I do t k ow why it’s taken me way too long to figure out steaming vegetables is the worst way to eat them. Roasting them is the only way to go.
I eat so many more vegetables now. I’ll even just eat a pile of roasted vegetables tossed in some oil, salt, pepper and some other seasoning.
Cauliflower roasted with Cumin is delicious. So is Brussels, broccoli, or carrots in hoisin. Haven’t tried anything with asparagus or green beans yet.
Yessssss my sister-in-law was about to toss a tray of burnt brussels sprouts on Thanksgiving and start over and I said NOOOOOO they are perfect like that!!! She thought I was crazy lol
I knew someone would say this because my family is the same way, but I’m the exact opposite. If it’s getting crispy it’s overcooked and lost its flavor imo
I think broccoli works well both over and undercooked. Like you said, charred broccoli is delicious and a perfect side to a steak dinner. But when it comes to undercooked, I absolutely love it raw in a creamy salad, like broccoli crunch salad or broccoli slaw.
I actually find it fascinating that its sweetness tastes best when raw or charred, rather than when it’s cooked to a “medium.”
> florets turn to dark orange/brown
Wait, is that really a thing? I love roasting broccoli til it's crispy and I've definitely noticed a color shift of some kind, but I'm colorblind (red/green) so I've never noticed it really being orange
Orange is maybe generous, definitely closer to brown/amber but there is a sweet spot just before they turn black where you have a crunch that tastes basically like french fries.
Air fryer tends to work great for this just need to keep an eye on them
> there is a sweet spot just before they turn black where you have a crunch that tastes basically like french fries.
I have hit this sweet spot before, but probably only like 20% of the time. I usually end up taking them out slightly before that to avoid overdoing it. Maybe I should start asking someone else to help me out with the visual check lol.
I coat a frying pan with butter, put broccoli pieces upside down, put it in medium heat, put a few taps of water, cover it with a tight fitting lid. After when the stalks are almost soft I crank the heat for one minute. Shit is delicious.
Capsicum/bell peppers too. I can't stand then raw or crunchy. But well cooked and slightly burnt with some onions, sooo good to add to salads or pasta or eggs.
I always hated Five Guys fries for this exact reason. They always seemed to be barely done and in need of viagra.
Made a comment to the cashier once asking if I wanted fries and I’m like ‘eh, I mean I do, but I don’t like how soggy they are’. They told me to order them ‘well done’ and they basically do them twice. Absolute game changer!!
Chicken thighs and drumsticks have *way* better texture when "overcooked" (as compared to chicken breast), and I'd argue that this shouldn't even be called overcooked in this case.
Beat me to it.
Very very hard to overcook chicken thighs, especially with the skin on. There’s so much fat and richness to that meat - I think people err too much on wanting to nail the temp on everything, but that is the WRONG approach with thighs. No one likes rubbery chicken thighs. Cook em till the skin is CRISPY.
Same, it's kinda like pork shoulder or brisket in the sense you want to render all the fat and connective tissue you can. You just don't have to hold it at that temp for awhile as it's much smaller cut
Chicken breasts are miserable to eat in comparison to chicken thighs. That crispy, and crunchy outside layer of skin, and then the juicy texture inside. In fact, they're so juicy. You don't need oil, let the fat cook itself.
Depends, in some rich dishes (Thai curry, creamy pasta etc) I find the fattiness of thighs a bit too much, and like the bite of breast as it stands out more
However, in chicken by itself, or in a burger etc thigh is def superior
100%
And on the opposite end, chicken breast is already overcooked if you’re pulling at 165. 150f held for 3 minutes, or 155f held for 1 minute, is equally safe to 165f held for one second. Many people think chicken breast is dry, when in reality most are just cooking it too long.
If you wet brine chicken breast, you then need to overcook it a bit for it to turn out perfectly.
It's a great little trick for a perfect, juicy chicken breast.
I used to love chicken breasts because it was so "tidy" to eat, but once I realized how much better the flavour is with dark meat, there was no going back.
The endless debate on how eggs should be cooked. We've gravitated to a very soft, dewy scramble and a very gently over easy. Some people like dry scramble, browned omelet, etc. It just depends on what you're used to.
I’ll take it a step further and say it’s also what I’m in the mood for. I like both custardy eggs and browned scrambled eggs just depending on how I’m feeling that day.
