Common Misapplications of Basic Cooking Techniques Part 2

As discussed our the previous post on this topic, there are several common misunderstandings around the uses of some of the more basic cooking techniques. With a little understanding though, you can learn to bend the rules a little and experiment with them to create signature flavors using less conventional ingredients.

Again, try to think outside the box a little. What would grilled fruit taste like, with that sweet finish along with a little smokey char after being marinated in liqueur and spices? Or maybe pork, that’s been slow roasted and simmered with pickled plums, fresh ginger peach nectar. Or how about butter poached lobster infused with sweet onion, and finished with fried herbs? The point being, having an understanding of the basic application and misapplication of a technique will allow you to begin trying new ways to achieve flavors, and enjoy cooking from new perspectives. That said, this article will highlight 3 more commonly used techniques and, offer some context of how they’re at times misunderstood, and how you can use them properly. So let’s begin!

Pan Frying

We begin with pan frying. At times known as shallow frying, Pan Frying is a viable alternative to deep frying as it can be done using almost any pot or pan found in most kitchens. Its great for frying fish, chicken cutlets, pork chops, French fries, homemade donuts, and a list of other fan favorites. In general pan frying works best for items that are flatter in thickness. Unlike deep frying, where the food is submerged in oil, pan frying sometimes requires that the foods are flipped at least once or twice so that it cooks from both sides. Also due to less oil volume than deep frying, once foods are added to the oil, the chances of dropping the cooking temp are much higher and which can easily affect the end results.

Unlike other cooking methods, where you can season foods through out the cooking process, when it comes to flavoring fried foods, flavors have to be infused, into the batter, or through marinating or brining, in order to develop the undertones of said food. Alternatively, you can adjust the seasonings when removing items from the oil, by giving it a sprinkle of salt, or your favorite spice blend. Its also important to know that using the same oil to fry in, over and over, can result in the transfer of strong rancid or unwanted flavors. An example of this would be, frying chicken in grease that’s been used for fish, or using that same oil for tempura vegetables. As a rule of thumb, if you have to fry multiple things using the same oil, save the heavier flavored items for the final part of the frying so that the neutral flavored foods won’t be affected.

Knowing the different affects that battered and dredged foods have on oil is also a bit of useful information that can change the way you fry. Dredging is basically a coating made up of flour and spices, and is generally applied in a 2 step process. That process basically involves adding the flour mixture to the wet surface of a food which in turn, when fried, creates a little more texture to the food without completely coating it the way a batter would. An example of this could be basic fried chicken, dredged fish, or quick fried vegetables.

In a similar fashion Batter (which is basically a thin form of dough) is also used to add flavor and texture to food. Often though when people think of batter, some of the first foods to come to mind are pancakes, funnel cakes, waffles or crepes, but batter is often more diverse than that. Conceptually, when being used for frying, it’s basically made by adding liquid to the dredging. In that space, though you an find room for creativity by using, savory spices, fresh herbs or in some cases, your favorite beer! The resulting difference is more readily seen in foods like, onion rings, battered fish or tempura vegetables.

Like other methods, where frying goes wrong is when the pan is over crowded or when the heat is too high or too low. The resulting mistakes are fairly easy to recognize. When the pan is overcrowded or the temperature has dropped too low, foods can become soggy, or they can develop a distinct oil flavor in the finish. On the other hand, oil that is too hot, results in the food browning too quickly and in some cases, burning. Remembering to check and adjust the heat as necessary, even after adding food to the oil, can go a long ay to achieving the golden brown results famed the world over. But enough about Pan Frying for now; next up, we move on to Braising!

Braising

Braising is kind of a combination technique that involves browning to create caramelization, followed by a slow simmer that ultimately breaks down tough fibers too creat a tender finish. This cooking process takes a bit more time to complete but the level of flavors achieved by this method cannot be duplicated by any other process. That’s because braising usually results in liquid volume reduction, which causes flavors to become concentrated while thickening naturally. Add to that, the layering affect (which will be discussed under simmering) and you can quite literally create a combination that is completely unique to your style of cooking. any other process. That’s because braising usually results in liquid volume reduction, which causes flavors to become concentrated while thickening naturally. Add to that, the layering affect (which will be discussed under simmering) and you can quite literally create a combination that is completely unique to your style of cooking.

