Culinary Arts Cooking Methods
How To Cook Anything
Cooking methods in the culinary arts include dry heat methods like sautéing and roasting, and moist heat methods such as steaming and braising. Here's an overview of dry heat and moist heat cooking methods, including examples and recipes for each one. A.) Basic Cooking Methods
Cooking methods in the culinary arts are divided into two categories: 1. Dry heat cooking, such as roasting, broiling or sautéing.
2. Moist heat cooking, like braising, steaming or poaching. Because every cooking method uses either dry heat or moist heat (or sometimes both), classifying them this way ensures that every known method falls into one category or the other.
Basic Cooking Methods
Dry Heat and Moist Heat Cooking
Deep Frying
Dry Heat and Moist Heat Cooking
Cooking methods in the culinary arts are divided into two categories:
1. Dry heat cooking, such as roasting, broiling or sautéing.
2. Moist heat cooking, like braising, steaming or poaching. Because every cooking method uses either dry heat or moist heat (or sometimes both), classifying them this way ensures that every known method falls into one category or the other.
"Dry" Oil and Other Fats It's worth noting that cooking methods involving fat, such as sautéing and deep-frying, are considered dry-heat methods. If this seems confusing, remember that oil and water don't mix, so while fat can take a liquid form, in many ways it's the opposite of water — hence "dry" heat.
Choosing the Right Cooking TechniqueUsing the appropriate cooking method for the type of food being prepared is a major part of the culinary arts. Tough cuts of meat like brisket or shank need to be cooked slowly, at low heats, for a long time, and with plenty of moisture. Prepared properly, these cuts can be incredibly tender and delicious.
On the other hand, dry-heat methods typically involve very high temperatures and short cooking times. A piece of brisket cooked in this way — on a grill, let's say — would be tough, chewy and largely inedible. Interestingly enough, a beef tenderloin steak cooked using a slow, moist-heat method such as braising would also turn out tough, chewy and inedible — albeit for different reasons.
Dry Heat CookingDry heat cooking refers to any cooking technique where the heat is transfered to the food item without using any moisture. Dry-heat cooking typically involves high heat, with temperatures of 300°F or hotter.
Baking or roasting in an oven is a dry heat method because it uses hot air to conduct the heat. Pan-searing a steak is considered dry-heat cooking because the heat transfer takes place through the hot metal of the pan.
Note that the browning of food can only be achieved through dry-heat cooking. Examples of dry-heat methods include: • Roasting & Baking
• Grilling & Broiling
• Sautéing & Pan-Frying
• Deep-Frying Moist Heat Cooking Moist heat cooking methods include any techniques that involve cooking with moisture — whether it's steam, water, stock, wine or some other liquid. Cooking temperatures are much lower, anywhere from 140°F to a maximum of 212°F, because water doesn't get any hotter than that.
Examples of moist-heat cooking methods include: • Poaching, Simmering & Boiling
• Steaming
• Braising & StewingB.) Dry-Heat Cooking Methods
Dry-heat cooking requires temperatures of 300°F or hotter, and it is the only way to achieve the browning of meats, vegetables and baked goods that in turn develops complex flavors and aromas.
Dry-Heat Cooking Methods
Dry-Heat Cooking: High Temperatures, Big Flavors
Pan-Searing: Dry-Heat Cooking
Dry-Heat Cooking Methods
Dry-heat cooking refers to any cooking technique where the heat is transfered to the food item without using any moisture. Dry-heat cooking typically involves high temperatures, meaning 300°F or hotter.
Brown is Beautiful Note that the browning of food, as when bread is toasted, can only be achieved through dry-heat cooking. This browning in turn leads to the development of complex flavors and aromas that can't be attained through moist-heat cooking techniques.
Sautéing & Pan-FryingSautéing requires a very hot pan. When sautéing, it's important to heat the pan for a minute, then add a small amount of fat and let the fat get hot as well, before adding the food to the pan.
Another key is not overloading or crowding the pan. The pan must stay hot in order to achieve the desired browning of the food. Too much food in the pan dissipates the heat, causing the food to steam or boil rather than sauté.