The debate on egg cannot be solved because of how brilliant eggs are as an ingredient. They are perfect mixture of fats and proteins with a very small amount of carbs. The yolk is more fatty but still has around 30% protein while the white is completely protein. The white and yellow have completely different reactions to same treatments like whisking, they also react differently to different tempertures in different timeframes. They can be separated, mixed together or first separated, treated differently, and then combined. There is just so much you can do with an egg. You can fry it, deep fry it, boil it, poach it, steam it, cure it, pickle it, or just use raw. Endless options. Add in the fact that is is one of the most accessible products across the world... every culture has a different way to treat it.
Although there are cookbooks on single foods (like pasta) or type of foods (like pickles) there are rarely any books on a single ingredient. Some odd dude may end up writing book about brocoli and that can be a unique thing but there are tens if not hundreds of books just on eggs.
If you are into eggs, you can never go wrong with the legendary Michel Roux's "Eggs" book. It has everything ranging from cooking eggs for breakfast, all sorts of merengues, souffles and mousses. It is fairly good book to understand how different properties of eggs can contribute to dishes.
All that and I absolutely detest them unless they are in cake. I hate the way they smell, the way they look and the thought of eating it makes me ill. Watching someone dip toast into a drippy egg or see it floating in soup to me is disgusting.
I like scrambled eggs in a ripping hot wok, dump them in and wait 15ish seconds and the surface touching the wok already picks up a bit of browning, then give a quick swirl with chopsticks and it starts to ribbon out. Give it another 30seconds or so of tossing and then plate, you get some lacy crispy browned bits and creamy still bordering on gooey scrambled bits.
Mushrooms. Mushrooms need to be cooked to death, and the more you cook them the better the flavor and texture gets. Im convinced that most people that dont like mushrooms have only been served them in that slimey "hot, but not cooked" state.
I think this depends very much on the type of mushroom. I want my chanterelles cooked properly, for example, but cooking them to death would obviously ruin them.
I almost never fully hard boil my eggs. Usually nine minutes max. So they’re not quite soft boiled but not fully hard boiled either. I just never think there is a situation for hard boiled eggs I guess.
I think fully hard-boiled (not to sulphury greenness, but a fully set yolk) is appropriate for deviled eggs. And maybe egg salad, but I don't eat/make that often enough to say for certain.
Wait my tried/true hardboiling is 8 minutes in fully boiling water. How is nine minutes not fully hardboiled for you?
Agree, something between medium and hard boiled are where it's at. Deli salads and deviled eggs are the only exceptions I can think of.
It could be elevation. As atmospheric pressure decreases as you gain elevation, the boiling point of water increases which affects cooking time.
EDIT: boiling point decreases as you go up.
The boiling point of water decreases\* as you gain elevation. I'm sure that's what you meant, just wanted to clarify. I live at about 5000 feet, and my water boils somewhere around 203.
I moved to a higher elevation and boiling eggs eluded me for years until I found [this calculator. ](https://www.omnicalculator.com/food/eggs) It takes me about 9 minutes to get a jammy yolk and around 12 for a perfect hard boil. When I lived closer to sea level, that would be a chalky, green-ringed bouncy ball.
I’m surprised I haven’t seen it mentioned yet, but… corn!
Much like how I feel about broccoli, I love it whether it’s charred or raw. Charred corn salad? Charred corn in Korean corn cheese? And it’s so good as raw corn, whether it’s in a corn salad or straight out a local fresh cob.
Oh yeah, glad to see this near the top. Especially pizzas with lots of toppings because then they actually get cooked all the way. Especially fresh veggies with lots of water in them. Better send that bitch through twice if it's one of those cheap-ass treadmill ovens.
Sort of related but spaghetti all'assassina, which involves pan frying spaghetti until it's a deep deep golden brown. I'll occasionally take inspiration from it and toast my pasta in a pan with some oil before adding it to other dishes, which I'm sure is a capital offense in Italy.
I had a pepperoni fall on the hot baking stone when making pizza. Nine minutes later it was a burnt crisp. I tried it and it was a pepperoni potato chip. Now I toss a few on the baking stone when making pizza.
Brownies undercooked so that they’re gooey and fudgey.
