The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science

The answer, unfortunately, is yes. But not much. Regular biscuit dough tends to be really high in fat—a full ...

case acts as a leavener. As the dumplings cook, their loose protein matrix begins to solidify, trapping ...

CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS NOTE: Instead of using the chicken stock, you can simmer 4 chicken legs ...

SERVES 4 TO 6 1 recipe Quick Chicken Stock (here), including the picked leg meat (see Note above) 2 medi ...

boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Mean ...

POT ROAST Give me a good American-style pot roast, in all its dripping, savory, messy, beefy glory, over a ...

heavy with meat juices. For soul-satisfying cold-weather fare, it’s about as good as it gets. ...

moisture exuding from the vegetables will help deglaze the fond left behind by the browned beef). Time ...

Slicing a pot roast after chilling overnight gives you uniform, tatter-free slices. Constant Heat Versus ...

of the pot. Move all your braises to the oven, and you’ll get better results—guaranteed. When I made the ...

As you can see, the meat cooled in the liquid ended up with a good 3 percent more moisture than t ...

The best cuts of beef for stewing or braising have plenty of robust beefy flavor and lots of connectiv ...

grain and plenty of fat. It has a deep, beefy flavor and a robust, ropy texture that holds up ...

Does leaving the lid on or off really make much of a difference when cooking in an oven that’s supposed t ...

temperature. In my simple test, putting the lid on increased the temperature in the pot ...

ALL-AMERICAN POT ROAST WITH GRAVY SERVES 6 TO 8 1 boneless chuck roast (about 5 pounds), pulled apart ...

4 anchovy fillets 2 medium cloves garlic, finely minced or grated on a Microplane (about 2 teaspoons) 1 teaspoo ...

and mash with the back of a fork until a smooth, homogeneous paste is formed. 4. Return the pot ...

the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Bring the liquid to a boil over high heat and reduce it until coats th ...

GLUTAMATES, INOSINATES, AND THE UMAMI BOMBS For many years, food scientists believed that our tongues were se ...