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Cooking Tips & Tricks

Useful lockdown recipes and cooking resources

In light of tonight's lockdown announcement, we thought we'd share a few cooking and recipe links that we hope are helpful.

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Cooking Tips & Tricks

Tips and advice when cooking meat

Even if you're not a novice in the kitchen, cooking meat can sometimes be a little intimidating. Between timing, temperatures, cuts, and cooking techniques, it can feel like there’s a lot required to roasting lamb or grilling the perfect steak. Here is some simple advice to get you started.

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Cooking Tips & Tricks

A simple method for browning mince evenly and lump free

Browning mince before using it to make a hearty bolognese or chilli can really bring out the flavour in the meat. However, it can sometimes be difficult to separate the mince out evenly without lumps…. enter Ami.

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Cooking Tips & Tricks

How to poach and simmer

These cooking methods uses moist, gentle heat to transform lower-priced beef and lamb cuts into flavoursome, moist, tender meat.

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Cooking Tips & Tricks

Freezing and thawing meat

The freezer can be an extremely useful tool for saving time and money when you find yourself with more than enough meat on your hands. However, freezing your protein of choice should be done carefully. It’s important to follow these guidelines to guarantee your frozen proteins are safe and enjoyable to consume.

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Cooking Tips & Tricks

How to make your meat go further

With rising food prices, we’re all looking for ways to save on the weekly shopping bill. There are many simple ways to save money and enjoy healthy food at low prices. We discuss how smarter shopping and good cooking can help lean beef and lamb remain part of a healthy, balanced, and affordable diet for your family

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Cooking Tips & Tricks

How to stir fry

Stir frying is a popular cooking technique in which ingredients are fried in a small amount of very hot oil while being stirred in a wok. The technique originated in China, though has spread to the rest of the world in recent years. Follow these simple steps for a perfect beef or lamb stir fry every time.

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Cooking Tips & Tricks

How to cook the perfect steak

People will tell you there's a bit of an art to cooking the perfect steak. But we think it's pretty simple - just follow these important steps below, for the perfect steak no matter the occasion or the dish. We've also handpicked our all-time favourite steak recipes for you to test your new skills with.

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Cooking Tips & Tricks

Summer BBQing - 5 marinating tips to make your meat sizzle and taste great

Looking for a simple way to take your barbecue beef and lamb recipes to the next level this summer? Marinades are probably the easiest way to do so. Here are five tips to help you make the most of your marinades.

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Cooking Tips & Tricks

How to roast in the oven

Roasting is one of the easiest cooking methods; once it's in the oven it takes care of itself. It involves cooking food in an uncovered pan in the oven and Dry, hot air surrounds the food, cooking it evenly on all sides. Depending on the food you're preparing, you can roast at low, moderate, or high temperatures. Large cuts of meat work particularly well for roasting, think whole rumps, lamb legs or tenderloins.

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Cooking Tips & Tricks

How to slow cook

Whether you're using a slow cooker, or cooking in a casserole dish in the oven, there are a variety of beef and lamb cuts available which will produce tender, juicy and succulent family meals that are good for you too; meals cooked slowly retain maximum nutrition as well as developing a delicious depth of flavour. Don't let the time put you off; the preparation is quick and easy then the oven or slow cooker takes care of the rest.

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Cooking Tips & Tricks

How to pan fry

Pan-frying or shallow frying is a fast cooking method for small, tender cuts in a pan containing a small quantity of hot fat, oil, butter, or clarified butter. Pan-fried foods embody appealing qualities―crisp coatings, browned surfaces, and tender interiors.

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Cooking Tips & Tricks

How to BBQ/Grill

Cooking on the barbecue is a summer kiwi tradition. Follow these simple steps for a brilliant result, every time.

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Cooking Tips & Tricks

The meanings behind our nutrition tags: Your questions answered

Nutrition can be a tricky concept to get your head around. That’s why recipes.co.nz have got you covered with our easy-to-understand nutrition tags, which tell you quick facts about the nutrition content of your favourite recipes.

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Cooking Tips & Tricks

Why cutting meat against the grain is important

We love steak here, and you’ve probably heard us say time and time again on this website that beef and lamb (basically meat in general), should always be sliced ‘against the grain’ (or across the grain if you prefer). But what does that mean? What exactly is “the grain,” and why it is so important to slice against it? We’ve got the answer.

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Cooking Tips & Tricks

When to salt your steak

Salt is more than just a seasoning — it’s an essential flavour in our food. It can intensify aromas, balance other flavours, and make the meat taste juicier and increase its tenderness. So when exactly should you season your steak before grilling? We have the answer.

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Cooking Tips & Tricks

A beginner's guide to cooking offal

Offal—the organs and other bits of an animal typically discarded by butchers—doesn’t always get the love it deserves. But even as the “whole animal” culinary movement has made offal somewhat trendy, most Kiwis aren’t cooking it on the regular. Why? Many of us just don’t know how. Consider what’s below a beginner’s guide to offal—how each type tastes and feels, and what’s involved in preparing and cooking them.

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Cooking Tips & Tricks

Lamb Culinary Terms

Although lamb cookery may be changing with the times, many culinary and menu terms for lamb remain the same in cookbooks and on menus around the world. Here are some you may encounter while cooking.

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Cooking Tips & Tricks

Food safety and meat hygiene

While you may be familiar with the 'C' rules of food hygiene – clean, cook, and chill – here is a bit of a refresher.

