Favorite Cooking Technique

10 years ago

last modified: 10 years ago

I am curious. What cooking method is most frequently employed in your home?

Let's make the list:

- Boiling (including simmering, braising, pressure cooking). Cooking by entirely or partly submerging in water that is boiling (212 F, or somewhat higher if using a pressure cooker).

- Steaming. Cooking with hot vapor from boiling liquid, when the food is not actually in contact with the liquid.

- Frying (including searing, saute, stir fry, pan fry, deep frying, pressure frying, hot salt/sand frying). Cooking by contact with a surface that is very hot (much hotter than boiling water), usually but not necessarily with some oil or fat. I'll include deep frying here, because the oil is effectively a very hot surface.

- Roasting (including baking, pot roasting, BBQ, hot smoking). Cooking through hot air, either in a container or directly in the oven, at either high or low temperature. I'm including hot smoking; cold smoking is in another category.

- Grilling (including broiling, charbroiling, rotisserie, spit roasting, and toasting). Cooking through direct exposure to radiant heat, which might be from gas, electric elements, halogen lights, heat lamps, or burning wood.

- Torching (including flambe, blow torch). Cooking through a flame applied directly and closely to the surface of the food.

- Microwaving. Cooking through electromagnetic waves that penetrate the interior of the food (if you are in the habit of cooking with a laser, see torching).

- Chemical cooking (including curing, drying, pickling, ceviche, cold smoking, fermentation, and probably various industrial cooking processes I have not heard of.) Cooking through exposure of the food to acid, salt, sugar, marinades, or other chemicals, *** withOUT heat ***. We'll include dehydration, aging, and cold smoking, but not hot smoking.

- No cooking. This means you eat your food raw. Maybe you cut it up first.

Okay, I think that is pretty comprehensive. Maybe I missed something.

Which of these techniques do you use the most when making meals at home? Why? Is there a technique that you don't know but would like to learn?

Featured Answer

cookncarpenter

10 years ago

last modified: 10 years ago

A few years ago, my answer would be grilling hands down, since we live where it's possible year round. However, since I got my Bluestar with griddle, I'd say griddling (is that's a word?) has taken over as first place. Pretty much anything that can be grilled, can be griddled, often with better results. Also, much of what can be fried, can also be cooked on the griddle. It is just so versatile I love it, and use it daily often several times.

My griddle is followed closely by cast iron skillet and dutch oven cooking, not limited to frying only, often stovetop to oven roasting, and of course searing.

Next would be simmering sauces, soups etc. I also stir fry maybe once a week or so.

Boiling for me would be pasta and rice often, and poaching chicken now and then for shredded recipes, boiling potatoes for mashed, and hard boiled eggs.

I steam veggies now and then, but also roast, grill, and cook them on the griddle:)

I saute a fair amount, but usually it's ingredients not meals. I don't think I've ever braised that I know of.

In the oven, it's home made pizza once a month or so, and a prime rib and Yorkshire pudding two or three times a year :)

I do bake cookies, pies, biscuits and cakes but not regularly.

I never cook in the microwave, very rarely even warm up in it other than coffee, and manage to live easily without one at our vacation place.

Edit: LOL, I had to look up braising to realize I do it quite often! I just called it stove top to oven roasting ;)

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Comments (22)

Islay Corbel
10 years ago
I use all those techniques. Different foods needing different methods........
plllog
10 years ago
Favorite is braising. Most often done is some combination of steam and roasting (Combi-steam oven).

Why? Braising brings out the most flavor for the least amount of work. I have a recipe I saved as Short-Ribs the Easy Way. It's a braise with spices, coarsely cut mirepoix, canned tomatoes and booze. It's way high on the umami love scale and dead easy. There's a Molly recipe for braised duck legs with dried cherries which I made once. It's the most fiddly recipe for cooking (not baking) I can remember doing, but once the fiddling is done and it's all cooking, it turns into a massive party of delicious delights, so word to flavor ratio it's still a winner. Then there's just the stuff that gets cooked without a specific recipe. Can't go wrong with a braise! Beer braised bison ribs! The Coke brisket that everybody loves so much. Lamb in red wine swimming with garlic. Even when I roast a turkey, technically, it's a braise.