One method for maintaining a hot pan and ensuring the food cooks evenly is through tossing or flipping the food in the pan — sauté actually means "jump" in French. Some sauté pans have sloped sides to facilitate this, but it's generally only done with smaller pieces of food, especially vegetables. For a demonstration, here's a video on how to sauté vegetables.
Pan-frying closely resembles sautéing, with the main difference being that pan-frying uses slightly more fat and slightly lower temperatures than sautéing. This makes it a good method for cooking larger pieces of meat that would not have time to cook through because with sautéing, the food isn't in the pan for very long. For that reason, larger pieces of meat are often finished in the oven after the surface has been cooked to the desired degree.
Roasting & BakingThe words roasting and baking are largely synonymous in that they both describe a method of cooking an item by enveloping it in hot, dry air, generally inside an oven and at temperatures of at least 300°F (but often much hotter).
This technique cooks food fairly evenly since all of the food's surfaces are exposed to much the same degree. This differs from pan-searing, for instance, where the surface that touches the hot pan gets much hotter than the side that faces up. Roasting and baking both require that the food be cooked uncovered, so that it's the hot, dry air that delivers the heat, not steam from the food.
Despite these similarities, roasting and baking can mean slightly different things depending on who you ask. Some chefs use the word "baking" only when speaking of bread, pastry and other bakery items. Some may use the word "roasting" only when referring to meats, poultry and vegetables, but use the term "baking" for fish and other seafood. Yet another distinction can be made with respect to temperature, with "roasting" implying greater heat and thus faster and more pronounced browning.
Broiling & GrillingBroiling is another dry-heat cooking method that relies on heat being conducted through the air. Because air is a relatively poor conductor of heat, broiling and grilling require the food to be quite close to the heat source, which in this case is likely to be an open flame. Thus the surface of the food cooks very quickly, making this type of cooking ideal for poultry, fish and the tenderest cuts of meat. In fact, because of the extremely hot and dry nature of this cooking method, it is customary to marinate meats that will be broiled or grilled.
Incidentally, there is one significant distinction between broiling and grilling, which is that grilling involves heating the food from below, while broiling involves heating from above. In both cases, the food is typically turned once during cooking, and a grid or grate of some kind is used, which gives the food the distinctive grill-marks that are the hallmark of this cooking technique. As with sautéing, it's critical to heat the broiler or grill before putting the food on it.
Deep-FryingSince deep-frying involves submerging the food in hot, liquid fat, it might take some time to get used to the idea that it's actually a form of dry-heat cooking. But if you've ever seen the violent reaction of hot oil to even a tiny drop of water, you know that oil and water are a couple of opposites that want nothing to do with each other. To avoid that, make sure anything you place into the hot fat is free from excess moisture. That might mean patting an item dry with a paper towel before frying it.
Deep-frying requires keeping the oil at temperatures between 325°F and 400°F. Hotter than that and the oil may start to smoke, and if it's any cooler, it starts to seep into the food and make it greasy. After cooking, deep-fried items should actually have very little oil on them, assuming they've been fried properly.
The key to keeping the oil hot is to fry items in small batches, as introducing too much food to the oil will cool it off. Another clue that deep-frying is in fact a form of dry-heat cooking is the attractive golden-brown color of foods cooked using this method. Foods are often coated in a simple batter to protect it and seal in its moisture.
C.) Sautéing & Pan-Frying
Sautéing is a form of dry-heat cooking that uses a very hot pan and a small amount of fat to cook the food very quickly. Like other dry-heat cooking methods, sautéing browns the food's surface as it cooks and develops complex flavors and aromas.
All About Sautéing
Dry Heat Cooking With Fat
All About SautéingSautéing is a form of dry-heat cooking that uses a very hot pan and a small amount of fat to cook the food very quickly. Like other dry-heat cooking methods, sautéing browns the food's surface as it cooks and develops complex flavors and aromas.
Sautéing Requires a Very Hot PanWhen sautéing, it's important to heat the pan for a minute, then add a small amount of fat and let the fat get hot as well, before adding the food to the pan. This hot fat helps to brown the surface of the food. Another key is to avoid overloading or overcrowding the pan.
