Video summary

25 "Forbidden" British Nan Cooking Secrets Restaurants Pray You Never Discover

Main summary

Key takeaways

Cooking

Ingredients & quantities mentioned

Rendered lard (pastry fat)

  • Leaf lard (amount not specified): described as a “block” from the butcher

Chicken dry brine (salt & sugar)

  • For one whole chicken:
    • 1 tablespoon fine salt
    • 1 teaspoon sugar

Mustard powder cheese sauce

  • 1/2 teaspoon Coleman’s mustard powder
  • Base white sauce: flour + butter + milk
  • Cheddar (example): cauliflower cheese example uses 4 oz cheddar

Chips (cold soak)

  • Cut chips soaked in cold water for:
    • at least 1 hour
    • sometimes overnight

Rice (tea towel method)

  • Rice boiled in salted water (exact amounts not given)

Poached eggs

  • “Good splash” of malt vinegar in simmering water (no exact quantity)

Blooming spices / tarka (tadka)

  • Curry powder or cumin (amount not specified)
  • Fried in hot fat for 30 seconds

Scrambled eggs (fluffy curds)

  • Tiny pinch bicarbonate of soda (bicarb) per beaten eggs
  • Scramble slowly in butter

Tomato “instant dressing”

  • Pinch castor sugar
  • Crack of salt
  • Tomatoes left for 10 minutes

Soaking liver

  • Lamb’s liver soaked in milk for 1 hour

Onion-skin stock clarification

  • “A couple of” eggshells
  • Plus whisked egg white

Ham glaze

  • 1 tablespoon marmalade
  • Mixed with mustard powder
  • Applied to scored fat

Leftover “rissoles”

  • Leftover roast (minced)
  • Mashed potato
  • Beaten egg
  • Worcestershire sauce (“a shake”)
  • Breadcrumbs for coating
  • Fried in dripping
  • “A single leftover shoulder” yields enough for two meals (no weights)

Fruit cake soak

  • Dried fruit (currants/sultanas/raisins) soaked in cold tea overnight
  • Tea may be leftover or freshly brewed (no volume given)

Plate warming

  • Plates in oven or run under hot water (no times/temps given)

Carving rule

  • Rest roast at least 20 minutes

Step-by-step method (with key timings/technique cues)

Number 25: Render your own lard (pastry fat)

  1. Chop leaf lard into small cubes.
  2. Put into a heavy-bottomed pan over the lowest heat.
  3. Do not stir.
  4. Render for over 2 hours until melted; separate:
    • Liquid fat strained through muslin into kiln jars
    • Crispy scratchings saved for eating
  5. Use rendered lard for pastry (for crisp layers).

Technique cue: High smoke point + tighter crystal structure vs butter is cited for flakiness.

Number 24: Salt & sugar dry brine (chicken)

  1. The night before roasting, rub chicken all over with:
    • 1 tbsp fine salt
    • 1 tsp sugar
  2. Leave uncovered on a plate in the fridge (~overnight / “by morning”).
  3. Roast: dry skin crisps as soon as it hits the hot oven; salt seasons deeply.
  4. Sugar is said to speed browning via the Maillard reaction.

Works on: pork, lamb, turkey (not just chicken).

Number 23: Thicken soups/stews with stale bread

  1. Tear yesterday’s loaf into rough chunks.
  2. Add to simmering pot.
  3. Stir until dissolved completely.
  4. Bread thickens gradually for a silky, lump-free texture.

Technique cue: “No lumps, no chalky aftertaste.”

Number 22: Mustard powder in cheese sauce

  1. Make a basic white sauce: flour + butter + milk.
  2. Add grated cheddar off the heat.
  3. Stir in 1/2 tsp Coleman’s mustard powder before cheese melts.
  4. Heat just enough to melt cheese fully.

Effect: amplifies cheddar flavor without tasting like mustard.

Number 21: Cold water for chips (blanching/resting approach)

  1. Cut chips.
  2. Soak in cold water for at least 1 hour, sometimes overnight.
  3. Drain and fry:
    • reduced surface starch = less spitting + crispier exterior
    • interior stays fluffy

Optional variation mentioned: some chip shops add vinegar to firm pectin (may have been used).

