On Food and Cooking

succulent there because less thoroughly cooked. Finally, cooking time depends on how the meat’s surface is ...

require frequent recalibration to maintain their accuracy.) The simplest way to be sure is to cut into the ...

when it’s completely relaxed, with little or no colored juice (some colorless fat may melt out). Rare ...

denatured, is frankly stiff to the touch, little juice is apparent, and both juice and interior are a dull ...

meats are riskier, because the contaminated meat surface is broken into small fragments and spread throughout t ...

Now that we understand the basic nature of heat and how it moves into and through meat, let’s survey th ...

they cook quickly, and suffer more from overcooking. Grilled chops and steaks may be just right at the ...

pounding, cutting, or grinding. Pieces of veal pounded into sheets (escalopes, scallopini) are both tenderized ...

been used since Renaissance times, when their primary function was to slow spoilage and to provide flavor ...

purified and powdered for the shaker, diluted in salt and sugar. (Despite lore to the contrary, wine corks ...

6% salt by weight for anywhere from a few hours to two days (depending on thickness) before being ...

counter-balanced by the brine absorbed, so the moisture loss is effectively cut in half. In addition, the d ...

the meat’s collected juices, or a sauce. A film of liquid clings to the surface of each shred and thus coats ...

Aids to Successful Grilling and Frying: Warm Meat and Frequent Flips Because grilling and frying invol ...

perfect grill marks are necessary, once or twice. If texture and moistness are more important, then flip ever ...

hot indeed: gas burns at around 3,000ºF/1,650ºC, coals and electrical elements glow at 2,000ºF/1,100ºC. Because ...

roasts and whole animals. It exposes the meat surface to browning temperatures, but it does so both evenly an ...

cooking method took its modern form about a century ago. Barbecuing is the low- temperature, slow heat ...

temperature of 165–70ºF/75ºC, and a whole hog will take 18 hours or more. These are ideal conditions for th ...

under the surface (p. 149). Hot Air and Walls: Oven “Roasting” In contrast to the grill, the oven is an indirect ...