Cooking Terms
»Baking
To cook food in an oven at a specified temperature
»Barbecuing
A method of long, slow cooking in a pit; on a spit
or in
a kettle grill over indirect heat.
»Braising
A method of moist cooking. The meat is browned on
both sides
in a small amount of oil to seal in the juices.
Liquid
is added and the meat is cooked, tightly covered,
over
low heat for a long period of time to tenderize
it.
»Broil
To cook with the heat source above the meat. If using an
electric oven, leave the door ajar or the
thermostat will
turn off the broiler at 500°F (260°C). Meat should
be turned once to cook both sides.
»Deep-Frying
To cook food by submerging it in deep, hot oil.
»Degreasing
To skim fat from the surface of a hot liquid. If
chilled
the fat will rise to the surface and become solid,
making
it easy to remove.
»Doneness
There are 4 degrees of doneness for meat; rare,
medium rare,
medium and well done. They vary for each variety
of meat.
»Dredging
To lightly coat meat or fowl with flour or cornmeal
before
cooking.
»Grilling
To cook with a heat source from below in the form of
gas
or charcoal. Covered grills allow you to
slow-roast large
pieces of meat and poultry over indirect heat (the
coals
are pushed to one side and the meat is on the
other.)
»Marinating
Marinades are used to improve the flavor and tenderize less
expensive cuts of meat. Seafood can actually
“cook” in
citrus-based marinades without heat. Be sure to
discard
any unused marinade after initial use.
»Pan-broiling
To cook meat in a heavy pan with little or no fat
over medium-high
heat. Fat and juices are poured out as they
appear.
»Pan-frying
To cook food in a small amount of hot oil over
medium-high
heat.
»Poaching
To gently cook food in a liquid that is hot, but not
boiling.
»Oven-roasting
Roasting and baking is the same form of dry-heat
cooking.
»Sautéing
To cook food in a small amount of hot oil over
medium-high
heat. It is similar to pan-frying, but less oil is
used.
»Searing
To brown meat with intense heat in order to seal in
the juices.
»Smoking
To slowly cook food over low heat (below 180°F or 82°C)
for a long period. Usually, some liquid is added to
provide
smoke. True smoking is not safe for the home cook.
Bacteria
grows rapidly below 200°F (93°C). A similar flavor
can be achieved safely with mini-barbecue pits.
»Steaming
To cook food on a rack above steaming water in a
covered
pot.
To cook bite-size pieces in a small amount of oil over high heat.
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