Cowboy Trick: Dealing with burnt foods
Burning ingredients happens only too frequently. There are several options when it comes to blackened food ranging from scraping off the burnt carbons to slinging the whole dish into the waste and starting over.

Method: Burnt cakes and breads
Burnt cakes and breads allow you the option of scraping off the burnt carbons and crispy exterior. However before you can do this you need to discover how deep the burning reactions have gone; too far and too deep and the cake or bread must be discarded for the bitter, carbon flavours will have contaminated the whole dish.

To determine how deep a cake is burnt:
Cut a slice into the cake
Use your fingers to gently pull the slice apart, allowing you to see inside the cake
If the burning is only external and penetrates only a few millimeters deep the cake can be saved.
Any further than .5cm and you should consider the cake irredeemable.

To remove burnt surfaces on a cake:
Either use the serrated edge of a bread knife to scrape off the burnt surface.
Or actually cut the burnt areas off with a sharp knife
For heavier burns use a combination of both:
Use a sharp knife to cut off and discard the top couple of millimeters of the cake
Use the a serrated knife to scrape down the sides

Once the burnt areas have been removed the evidence of your tampering needs to be fixed. To do this simply apply a layer of icing over the cake. (Coffee flavoured icing helps to hide and mask the aromas of any carbons that you might have missed)

Method: Fried and battered foods
Fat fried and oven roasted batters, if left for too long at high heat will of course burn. However if the interior is okay and it is just the batter that has burnt the dish can still be saved.
Scrape off the burnt batter.
Coat the ingredient in fresh batter
Fry or roast just long enough for the fresh batter to brown and 'crisp' off
Serve

Method: Burnt sauces and soups
Once a sauce or soup is badly burnt there is little chance of saving it. If this is the case I would recommend knocking up a quick, substitute sauce or soup. However if the burnt aromas aren't too strong the sauce or soup can still be saved.
Pour the liquid into a fresh saucepan being sure to leave the burnt sediment in the bottom of the pan behind.
To smooth over the burnt aromas add a little sugar and some fresh ingredients.
(i.e. if the sauce was tomato and basil: add more basil
A gravy: add more stock)
Need a drastic measure?
Taste the sauce, if burnt aromas still come through add some strong coffee to mask the burnt taste!

Method: Burnt poultry, fish and meat
Method1
Cut off the worst of the blackened flesh
Cut the offending ingredient into strips or thick slices
To present: Arrange any side vegetables and carbohydrates in the center of the plate
Stack the sliced (previously burnt) ingredient on top of the vegetables
Hide any jagged edges, crispy segments beneath a thick sauce and any available garnish.
Serve
Method2
Cut off the worst of the blackened flesh
Cut the offending ingredient into strips or thick slices
Add to a curry or stew