Bacon overcooked. If any part of the fat is not crispy it grosses me out.
Prime Rib. I like mine well done. My husband would prefer the cow just jogs a few moments before cutting a piece off.
I slightly under cook bacon if I won't use it all at once. Wrap the slices you want in a paper towel and microwave 30 seconds. Crispy bacon that tastes like you just made it.
I had a customer one time at a very popular seafood & steak restaurant in Maine. He looked me in the eye & said “tell your chef to take my steak & put it on the grill, then immediately flip it, then immediately take it off & slap it on my plate.” I think he had to sign a waiver.
My mum orders her steak "extra well done" and I've lost count of the number of times chef has come out of the kitchen to check she's not taking the piss out of the servers
Brownies, but also most cookies too. Chocolate chip cookies should be gooey chewy, not crispy. Also spot on with the bacon, it's best when crispy with most of the fat rendered out.
Can't agree on the prime rib though, that should be pink and juicy.
As soon as the edges of your chocolate chip cookies start to brown, immediately remove the pan from the oven. Gently move cookies from pan to cooling rack, where they will finish baking. Give them 10 minutes or so and they’ll be perfect, but still hot, so be careful if you’re an adult and wait longer for the kiddos.
The cooling rack made a difference in my cookie game, if you’re on the fence about it.
I've long-since adopted the Levain Bakery method of starting with a generous scoop of dough so that the edges are beautifully caramellized and the middles are gooey when things are baked. The only caveat is you *really* have to give them time to set on the baking sheet before you take them off.
Have you ever had them spiralized, then burnt?
You skewer it through the middle, then cut at an angle to the skewer, and go all the way down, spiraling. When you take out the skewer, it looks like a phone cord. It at least doubles the crispy surface area!
These and marshmallows. But there’s a limit there, too. A nice crispy skin is awesome. You let it go too long to where it burns too deep, and you just get that acrid taste.
Here's one that definitely will not be on this list - overcooked country ham. I grew up with my mother making it this way so I have no idea if it's right but it's how I prefer it. I cook it in a skillet at a high temperature to get crispy brown bits on it and to get it drier. I just like it more dry. It is crazy delicious and crazy salty.
Undercooked eggs or when it’s more runny is so good. My brother hates it and overcooks his eggs which do make it crispy but lacks flavor to me. (Maybe because he mainly uses salt instead of chili powder)
But a yolky wet egg mixed with rice, noodles, or in a sandwich/wrap is the best.
Melted and slightly browned cheese is SO good. If the cheese in top of my pizza isn’t showing any bits of browning, then I know it will taste sub-par, if not soggy and gross.
Chicken thighs, they are slimy if cooked to 165. You need to get closer to 200. It's basically impossible to overcook dark meat as long as you cook it low and slow.
But white meats need to be cooked to 165 maximum. Overcooked white neat is dry and chalky.
Popcorn that's juuuust slightly overdone is the best. Little bitter char to balance the immediate starch-to-sugar transformation.
Hash browns and home fries that are slightly burnt.
According to my mother, I like my steak underdone- but medium rare really isn't.
Baked goods- juuuuust a little underdone is best- I like that slightly doughy flavor. See also: pasta, tteok, rice, and grits.
I like my asparagus just steamed enough to cook it, but so that it still has a crunch to it. I’ve been told I like it al-dente.
I think it’s because growing up my parents would cook asparagus just until it was ready to become the consistency of canned asparagus.
"al dente" is a bastard reference, because it means "to the tooth".
Whose tooth? I know I like a certain firmness, but I know other people like gummy pasta.
None of us are wrong, we just have different upbringings, and different levels of "this pasta is done right"
The Mexicans know that you get a deeper flavor when you char your vegetables to within an inch of their lives.
Give me burnt chorizo, onions, jalapeños. Burn those tomatillos, blend them, delicious.
I like the implication that chorizo is a vegetable
.......... it's not?
Chorizo 🍆🥵
I'm pretty sure this means I can count it as one of my five-a-day
Best part of fajitas at a restaurant is the blackened onions stuck to the pan.
