25 Things Everyone Should Be Able to Do in the Kitchen

Everyone should know how to cook. The current fascination with food doesn't mean jack if people only spend time with what they ingest at restaurants. Cool, you can find out where your chicken grew up right before it's plated. But if you've never broken down an entire chicken, popped the joints and cut the ligaments with a boning knife, your opinion counts less.

Enter: the kitchen. No, actually drag your carcass into the kitchen. Do something that requires more than boiling water. If you want to know food, you have to get dirty with it. Food52, a great resource for recipes and techniques, shares this philosophy; they contributed the fine print (and photos) for the following skills.

These are the 25 things everyone should be able to do in the kitchen.

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Skill Level: Easy
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Necessary Items: Onion, sharp knife

There are three ways to attack the onion. To get your kitchen game tight, you need to be well-versed in all of them: dicing, slicing, and coarse chopping. It's impossible to overvalue knife skills. If you fail to master the blade, even simple recipes will take far longer than necessary. Onions provide the perfect opportunity to practice. For a closer look at the different techniques, head to Food52.

Skill Level: Easy
Prep Time: N/A
Necessary Items: Varies

The tiniest dash of salt can take a bland spoonful of mashed potatoes to a higher plane. And when it comes to the raw power of spices, that's only the beginning. Harnessing sophisticated flavor profiles isn't so much about technique as it is having a reliable arsenal of spices at your fingertips, an arsenal you're familiar with. Here's a brief lesson on how to take your food to the next level in a pinch.

Skill Level: Easy
Prep Time: 1 hour
Necessary Items: Cast-iron skillet, canola oil, aluminium foil

Buying a non-stick pan vs. an iron skillet is like buying a pleather jacket from H&M vs. a leather jacket from Yves Saint Laurent. They may do the same job, but one is made to last a lifetime and the other, a single season, at most. The coating of a non-stick quickly loses its luster, but a cast-iron skillet? That's forever, homie. Learn how to make yours last a lifetime with this painless tutorial.

Skill Level: Easy
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Necessary Items: Pasta, salt, pot, water

You know how to boil water, we assume. But making pasta isn't as simple as a pinch of salt and throwing some H2O in a pot. At least, not if you want to make an al dente pasta that will make your grandma proud. This piece walks you through the crucial process, and even drops a few secrets along the way. Did you know you could cook spaghetti in 60 seconds or less? Eat your heart out, Nic Cage!

Skill Level: Easy
Prep Time: 1 hour
Necessary Items: Tomatoes, butter, onion, salt

Jokes about cooking skills begin with boiling water. Once you can do that, then you can cook pasta. And if you're cooking pasta, you need to be able to make a functional red sauce. This simple take on the red comes from Marcella Hazan, who wrote Essential Classics of Italian Cooking back in 1973. She's an OG, and her sauce is a thing of beauty. Check out the full recipe.

Skill Level: Easy
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Necessary Items: Citrus fruit, bowl, knife, citrus reamer

If you're going to get serious about the home bar, you need to know how to juice citrus fruit. It also comes in handy for certain sauces, baked goods, and other recipes. But first and foremost, juice in the name of booze. This video focuses on limes, but the technique can be applied to any other citrus fruit.

Skill Level: Easy
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Necessary Items: Rye whiskey, India Pale Ale, sweet vermouth, orange

Making a killer Manhattan isn't just necessary for imbibing-it's a means of survival. Bitter winters mean plenty of booze for warmth. This inventive take on the spirit-forward cocktail turns the traditional on its ass with an IPA injection. The result is an effervescent beverage that will win as many points for creativity as it does for potency.

Skill Level: Easy
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Necessary Items: Extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, golden balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic, ground pepper, Worcestershire sauce

Making your own salad dressing elevates even the most basic fresh-out-the-bag salad to another stratosphere. Aside from saving cash on the pre-bottled variety, it's also guaranteed to impress guests. Creating a condiment that is ordinarily purchased gives the instant impression of effort put forth. No one has to know it only took a few shakes of a mason jarto make the magic.

