{"id":62968,"date":"2022-03-15T14:25:43","date_gmt":"2022-03-15T20:25:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=62968"},"modified":"2025-03-07T11:24:24","modified_gmt":"2025-03-07T18:24:24","slug":"learn-how-to-use-chefs-knife","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/learn-how-to-use-chefs-knife\/","title":{"rendered":"Master the most important kitchen tool. Learn how to use a chef’s knife."},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>
\"How
How to use a chef’s knife. A knife seems like a simple tool, but learning to chop properly can transform your kitchen experiences. Photo: Getty Images.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The most important thing in your kitchen is also the simplest. It\u2019s the knife.<\/span><\/p>\n

Increasingly, bless them, many foods come prepared for the home cook (frozen chopped onions, say, or diced canned tomatoes). Nonetheless, most of us use our kitchen knives daily. And, sad to say, most of us abuse our knives daily too. We toss them in a drawer along with all the other gadgets. We sharpen them on Halley\u2019s comet. We hold them incorrectly \u2014 hence, unsafely.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are several suggestions to keep in mind when knifing around the kitchen. I\u2019ll discuss just two types of knives among the many possible knives to own: the chef\u2019s knife and the paring knife.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>
\n

Read other great articles and recipes<\/a> by Bill St. John. <\/div>\n

If you had to own only one knife, make it a chef\u2019s knife. With it, you can do almost anything another knife does. (It doesn\u2019t pare well, however, and occasionally you could do with a cleaver.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>
\n

\n

Simple tips: How to use a chef’s knife<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Hold the knife properly<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Hold a chef\u2019s knife where the blade meets the handle for the best balance, never by the handle alone. Wrap your forefinger and thumb around that point, with your three remaining fingers grasping the handle.<\/p>\n

Use the “finger curl”<\/strong><\/h3>\n

When chopping or dicing foods, curl the fingers of the opposite hand. Your knuckles will prevent you from cutting yourself.<\/p>\n

Use the flattening trick<\/strong><\/h3>\n

To cut up a round food such as a potato, flatten one side to stabilize it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Hold it where the blade meets the handle for the best balance, never by the handle alone. Wrap your forefinger and thumb around that point, with your three remaining fingers grasping the handle.<\/span><\/p>\n

For doing close paring with a paring knife, you may hold the typically small paring knife by its blade, well up near the point. Your fingers are safe there because you aren\u2019t going to cut down forcibly into anything. You\u2019ll merely be flicking away at small outer plant leaves (such as with a Brussels sprout) or trimming away garlic clove \u201cpaper\u201d or cutting away a mushroom stem.<\/span><\/p>\n

When dicing or chopping with a chef\u2019s knife, use the knuckles of your opposite hand, curled, as a guide for the chef\u2019s knife\u2019s blade and to keep the blade away from your fingers. Your fingertips (and possibly fingernails) will hold the food steady. If the food is round, such as a potato or carrot, flatten one side to stabilize it, then proceed with more cutting, dicing, slicing.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is imperative that the knife\u2014notably, its handle\u2014is dry. Little else is more dangerous in the kitchen than a slippery knife. The cutting board should be dry, too, and frequently wiped dry.<\/span><\/p>\n

I also like to immobilize the cutting board by first laying down on the counter a wet paper towel, then topping it with the cutting board or sheet. Furthermore, I avoid cross-contamination of food pathogens by using one board for meat, fowl and fish; another, for vegetables, nuts and fruit. And I rinse any cutting board of one type of food before introducing another.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sharpening our knives is our gift to them. They return the favor by giving good cut. You may not own an electric knife sharpening appliance; you may not have a \u201csteel\u201d (ceramic or metal) in your gadget drawer.<\/span><\/p>\n

But you have a coffee or tea mug. Its underside is typically unglazed and rough, close in character to a honing stone. If that\u2019s all you have with which to sharpen your knives, go ahead and use it, holding each knife at a low angle and rubbing the blade\u2019s edge back and forth.<\/span><\/p>\n

Braised Lamb Neck with White Beans<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n
\"Practice
A bowl of braised lamb neck meat with white beans, diced carrots and herbs. Photo by Bill St. John for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Your butcher can get you lamb neck or (for instance, at Whole Foods) you will find it in their freezer case. In a pinch, substitute lamb shank, even more readily available. Serves 4-6 depending on portion size.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ingredients<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

2 pounds lamb necks<\/span><\/p>\n

Olive oil, for browning<\/span><\/p>\n

6 cups water or low-sodium chicken stock<\/span><\/p>\n

1 medium onion, peeled and chopped<\/span><\/p>\n

3 medium carrots, peeled and large diced<\/span><\/p>\n

1 celery stalk, small diced<\/span><\/p>\n

4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed<\/span><\/p>\n

1 pound dry white beans (flageolet, cannellini, Great Northern or the like), rinsed and soaked 6-8 hours, drained<\/span><\/p>\n

3 sprigs fresh thyme, plus more for garnish<\/span><\/p>\n

2 sprigs fresh rosemary<\/span><\/p>\n

1 teaspoon sea or kosher salt<\/span><\/p>\n

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper<\/span><\/p>\n

Directions<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Trim the lamb necks of any superfluous fat. Brown the lamb all over in 1-2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the liquid and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a slow simmer and cook for 2 hours, the lid of the pot just ajar. Set aside.<\/span><\/p>\n

Over medium-high heat in another large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, cook the onions, carrots and celery in 2 tablespoons olive oil, stirring, for 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another 2 minutes, assuring that the garlic does not burn.<\/span><\/p>\n

Add back the lamb necks, their cooking liquid and the drained beans. Toss in the herb sprigs and the salt and pepper. Stir all together, bring to a slow boil and cook at a steady simmer, pot lid ajar, for another 2 hours or until the beans are cooked to tender but not mealy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let the braise cool overnight in its pot, covered. When ready to serve, remove the congealed fat that will have risen to the surface and solidified; remove the herb stems; pull away the lamb meat from its bones (there will be many nooks and crannies) adding back the meat bits to the braise.<\/span><\/p>\n

To serve: reheat the braise, adjust for seasoning and serve sprinkled with fresh thyme leaves.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reach Bill St. John at\u00a0billstjohn@gmail.com<\/a><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The most important thing in your kitchen is also the simplest. It\u2019s the knife. Increasingly, bless them, many foods come prepared for the home cook (frozen chopped onions, say, or diced canned tomatoes). Nonetheless, most of us use our kitchen knives daily. And, sad to say, most of us abuse our knives daily too. We […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2197,"featured_media":62986,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[4799,2366,9187,4415],"class_list":["post-62968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-healthy-living","tag-bill-st-john","tag-healthy-recipes","tag-readysetco","tag-recipes"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMaster the most important kitchen tool. 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