The Xcutlery Cooking Hub

Recipes Made for Hand Forged Knives

A new recipe every week from Chef Umais Ahmed, built around the knife that does the hard part. Every cut is explained properly, because a recipe that just says slice thinly has clearly never met a brisket.

Crispy buffalo chicken wings on a parchment lined tray with celery, carrot sticks and blue cheese dip in a living room Newest recipe Game Day Chicken Wings, Cut Your Own Reverse seared tomahawk steak with its long rib bone, partly sliced to show a medium rare centre, with coarse salt on a wooden board Recipe Reverse Sear Tomahawk Steak Sliced Texas smoked brisket with dark bark and a pink smoke ring on butcher paper with white bread, pickles and onion Recipe Texas Smoked Brisket, Trim to Slice
14 days to ThanksgivingThanksgiving falls on Thursday, November 26

Thanksgiving, sorted

Roasting the bird is the easy part. Getting it flat, cooked evenly and carved without a fight is where the knife earns its place.

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Latest recipes

Crispy buffalo chicken wings on a parchment lined tray with celery, carrot sticks and blue cheese dip in a living room Game Day

Game Day Chicken Wings, Cut Your Own

Buy whole wings, split them into flats and drums with a cleaver, dry the skin and bake or smoke them crispy before tossing in... Time 1 hr 40 minServes 4Level Easy By Chef Umais Ahmed Reverse seared tomahawk steak with its long rib bone, partly sliced to show a medium rare centre, with coarse salt on a wooden board Beef

Reverse Sear Tomahawk Steak

A thick bone in tomahawk cooked low in the oven or on the grill, seared hard, then cut off the bone and sliced across... Time 1 hr 45 minServes 2 to 3Level Medium By Chef Umais Ahmed Sliced Texas smoked brisket with dark bark and a pink smoke ring on butcher paper with white bread, pickles and onion Beef

Texas Smoked Brisket, Trim to Slice

A whole packer brisket with salt and pepper, smoked low, wrapped, rested and sliced against the grain of each muscle. Covers how to trim... Time 15 hrServes 12 to 16Level Hard By Chef Umais Ahmed Beef stew with carrots and potatoes steaming in a cast iron Dutch oven next to a crusty sourdough loaf by a frosted window Beef

Beef Stew Worth the Chopping

A classic beef stew made with chuck roast cubed by hand, seared properly and braised low until it falls apart, with vegetables added late... Time 3 hr 30 minServes 6Level Easy By Chef Umais Ahmed Slow cooked lamb shoulder pulling off the bone in a roasting dish with roasted garlic and rosemary on an outdoor summer table Australian Favourites

Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder for an Australian Christmas

Bone in lamb shoulder studded with garlic and rosemary, roasted low and slow on onions until the meat pulls off the bone. Ideal for... Time 6 hrServes 6Level Easy By Chef Umais Ahmed Beef wellington in golden puff pastry with two slices cut to show pink beef and the mushroom layer on a wooden board Beef

Beef Wellington Without the Panic

A calm, step by step beef Wellington recipe built on a properly trimmed center cut tenderloin, dry mushroom duxelles, prosciutto and puff pastry. Time 3 hrServes 6Level Hard By Chef Umais Ahmed Seared venison backstrap sliced to show a deep red centre on a wooden board with garlic and rosemary in a log cabin kitchen Boning Knife

Venison Backstrap, from the Deer to the Pan

How to take the backstrap off a deer, clean off the fat and silverskin, and sear it in cast iron to a juicy medium... Time 1 hr 10 minServes 4Level Medium By Chef Umais Ahmed Glazed bone in Christmas ham with a scored diamond pattern and slices cut on a sunny summer table with cherries, mango and prawns Australian Favourites

Christmas Ham with a Brown Sugar Mustard Glaze, and How to Carve It

A bone in fully cooked ham, scored, warmed slowly and lacquered with a brown sugar mustard glaze, then carved off the bone in neat... Time 3 hr 35 minServes 12 to 14Level Easy By Chef Umais Ahmed Tied roast beef tenderloin sliced into pink medallions on a wooden board with thyme and a bowl of horseradish cream Beef

Roast Beef Tenderloin, Trimmed at Home

Buy the whole untrimmed tenderloin, trim off the chain and silverskin yourself, tie it and roast it hot. Cheaper than the trimmed one and... Time 2 hr 25 minServes 10 to 12Level Medium By Chef Umais Ahmed Reverse seared prime rib roast on its rib bones with two thick pink slices on a dark wooden board under Christmas lights Beef

Reverse Sear Prime Rib (Standing Rib Roast)

Dry brine the standing rib roast, cook it low at 225°F, rest it, then sear hot. Reverse sear prime rib is pink from edge... Time 5 hr 45 minServes 6 to 8Level Medium By Chef Umais Ahmed Carved roast turkey with sliced breast, drumsticks and thighs on a wooden board beside a gravy boat and cranberry sauce Oven

Dry Brine Turkey Recipe, and How to Carve It

Salt the bird a day or two ahead for crisp skin and seasoned meat, roast it, rest it, then carve it into clean slices... Time 4 hr 40 minServes 10 to 12Level Medium By Chef Umais Ahmed Spatchcocked turkey roasted flat on a sheet pan with charred lemon, garlic and thyme on a rustic Thanksgiving table Meat Cleaver

How to Spatchcock a Turkey (Smoked or Oven Roasted)

Take the backbone out with a cleaver, press the bird flat and a spatchcock turkey roasts or smokes evenly in about half the time... Time 2 hr 30 minServes 10 to 12Level Medium By Chef Umais Ahmed

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Meet the chef

Chef Umais Ahmed

Chef Umais Ahmed is a trained chef based in Australia. He studied commercial cookery at States College Australia in Melbourne, and he writes every recipe in the Xcutlery Cooking Hub.

Follow @messi.mughal on Instagram Read his latest: Game Day Chicken Wings, Cut Your Own

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