Chef Sara Moulton Answers Your Cooking Questions

Feb. 14, 2012— -- Celebrated author and TV chef Sara Moulton is the food editor at "Good Morning America."

You've written to her with questions about what you'd like to learn in the kitchen, and she has responded.

Sara Moulton Answers Your Questions

Lea Brenneman:My husband and I love salmon. I buy the frozen wild caught filets from Cosco. What is the best way to cook the filets if I want to use fresh lemon juice. They seem so soggy after I add the juice to filets.

Sara's Answer:

Lea,

That is an interesting question. I have an idea – after you defrost the filets (in the fridge) why don't you put them on a plate covered loosely with plastic and put another plate on top and a weight. Park that in the fridge for a few hours, then drain off the liquid on the plate with the salmon, pat the salmon very dry with paper towels and drizzle it first with olive oil, then with a squeeze of lemon before baking. Years ago when I worked in the test kitchen at Gourmet magazine we would do this with tofu to make it firmer and also with a fresh Indian cheese called paneer. The weight on the tofu or cheese pushed the internal water out of it and you ended up with a much firmer, drier end result.

Tom Grein:Hi, Sara: I make my own stocks, and I have tried for years to make that wonderful, absolutely clear chicken stock found in so many Asian recipes. I have tried all the tricks, from pre-boiling and then washing off the chicken pieces to remove the fat, to barely simmer for two to three hours, to using only green onions, garlic and ginger, but my stock always comes out cloudy. It still tastes great, but I'm trying to make a clear chicken stock. How do they do that? Thanks, Tom

Sara's Answer:

Tom,

It sounds like you are following most of the correct stock making procedure. Let me review the whole technique and perhaps there is something you will recognize that you are not doing right.

1. Cover the bones with cold water to cover by 2 inches and bring the water just to a boil2. Turn down to a simmer and simmer, skimming the scum that rises to the surface (protein solids), until there is no more scum (about 20 minutes).3. Add the cut up vegetables and herbs and bring back to a bare simmer4. Simmer for as many hours as necessary (2 – 2 ½ for chicken, many more for beef or veal), uncovered and adding more water as necessary to keep the bones covered.5. Strain the stock, discarding the solids. Let the stock cool and refrigerate. When ready to use scrape off the fat that collects on the top of the stock.

So here are the things that might produce a cloudy stock:Boiling it
Covering it
Stirring it
Not skimming off that scum
Pressing hard on the solids when you are straining the stock at the end.

Peggy Salmore:I've cooked my roast. It wasn't as tender as it should have been. I made sandwiches the next day. If I put it back in the oven again, can I cook it more to make it tender?

Sara's Answer:

Peggy,

Unless it was a tough cut of meat that you braised in liquid, cooking it more will not help. A tender cut of meat gets tough when it is overcooked and/or when it is sliced too soon (which makes all the juices run out of the meat before it has had time to relax and the juices have had time to redistribute). Also, it might have been a cut of meat that was marketed as appropriate for roasting but really was a tad too tough or lean to be tender if simply roasted. However, if it was a brisket or pot roast and you braised it slowly, it might become more tender with more slow covered wet cooking.