Skill Level: Easy
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Necessary Items: Blender, frozen blueberries, a small banana, Greek yogurt, almond milk, almonds, cinnamon

Whether the dentist just bludgeoned your mouth, or you're making good on New Year's resolutions, making your own smoothie is a necessity. Skip the pricey health food store shakes and whip one up a better version in your kitchen with little more than fresh fruit. When your pants fit again, you'll be thankful to Food52 for making you a liquid meal professional.

Skill Level: Easy
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Necessary Items: Coffee beans, Chemex or French press, grinder, filters

Spending your hard-earned cash on Starbuck's muddy swill is wrong. Stop that. The initial investment you'll make in a French press or a Chemex might seem steep, but it'll return on the cash over time (not to mention instantly, with flavor). The process of brewing your own java is a morning routine you'll actually look forward to. Grind your own beans before you get on your actual grind, and thank us later.

Skill Level: Easy
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Necessary Items: Challah bread, eggs, cream, butter, maple syrup, griddle

Despite what IHOP insists, French toast should be simple. You don't need to stuff it with cream cheese. You don't need five different syrups. You don't need whipped cream. All you need is a good loaf of challah bread, some cream, a couple eggs, and some butter. Wake yourself up on the weekend with this easy take on the dish from Food52. Better yet, wake up your girl, too.

Skill Level: Easy
Prep Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Necessary Items: Oil, cubed sirloin, ground beef, onion, a bottle of beer, diced tomatoes, beef stock, coffee, tomato paste, chili sauce, cocoa powder, serrano chilis, brown sugar, cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper, salt, kidney beans, white beans, carrots, dutch oven

One pot meals make for ideal cooking sessions for a variety of reasons. One, they tend to require less vigilance than other recipes, meaning you can drink and socialize while you cook. Two, they feed lots of people/leave ample leftovers. This simple chili recipe captures all the smoky, spicy flavors you expect, plus some special extras (Coffee! Beer!). Invite company over, distribute beers, and slowly tend to your vat of chili while the scene unfolds. Get the nitty-gritty at here.

Skill Level: Moderate
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Necessary Items: Eggs, salt, lemon juice, mustard, olive oil, whisk, bowl

Ah, mayonnaise. The delicious condiment that enhances pretty much anything it's dolloped on. While some of us are fans of classic brands like Hellman's or Duke's, everyone should get familiar with homemade mayo. As is the case with just about anything else, working with fresh ingredients makes for a superior product. Get ready to flex the muscles in your stirring arm, you're going to work for this condiment. Let Food52 show you how.

Skill Level: Moderate
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Necessary Items: Dull knife, whetstone

Is there anything better than chopping, slicing, and dicing with a good sharp knife? Nope. You feel like a bad-ass, and you save time. Time management is one of the most important skills in the kitchen. But find yourself stuck with a dull knife and you'll be adding lots of time to the clock-time better spent drinking (or wooing, or whatever the occasion calls for). If you know how to properly sharpen a blade, you'll never waste time again. Check out this clip for the method.

Skill Level: Moderate
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Necessary Items: Cooked chicken or turkey, carving knife, fork

An entire chicken (or turkey) ready to carve can be daunting, and that's quite understandable. With so many bones and joints, it can be hard to know where to start. But when you're passed the blade by your girl's dad at Sunday dinner (or, even worse, Thanksgiving), you need to know where to start, and fast. Prepare your body and mind with this video that explains the best way to attack the bird.

Skill Level: Moderate
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Necessary Items: Large green olives, goat cheese, mustard seeds, rosemary, crushed red pepper, garlic, flour, eggs, breadcrumbs, parmigiano reggiano, vegetable oil, lemon

Fried food satisfies like nothing else. That said, you don't have to resort to Ore-Ida frozen fries to scratch that itch. Out with the heavily battered carbs! Enter this delicately pan-fried stuffed olive, a classed-up version of your favorite bar snack. The key to this recipe is using coarsely ground bread crumbs and placing each olive gently into the oil so the breading isn't lost to the oil, and your clumsy fingers. The frying technique can be applied to other dishes, too. Fry your whole damn kitchen.