Steam roasting is the easiest way period. Sometimes I'll buy food that's meant for a particular, involved dish, but then I run out of time, go out unexpectedly, or just don't feel well, and just need to cook it already. Into the combi-steam it goes. Comes out delicious with minimal prep and bother.
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You're welcome. So here's some more info. When I read your second paragraph, I thought "red kidney beans", so I did a couple of searchers, and that really is the thing, though some other beans do have some of the same compound, and the authoritative ones rather transparently lump in all beans to keep fools from screwing up. in fact, the original Crock Pot slow cooker was invented by a Jewish man who wanted a way to make the Sabbath cholent (a bean stew). In traditional, European Jewish practice (there are slight variations in other regions that I can't speak of off the top of my head) has it that you can't "cook" on the Sabbath, but you can start something cooking before the Sabbath starts at sundown, and leave it on a banked fire (you can't add more fuel) until you're ready to eat it. This satisfies the commandment not to cook while letting you eat warm food. Additionally, you can walk to your neighbors, but not go on a journey (i.e., the 1000 steps), and you can carry things around your home, but not away. And the horse gets Sabbath too, so you can't ride or drive. In the small towns, people lived near enough to the gathering place where services were held to not be making a "journey". This was usually in the town center. So, they decided to mark the circumference around the gathering place that was "home" rather than away, and often marked it with an actual string, though in other places it would be roads and landmarks. They did this so they could also carry things. So, another big destination in the center was the bake house. On Fridays, after the baking was done, the bakers would bank and cover the fire well so it would smolder gently and be easy to revive after the Sabbath, and by being a bit warm, the ovens never got really cold. In fact, they stayed warm enough that they could slow cook. The men would bring their bean stew pots to the big baking oven on their way to Friday night services (the beginning of which starts before the Sabbath starts at Sundown (technically the afternoon service)). After the morning service on Saturday, they'd retrieve their bean pots and take them home for the main meal of the day. The beans and bits of meat and veg all cooked overnight and were warm and delicious at lunchtime. The crockpot was designed to do the same thing. The legend of the designer is that it was an 18-hour, Lithuanian granny's recipe. Of course, then American housewives found all kinds of things to use it for... People don't get sick from slow cooking most beans, or I promise you these bean stews would have been forbidden. There may be some beans besides red kidney beans that are dangerous, but kidneys are the ones we always get warnings about, and most beans don't have this problem. I don't know, however, if there's a time/temp tradeoff for this toxin or if it's an absolute temperature level. The general recommendation is to boil all beans for ten minutes before slow cooking as a better safe than sorry thing, and some say they cook more evenly if you do. It's certainly a lot easier to adopt than knowing for sure which other beans, besides kidney, might be a problem. I have no idea if they did that back in the bakehouse days, but they could well have. It seems obvious that the stew would cook better if started on the fire at home, before banking for heating, and then letting it finish in the bakehouse. Early Crock Pot recipes do usually have you start the beans on the stove, but that seems more about the cookery than any thought of toxins..
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ldstarr
10 years ago
I'd say we roast, fry and steam the most. We do use a Crock-pot a fair amount and I'm not sure what would fall under. Probably depends on what's in it.
neely
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
I'd say we stir fry and braise the most. Usually try to use a very little oil say about a tablespoon of peanut oil for the stir fry and a tablespoon of olive oil for the usual initial cooking of onions, garlic when braising.

We tend to BBQ a lot over the summer so as not to heat the house up.

We love roasts.
User
10 years ago
Braising/simmering and slow oven roasting are my usual methods. I seldom fry. Growing up in the South with the usual broken oven in the house, that was 90 percent of the cooking. Although there is nothing better than home-fried chicken, fish, potatoes, cornbread, etc., I dislike the mess, the constant attention it takes, and it doesn't agree with my digestion. I rarely steam, with the exception of fresh veggies, and I've gotten away from that lately since I've discovered oven-roasted veggies. I never grill, that's DH's job. (I'm the world's worst fire-starter.) Microwaving is strictly for heating up and quick bacon/egg sandwich or cooking quick grits in the morning. I've never torched or chemically cooked anything.
Anne
10 years ago
I most often saute. Occasionally use a Crock Pot. As a treat we will deep fry seafood. My DH uses the grill or smoker quite a bit and makes a beautiful beef tenderloin in by slow oven method.
party_music50
10 years ago
I love to saute! I also love to roast and bake. :) I use a crockpot only as a vessel to keep things warm and never think to cook in it. I actually do use the microwave to cook/bake a banana coffeecake and LOVE it because it's quick, otherwise microwaves are for reheating. It's a rare day that I'll steam or deep fry. I do wish I'd remember to use the broiler more often and that I had the good weather and time required to smoke meat.
carolb_w_fl_coastal_9/10
10 years ago
Thinking it's about equal parts roasting/baking, stewing/braising & sauteeing - tending more towards broiling & sauteeing in the hotter months.
User
10 years ago
Saute, roast, steam, boil (pasta) grill, stir fry, bake, no cook (salads, tomato sauce, etc.). Don’t care for braised or deep fried. Microwave is only used to reheat.
omelet
10 years ago
Saute and braising - I used to roast but braising has taken over, we love it. Those are the techniques used the most. As for FAVORITE - well, my favorite is when DH works magic on the grill!

