For many home cooks, it’s fun to drool over the shimmering Damascus steel chef knives made by brands like Wüsthof, Shun and Henckles. But with some of the fanciest blades ringing up at $200 or more, there’s a good reason most of us — myself included — are slicing and dicing with a basic workaday set of edges.
Regardless of your budget, those knives need a little TLC every now and again to keep their edge. And if you don’t have a sharpening stone or the time to drag your knives over to a professional sharpener, chances are good you already have everything you need to shape up that blade laying around the house.
This week I’ve got three simple solutions to refresh your knife’s edge that will all work in a pinch. And to be clear, none of these methods are as good as a professional sharpening. But if your knives are painfully dull and you’re still using them, they’ll give you an edge that’s safer and easier to cut with than doing nothing at all.
On ExpressNews.com: See what recipes we’re creating and cooking here. Bookmark the page!
Just what is a 15- to 20-degree angle?
Here’s a simple trick to get that angle right. All you need is your knife and some pocket change.
Assuming your knife measures around 2 inches wide, start by placing the edge on a flat surface. Keeping the edge in contact with the surface, stack eight quarters under the very edge of the knife’s spine. For knives that are wider or more narrow, use two quarters per half-inch of blade width.
The angle of lift created by the quarters will fall within that 15- to 20-degree range. Get a feel for it, and then hold that angle as steady as you can when swiping along the coffee mug.
The easiest and most effective starts with your morning cup of coffee. Once you’ve downed that caffeinated black gold, rinse the mug out and flip it upside down on a sturdy surface such as a counter or table.
Most ceramic mugs have an unglazed rim on the bottom. That slightly coarse surface is highly effective at nibbling a blunt edge back into shape without removing too much metal. Give the edge about 10 passes per side along the ceramic rim, then repeat the procedure with five strokes per side, then three, and finally one last pass per side.
You’ll want to hold the blade at a 15- to 20-degree angle.
Another down-and-dirty sharpening option requires stepping into the driveway. Your car’s windows have the same kind of just-coarse edge at the top as the coffee mug. Use the same angle and swiping pattern as with the coffee cup.
On ExpressNews.com: Our guide to knives will give you an edge in the kitchen
If your knives are truly in ruins and can barely cut butter let alone an onion, you’re going to need heavier artillery. Sandpaper is great here, but who’s got time to run to Home Depot?
Instead, just grab an emery board from the bathroom vanity. About 10 swipes on each side of the knife at that same 15- to 20-degree angle on the board’s fine side will give your knife a decent, albeit rough edge that you can then polish up on a coffee cup.
I’ve used all of these techniques several times. In fact, at this point if I’m staying in an Airbnb with a kitchen, I’ll instinctively reach for a coffee cup the minute I survey the kitchen, which invariably comes equipped with lackluster cutlery, before I even start to think of cooking.
And if you’re already in the kitchen playing with knives, you might as well do some seasonally appropriate cooking, as well. This past week I whipped up several varieties of savory empanadas inspired by the flavors of South America and the Caribbean. Give any of the following recipes a try if that sparks your appetite (and you know it does.)
Recipe: Beef, Egg and Olive Empanadas
Recipe: Cheese and Caramelized Onion Empanadas
Recipe: Chicken, Pimiento and Raisin Empanadas
Paul Stephen is a food and drink reporter and restaurant critic in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Paul, become a subscriber. pstephen@express-news.net | Twitter: @pjbites | Instagram: @pjstephen
https://www.expressnews.com/food/article/Paul-s-Cooking-Tips-3-DIY-tricks-for-how-to-15669993.php
2020-10-24 09:00:00Z
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