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I have always said cooking is a prepper skill because we all have to eat quite often.  However the real reason is cooking is a life skill and all life skills are prepper skills.  The people with the worst diets in our country today generally share the following characteristics.

• • They eat a lot of food from restaurants, usually a lot of “fast food”
  • What they do prepare at home comes in a bag or a box
  • They use a microwave more than a stove, oven or grill
  • They have very poor or even no actual cooking skills
  • They have very poor or even no knife skills
  • If they cook anything that doesn’t come prepared, they need a recipe
  • They spend more money to eat bad food that good cooks spend to have great food

In fact one reason I love gardening and raising your own livestock is it forces you to learn how to cook said food.  Veggies from the garden do not come in a freezer bag, blanched, frozen, cut to size with instructions to cook for a specific time.  You have to think about what compliments what, do the cutting yourself.

Today’s episode is the first in a series we will be doing on and off though out the rest of 2022, we start today with core gear and technique.

Join Me Today to Discuss…

• My Core Kitchen Gear – Stuff I Use Multiple Times a Week/Day
  • Good Knives – Shun is one of My Favorites
    • Chef – Santoku – Pairing – You don’t need to go as high end as me
    • This Amazon Premium Basics Knife Set is actually damn solid for being so cheap
    • A good sharpening steel
  • Carbon Steel Pans
    • Lodge 12 Inch – Does Almost Everything – 8 Inches for Sides (smaller burners) – Full Write Up Here
    • Get a ringer for cleaning – link
  • A least one high quality, thick bottom, stainless steel, stock pot – We got this one free with Shopping at Albertsons
    • For a large stock pot consider this one from Ikea  or this one – they don’t make mine any more
  • A Good Cutting Board
    • For value and lasting results this bamboo one is great if sold out this one is the same in a smaller size
    • This one looks to be the exact same construction as my big one under a different brand
    • Make sure to take care of it with mineral oil
    • If you want hard wood, take your pic just be really good with maintenance and get an end grain board
  • A Good Spatula that doesn’t Cut Into Steel Pans – this one is the best
  • A simple mortar and pestle like this – if sold out get something similar
  • Kitchen Shears – Fiskars Are the Best Value
  • Meat Thermometers – Quick Check & Remote – I like the Meater – Single – Quad Block
  • An Aluminum “Press” – Closest Modern Thing to my Antique One
  • Redmonds Salt and Good Black Pepper
• When you watch TV chefs focus on how they do a thing over what thing they are doing
• The Skills to Master for Basic Solid Cooking
  • Using a knife
    • Slicing veg
    • Slicing meat
    • Breaking down birds
  • Searing Meat
    • Bone dry meat
    • Salt/season a day in advance at least a few hours
    • Let it come up in temp for about an hour
    • As little oil as needed in the pay
    • Maximize surface contact
    • Hot pan, don’t crowd it
    • Turn onto an unused area
  • Making Veg Bases (Mirx Paux, Holy Trinity, Sofrito, etc.)
    • Use some salt
    • Take your time
    • Garlic near the end when using it
    • Deglaze at the end
  • Sear and Oven Finish
    • Get a good sear
    • Have the oven at temp
    • Strait to the oven cook till internal temp is reached
    • LET IT REST before slicing
  • Soups – Its all the Same
    • Brown your protein, remove
    • Make your base, deglaze
    • Add long veg, saute
    • Return protein and add broth/liquids
    • Simmer till veg is soft meat is tender
    • And finishes (creams, fresh herbs, etc)
  • We will cover more in future episodes, this is enough for today.

Resources for today’s show

• Follow Life With Jack on Instagram
• Join the Members Brigade
• Join Our Forum
• Walking To Freedom
• TspAz.com
• TSPC on Discord
• TSPC Group on Telegram (group chat)
• TSPC Telegram Channel (just messages from me)
• Jack on Flote
• Jack on MeWe
• Join Me on Odysee
• SOE Tactical Gear – Where I get all my cool shirts
• All the Bitcoin/Crypto Tools & Gear I Recommend
• Lowry’s Season Pepper – I don’t know why this stuff is so good, it just is!

Sponsors of the Day

• JM Bullion
• Live Free Academy – Self Reliance Festival Videos

Video Version of Today’s Show

Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon.

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