Quick Guide To Cooking With Meats (Part 3 Of 4 Parts)

CEBU, Philippines - Deep-Fry. True deep-frying is with the oil deep enough to totally immerse the food, so that the entire piece is cooking at the same time. As with sautéing, it is important that the oil be sufficiently hot to caramelize the exterior instead of just soaking in. The result of deep-frying is to quickly create a caramelized crust around the entire piece of meat, which seals in the juices; the interior of the meat cooks by the steaming of its own juices. Deep-fried food that was done correctly will therefore be crispy or at least crusty on the outside, and tender on the inside.

Most common mistake: oil not hot enough. The food will be soggy, limp, and saturated with oil. Cooking longer will not correct the problem (because the oil will already have soaked in). On the other hand, if the oil is too hot, the crust will have a bitter, burnt taste. It is essential to start with the oil at the right temperature.

Braise. Braising (aka pot-roasting) involves searing the exterior of a cut of meat at very high heat, usually with a little oil, followed by a much longer period of cooking at low heat with liquid added. The result is that exterior of the meat is fried at a high temperature and thus caramelizes (for flavour), but the interior is slow-cooked at a low temperature (for tenderness). Braising is -example of braising is mechado.

Roast. Cook in an oven or convection oven, uncovered. The heat of the air in the oven caramelizes the exterior of the meat, and the interior cooks by conduction. The nature of the meat has to be taken into account and in some cases adjustments or remedial measures employed. Whole chicken and turkey, for example will tend to dry out at the breast before the legs/thighs are cooked; one remedy is to start cooking with the breast down, then flip for the last ¼ of the cooking time. Large cuts of lean pork or beef are prone to become hard and dry; one partial remedy is to sear the outside in a pan first.

Some people “roast” with the meat covered with aluminum foil; this is not true roasting but a variation of Steaming, since what cooks the meat is not the hot air but the steam from its own juices. For slow cooking, a temperature of 300°F (150°C) is often used. Slow cooking will result in more tenderness, but with typically more loss of juices; thus it is suitable for fatty meats, but not lean meats. Traditionally, chicken, pork, and beef roasts were cooked at 350°F (175°C). For chicken and pork, some essential if a 500°F temperature will be used, and is in any case always desirable for chicken and pork that will be roasted, barbecued, or sautéed.

[Brining consists of dissolving ½ cup sea salt in 2 liters of cool water; some people also add ¼ cup sugar. The raw meat (poultry or pork, never beef or lamb) is bathed in the solution for at least 1 hour and preferably overnight. The result of this process is that salt (and sugar) are diffused into the meat; this helps the meat retain more of its natural juices when cooking.

In comparison tests, chicken that was not brined lost up to 20 percent of its weight during cooking, while brined chicken lost less than 10 percent and was rated more tasty and tender.] ?