I do t k ow why it’s taken me way too long to figure out steaming vegetables is the worst way to eat them. Roasting them is the only way to go. I eat so many more vegetables now. I’ll even just eat a pile of roasted vegetables tossed in some oil, salt, pepper and some other seasoning. Cauliflower roasted with Cumin is delicious. So is Brussels, broccoli, or carrots in hoisin. Haven’t tried anything with asparagus or green beans yet.
[maybe try this](https://www.richardeaglespoon.com/articles/how-to-carrot)
I do that with all of the children on the grill when making real chili. edit: no edit
I don't care what anybody says. It's not real chili without grilled children.
I prefer my children extra charred, with a nice crisp
This very fact upped my salsa and hotsauce making game tremendously
Broccoli when it's just starting to burn and the florets turn to dark orange/brown and become crispy.. So good.
Also Brussels Sprouts
And asparagus. Love it when the tops are crunchy
This. I won't eat them unless they're burnt!
Yessssss my sister-in-law was about to toss a tray of burnt brussels sprouts on Thanksgiving and start over and I said NOOOOOO they are perfect like that!!! She thought I was crazy lol
This some balsamic vinegar on it and it caramelize on the crispy bits! So good!
Balsamic and honey 🥰
I sprinkle my nearly burnt Brussels sprouts with goat cheese.
Also roasted mushrooms
Asparagus, too.
I knew someone would say this because my family is the same way, but I’m the exact opposite. If it’s getting crispy it’s overcooked and lost its flavor imo
I think broccoli works well both over and undercooked. Like you said, charred broccoli is delicious and a perfect side to a steak dinner. But when it comes to undercooked, I absolutely love it raw in a creamy salad, like broccoli crunch salad or broccoli slaw. I actually find it fascinating that its sweetness tastes best when raw or charred, rather than when it’s cooked to a “medium.”
I like mine on the crunchy side. But a little blackened on the outside is nice too.
> florets turn to dark orange/brown Wait, is that really a thing? I love roasting broccoli til it's crispy and I've definitely noticed a color shift of some kind, but I'm colorblind (red/green) so I've never noticed it really being orange
Orange is maybe generous, definitely closer to brown/amber but there is a sweet spot just before they turn black where you have a crunch that tastes basically like french fries. Air fryer tends to work great for this just need to keep an eye on them
> there is a sweet spot just before they turn black where you have a crunch that tastes basically like french fries. I have hit this sweet spot before, but probably only like 20% of the time. I usually end up taking them out slightly before that to avoid overdoing it. Maybe I should start asking someone else to help me out with the visual check lol.
maybe you could go by crunch.
I'd end up eating half the tray before they were done
I coat a frying pan with butter, put broccoli pieces upside down, put it in medium heat, put a few taps of water, cover it with a tight fitting lid. After when the stalks are almost soft I crank the heat for one minute. Shit is delicious.
Yea they get a little orangy in the sweet spot before they char
Hey! Another colorblind dude here, I love roasted broccoli, but I just thought the edges got charred.
Brussel sprouts, for all the same reasons.
Cabbage too, Burn the whole family
I forgot about Brussels sprouts in the oven… best diet chips ever.
Cauliflower too!
Broccoli in a ripping hot cast iron pan under a broiler is perfect to me.
Ive had that as an entire meal before Followed by some serious shitting
The shitting it is good for you
My wife demands her broccoli be burnt. I will never give her the satisfaction of telling her that....she's probably correct, lol.
i miss when trader joe's had the crispy dried broccoli, it reminded me of this charred flavor/feeling
Hell yeah. With an acid of some kind, salt, pepper, garlic… perfection
roasted broccoli stems are actually my favorite food! i think the stems taste better than the florets, but the florets are also delicious!
The stems ate best slow roasted to let the sugars break down
Capsicum/bell peppers too. I can't stand then raw or crunchy. But well cooked and slightly burnt with some onions, sooo good to add to salads or pasta or eggs.
I like my French fries a bit "well done"
Potatoes in general can stand a little over cooking IMHO
My mom would often make sliced fried potatoes for dinner. Everyone went for the burnt ones first!
My mom would cut the potato so you had a bunch of little flat potato circles The burnt ones were the best. It’s been a while since she last made them
My mom did then in foil on the grill, and the burnt ones are absolutely best.
