Low Budget Knife Skills (video)

[Chad]

At my publisher's suggestion ("We understand the Interwebs are very popular today"), I'm doing a series of basic knife skills videos. Fellini it ain't.

[youtube]wq0FH2IGPAw[/youtube]

Chad

 

[SuperiorBrew]

Good stuff, can't wait to see the next ones.

 

[Short Drive]

Chad great stuff. Nice knife.

 

[Chad]

Chad great stuff. Nice knife.

Nice of you to notice. I was wondering if anyone would catch that it was a Nenox. The sad truth of it is that it's the only 8" chefs/gyuto that I use regularly. I generally use a 240mm (9.5") or 270mm (10.5") knife, but they don't fit into the shot as well. You can't see both hands.

I love the ergonomics of the Nenox line. I also have a 270mm Corian handled gyuto, a 300mm quince gyuto, a 100mm petty/parer and a 285mm slicer from them. All are truly excellent knives. Of course I buy them used from people who suddenly realize what they paid for them and can't justify it, so the price isn't such a shock.

Chad

 

[Professor Frink]

Well done Chad. I just sent the link to Jen, she'll be watching it over in Europe.

 

[BakerStreetBeers]

Good stuff. Look forward to more. Had a friend trying to convince me to buy a set of German knives a coupla weeks ago. One of my main points of reluctance is my lack of basic skills . . . something I'm very aware of every time I cook.

 

[Chad]

Well done Chad. I just sent the link to Jen, she'll be watching it over in Europe.

Cool. I'm international now!

I'd forgotten that Jen was going to Yerp. I hope she's having a fun and safe trip.

Chad

 

[Bernie Brewer]

At my publisher's suggestion ("We understand the Interwebs are very popular today"), I'm doing a series of basic knife skills videos. Fellini it ain't.

[youtube]wq0FH2IGPAw[/youtube]

Chad

Chad great stuff. Nice knife.

You guys are obviously chefs. A meat cutter wouldn't go near a knife like that. That big fat blade would just get in my way. Doesn't make it wrong, just different.

 

[Revvy]

Oh wow, cool!!!

I've wanted to take a knife skills class for years...Keep em coming!!!

I want a fish video....I really want to learn to take apart/debone a fish...

 

[Danek]

Really nice video, Chad. I have some good kitchen knives at home, but never really thought about the best way to use them - so thanks for sharing.

In future episodes, are you going to show us how to correctly stab badass dudes?

 

[dblvsn]

Great stuff! Keep 'em coming!

 

[jcarson83]

Why don't you cut something already.

 

[dblvsn]

Any more videos on the way?

 

[Chad]

Thanks, folks! Yes, there will be more videos coming. I've been at the Blade Show in Atlanta for the last several days -- 180,000 square feet of sharp & pointy goodness. I'm just now catching up on everything. I promise I'll actually cut something in the next one. The video on how to shank a dude with a homemade prison shiv will have to wait until I get the culinary series done

I think the next one will have to be fundamental knife cuts -- Planks, Logs, Cubes. It's pretty simple, and once you have the concept nailed you can make just about any fancy knife cut out there. Battonet, julienne, brunoise, et al, are just variations on Planks, Logs, Cubes. If you can stack children's building blocks, you can do this.

After that will be some quick fun things like chiffonade, rondelles*, oblique cuts (very cool, very simple) and stuff like that.

* I think Chiffonade & the Rondelles would be the greatest doo-wop group name ever.

Chad

 

[Jester369]

Good stuff, Chad! Looking forward to more

 

[ohiobrewtus]

Great video, Chad. I look forward to seeing the rest of the series.

 

[Chad]

Book day! "An Edge in the Kitchen" is now officially on the shelves. I stopped in my local Borders and there it was, right next to Larousse Gastronomique I'm keeping heady company these days.

Chad

 

[g_rath]

Next time I’m at borders I will definitely check it out.
I glad that I live with another cook in the house and that they appreciate good tools. Its almost as important as good beer making equipment

 

[Brewpastor]

Thank you for sharing. I have learned something new today and so now I can go to bed. You do a good presentation.

 

[zachatola]

Very cool, cant wait to see more chad. Gonna have to look for your book when im out and about too.

 

[Chad]

Woohoo!

An Edge in the Kitchen broke the Top 100 in Amazon's Cooking, Food & Wine bestsellers. No doubt fueled by a very kind mention on Michael Ruhlman's blog.

I should have taken the screen shot earlier. I was #88 first thing this morning.

This is too cool.

Chad

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

Is this series ever going to be continued? It might be cool to see a video on how to dress a turkey?... I really liked this idea and hope you continue.

 

[dataz722]

Nice knife. What do you think of Shun? Personally I love them but I have heard alot of really mixed reviews and wondered what you thought.

 

[Penguin]

we are a J.A. Henckels household. Buying them a little at a time since where i work i can get em at dealer price(still crazy expensive though). Got my wife a 4star chef knife last christmas. this year she may just get the whole block. been wondering about how abouts to sharpen them so i may have to pick up that book.

 

[dataz722]

we are a J.A. Henckels household. Buying them a little at a time since where i work i can get em at dealer price(still crazy expensive though). Got my wife a 4star chef knife last christmas. this year she may just get the whole block. been wondering about how abouts to sharpen them so i may have to pick up that book.

Dont sharpen yourself.... its takes a TON of skill to use a stone and not screw up the blade and most of the at home shapeners are pretty bad for the blade too. You can get knifes professionaly sharpened for pretty cheap. Just look in your phone book or google.

 

[Chad]

Is this series ever going to be continued? It might be cool to see a video on how to dress a turkey?... I really liked this idea and hope you continue.

Yup, I'm just behind. I'm finishing up the proposal for the next book. Once that is off my desk I'll go back and do a couple of new videos. In the meantime I put a nice series of videos by Mike Pardus on how to break down a chicken on my website An Edge in the Kitchen. Scroll down and there's a pretty good pictorial walkthrough on how to dice an onion using a nifty cheat that removes some of the steps that people find scary or intimidating.

Chad

 

[Penguin]

any word on ceramic knives. just wonder if it is really worth the higher price.

 

[Chad]

any word on ceramic knives. just wonder if it is really worth the higher price.

I don't care for them. They're too brittle, which means they chip easily. Drop one on a tile floor and it will shatter. The other problem with ceramic knives is that the technology hasn't advanced to the level that will allow for a really sharp edge. The factory edge is mediocre, and you can't touch it up yourself. That's a deal breaker for me.

On the other hand, ceramic peelers and mandolins are great. I have a Kyocera Y-peeler that is just wonderful and a ceramic bladed mini-mandolin that gets used a lot more often than my larger ones. And they're dishwasher safe.

Chad

 

[Chad]

I finally got back to making a couple of basic knife skills videos. Here's the latest -- Dicing Onions. The Onion Cheat, by the way, is really handy if you're not comfortable with the standard technique. Cutting towards your hand spooks a lot of people, so this is a way to get around that and still produce a neat dice.
[youtube]HQOOwsgTc_c[/youtube]

Chad

 

[dataz722]

Very nice, i've always used the traditional and never even thought about the cheat way.