Become a better cook, then show off your skills. This 12-week series will give you the tools you need to make a meal you're proud to share with friends.

Week 10: How to become a meat master

By Jennifer Farley

When I'm chatting with novice cooks about their culinary challenges, it's clear that meat is one of the more daunting topics. I'm here to change that!

I want you to be excited, because cooking meat is exciting. Sure, it's a broad topic with numerous techniques involved. But you don't have to master everything at once. The key is to start with a general overview, then pick one area to focus on — just like any new hobby.

Achieving a perfectly cooked, juicy piece of beef, pork or poultry comes down to a few basic concepts: seasoning, searing and cooking to the correct internal temperature.

Did you miss a week? Catch up at Voraciously.com.

Today, we're talking about the main course for your meal — the dish that will have your dinner guests asking for seconds. We'll cover some of the basics of meat and poultry: The main cooking techniques, how to test for doneness, and why seasoning is so important.

We'll round it out with an irresistible recipe for Crispy Skillet Chicken With Lemon, Garlic and Spinach. It highlights bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs — a flavor-packed, often underappreciated part of the bird. (I'm also including a vegetarian skillet alternative that delivers a bright punch of flavor.)

<Scroll ahead to see the recipe for Crispy Skillet Chicken With Lemon and Garlic>

How would you like it cooked?

While this list is far from exhaustive, here are a few of my favorite techniques for cooking meat and poultry. (We'll save sous-vide for another day.)

Searing: This is an essential first step for most meat cooking techniques. When meat is seared, the surface is cooked at a high temperature until a brown, flavorful crust forms. The meat is then either finished in the same pan (pan-seared chicken breasts, for example), or it's finished using a different technique, such as braising. Here are key tips to remember when you sear:

Use stainless-steel or cast-iron pans; avoid nonstick surfaces because they don't allow for proper caramelization.
You want the pan to be nice and hot before before you add the meat, with a thin coating of high-heat fat (such as canola oil, grapeseed oil or clarified butter).
Don't crowd the pan (just like when you're roasting veggies). Leave space between each piece of meat, searing in batches if necessary.
Don't move the meat until it finishes searing. It will probably stick to the pan at first. Let it release on its own.

Pan-frying: This is frying the meat in a small to moderate amount of fat, beginning with searing and then cooking until it reaches the desired internal temperature. This is a good technique to use when preparing breaded meats such as pork chops, veal cutlets and fried chicken.

Roasting: This means cooking in the oven at a high temperature to produce a well-browned exterior and moist interior. Sometimes the meat is seared first, but in many instances, simply roasting at a higher temperature (450 degrees, for example) helps to create that crunchy, brown exterior. This method is ideal for whole poultry, beef or pork tenderloin and chuck roast.

Braising: The meat is first seared at a high temperature, then finished in a covered pot at a lower temperature while sitting in a braising liquid. This is a slow-cooking method that's ideal for tough or lean cuts of meat, such as pork shoulder, beef chuck and brisket.

ADDITIONAL TIPS

Rest before slicing: After the meat has finished cooking, allow it to sit for about 10 minutes, tented with foil to keep it warm. This will give its juices a chance to settle within.

Don't cook straight from the refrigerator: Let the meat sit at room temperature for at least 20 minutes before cooking to remove some of the chill and allow for more even cooking.

Avoid cross-contamination: Don't chop vegetables on the same cutting board that you use to prep raw meat or poultry. Either have a separate cutting board for each or wait until the last second to prep meat. Here's a bit more useful information about cutting boards and cross contamination.

Is it cooked through?

Way back in Week 3, I discussed how to set up your kitchen for success. One of the tools I recommend every home cook own is a meat thermometer. It removes all the guesswork from knowing when meat is perfectly cooked, regardless of how you cook it.

A meat thermometer is the only reliable way to measure internal temperature, and this is important for flavor, texture, and, above all else, safety. (Sorry to be a buzzkill.) I like digital thermometers with alarms and with probes that can be left inside the oven while the meat cooks.

If you're using a thermometer, you'll need to know what the magic number is. And before anyone asks: There is no such thing as rare or medium-rare chicken.

Poultry
There is only one: 165 degrees F

Beef
Rare: 125
Medium-rare: 135
Medium: 140
Medium-well: 150
Well done and ground: 160

Pork
Medium: 145 - 150
Well done and ground: 160

For maximum food safety, the USDA recommends 165 degrees for poultry; 160 for ground beef, ground pork and ground lamb; and 145, with a three-minute resting period, for all other types of beef, pork and lamb.

There's another way to test, using the palm of your hand. I've always found this method too vague, but it's an acceptable option if you haven't had a chance to spend a few bucks on that thermometer yet (ahem).

Open the palm of your hand and relax it. Use the index finger from your other hand to push on the fleshy area between the thumb and the base of your palm.

With your hand open and relaxed, it should feel like raw meat. Now repeat this process several times, moving your thumb to touch your index, middle, ring and pinky fingers. The farther you reach, the harder your muscle becomes.

For the love of seasoning

Always season your meat before cooking. If you want a dish to taste great, it is critical that you properly season the meat — and you want to do this before the food hits the pan. When you pre-salt meat, the final results are more tender and flavorful, and this is mainly due to two reasons:

Salt helps tenderize some of the proteins in the muscle that would otherwise be tough. While salt initially draws out moisture, that liquid will eventually be re-absorbed along with the salt and any other spices used, making the the meat more juicy and flavorful.

Tip: Because the salt initially draws out liquid, some chefs insist that meat should only be seasoned immediately before cooking, to avoid dryness. Here's the trick: If you have time, season at least an hour beforehand (or even overnight in the refrigerator). This allows enough time for the moisture to be reabsorbed. If you don't have time, you should season right before cooking.