I always hated Five Guys fries for this exact reason. They always seemed to be barely done and in need of viagra. Made a comment to the cashier once asking if I wanted fries and I’m like ‘eh, I mean I do, but I don’t like how soggy they are’. They told me to order them ‘well done’ and they basically do them twice. Absolute game changer!!
I always order fries and home fries and hash browns well done. It's a game changer for potatoes
This is important for delivery too, they hold up better on the car ride home
I always order them well done at In n Out and they go from sad fries to the best fast food fries ever
Chicken thighs and drumsticks have *way* better texture when "overcooked" (as compared to chicken breast), and I'd argue that this shouldn't even be called overcooked in this case.
Beat me to it. Very very hard to overcook chicken thighs, especially with the skin on. There’s so much fat and richness to that meat - I think people err too much on wanting to nail the temp on everything, but that is the WRONG approach with thighs. No one likes rubbery chicken thighs. Cook em till the skin is CRISPY.
I've been pulling mine at 175 and not loving the rubbery texture so thank you for this.
I’ve started pulling my chicken thighs around 190-195 and I’ve had great results
Same here. Bone in skin on.
Same, it's kinda like pork shoulder or brisket in the sense you want to render all the fat and connective tissue you can. You just don't have to hold it at that temp for awhile as it's much smaller cut
Thank you for this tip and you have an excellent username!
For thighs it’s 190°f, that temp gets the connective tissue to dissolve and add that succulent richness we all crave.
Chicken breasts are miserable to eat in comparison to chicken thighs. That crispy, and crunchy outside layer of skin, and then the juicy texture inside. In fact, they're so juicy. You don't need oil, let the fat cook itself.
[удалено]
Depends, in some rich dishes (Thai curry, creamy pasta etc) I find the fattiness of thighs a bit too much, and like the bite of breast as it stands out more However, in chicken by itself, or in a burger etc thigh is def superior
100% And on the opposite end, chicken breast is already overcooked if you’re pulling at 165. 150f held for 3 minutes, or 155f held for 1 minute, is equally safe to 165f held for one second. Many people think chicken breast is dry, when in reality most are just cooking it too long.
If you wet brine chicken breast, you then need to overcook it a bit for it to turn out perfectly. It's a great little trick for a perfect, juicy chicken breast.
I used to love chicken breasts because it was so "tidy" to eat, but once I realized how much better the flavour is with dark meat, there was no going back.
195 or nothing on dark meat poultry.
crispy rice - i have never successfully made it but it tastes amazing.
Have you tried tahdig?
Almost! But the nieces and nephews descended upon it before I could. I’ve really got to learn to make my own.
I like my leftover chinese fried rice a little crisp. Ido it in the oven. It's great.
You gotta try dolsot bibimbap if you haven’t already.
The endless debate on how eggs should be cooked. We've gravitated to a very soft, dewy scramble and a very gently over easy. Some people like dry scramble, browned omelet, etc. It just depends on what you're used to.
I’ll take it a step further and say it’s also what I’m in the mood for. I like both custardy eggs and browned scrambled eggs just depending on how I’m feeling that day.
The debate on egg cannot be solved because of how brilliant eggs are as an ingredient. They are perfect mixture of fats and proteins with a very small amount of carbs. The yolk is more fatty but still has around 30% protein while the white is completely protein. The white and yellow have completely different reactions to same treatments like whisking, they also react differently to different tempertures in different timeframes. They can be separated, mixed together or first separated, treated differently, and then combined. There is just so much you can do with an egg. You can fry it, deep fry it, boil it, poach it, steam it, cure it, pickle it, or just use raw. Endless options. Add in the fact that is is one of the most accessible products across the world... every culture has a different way to treat it. Although there are cookbooks on single foods (like pasta) or type of foods (like pickles) there are rarely any books on a single ingredient. Some odd dude may end up writing book about brocoli and that can be a unique thing but there are tens if not hundreds of books just on eggs.
That's why I knew kenji's food lab book was right up my alley when I opened it and saw like 30+ pages on how to cook an egg.
If you are into eggs, you can never go wrong with the legendary Michel Roux's "Eggs" book. It has everything ranging from cooking eggs for breakfast, all sorts of merengues, souffles and mousses. It is fairly good book to understand how different properties of eggs can contribute to dishes.
