Cooking Methods

Cooking Methods

1. Dry Heat

   • This is using direct or indirect heat
   • Indirect heat is considered using the oven
   • Direct heat is considered using a grill
   • Barding is wrapping a food in fat
   • Larding is inserting long strips of fat into a naturally lean piece of meat with a special needle
   • Marinating is soaking an item in wet and dry ingredients to provide flavor and moisture
   • Methods without fat broiling, grilling, roasting, baking
     • Broiling uses high heat from a source located above the food to cook it rapidly
     • Grilling is a simple dry heat method where food is cooked on a grill grate or rack above the heat source
     • Roasting & Baking cook food with hot, dry heat in the oven
   • Methods with fat and oil are sauteing, pan frying, stir frying, and deep fryiing
     • Sauteing cooks food quickly using a small amount of fat over moderately high heat
     • Deep frying requires that food be battered and completely submerged in hot oil until it is done
     • Closely related to saute, this quick method uses high heat with a small amount of fat
     • Like other methods pan-frying uses a small amount of fat (in this case oil), but uses a less intense heat than sauteing or stir-frying.

2. Moist Heat

   • Boiling, Simmering, poaching, blanching, steaming
     • Simmering requires that food be completely submerged in a liquid (water, broth, etc.) that is a constant, moderate temperature
     • When a liquid reaches boiling temperature in the form of LARGE bubbles
     • When poaching, cook food between 160*F and 180*F
     • Blanching is a variation of boiling. Simply put, blanching on partially cooks food referred to as par-cooking
     • Steaming cooks food by surrounding it with steam in a confined area like a steam basket or cabinet