Skill Level: Moderate
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Necessary Items: Bacon, peas, eggs, Parmesan cheese, black pepper

So you've mastered a quick-and-dirty red sauce-now your arsenal needs a white. Carbonara is the one, more complex than an alfredo, with crisp textures from the bacon and peas. This carbonara is as simple as you can get. It's prepared with only a few ingredients in under 30 minutes. Bong bong.

Skill Level: Moderate
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Necessary Items: Eggs, non-stick pan, whisk, metal bowl, wooden spoon, salt, pepper, butter

The ability to make a perfectly scrambled egg is a testament to your savvy in the kitchen. It's also likely the first meal you'll prepare the woman you're dating, so it's crucial to not drop the ball. Master this very necessary staple with this video tutorialthat shows you how to make a moist, almost creamy egg that will make eager to see what you're capable of preparing for a full-fledged meal.

Skill Level: Moderate
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Necessary Items: Quinoa, kale, lemon, scallions, walnut oil, pine nuts, goat cheese,

You aren't going to impress anyone if your vegetarian dinners consist of white rice with small pats of butter. Same goes for celery spread with peanut butter and topped with raisins, or cheese pizza. Instead, cook some kale so they know it's real. This one-pot meal adds bright kale to a quinoa pilaf, cementing your veg-head cred until the end of time.

Skill Level: Moderate
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Necessary Items: Pizza dough, flour, your hands

The old pros working the back of pizzerias, stretching and tossing dough? You can be that grizzled man who never gets the flour out from under his nails. Pizza is one of the best and easiest reminders of simpler times, but don't hesitate to make it yourself. Do the knowledge courtesy of this video.

Skill Level: Moderate
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Necessary Items: Black Angus ground beef, maple syrup, bacon, apples, cheddar, rolls

Supermarket patties slapped on a Martin's Potato Roll can only take you so far. If you want to make a grown-up burger that will have friends and neighbors lined up around the block, trying adding some offbeat mix-ins to your beef. CIA-trained chef Jason Royal goes beyond the basics and elevates his patty with maple syrup, McIntosh apples, and bacon. Recreate his New England-inspired burger with this fool-proof recipe from Food52.

Skill Level: Moderate
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Necessary Items: Steak, meat thermometer

A perfect medium rare steak is a glorious thing: rosy, juicy, with just the right amount of char. Thankfully, it's not too difficult to achieve. After you've had your steak on the grill, stick it with a meat thermometer. This video breaks down what you're looking for without having you dig into the meat with a knife and fork.

Skill Level: Advanced
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Necessary Items: Raw chicken, boning knife

Why pay extra for pre-cut chickens when you can do it yourself? Every home cook should know how to break down a whole chicken. No question, it's an intimidating task, but with practice you'll wonder what you ever hesitated. Get familiar with your meal with this video.

Skill Level: Advanced
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Necessary Items: Sauté pan, water, eggs, large spoon, small spoon, sieve, salt

Poaching eggs is thought of as one of the toughest projects for the home cook. There are so many factors to consider: vinegar or no vinegar? Deep pot or shallow pan? And sometimes, as careful as you are, they still don't turn out right. But with this easy technique, you'll be making Eggs Benedict in no time.

Skill Level: Advanced
Prep Time: Two days
Necessary Items: Beef short ribs, salt, pepper, oil, onion, celery, garlic, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, tamarind, red wine, chicken broth, bay leaves, dutch oven

Welcome to the next level. What's it smell like? Braised meat, that's what. You've grilled, you've roasted, you've fried, you've broiled. Now it's time to slow cook via braising. Braising short ribs makes for soft, juicy meat that'll slip right from the bone. Just be sure to set aside two days to do the recipe justice. Elevate yourself with this savory recipe.