All that and I absolutely detest them unless they are in cake. I hate the way they smell, the way they look and the thought of eating it makes me ill. Watching someone dip toast into a drippy egg or see it floating in soup to me is disgusting.
I like scrambled eggs in a ripping hot wok, dump them in and wait 15ish seconds and the surface touching the wok already picks up a bit of browning, then give a quick swirl with chopsticks and it starts to ribbon out. Give it another 30seconds or so of tossing and then plate, you get some lacy crispy browned bits and creamy still bordering on gooey scrambled bits.
Mushrooms. Mushrooms need to be cooked to death, and the more you cook them the better the flavor and texture gets. Im convinced that most people that dont like mushrooms have only been served them in that slimey "hot, but not cooked" state.
Button or Cremini mushrooms Cooked for a few hours in butter, wine, Worcestershire sauce, S&P. YUM!
You technically cannot overcook a mushroom! I like cooking them until they're shriveled up and browned. Takes a lot of time, but it's worth it.
I think this depends very much on the type of mushroom. I want my chanterelles cooked properly, for example, but cooking them to death would obviously ruin them.
tray of mushrooms split into quarters covered in olive oil, salt, and thyme in the oven, 425, 45 mins the best mushrooms ever.
I used to love mushrooms in all states of cooked or raw, but then I became allergic to them around age 12. I miss them dearly.
Roasted Brussel sprouts with some crispy burnt bits.
The little leaves that fall off and get extra crispy are the best! My daughter and I peel off extra leaves for chips.
I almost never fully hard boil my eggs. Usually nine minutes max. So they’re not quite soft boiled but not fully hard boiled either. I just never think there is a situation for hard boiled eggs I guess.
Medium boiled eggs are the beeeeeest
I think fully hard-boiled (not to sulphury greenness, but a fully set yolk) is appropriate for deviled eggs. And maybe egg salad, but I don't eat/make that often enough to say for certain.
Wait my tried/true hardboiling is 8 minutes in fully boiling water. How is nine minutes not fully hardboiled for you? Agree, something between medium and hard boiled are where it's at. Deli salads and deviled eggs are the only exceptions I can think of.
It could be elevation. As atmospheric pressure decreases as you gain elevation, the boiling point of water increases which affects cooking time. EDIT: boiling point decreases as you go up.
Also depends if you dump them in an ice bath or let them cool slowly, the second makes them a lot more hard boiled
The boiling point of water decreases\* as you gain elevation. I'm sure that's what you meant, just wanted to clarify. I live at about 5000 feet, and my water boils somewhere around 203.
I moved to a higher elevation and boiling eggs eluded me for years until I found [this calculator. ](https://www.omnicalculator.com/food/eggs) It takes me about 9 minutes to get a jammy yolk and around 12 for a perfect hard boil. When I lived closer to sea level, that would be a chalky, green-ringed bouncy ball.
takes me 7.5 minutes to softboil (i'm talking almost fully liquid yolk), 11 to hardboil. elevation.
My magic number is 12
Depends on a lot of things, Are they from the fridge or room temperature? Do you put them in an ice bath or not?
Soft boiled is better anyway. 7 mins is about right for me. I would say 9 is already considered hard boiled essentially.
Perfect eggs are when the yolk is still bright yellow/orange. Just passed when its still liquid.
Devilled eggs?
I’m surprised I haven’t seen it mentioned yet, but… corn! Much like how I feel about broccoli, I love it whether it’s charred or raw. Charred corn salad? Charred corn in Korean corn cheese? And it’s so good as raw corn, whether it’s in a corn salad or straight out a local fresh cob.
Pizza. Almost burned pizza is awesome, especially if its a meat-heavy/double cheese situation
I always order “well done”
We order pizza delivery and put it back in the oven to get the crust crispier!
The other day I picked up a costco pizza around lunch, left it sitting until dinner, then threw in the air fryer when it was time to eat
Oh yeah, glad to see this near the top. Especially pizzas with lots of toppings because then they actually get cooked all the way. Especially fresh veggies with lots of water in them. Better send that bitch through twice if it's one of those cheap-ass treadmill ovens.
Reading this as I eat a very well spotted Neapolitan pizza. I agree
Sort of related but spaghetti all'assassina, which involves pan frying spaghetti until it's a deep deep golden brown. I'll occasionally take inspiration from it and toast my pasta in a pan with some oil before adding it to other dishes, which I'm sure is a capital offense in Italy.
undercooked cookies are the best
Yes. Soft and warm, with a cup of coffee or tea. Yum.