Don't Overcrowd the Pan In order to achieve the desired browning of the food, the pan must stay hot throughout the cooking process. Too much food in the pan dissipates the heat, causing the food to steam or boil rather than sauté.
Keep the Food MovingThere's another element to sautéing — the toss. The word sauté actually means "jump" in French. Tossing or flipping the food in the pan ensures that it cooks evenly, but it also helps keep the pan hot.
How? Remember that when a hot thing meets a cooler thing, their temperatures eventually meet in the middle. The cooler thing heats up and the hot thing cools down.
Keep the Pan HotTo illustrate, imagine a pan with green beans cooking in it. The beans at the bottom of the pan, closest to the heat source, are nice and hot, while the ones on top, where they're exposed to air, are cooler. And the longer they sit like this, the greater this disparity in temperature becomes.
So far, so good. However, you're eventually going to want to cook the beans on top, too. And once you flip them, the ones from the top come into contact with the pan's surface and, because they're cooler, they actually lower the temperature of the pan. This leads to the same problem mentioned earlier, where the food ends up steaming rather than sautéing. That's why we try to keep everything moving more or less constantly.
To facilitate this, some sauté pans have sloped sides, which makes it easier to flip those items in the pan without flipping them all over the kitchen. However, it's worth noting that this flipping or tossing technique is only really practical with smaller pieces of food, especially vegetables. So for steaks, larger cuts of poultry, fish fillets and so on, we're more likely to employ a technique known as pan-frying rather than sautéing — even if the dish is actually called sautéed fillet of sole or whatever. For a demonstration, here's a video on how to sauté vegetables.
Pan-Frying Vs. Sautéing What's pan-frying? It's a lot like sautéing, but with a few key differences. Besides the fact that there's no tossing, pan-frying uses slightly more fat and slightly lower temperatures than sautéing. This makes it a good method for cooking larger pieces of meat that would not have time to cook through because with sautéing, the food isn't in the pan for very long. For that reason, larger pieces of meat are often finished in the oven after the surface has been cooked to the desired degree.
D.) Grilling & Broiling
Grilling and broiling are dry-heat cooking methods that rely on heat being conducted through the air from an open flame. Because air is a poor conductor of heat, broiling and grilling require the food to be quite close to the heat source, which in this case is likely to be an open flame.
Grilling & Broiling
Cooking Close to the Flame
Grilling & Broiling
Grilling & Broiling
Grilling and broiling are dry-heat cooking methods that rely on heat being conducted through the air from an open flame. This type of cooking produces browning reactions on the surface of the food, thus encouraging the development of complex flavors and aromas.
Grilling Cooks Hot and Fast Because air is a poor conductor of heat, broiling and grilling require the food to be quite close to the heat source, which in this case is likely to be an open flame.
Thus the surface of the food cooks very quickly, making this type of cooking ideal for extremely tender cuts of meat, poultry or fish. In fact, because of the extremely hot and dry nature of this cooking method, it is customary to marinate meats that will be broiled or grilled.
The "Turn" An important part of grilling and broiling is the "turn" — which refers to flipping the item over to cook the other side. Though it can be tempting to move things around while grilling, a little restraint will go a long way. Generally speaking, you should only turn an item once, which means cooking one side, turning it to finish the cooking, and then taking it off the grill.
Since there's not much else to do, knowing when to turn is pretty much the essence of grilling, and it's a sense that you'll develop with experience.
Grill MarksOne exception to the "don't move it" rule is that cooks will often rotate an item on the grill to mark it with cross-hatched grill lines. About one-third of a turn — like from 12 o'clock to 8 o'clock on a watch dial — would give the most attractive results.
Heat From Above Vs. Below Incidentally, there is one significant distinction between broiling and grilling, which is that grilling involves heating the food from below, while broiling involves heating from above.
In both cases, the food is typically turned once during cooking, and a grid or grate of some kind is used, which gives the food the distinctive grill-marks that are the hallmark of this cooking technique. As with sautéing, it's critical to heat the broiler or grill before putting the food on it.
What About Barbecuing? Barbecuing is similar to grilling and broiling in that it also uses an open flame to cook. But what defines barbecue is the use of wood or coals to produce the flame.
