Cooking Methods
There are two general types of cooking methods: dry heat cooking method and moist heat cooking method.
Dry Heat Cooking Methods
Dry heat cooking methods use air or fat. They are broiling, grilling, roasting, baking, barbecuing, smoking, sautéing, stir-frying, pan-frying and deep-frying. Foods cooked using dry heat cooking methods have a rich flavor that is caused by browning when the moisture on the surface of the food evaporates and the sugars caramelize.
Moist Heat Cooking Methods
Moist-heat cooking methods use water or steam. They are poaching, simmering,
boiling, and steaming. Moist-heat cooking methods tenderize and emphasize the natural
flavors of food.
Other cooking methods use dry and moist heat cooking methods. The two most important combination cooking methods are braising and stewing.
Combination Cooking Method
A third combination cooking method, called sous vide, resembles both braising and poaching. Each cooking method can be applied to a variety of foods including meat, fish, fruit, vegetables and even pastries. In the following material, we describe and demonstrate each of the cooking methods. Detailed procedures and recipes for applying these methods to specific foods will be found in later chapters.
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Simmering
Boiling is another moist heat cooking method that uses convection to transfer heat from a water-based liquid to the food. It is often associated with foods that need to be tenderized through long, slow, moist cooking, such as less tender cuts of meat. Properly cooked foods should be moist and very tender. To boil, food is immersed in a liquid between 185°F and 205°F (85°C and 96°C). Since the boiling temperature is slightly higher than that used for poaching, there should be more action at the surface of the liquid,…
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Poaching
Poaching is a moist heat cooking method that uses convection to transfer heat from a water-based liquid to the food. It is often associated with delicately flavored foods that do not require a long cooking time to soften, such as eggs, fruit, or fish. For poaching, the food is placed in a liquid held at a temperature between 160°F and 180°F (71°C and 82°C). The surface should show only slight movement, but no bubbles. It is important to maintain the desired temperature throughout the cooking process. Do not let the…
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Barbecue
Barbecue is a dry heat cooking method that involves baking or roasting. In traditional barbecue, large, usually tough, cuts of meat are cooked in a semi-enclosed oven (called a pit) by natural convection with smoke from a low-temperature wood fire, usually Below 225°F (107°C). True barbecue is a slow process, requiring hours of low-temperature heat and smoke to tenderize tough cuts or whole carcasses. Doneness is not determined by internal temperature but by softness and feel. The meat should be tender between the bones. In the case of beef, when…
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Grilling
Grilling is similar to broiling, grilling uses a heat source located below the cooking surface. Heat is transferred to the food via infrared radiant heat and conduction between the food and the grill rack itself. Grills can be gas, or electric, or they can Charcoal or burn wood. Solid metal pans with grooved surfaces can also be used to pan-grill foods. Grilled foods are characterized by their crusty exterior and aromatic flavors, and are often cross-hatched toward presentation. A gas or electric grill controls the cooking temperature by adjusting the…
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Broiling
Broiling is a cooking method that directly uses infrared radiant heat from an overhead source such as an overhead broiler or salamander to cook food. in simple this seems like grilling from a top heat source. Temperatures at the heat source can be as low as 550 °F (288 °C) and as high as 2000°F (1093°C), whereas larger commercial appliances broil between 700 and 1,000 °F (371 and 538 °C). The food to be cooked is placed on a preheated metal grate. Radiant heat from above cooks the food, while…