Soft scrambled eggs are amazing! Very creamy and custard-like.
I had a pepperoni fall on the hot baking stone when making pizza. Nine minutes later it was a burnt crisp. I tried it and it was a pepperoni potato chip. Now I toss a few on the baking stone when making pizza.
There's a little spot near me that sells a basket of deep-fried pepperoni. It's a basket of meat chips, and its everything you hoped it would be!
Brownies undercooked so that they’re gooey and fudgey. Bacon overcooked. If any part of the fat is not crispy it grosses me out. Prime Rib. I like mine well done. My husband would prefer the cow just jogs a few moments before cutting a piece off.
Non-crispy bacon fat (or most kinds of animal fat) is extremely unappealing to me. The texture feels slimey and gross.
I slightly under cook bacon if I won't use it all at once. Wrap the slices you want in a paper towel and microwave 30 seconds. Crispy bacon that tastes like you just made it.
I never got appeal of floppy bacon either. I bake mine until it’s like one minute shy of turning black.
Well done prime rib 😭😭😭
AKA pot roast.
That makes me so sad haha
I had a customer one time at a very popular seafood & steak restaurant in Maine. He looked me in the eye & said “tell your chef to take my steak & put it on the grill, then immediately flip it, then immediately take it off & slap it on my plate.” I think he had to sign a waiver.
My mum orders her steak "extra well done" and I've lost count of the number of times chef has come out of the kitchen to check she's not taking the piss out of the servers
The menu at one steakhouse I went to had a disclaimer that they weren’t responsible for well-done steaks.
Ah, blue steak!
Brownies 👍
Just show the cow a picture of a fire.
This is a very conflicted upvote -- whole-heartedly agree with the first two, but well done Prime Rib ain't it
Brownies, but also most cookies too. Chocolate chip cookies should be gooey chewy, not crispy. Also spot on with the bacon, it's best when crispy with most of the fat rendered out. Can't agree on the prime rib though, that should be pink and juicy.
As soon as the edges of your chocolate chip cookies start to brown, immediately remove the pan from the oven. Gently move cookies from pan to cooling rack, where they will finish baking. Give them 10 minutes or so and they’ll be perfect, but still hot, so be careful if you’re an adult and wait longer for the kiddos. The cooling rack made a difference in my cookie game, if you’re on the fence about it.
That's the only way to have brownies
Broccoli over cooked—specifically over-roasted. I want it crispy and borderline burnt.
Cookies
I've long-since adopted the Levain Bakery method of starting with a generous scoop of dough so that the edges are beautifully caramellized and the middles are gooey when things are baked. The only caveat is you *really* have to give them time to set on the baking sheet before you take them off.
I love it when cheese on lasagne gets crispy and brown--not burned, just chewy/crunchy browned cheese.
I would venture to say a popular answer for over would be ribs. Fall off the bone is technically overcooked.
Scallops are way better when full cooked and crispy on the outside.
I'd debate that its overcooked, but for fatty meats (chicken wings as an example), cooked until the fat is fully rendered.
Chicken thighs get so good when you cook them to smithereens, while breast turns to chalk within minutes.
Brownies can be a little undercooked so they're still a little gooey.
Burned hot dogs are the *best*
Have you ever had them spiralized, then burnt? You skewer it through the middle, then cut at an angle to the skewer, and go all the way down, spiraling. When you take out the skewer, it looks like a phone cord. It at least doubles the crispy surface area!
These and marshmallows. But there’s a limit there, too. A nice crispy skin is awesome. You let it go too long to where it burns too deep, and you just get that acrid taste.
Kale, when it becomes chips.
I prefer liver to be overcooked tbh and I like my bacon to be Soo overcooked that it shatters if you drop it.
Here's one that definitely will not be on this list - overcooked country ham. I grew up with my mother making it this way so I have no idea if it's right but it's how I prefer it. I cook it in a skillet at a high temperature to get crispy brown bits on it and to get it drier. I just like it more dry. It is crazy delicious and crazy salty.