Number 20: Tea towel steaming method for rice

  1. Boil rice in a big pot of salted water (like pasta).
  2. Drain.
  3. Place a clean tea towel over the pan, then put the lid on top.
  4. Leave on lowest heat for 10 minutes.

Technique cue: towel absorbs steam so it doesn’t drip back; finishes gently for separate grains.

Number 19: Vinegar in poaching water (for neat eggs)

  1. Bring poaching water to a simmer.
  2. Add a good splash of malt vinegar (not for flavor).
  3. Gently swirl the water.
  4. Drop the egg from a cup held close to the surface.
  5. Vinegar helps whites coagulate faster for compact eggs.

Technique cues: just saucepan + vinegar (no molds/cling film/sous-vide mentioned).

Number 18: Bloom spices in hot fat

  1. Before adding curry powder/cumin to stew:
  2. Fry spices in hot fat for 30 seconds until they crackle and release fragrance.
  3. Then add onions/other ingredients and continue cooking.

Related names referenced: tarka/tadka; sweating aromatics.

Number 17: Bread and butter under the grill for toast

  1. Butter bread before grilling.
  2. Grill under the hot grill (gas mark 4 referenced).
  3. Butter melts into bread as it toasts, creating a rich golden crust through the crumb.

Number 16: Onion skins in stock (amber color)

  1. Add papery onion skins (no peeling) when making stock.
  2. Simmer as normal (timing/temperature not given).
  3. Stock becomes deep amber with subtle sweetness/roundness.

Number 15: Bicarb in scrambled eggs (fluffy curds)

  1. Beat eggs.
  2. Stir in a tiny pinch of bicarbonate of soda.
  3. Scramble slowly in butter over the lowest heat.
  4. Cook until set—about 5 minutes total.

Number 14: Sugar on tomatoes (instant “dressing”)

  1. Slice tomatoes.
  2. Sprinkle with:
    • pinch castor sugar
    • crack salt
  3. Leave for 10 minutes to draw out juices.
  4. Use the sweet-tangy liquid as flavor balance.

Olive oil isn’t used in the described version (Italian variant mentioned).

Number 13: Soak liver in milk (reduce bitterness)

  1. Soak lamb’s liver in milk for 1 hour.
  2. Drain (implied).
  3. Fry fast in hot dripping; cook with onions and gravy.

Number 12: Eggshells + egg white to clarify stock

  1. If stock is cloudy, crush a couple of eggshells.
  2. Stir eggshells into simmering liquid with a whisked egg white.
  3. Heat until egg white coagulates into a raft trapping impurities.
  4. Strain through muslin.
  5. Result: clearer stock.

Number 11: Wrap fish in damp newspaper

  1. Wrap whole fish in several layers of dampened newspaper.
  2. Bake in the oven (time/temp not specified).
  3. Peel away newspaper after cooking:
    • skin comes off with paper
    • flesh is flaky
  4. Paper absorbs excess oil for a clean taste.

Fish types mentioned: mackerel, trout, herring.

Number 10: Marmalade glaze on roast ham/lamb (glaze method)

  1. For roast ham/lamb concept:
    • press a thick layer of dark brown muscovado sugar mixed with mustard powder onto scored fat
  2. Grill hot until the surface bubbles and caramelizes into a crackled shell.
  3. Sugar melts into fat for sweet/smoky crunchy pockets.

For lamb specifically (explicit):

  • Spread 1 tbsp marmalade over a leg of lamb in the last 20 minutes of roasting.

Number 9: Potato water for bread dough

  1. Save water from boiling potatoes.
  2. Use starchy potato water in bread dough instead of plain water.
  3. Bake bread—starch helps yeast rise and keeps loaf fresher (described as lasting a day longer).

