Learning to brunoise can be a very laborious and difficult process that requires a lot of practice to perfect yourself. Brunoise is a chopping technique in which food is cut into very small cubes measuring around 1mm to 2mm and is an important part of French cuisine.
The resulting brunoise can be used as a garnish for many dishes or to flavor soups or other foods. The ideal brunoise should produce cubes that are as uniform in size as possible, but most chefs admit that this is an ideal that is difficult to achieve.
Here is a short description of how to brunoise. First, give the vegetable you are going to brown a rectangular or square shape by cutting its four sides. Then julienne the food into thin slices lengthwise. Stack the slices and then keep them together lengthwise.
Then cut the slices into thin cubes. Grip the food with your fingers in a claw-like position with the tips back and the knuckles toward the knife, which will help prevent injury and allow you to firmly hold the food you are cutting.
Here’s how to brunoise an onion. First cut an onion in half and place half on the cutting board flat side down. Then he begins to cut the onion into thin slices. Once you’ve done that, flip the onion on its side and then make two slices parallel to the flat edge, being careful not to cut to the end, leaving a little to help hold the onion together. Then start chopping the onion to make brunoise. If there is still enough left on the uncut end of the onion to brunoise, repeat the process. Then look at the shredded sections and cut even more the ones that are too large.
A similar process is used to brown shallots, which belong to the same family as onions. The shallot is prepared in the same way as the onion, peeling and then cutting the root. However, instead of julienne, just make parallel cuts that are close together on the surface of the shallot, but end just before the root. Then cut the shallot with a sawing motion.
When holding the chef’s knife, put the ring and little finger on the handle and pinch the blade between your thumb and forefinger. Your middle finger should be on the buttress (the junction between the blade and the handle) of the knife. This will allow you to have more control over the blade and will give you more precision in your cuts.