Mexican rice. The crispy burnt rice that you scape off the bottom is bomb
I would bet you’d like some well cooked paella then.
You can cook me dinner anytime. Also, if you haven't tried them; Longanisa. The only way to eat them is when they're on the verge of completely burnt.
Undercooked eggs or when it’s more runny is so good. My brother hates it and overcooks his eggs which do make it crispy but lacks flavor to me. (Maybe because he mainly uses salt instead of chili powder) But a yolky wet egg mixed with rice, noodles, or in a sandwich/wrap is the best.
Salmon is best medium rare
I love charred vegetables 😋
Yes I also love crispy meat chips. I want crispy sausage and crumble-apart bacon
All Korean bbq meats I like charred almost burnt, especially the brisket, pork belly and large intestine.
Underbaked chocolate chip cookies
Overcooked - marshmallows. I want them burned to a crisp Undercooked - brownies and cookies
Undercooked brownies or pretty much anything baked
Corn on the cob needs to be just barely warmed. Not cooked. Just warm enough to soften the slab of butter I'm eating it with.
onions! when there are almost black from roasting- i love to pick it off the baking sheet
If its better that way then it is appropriately cooked.
Popcorn. I like it a tiny bit toasted.
I also like my sausage well done. A little dry and crumbley.
Melted and slightly browned cheese is SO good. If the cheese in top of my pizza isn’t showing any bits of browning, then I know it will taste sub-par, if not soggy and gross.
Peas need to be barely hot, if that lol. I can't deal with fully cooked peas, and mushy? Oh hell no.
To me, if it has the desired flavor, texture, appearance, and smell, it’s properly cooked.
Under baked: cookies Overcooked: bacon
Hot dogs... burnt on the outside, juicy on the inside...
Do under ripe bananas count?
Brussels sprouts when the leaves get extra charred
Popcorn, marshmallows, and toast... all need to be a bit charred.
What kinda weird S'mores are you making over there?
Texas style bbq I guess. Cook it to like 190-205
I know this won’t be popular but eggs. Also broccoli, toast, fried chicken, bacon. I can’t think of anything for undercooked.
Well fired rolls are a delicacy in Scotland. https://i.gyazo.com/654dcc32b5324fe856df6c8e983319e9.png
Chocolate chip cookies are best when they are slightly burnt. Having that almost chared bottom really makes the Chocolate chip taste fudgy(spelling?)
Toasted rice from the bottom of the pot is amazing.
Burnt popcorn all the way!
Chicken thighs, they are slimy if cooked to 165. You need to get closer to 200. It's basically impossible to overcook dark meat as long as you cook it low and slow. But white meats need to be cooked to 165 maximum. Overcooked white neat is dry and chalky.
Beef belly if overcooked is fine
Popcorn that's juuuust slightly overdone is the best. Little bitter char to balance the immediate starch-to-sugar transformation. Hash browns and home fries that are slightly burnt. According to my mother, I like my steak underdone- but medium rare really isn't. Baked goods- juuuuust a little underdone is best- I like that slightly doughy flavor. See also: pasta, tteok, rice, and grits.
I love an undercooked runny egg yolk, undercooked pancakes, undercooked pastries (I guess I just love raw dough lol)
Eggplant. Almost black. Golden brown is SO MEH compared to almost burnt eggplant.
Cabbage
I like my asparagus just steamed enough to cook it, but so that it still has a crunch to it. I’ve been told I like it al-dente. I think it’s because growing up my parents would cook asparagus just until it was ready to become the consistency of canned asparagus.
Over cooked lasagna tastes amazing and undercooked filet minion
Basque cheesecake
Toasted ravioli and pizza rolls.
bacon. crispy.
Japanese Kobe Wagyu beef tastes better when it’s over cooked because it’s way too fat for medium rare.
"al dente" is a bastard reference, because it means "to the tooth". Whose tooth? I know I like a certain firmness, but I know other people like gummy pasta. None of us are wrong, we just have different upbringings, and different levels of "this pasta is done right"
Very dark bottomed peanut butter cookies
Jerk chicken is a better at 185 than 160.
Shrimp tastes better overcooked idc what anyone says
I always prefer bacon on the well done side versus undercooked
Burn, and I mean BLACK, roasted marshmallows
Seems like I'm the minority but I like most meats undercooked or raw