While it is true that braising is most recognized in food favorites like, stews and pot roasts etc, it shouldn’t be overlooked that it can also be done with grains as well. The ever popular

Pilaf method, is a form of braising and though people don’t often think of it but, cooking risotto, is similar to braising in a way. To digress, though, when braising grains you still begin with a little browning, followed by the optional sweating of aromatics/vegetables, and finally the simmering to doneness, which is generally when the grains have become tender. This method is often used with wild rices and whole grains, when making salads and stuffings.

Where braising goes wrong is when a person adds too much liquid to the pan. Or when when they’ve turned the heat up too high.

To put this into perspective lets say that you have a pot of beef stew. With too much liquid the beef heats up slowly and instead of the fibers breaking down, they become tight and tough, instead of tender. On the other hand, too much heat will cause the meat to boil, and loose flavor, instead of reducing and concentrating the broth, and yes, it will also cause the meat to be tough.

Proper braising happens in the space right in the middle, not too high or too low. And with a wide margin for error, in terms of timing of the process, another misapplication often occurs by not paying attention to the heat, during the simmering and reduction. In other words, it helps to understand that a pot with a gallon of liquid will require more heat to simmer, than a pot with only a half gallon. So don’t forget to check your food and adjust the heat as your food is simmering. Make sense? Last but not least, one of the easier to use, yet often misunderstood techniques that we’ll look at, falls in the boiling category.

Boiling, Simmering and Blanching

Boiling is a method that is best suited for quick blanching or for cooking pastas. Blanching will generally start with boiling water because, whatever you’re blanching only needs to have the fibers loosened up enough for certain flavors and tannins to be released. This only requires seconds on most cases, and mere minutes in others, like when handling larger batches of vegetables.

Common misconceptions of the boil technique can be found in the names of foods, like a crawfish boil, or boiled peanuts. Again, while it is true that boiling is part of the cooking process, the overall technique is usually a high/heavy simmer. The difference being, that boiling an item causes the starches or fibers to tighten quickly. (as can be seen with boiling pastas or gnocchi). Whereas a simmer allows the the tightened fibers, to break down and create flavors while simultaneously, being tenderized. If you happen to have an old cookbook or recipe, you may have noticed the letters BTABRTAS, which stood for: Bring To A Boil...Reduce To A Simmer. Simmering is easier to spot when you notice the bubbles in the pot are not at a level of what’s considered, a “rolling boil” which is more vigorous in appearance. A high/heavy simmer will produce bubble in roughly the size of a nickel whereas a rolling boil will produce bubble the size of a quarter or silver dollar. The difference being the intensity of the heat.

High Heat = Boil

Medium High Heat = Heavy Simmer

Medium Heat = Low/Slow Simmer

As mentioned earlier, the simmering technique allows for another added bonus. Namely that of concentrating of flavors, which allows you to develop what chefs refer to as “layers” in your dish. Layering adds a nice complexity to your food and requires very little to achieve. Think of it this way, imagine your favorite soup, as it reduces and concentrates in flavor, and as it reduces to about half of its original volume, you add a few more quarts of broth/sauce to it. What happens as a result is the concentrated flavors are expanded and fortified by the addition of the added broth, which causes the flavors to become more robust, while taking on different levels of intensity within the the same sample. A Demi Glacé, is a great example of a layered sauce. The flavors are rich and robust and often don’t require much adjusting because of the well rounded layers within the sauce. To put this into perspective, you may have ordered a soup or a tea or some other brothy food from two different restaurants and noticed that the flavor of one is more bold and pronounced than the other. This is a result of layering, which, during simmering, is done by reduction.

Where these methods go wrong, is when something that requires simmering gets blanched or boiled. And the misapplication often results in bitter flavors, harsh finishes, and in some cases, tough or mushy textures, which, for vegetables results in the losing of their nutritional value as a result.

The Take Away...

Blanch Vegetables

Boil Pastas

Use the Simmer for almost everything else...

Conclusion

Understanding the differences between the methods will help you avoid misusing and misapplying the wrong method when preparing your food. Understanding how to use the right method (i.e. heat intensity and length of cook time, overcrowding, etc.) will help you achieve more consistent results and boost your confidence to try new dishes thereby refining your culinary signature as you conquer your way through kitchen. As you become more comfortable using these methods, you‘ll likely find it easier to explore new ways of adjusting their application, thereby developing varying flavor profiles and new ways to cook your food! And when you do, why not drop us a line and let us know what you came up with, and how you did it. We’d love to hear from you!