Cook it right. The 4-step Shred protocol.

Every meal in the Shred kitchen starts the same way. Four steps. Same protocol for steak, eggs, chicken, fish, ground beef. Master the protocol once and the flavor takes care of itself.

This is the foundation. Every recipe on this site is built on top of it.

Step 1. The right pan.

Stainless steel or cast iron. Always.

Skip the non-stick. Teflon and "non-stick" coatings leach PFAS at high heat. PFAS are the so-called forever chemicals that don't break down in the body. They show up in the bloodstream of nearly every American tested in the last decade. We don't cook on them. Neither should you.

Stainless conducts heat fast and lets you build a real sear. Cast iron holds heat long and gives you that crust nothing else can. Those are the only two pans we use.

Step 2. The right fat.

Real food fats. No seed oils.

Three we actually cook with:

• Extra virgin olive oil for low to medium heat
• Pasture-raised grass-fed butter for medium heat
• Beef tallow for high heat and searing

What you won't catch us using: canola, soybean, sunflower, safflower, "vegetable oil," or any blend that hides them. Those are the industrial seed oils we built Shred to get away from in the first place. They oxidize at high heat, drive inflammation, and have no place in food that's supposed to fuel performance.

If your budget allows it, go organic. Grass-fed butter from pasture-raised cows. Extra virgin olive oil cold-pressed and stored in dark glass. Beef tallow rendered from grass-fed beef. The fat carries the flavor of the animal. Sourcing matters.

Step 3. The right doneness.

Use a timer. Use a meat thermometer. Cook to temp, not to guess.

Doneness targets we cook to:

• Steak (medium-rare): 130 to 135 F
• Chicken breast: 165 F
• Ground beef: 160 F
• Salmon: 125 to 130 F
• Pork chops: 145 F
• Shrimp: 120 F (opaque all the way through)
• Eggs over easy: 2 minutes per side over medium

A $15 instant-read thermometer is the most underrated piece of kitchen gear there is. Buy one. Use it on every protein. Stop guessing.

Pull the protein 3 to 5 degrees BEFORE the target temp. Carryover heat finishes the cook while it rests.

Step 4. Rest. Then Shred.

Rest the protein 2 to 5 minutes off the heat. Steak needs 5. Chicken and ground beef need 2 or 3. Eggs don't need rest.

THEN sprinkle Shred Seasoning over the meat. Always post cook.

The blends are designed to land on warm protein, not get cooked down into it. Heat destroys the volatile oils that carry the flavor. The functional ingredients work better raw than cooked. The whole formula is calibrated for the finishing salt position. Use it that way.

One teaspoon per protein serving is the standard dose. Sprinkle, don't dump. Salt evenly across the surface. Eat.

That's it.

Right pan. Right fat. Right doneness. Finish with Shred.

Four steps that turn boring meal prep into something you actually look forward to. Four steps that respect the work you put in at the gym, on the track, in the kitchen.

Every recipe on this site assumes you're working from this baseline. If you nail these four, the rest is just deciding what to put on the plate.

Bonus: The Morning Elixir.

We start every day before food with one glass:

• Filtered warm water
• The juice of half an organic lemon
• A small pinch of sea salt

Hydration. Electrolytes. Vitamin C. Sets the metabolism up before the first meal of the day. Costs about 30 cents and takes 60 seconds.

Build it into the morning. Then start cooking.