English

[lobslover]

Cheers, David! It really depends on the protein. With fish, I prefer to cook as close to order as possible because the margin is so small. With meats, especially during a busy service, I’ve often used controlled pre-cooking and then finished to order. The important part is knowing exactly where to stop the first cook so you still have room to finish it properly. Good temperature control during mise en place makes a huge difference too.

[Paul Miller]

Hey DAvid!

For busy services, I’d avoid using the same approach for every protein.

With meats, controlled pre-cooking can work really well, using sous vide, low-temperature cooking, or a gentle pre-cook, then finishing to order for color and final temperature.

Fish is usually less forgiving, so for delicate fillets I prefer having everything portioned and ready, then cooking as close to order as possible.

The important part is building a clear system around portioning, target core temperatures, resting, chilling, and regeneration, then testing which proteins actually hold their quality without losing juiciness or precision.