Cooking Methods

Dry Heat Cooking Methods

Roast / Bake This method is when you put the food into the OVEN and cook it without any added LIQUID or FAT. When you make cakes, etc. you BAKE. Always PREHEAT the oven before putting the food in. It usually takes 5 to 10 minutes. The only difference between baking and roasting is simply what food your putting in the oven to cook.

Broil Cooking by DIRECT heat. The heat from the flame or element is directly ABOVE the food and the heat RADIANTS down to directly cook the food. Put the food on a special broiler PAN. The heat will cause other pans to SHATTER.

Broil The melted fat could SMOKE or CATCH ON FIRE. Make sure your food is completely DE- FROSTED and DRY. Add the SALT when you are done cooking. Watch the food CONSTANTLY (OFTEN).

Grill The same as broiling except the heat source is UNDER the food. You often MARNIATE food before grilling and BASTE during cooking to keep foods moist. Too much melted fat with cause food to catch on FIRE. Also, watch food continuously as it cooks.

Moist Heat (Water) Cooking Methods

Boil / Simmer Boil – this is when you use enough water to COVER the food and enough heat to make it bubble VIGOROUSLY. Simmer – This is the same as boiling, except you use only enough heat to make it bubble GENTLY and barely break the surface.

Stew / Steam Stew – This is the same as SIMMER, and is the term used for cooking less tender cuts of meat, and sometimes poultry and fruit. It implies LONG cooking times. Steam – You only use a SMALL amount of water and keep the pan covered tightly, as you cook it OVER BOILING WATER. Do not add food until the water is boiling. Good for tender veggies. Takes longer than boiling.

Poach / Pressure Cooking Poach – This uses the same amount of WATER as simmering. The foods are kept WHOLE and the temperature of the water is just BELOW simmer. Pressure Cooking – Must use a pressure cooker, cooks food at a higher TEMPERATURE. This raises the temperature at which water boils (about 250 degrees), so the food cooks FASTER.

Cooking Methods with Fat

Fry This method uses a SKILLET for cooking foods not more than 1 ½” thick in a thin layer of hot Fat/OIL. Uses a variety of fats including lard (rendered from PIGS). Because it is cooked at higher temperature than boiling water would allow, it cooks more QUICKLY and develops a crisp BROWN crust.

Fry To cook evenly, you will need to TURN these fried foods. Thicker foods, as fried chicken pieces will need to be COVERED and cooked at a lower heat. Heavy FRYING PANS / SKILLETS that conduct heat evenly will work the best for frying methods..

Sauté This is the same as frying, except that the food are cut up into SMALL pieces and stirred fairly often. Less FAT is used than with frying.

Pan-Broil This is the same as frying, except that you use the natural FAT in the meats, or at the most a thin spray or wipe of oil.

Brown This is when you do not cook the meat all the way through, but simply BROWN/SEAR it on the outside, to give it a better color.

Deep-Fat Frying This involves cooking food by immersing it completely in hot oil. One must be reading with a tight-fitting LID in case of fire! A deep fat fryer (preferably with a built-in BASKET) is filled no more than HALF full. Then, small pieces of food are placed in the hot oil, ONE at a time.

Deep-Fat Frying The oil must be at the correct temperature. If it is too hot, the food will BURN on the outside and be UNDERCOOKED on the inside. If the oil temperature is too low, the food will become SOGGY as it absorbs too much oil.

Stir-Frying This cooking method is done in a WOK or a heavy, large skillet. In this, small pieces of food, THINLY sliced, are placed in a SMALL amount of hot oil and cooked over high heat. The food is stirred as it fries. When the food is almost done, a special sauce is added and the food cooks until done.

Microwave Cooking Microwaves cook by make the food molecules vibrate very fast. The friction of the molecules causes the food to heat up, while the surrounding areas stay cool. 1. When in doubt, undercook your food. 2.Don’t put metal in the microwave. Don’t turn it on empty. 3. For even cooking arrange the food in the shape of a RING.