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Cooking Tips & Tricks

Making the most of meat

Meat may often be the most expensive ingredient on the plate, therefore it's wise to cook it in a way that maximises the yield of each portion, and minimises cooking losses.

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Cooking Tips & Tricks

The Maillard Reaction: What it is and why it matters

“Mmmh, smells good!” That’s definitely what you want to hear when you’re cooking dinner, isn’t it? But have you ever wondered what actually causes the enticing smell of a grilled steak or fried lamb chops?

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Cooking Tips & Tricks

Adapting meals for little tummies

It can be hard enough feeding the adults and older children of a household, let alone a baby or toddler. Registered Dietitian Katrina Shepherd takes a look at how you can change up a recipe for the youngest members of your family.

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Cooking Tips & Tricks

Nose-to-tail starter tips

Embracing nose-to-tail eating is an increasingly trendy thing to do but it can be a little daunting for some. Here's a quick guide to easing yourself into offal.

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Cooking Tips & Tricks

How to choose the right beef or lamb cuts for a roast

Kiwis' love of roast beef and lamb, particularly for lunch on the weekend, is nothing new, in fact, it’s part of our national identity and a source of pride for home-cooks and chefs alike. With NZ Roast Day just around the corner, we decided to take a look at some of the best beef and lamb cuts to use for a roast.

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Cooking Tips & Tricks

8 Ways To Make Meal Planning Easier

Planning your meals in advance can save you time, money and meal-time stress by helping you buy only what you need, and eat what you buy. Here are a few tips for doing it right.

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Cooking Tips & Tricks

Homemade Beef Burgers with chef Jack Crosti

We know there is nothing better than a delicious juicy beef burger and Beef + Lamb Ambassador Chef, Jack Crosti, has the perfect recipe.

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Cooking Tips & Tricks

Eat well, spend less

Budgeting expert, Sophie Gray tells her top tips to eating well and spending less.

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Cooking Tips & Tricks

Cooking Guide: Lamb Temperatures & Cooking Times

This guide should help you navigate the various methods, times, and temperatures to cook your lamb perfectly to your preference - every time.

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Cooking Tips & Tricks

How to cook Dad the perfect steak this Father's Day

With Father's Day just around the corner, we asked chef Tejas Nikam to take us through the basics of cooking a great steak.

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Cooking Tips & Tricks

Cooking Lamb 101: Everything you need to know about cooking lamb

Kiwis love eating lamb but when it comes to cooking it a lot of us are a bit more apprehensive. If you are new to cooking lamb, you may be wondering what the different cuts are and how to cook them. We've got all the tips, timings and recipes you need to learn to cook New Zealand lamb to perfection, whether it's a Sunday roast, barbecue, or slow-cooked tagine.

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Cooking Tips & Tricks

5 Food Waste Reduction Tips

Globally a third of the food produced from farm to fork is wasted. So we’ve created a list of 5 tips to reduce your household food waste. This is by no means all you can do, but it’s a great starting point

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Cooking Tips & Tricks

Our favourite cooking tips, tricks, and hacks

We’ve put together some of our favourite cooking tips, tricks and hacks to make your lives just that little bit easier. 

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Cooking Tips & Tricks

Nutrition Spotlight: Iron and Baby Food Pouches

Baby food pouches may get the thumbs up from many parents when it comes to convenience, but they failed to impress Kiwi researchers with their iron content. Registered Nutritionist Regina Wypych takes a look at their nutritional value.

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Cooking Tips & Tricks

A day of dietary iron – for women

A nearly all stages of their lives, women are at risk of iron deficiency. So how can we be on top of our iron intake? Registered Nutritionist Regina Wypych took a look at the recommended daily dietary intake (RDI) of iron and created an example of a one day meal plan to show how to get your iron across a day.

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Cooking Tips & Tricks

Cast iron cookware: Your grandparents’ best kept secret

In a world where flashy kitchen appliances are all the rage (we’re looking at you air fryers…), there is something wholesome about using good, traditional, cookware. Our Registered Dietitian, Katrina Dixon looks at the benefits of cast iron cookware.

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Cooking Tips & Tricks

Cast iron cookware: Will it affect your iron levels?

Can cooking in cast iron cookware help your iron levels? Our Registered Dietitian, Katrina Dixon investigates the science behind this popular theory.

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Cooking Tips & Tricks

How to cook the Perfect Medium Rare Steak

James Smith, "The Tattooed Butcher", takes you through the simple steps to cooking the perfect medium rare steak. We've used scotch fillet, but these instructions are also perfect for 1 inch thick sirloin steak, Tomahawk steak, or fillet steak.

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Cooking Tips & Tricks

Five Secrets to a Healthier Burger

Burgers sometimes get a bad rap for being deemed ‘unhealthy’ (and granted, sometimes they do sit in the indulgence camp). However, are all burgers the same? Registered Nutritionist, Regina Wypych peels back the layers and shares her tips on how to make a healthy, well-balanced burger.

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Cooking Tips & Tricks

Fast Food vs Homemade – which burgers are healthier?

Who doesn’t love a juicy, delicious burger, but how does a home-made burger stack up nutritionally against a fast-food meal combo? Our Registered Nutritionist, Regina Wypych, looks at some recent research on takeaway combo meals and compares this to a home-cooked Kiwi burger.

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