Number 8: Bacon fat for everything

  1. Don’t drain bacon fat.
  2. Store rendered fat near the stove.
  3. Use as everyday cooking fat:
    • fry eggs
    • wilt cabbage
    • spread on toast when butter runs low

Number 7: Leftover roast into rissoles

  1. Mince leftover roast with a hand grinder.
  2. Mix with:
    • mashed potato
    • beaten egg
    • Worcestershire sauce (“shake”)
  3. Shape into patties.
  4. Coat in breadcrumbs.
  5. Fry in dripping until golden:
    • crisp outside, soft inside

Number 6: Overnight steep for fruit cake

  1. Soak dried fruit in cold tea overnight.
  2. Bake into fruit cake (implied normal baking).
  3. Tea rehydrates fruit and adds color/depth via tannins; balances sweetness.
  4. Cake keeps for weeks wrapped in greaseproof paper.

Note: can use leftover tea or brew fresh.

Number 5: Warm plates before serving

  1. Put plates in bottom of oven or run under hot water immediately before dishing up.
  2. Serve quickly so:
    • food stays hotter
    • gravy stays liquid instead of congealing
    • fat stays glossy instead of waxy

Number 4: Gravy made in the roasting tin (not a separate pan)

  1. After removing meat, put roasting tin on hob.
  2. Scrape up browned bits with a wooden spoon (fond).
  3. Add a splash of vegetable water (from boiling carrots/cabbage per description).
  4. Add a dusting of flour and stir until gravy comes together.
  5. Result: deeper gravy than gravy cubes/granules.

Number 3: Resting rule for roast

  1. Rest joint at least 20 minutes after roasting.
  2. Cover loosely with foil on the side.
  3. Carve after resting for juicy, evenly distributed slices.

Number 2: Practice “love as an ingredient”

  • No specific steps; emphasizes tasting/adjusting by smell, sound, sight, and cooking over long time.

Equipment & prep requirements mentioned

  • Heavy-bottomed pan for rendering lard
  • Muslin and kiln jars for straining/storing lard
  • Fridge for uncovered overnight brining (chicken)
  • Large pot for boiling rice like pasta
  • Tea towel + lid on pan for rice method
  • Saucepan for poaching eggs (no silicon molds/cling film)
  • Wooden spoon for roasting tin fond + stirring gravy
  • Gas grill (gas mark 4 referenced for toast)
  • Muslin for straining clarified stock
  • Newspaper (dampened) for wrapping fish
  • Oven and/or hot water for warming plates
  • Foil loosely for resting meat
  • Hand grinder + cast iron pan for rissoles (cast iron emphasized)

Chef tips / common mistakes to avoid

  • Don’t stir lard while rendering; use lowest heat and wait.
  • Dry-brine uncovered overnight for crisp skin.
  • Avoid lumps when thickening: stir bread until fully dissolved.
  • Poached eggs: swirl gently and add vinegar so whites coagulate cleanly.
  • Chips: don’t skip the cold soak—it reduces spitting and improves crisp exteriors.
  • Roast: don’t carve too early; follow the 20-minute rest.
  • Warm plates: avoid cold plates (gravy congeals and flavors “tire”).

Variations mentioned (concise)

  • Chips: some add vinegar to soaking water to firm pectin.
  • Fruit cake soak: use leftover tea or fresh brewed tea.
  • Toast: a restaurant “oil+grill” approach is referenced, but nan uses butter + grill.
  • Cheese sauce: mustard powder is used to boost cheddar flavor (restaurants often use different cheeses).

Plating/serving suggestions

  • Warm plates right before serving roast dinners to maintain temperature and texture (liquid gravy, glossy fat).
  • Resting creates slices that look and taste “moist and pink throughout.”

Presenter/channel & referenced sources

  • Presenter and channel name not stated in the provided text.
  • Brands/names referenced:
    • Coleman’s mustard powder
    • PG Tips (tea)
    • Robertson’s / Hartley’s marmalade
    • Examples: Jamie Oliver, MasterChef, Seavoy/Savoy, Dorchester
    • Terminology: tarka/tadka, sweating aromatics/consume/deglazing
    • Vera Swami curry powder (British grandma-era example)
    • “Food scientists” and “thermal imaging studies” referenced generically
    • “Lordon Blur” likely a garbled Le Cordon Bleu reference

Original video