By Chef David “Smitty” Smith ·
Selecting a knife
Cleaver | Designed for breaking down meats
Serrated | Ideal for breads & cakes
Slicer | Allows for cleaner cuts; not good for chopping
Boning | Ideal for deboning cuts of meat
French chef’s knife | Good for slicing, chopping, splitting & dicing
Every week, I get a lot of questions from people on how to prepare dishes using certain ingredients or what my favorite thing to cook is. Actually, that last one is probably the most asked question that any chef gets; at least it is the one I get the most.
This week, I received another fairly common question that, although isn’t specifically a food question, has everything to do with food preparation. This person wanted to buy a knife and wanted to know if I had any suggestions. Since we also are in the middle of wedding season and knives are a popular wedding gift, I thought I would thrown in my 2 cents.
When it comes to picking a knife, it can be a lot like picking a pair of skis. First, ask what are your main intentions? If you are a top racer picking out skis, the first rack you go to is the race stock section not found in the local ski shops. Then, you narrow that down by deciding what event you are getting the skis for and then you follow that up by your own preferences as to a stiff rebounding ski or something a little damper. In the end, you get a specific ski for specific reasons. A recreational racer might go through some of the same methods of purchase, but with larger parameters, often getting skis that can be used for a few different situations.
My thought is that if you are looking for that one knife and not a entire quiver, go with a chef knife. As to how to choose one, that, like skis, is personal. Size, shape, price and feel are probably the biggest factors. I’m still old school when it comes to my chef knife in that I like the biggest one I can find that feels comfortable in my hand. The key in that last sentence: “that feels comfortable in my hand,” is by far the most important aspect of any knife. It doesn’t matter what the quality is, if it isn’t comfortable to hold, don’t buy it because you will never use it. Of course, this means you have to get the knife someplace where you can pick it up out of its package and see how it feels.
Why I like the biggest size chef knife I can find is because it is more versatile, in my opinion. Consider the main types of knives. These are the French knife, slicer, boning knife, paring knife, utility knife, serrated knife and cleaver. The cleaver is meant for heavy duty work like breaking bones apart. The serrated knife is meant for breads and cakes, so as to cut and not tear. A paring knife is a small knife used for cutting or peeling things in your hand and off the table, so again, not versatile. Slicers will normally have a long, thin blade allowing for cleaner cuts when slicing a roast, but with the blades being so thin and straight, they are not good for chopping. The same is true for the boning and utility knives. They both have shorter blades and the blade shape alone makes them awkward at best for multi tasking.
With a large, French knife, the blade is long enough to allow for slicing a roast (the whole reason for a slicer) as opposed to sawing a roast that you would need to do with shorter blades. It also is meant for chopping, dicing, and, yes, slicing vegetables and herbs. It also has the strength to do those heavier jobs, like splitting a chicken or cutting a lobster. Notice I said cutting a lobster and not cracking a lobster. That’s because I would never use the blade to crack the shells, but would rather use the heavy back of the knife, which will do the job much easier without the blade continually getting caught up and dulled. As for those super thin cuts of fish that a slicer is great for, with a nice, sharp French knife and a little practice, the average person’s cuts won’t be that far off.
Can you do multiple tasks with the various kinds of knives? Yes, but in far more limited ways than with a chef knife. I really think that the chef knife is the most used knife in any kitchen, and for me, the bigger the better. Next week, I’ll follow up with some of the different styles you can get and some of the other things to look at when buying knives for yourself or as a gift.
Smitty is a personal chef specializing in dinner parties, cooking classes and special events. Trained under Master Chef Anton Flory at Top Notch Resort in Stowe, Vt., Smitty is known for his creative use of fresh ingredients. He has been a chef for PGA’s Memorial Tournament for more than 15 years and ran the main kitchen at the World Games. For more information and archived copies of Stir it Up, visit chefsmitty.com. Smitty welcomes questions and comments at smitty@chefsmitty.com, tmmsmitty@gmail.com or (530) 412-3598.
