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Hot take: I think mise en place is overrated for home cooks
I was talking with my buddy Dave, who runs a food truck in Portland, last week. He was telling me how he preps everything in little bowls before service, and I told him I do the same at home. But then he said something that hit me hard. He said, 'Why are you spending 20 minutes dicing onions you won't use for an hour? Just chop as you go.' And honestly, he's right. At home, I'm not cooking for 50 people in a rush. I was just wasting time and dirtying extra dishes for no reason. Now I only mise en place for the next step, not the whole meal. It's faster and I actually enjoy cooking more. Has anyone else ditched the full prep routine and seen better results?
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keith1643mo ago
That thing about "just chop as you go" really clicked for me too. I read somewhere that professional chefs only mise en place for the actual timer based parts of a dish, not the whole thing. So now I just keep a cutting board out and dice stuff right before it hits the pan, way less mess.
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xena_hernandez983mo ago
yeah but have you ever had that moment where you chop garlic while the onions are already in the oil and you end up scrambling to get it in before it burns? I keep a little bowl next to the stove for stuff like garlic and ginger now, it's the only mise en place I do. saves the panic and doesn't dirty a dozen containers.
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craig.parker3mo ago
Had a buddy who used to just throw everything in the pan raw and hope for the best. One time he dropped a whole unpeeled clove of garlic into hot oil trying to fish it out (I still laugh about that). He got a little prep bowl set after that.
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troyc172mo ago
Ngl I had to read that twice because I was so shocked. An entire unpeeled clove of garlic into hot oil? That's honestly wild to me. I've messed up plenty in the kitchen but that's next level. I feel like you need to have a certain type of confidence to just send it like that without any prep. The fact that he tried to fish it out with his bare hands too is insane. I'm honestly impressed he didn't end up with third degree burns or something. The prep bowl set was probably the best investment he ever made.
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