While fast food chains have perfected the art of making mass-produced, readily available foods that hit that greasy craving spot, it is entirely possible to recreate those favorite indulgent and crispy fast foods at home with a bit of preparation and dedication to technique.
Knowing how to make foods like burgers, fries, chicken nuggets, and more in your own kitchen is no longer a cooking pipe dream thanks to some simple guidance on key ingredients, proper equipment, and mastering basic yet essential methods.
By learning the fundamentals for cooking your favorite fast foods with care, anyone can become their fast food chef while customizing flavors and textures to their tastes.
How To Cook Fast Food?
Fast food is known for being quick, convenient, and consistently tasty. While it can be easy to satisfy a fast food craving by visiting your favorite restaurant, learning how to cook some classic fast food fare at home can be rewarding in many ways.
Not only can it save money and allow customization to suit your tastes, but making fast food yourself puts you in control over ingredients and nutrition.
With some simple guidance, essential pantry items, and quickly mastered techniques, anyone can become their fast food chef.
Equipment Needed
| Equipment | Use |
|---|---|
| Frying pan or skillet | Frying foods like burger patties, fries, etc. |
| Baking sheet | Baking fries or heating frozen foods |
| Mixing bowls | Preparing burger mixes, batters, etc. |
| Spatulas and tongs | Flipping and handling food |
Having some essential kitchen tools on hand will make cooking fast food simpler. Items like a good-quality frying pan, baking sheets, mixing bowls, and cooking utensils will enable you to fry, bake, mix, flip, and handle food with ease.
While specialized equipment can be used for advanced recipes, these basic supplies are all you need to get started.
Ingredients To Have On Hand
Certain ingredients form the backbone for many fast food recipes. Keeping them regularly stocked ensures you’ll be ready to cook anytime.
- Oils and fats – Olive oil, vegetable oil, butter, or lard for frying and greasing pans
- Flours – All-purpose flour to coat foods before frying or make batters and breading
- Eggs and milk – Used in many batters and burger mixes
- Salty seasonings – Salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder
- Sugars and sweeteners – White sugar, brown sugar, honey
- Acids and condiments – Ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, hot sauce, vinegar
Having these basic ingredients and seasonings on hand means you’ll always be ready to add flavor and substance when cooking fast food-style recipes. Consider keeping backups so you never have to stop cooking for a quick grocery store trip!
Tips For Frying Food
Many popular fast foods depend on frying for irresistible textures and flavors. Whether making french fries, fried chicken, or hamburgers, perfecting home frying makes all the difference.
- Use high smoke point oils – Choose olive, vegetable, peanut, or canola oil, which can handle high heat.
- Get oil hot before adding food – Preheating allows foods to brown and crisp vs. absorbing excess oil if cooked too cool.
- Fry in batches – Avoid overcrowding the pan, which brings down the oil temp.
- Check oil temp with thermometer – Target 325-375°F for crispy fried foods without burning
- Drain foods on a paper towel – The paper wicks away excess grease for crisper results.
With some care taken to manage oil temp and batch size, you can achieve crunchy fried deliciousness at home to rival any restaurant. Getting comfortable with frying basics opens up so many possibilities!
Cooking Burgers
Burgers are a backyard grilling staple and also a fast food favorite for a good reason – their quick-cooking, satisfying tastiness always hits the spot! Making better burgers at home is within anyone’s reach.
Mixing Burger Patties
- Use 80/20 ground beef – Higher fat content means more flavor and moisture
- Handle lightly – Overworking meat makes burgers dense and tough
- Make an indent in the center – Stop patties puffing into balls as they cook.
- Chill before cooking – Firms patties up for better structure
Cooking Burgers
- Get grill or pan scorching.
- Don’t press patties – Pressing squeezes out all the juicy goodness.
- Flip only once – Moving too much risks sticking and falling apart
- Cook to proper temp (160°F)** – Ensures safety without overcooking
Learning tips like handling meat gently, making an indent in patties before cooking, and resisting the urge to press burgers leads to backyard cookout-worthy burgers every time!
Making Crispy Fries
Crisp, salty fries can instantly make any meal, fast or gourmet, feel like a true treat. While restaurants have specialized equipment to achieve perfect fries, you can also make crave-worthy fries at home with essential tools and some key pointers.
- Start with starchy potatoes – Russet or Yukon Gold varieties have the right mix of starch and moisture.
- Cut evenly into long spears or squares – Consistent sizing means even cooking
- Rinse cut fries in cold water – Gets rid of excess surface starch for crisper results
- Double fry – Fry once at a lower temp, then again at higher heat for an irresistible crunch
- Flavor simply – A sprinkle of salt or dip into ketchup makes the perfect finish.
With some extra care taken when prepping and the secret step of double frying, exceptional fries can indeed come from an everyday kitchen just as quickly as a fast food fry.
Dip those piping hot, crispy fries into ketchup, or spice them up with cajun seasoning if you like to take your fry enjoyment over the top!
Recreating Chicken Nuggets
Tender pieces of breaded and fried chicken have an irresistible appeal to kids and adults alike. Thankfully, making chicken nuggets is accessible at home once you know how to make the basic breading and fry properly.
Breading Nuggets
- Pound chicken breast thinly
- Set up breading station – Flour, egg wash, breadcrumb/panko mix
- Coat nuggets thoroughly – Flour, dip in eggs, press into crumbs
- Refrigerate breaded nuggets – Helps coating set before frying
Frying Nuggets
- Use frying oil with a high smoke point.
- Fry in batches – Avoid overcrowding for even cooking
- Fry for 2-3 minutes – Till deep golden brown and 165°F internal temp
- Drain on paper towels – Absorbs excess grease for crisper nuggets
With the extra step of properly breading the chicken before frying and keeping the oil hot, you can enjoy juicy, crunchy nuggets any night of the week – no drive-thru required!
Key Takeaways
Cooking fast food favorites like burgers, fries, and nuggets at home is very achievable with essential kitchen tools and ingredients on hand.
Mastering frying makes all the difference for unlocking that signature crunch and texture. With some care taken when prepping, handling, and cooking the food, plus restraint against overworking, you can enjoy crave-worthy fast food straight from your oven or stovetop anytime.
The convenience of fast food is hard to beat, but the satisfaction of making it yourself and customizing flavors and textures to your taste makes enjoying fast food classics at home so worthwhile.
Get comfortable with these fundamentals for cooking burgers, fries, nuggets, and more, and watch your at-home fast food skills unlock a whole new level of quick meal possibilities!
Conclusion
Cooking fast food favorites like juicy burgers, crispy fries, and crunchy chicken nuggets is very achievable at home with some essential tools, ingredients, and techniques.
The keys are investing in decent equipment like pans and thermometers, keeping your pantry stocked with versatile ingredients like oils and seasonings, and mastering cooking methods like proper frying.
With care taken when handling and prepping the food, as well as showing restraint from overworking, you can recreate crave-worthy fast food textures and flavors straight from your kitchen.
Although grabbing takeout is undoubtedly quicker, learning to make these items yourself allows endless customization while also saving money.
If you equip your kitchen adequately, make an effort to prep properly, and get comfortable with fundamental cooking techniques, you’ll be enjoying restaurant-quality fast food in no time…with no drive-thru required.