But as with most things in the culinary world, there is a bit of wiggle room here. Some chefs consider charcoal cooking to be a form of barbecuing, while plenty of others would insist that barbecue entails cooking over a wood fire in an open pit. Either way, everyone agrees that cooking with wood imparts a smoky flavor that just isn't possible with a gas grill.
What About Grill Pans? Grill pans are specially constructed pans that have elevated ridges designed to simulate the grill marks obtained by cooking food on an open-flame grill. But is that really grilling?
Technically, no. Remember, grilling cooks through the conduction of hot air, while a pan cooks by the conduction of heat through the pan itself.
Here's an example of the difference: Suppose you're cooking burgers on a grill. Any fat that drips off of the burgers falls away, and doesn't interfere with the heat from the flame or coals below. With a grill pan, however, the fat merely collects in the pan, meaning the burgers are effectively fried instead of grilled.
E.) Roasting & Baking
Roasting and baking are forms of dry-heat cooking that use hot, dry air to cook food. Because it uses indirect heat, baking and roasting cook food fairly evenly since all of the food's surfaces are exposed to the heat to the same extent.
Roasting & Baking
Cooking With Hot, Dry Air
Roasting: Dry-Heat Cooking
Roasting & Baking
Roasting and baking are forms of dry-heat cooking that use hot, dry air to cook food. Like other dry-heat cooking methods, roasting and baking brown the surface of the food, which in turn develops complex flavors and aromas.
Both words describe a method of cooking an item by enveloping it in hot, dry air, generally inside an oven and at temperatures of at least 300°F and often much hotter. A convection oven, which circulates hot air throughout the oven, can enhance the browning reaction.
Cook UncoveredRoasting and baking both require that the food be cooked uncovered, so that it's the hot, dry air that delivers the heat, not steam from the food.
Because it uses indirect heat, baking and roasting cook food fairly evenly since all of the food's surfaces are exposed to the heat to the same extent. This differs from pan-frying, for instance, where the surface that touches the hot pan gets much hotter than the side that faces up.
Roasting: Enhanced BrowningThough the words "roasting" and "baking" are frequently used interchangeably, some chefs distinguish between the two based on temperature, with roasting implying greater heat and thus faster and more pronounced browning than baking.
Others may prefer to use the word "roasting" specifically for meats, poultry and vegetables, but use the term "baking" for fish and other seafood.
Roasting Meats Roasting is a cooking method that is typically reserved for superior cuts of meat like beef tenderloins, rib roasts, loins of pork and so on. Whole poultry is frequently roasted, too, but this can be tricky as breast meat is drier and cooks faster than leg meat.
Roasting at lower temperatures, between 200°F and 300°F, for longer periods of time, can often produce a more tender, juicier roast, but sacrifices the surface browning which is the source of so much flavor. Conversely, high temperature roasting can result in a drier roast.
As a result, it is increasingly common to roast meats using a combination of low and high temperatures, using a low temperature for most of the cooking time, along with a short burst of high temperature, either at the beginning of cooking or at the very end, in order to achieve the desired surface browning.
Baking Fish Fillets, steaks or even whole fish can be baked. With whole fish, the body cavity is often stuffed with vegetables, herbs and other ingredients first. Otherwise, these stuffing ingredients can be placed on top of the fillets or steaks. This helps prevent the flesh from drying out.
And speaking of whole fish, the head has a lot of moisture in it, so when baking whole fish, leaving the head on is another way to help keep it from drying out.
Fish can also be brushed with oil or melted butter before baking, or even dipped in melted butter. The prepared fish is then baked at around 350°F on an oiled baking sheet. When baking leaner fish, it's a good idea to baste it with oil, butter or some other liquid during the baking, so that it doesn't dry out.
SLICED PORK BELLY
BAGOONG ALAMANG
VINEGAR
SCRAPED COCONUT
GATA- FROM SQUEEZE COCONUT
GREEN AND RED PEPPER SLICED
GREEN AND RED PEPPER
CHOPPED SILI-LABUYO AND SILI-SIGANG
SILI-SIGANG
SILI-LABUYO
VETSIN
CHOPPED ONION AND GARLIC
GARLIC AND ONION
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