knife safely by just watching a quick RU-vid video??? You don’t have to go to culinary school to learn basic kitchen skills.
stryfetc1 I guess. As someone’s who’s only worked in kitchens, my knife skills aren’t crazy. As long as you’re consistent and not insanely slow you’re fine. And that’s in a professional kitchen. Anyone can own a chefs knife and not cut themselves it takes two minutes to learn the claw grip.
@@jaredwood8163 Agree safety first. In the vein of not cutting oneself with a chef's knife, a honing steel is prob worth it also. A dull knife makes cooking less fun, and more dangerous.
The only things 1:1 I don't currently have in my kitchen is the cast iron skillet and the thick wooden cutting board... Makes me feel like I am doing something right :)
Quality over quantity--a lot of the cookware stuff is on the expensive side, except for the cast iron which looks like a Lodge which he mentioned was affordable, but the intention is that you only really need those (and not the set) and they are worth it in the end bc you'll use them over and over again for so many purposes. Also I wished manufacturers didn't produce bad quality cookware that ends up being disposed of, prices are reasonable for the quality, and everyone made a decent living to be able to buy good quality things. I also really appreciate that he mentioned takeout containers for practical reasons but also said that it doesn't need to be thrown out. Reuse!!! The soup containers that are used for takeout are also commonly used in restaurant kitchens too I think.
We roast a whole chicken in the dutch oven all the time, also will often sauté aromatics in a dutch oven prior to making a sauce/stew/etc. I wouldn't do either of those things in our Donabe.
The Le Creuset cocotte is a wonderful item, but you can get the Staub equivalent (same size) on sale online for $99 very regularly. Essentially the same product, made in France, for one third the money.
No doubt this guy is a master with food, but what bugs me is this: You can boil most of the Ugly Delicious episodes down to 3 words, and those are "White people suck."
Lodge makes an enamel cast iron dutch oven that is a clone of the Le Creuset, about $70 instead of $289. I find the handles on the Lodge easier to hang onto, but otherwise the pots perform basically the same.
Poor explanations. WHY is copper good? No explanation (ps: it’s heat conductivity, copper has the best heat conduction of any metals used in pans. DS: you want cooper pans lined with tin on the inside - caused pure copper will go bad real fast if you cook anything acidic in it)
Love my cast iron stuff, I just need the Dutch oven. Never buy non stick for regular cooking, stainless steel is best. As in my woodwork I like to have the best tools I can afford.
lunhil12 Non stick sauce pan is good for warming soup up, since you don’t want too high of a heat anyways. Frying pan, stainless steel. Cast iron is great for frying eggs, searing meat, or baking, but you can’t do stir fry or make sauce.
i can see a use for nonstick when dealing with eggs and certain things that absolutely cannot stick. But, yeah, generally, nonstick pans are hateable things.
I have so many of these things! I don't have Le Creuset though I can like to have one. I do have a cast-iron Dutch oven that I use a lot. And those little plastic takeouts? ? I've got a pile of them! And virtually no Tupperware or Rubbermaid or anything like that. Very very little.
I feel like this was video was made for a 19 yr old crypto/hedge fund baby, but then so is the rest of GQ. None the less, good advice on basics. Idk why a 9-10 in chef's knife want mentioned as a needed utility item, but serrated and paring knives were.
Yes and no. Dutch ovens are so heavy that you can't hold them with one hand and move around the kitchen while whisking. Being able to do that is essential for intermediate techniques.
Spunkymunky actually small size Dutch oven works better than Donabe IMO. It’s more durable, with better heat retaining and heat tolerant. Donabe could explode on stove stop if not handled carefully, which can be very annoying.
@@swicheroo1 why would I be moving around the kitchen while whisking? If I needed to move(walk) around the kitchen while whisking I would have a mixer for that.
Felt good - we have most of those exact same things in our kitchen, but I gotta have a chef's knife. I have had Mercers and Victorinox which I like but now use the cheapest Shun.
Soooo.....I have a couple Le Creuset, a few All Clad, a couple sizes of cast iron pans and a blue steel pan. But a silicone cutting board. How will I be judged?
Some great tips. However I would suggest he should change whoever sharpens his knives. Serrated Bread knife can be sharpened if you have the skills to do it. My sharpening guy charges $5 and it comes out as sharp as new.
Dont keep every take out container. I almost died in an avalanche of plastic containers stored haphazardly in the cupboard over the stove. Dont be a mini hoarder. Throw some out.
Probably a 3.5 or 4.5 quart. Hard to tell since I don't know what size his hands are. But you should get the size you'd need for the number of people you cook for.
Vicol TBH if you just went with the Le Creuset pot, you could eliminate everything else there. Those things are beasts; you can make bread, braise, boil, steam, everything in there. Insanely versatile. The cheap pots? Only do one thing.
Facundo Campos I agree. Sure, a lot of people can’t afford the more expensive stuff, but if you can afford it, why go with subpar equipment? I got a Le Creuset dutch oven, a Lodge cast iron skillet and a De Buyer carbon steel sauteuse. Those will probably outlive me.
Psykel when you can’t afford the good stuff, versatility matters even more. Lodge skillet for example. This way, I can make a mean roast, pizza, and steak. Money very well spent.
I am most impressed with the humble asian wok...THE all-purpose kitchen tool...including stir frying, steaming, pan frying, deep frying, poaching, boiling, braising, searing, stewing, making soup, smoking and roasting nuts.....what other kitchen utensil will do it all and last a life time...for $30!!!!!.. Sonoma-Williams???....suck eggs!
A cutting board should be of a size best for each cook's available counter space. No one should have to be guilted into buying a high end board so big it can only be comfortably cleaned in a utility sink. Mine is only about 10 by 12 inches, bamboo and works well.
I honestly don't get the cutting board thing, I have a big wooden one and a big plastic one, I always choose the plastic one because it is easier to clean due to it being so thin.
The thin plastic cutting board slides around and it gets too wobbly when you have to process large amounts of food everyday. My personal pet peeve is that, with the knife I use, I bump my knuckles on the counter too much when using a thin board. A thick wooden or bamboo board is more ergonomic for me
Skip the Le Creuset and do a Lodge enameled dutch oven. Very similar quality for about 1/8th the price. Also American made if that counts for anything. Edit: enameled is made in China, non-enameled is made in the USA.