You should also season with pepper beforehand. Searing forms a nice crust on the surface of the meat. Salt, pepper and any other spices you add will adhere much better while searing, developing tons of flavor you can't achieve after the fact.

Because you're seasoning while the meat is raw, you obviously can't "season to taste." Over time you'll get a feel for how much seasoning to use, but start with about 3/4 teaspoon salt per pound of meat.

When you feel like chicken tonight

Chicken sometimes gets a bad reputation because people associate it with the dreaded boneless, skinless breasts, which can be dry and lacking in flavor. Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, on the other hand (which I'm using in this week's recipe), are a fantastic cut to work with for many reasons. They're relatively inexpensive, easy to prepare, and the results are nothing short of spectacular.

Some things to consider when preparing my favorite cut of chicken:

Before adding chicken to the pan for searing, use a paper towel to pat the skin dry. When the skin is moist, it's more likely to stick to the pan.
Always start by searing skin-side down. The skin will stick to the pan a bit at first. Do not touch or shake the pan. Leave it alone. If you're worried about the chicken burning, it's better to move the pan off the burner briefly or reduce the heat.
You'll typically want to serve two chicken thighs per person; one isn't a large enough portion for a main dish.

Crispy Skillet Chicken With Lemon and Garlic

4 servings

HANDS-ON TIME: 20 minutes
COOK TIME: 10-15 minutes
EQUIPMENT: Liquid and dry measuring cups, citrus juicer (optional), blender, two cutting boards, knife, large ovenproof skillet, tongs, spatula, splatter screen (optional), oven mitts

1 ½ to 2 large lemons
6 cloves garlic (peeled)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup homemade or low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (1 ¾ to 2 pounds total)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed
1 to 2 tablespoons canola or peanut oil (may substitute my personal favorite: ghee)
2 to 3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Juice one lemon until you have 2 tablespoons of juice. Add the juice to a blender. Cut the second lemon into thin slices (discarding the ends and seeds), and reserve. Chop 2 of the garlic cloves and add to the blender. Lightly smash the remaining 4 cloves and reserve (with the sliced lemon). Add the extra-virgin olive oil and broth to the blender, along with 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Put on the blender lid; puree for 20 to 30 seconds until pale and frothy. Leave the mixture in the blender.

Season the chicken thighs generously with salt and pepper. Place a large cast-iron or stainless steel skillet over medium-high heat, and add just enough oil to coat the bottom of pan; swirl to coat evenly.

Once the oil shimmers, use tongs to add half the chicken to the pan, skin sides down, leaving space between them. Cover with a splatter screen if you have one. Sear, undisturbed, for 5 to 7 minutes. Do not attempt to turn over the thighs too soon or their skin will stick to the pan. Once the skin is brown, crisped and no longer sticking, use a spatula to turn the chicken, then cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a large plate, skin sides up. Repeat with the remaining thighs, then turn off the heat. Drain away most of the excess fat from the pan (do not wipe the pan clean).

Briefly puree the blender ingredients again, for 5 to 10 seconds. Pour about one-quarter of that puree into the hot pan, using a spatula to scrape up any brown bits, incorporating them into the liquid. The pan will still be hot, causing the liquid to darken slightly and reduce.

Return all the chicken to the pan, skin sides up. Slowly pour the remaining puree into the pan from the side, taking care to avoid the crispy chicken skin. Lay the reserved lemon slices and smashed garlic cloves around the chicken. Transfer to the oven; roast (middle rack) for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the chicken registers 165 degrees on your thermometer. The sauce will have thickened slightly. Discard the lemon slices and smashed garlic (the garlic is tasty, but strong, so you can optionally leave it in).

To serve, drizzle some of the pan sauce around each portion of chicken. Top with chopped fresh parsley.

Variation: Skillet Chickpeas With Lemon, Garlic and Spinach

4 servings

HANDS-ON TIME: 20 minutes
COOK TIME: 10 minutes
EQUIPMENT: Liquid and dry measuring cups; citrus juicer (optional); blender; cutting board; knife; Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed, ovenproof saucepan; spatula; colander; oven mitts

1 ½ to 2 large lemons
5 cloves garlic (peeled)
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup homemade or low-sodium vegetable broth
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, or more as needed
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or more as needed
Two 14.5-ounce cans chickpeas, preferably no-salt-added, drained and rinsed
8 cups fresh spinach (any kind)
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Squeeze 2 tablespoons of juice from 1 of the lemons into a blender. Cut the second lemon into thin slices (discarding the ends and seeds), and reserve. Chop 2 of the garlic cloves and add to the blender. Lightly smash the remaining 3 cloves and reserve (with the lemon slices). Add 1/4 cup of the oil and the broth to the blender, along with 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Put on the blender lid; puree for 20 to 30 seconds, until pale and frothy. Leave the mixture in the blender.

Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil in a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed, ovenproof saucepan over medium-high heat, swirling to coat the bottom of the pan. Once the oil shimmers, add the chickpeas; cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring about every 2 minutes, then add the spinach and, using tongs or a spatula, stir with the chickpeas for 2 minutes, or until wilted. Depending on the size of your pan, you may need to wilt the spinach in batches.

Briefly puree the blender ingredients again, for 5 to 10 seconds. Pour about one-quarter of the liquid into the pot. The pan will be hot, causing the liquid to darken slightly and reduce.

Add the remaining sauce along with the reserved lemon slices and garlic, stirring to incorporate.

Transfer to the oven; roast uncovered (middle rack) for 10-15 minutes, or until the chickpeas have lightly caramelized and the sauce has thickened slightly. Discard the lemon slices and smashed garlic (the garlic is tasty, but strong, so you can optionally leave it in). Taste; add salt and/or pepper, as needed.

Just before serving, top with the chopped parsley.