As for why - for grilling, the char and flavor are extraordinary. For inside, I love to cook without recipes, just getting inspired by what we have on hand. Sauteing really lends itself to that. Braising is also very forgiving, the braising liquid and ingredients can be modified by what's on hand, and it will always come out delicious.

I have done some quick pickling, and of all the techniques you list that is probably the one I would like to learn and do more often, especially as spring and summer approach.
sleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)
10 years ago
Winter

saute, braise, simmer, roast, steam, bake,50% raw

Spring

saute, braise, grill, smoke(hot and cold), steam, simmer, bake,50% raw

Summer

steam, braise, grill, smoke, 75% raw

Fall

braise, simmer, steam, roast, bake, 50% raw

*we do eat a fair amount of raw. but i put pickling and fermenting in that category so it is heavy handed in the percentage.

*i suppose i boil and fry by your list. Broths and soups are at the boiling point and searing is frying by that definition...but i have never battered and fried anything in a depth of oil it requires.

-Isn't a saute more of a steam? Our saute is more of a light steam to barely cook, just a wilt for greens or warming/blanching green beans...no oil, just a bit of steam...may finish with a pat of butter.
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Lars/J. Robert Scott
10 years ago
For me, grilling is very common, but I cook a lot in the pressure cooker - and so I guess boiling is the most common for me. I use a crock pot about once a year, and so that is pretty rare. Yesterday I stir-fried some vegetables and leftover rice. I had done this so that I could add the leftover Chinese meatballs, but I forgot to add them. I did add egg, however. I cook pancakes on the griddle, and I also make omelets fairly frequently. One thing I never do is braise, since we do not eat the type of meat that is used for. I use the oven for baking bread, pizza, lasagna, calzone, etc but generally not for meat or vegetables. Most of my cooking is done on the stove top, when we are not barbecuing. I use the slow smoker to smoke turkey breast and sausage about twice a month or so.
fawnridge (Ricky)
10 years ago
Grilling more than any other technique. If it's meat, it gets grilled. Veggies get sauted on the stove. Rice on the stove. Potatoes usually on the grill but often in the microwave. I use a 22-1/2" Weber Kettle to cook chicken (but not breasts), pork chops and tenderloin, lamb chops, and burgers.

About the only thing that I use the oven for is to bake cookies.
User
10 years ago
I love them all, but have to say my favorite is braising. That's because I love the fact that I can do most if no all of the work up front, clean the kitchen and just sit back and marinate in the aromas of my home for hours.

Not to mention, lots of leftovers that get better over time.
jakkom
10 years ago
1) slow roasting

2) braising

3) sear-roasting
dcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m
10 years ago
I enjoy deep fried food, but I don't deep fry often. Waste too much good cooking oil deep frying.

I use all the tools and techniques, especially sous vide and the pressure cooker.

Hot smoke cold smoke. I also use the dehydrator as a low temperature convection oven to cook.

dcarch
John Liu
Original Author
10 years ago
For me, frying is #1, closely followed by boiling #2, with roasting a distant #3.

Frying is fast, different ingredients can be cooked for different times, flavors built up, sauces made. You don't have to figure out the whole dish ahead of time, as you can improvise as you go. I recently got an iron wok and a 25K BTU burner, which has made frying more fun and even faster.

Boiling for me is mostly pressure cooking. Again, the reason is speed. I actually like braising and simmering a lot but seldom have the patience.

Roasting is too slow for my daily cooking. Sometimes I'll parboil stuff and then roast it. But then it is even faster to toss it in the wok.

My grandma steamed dishes a lot. Steamed whole fish, steamed buns, etc. I mostly use steaming for dumplings and the like.

A shameful amount of food is cooked here in the microwave . . . and not just leftovers . . .

Grilling is a seasonal thing for me. Someday I'd like a broiler that doesn't require me to sit on the floor in front of a open oven door. Then I could grill year round. A broiler is, I think, basically an upside down grill.
Annie Deighnaugh
10 years ago
MW is probably most often used between all the meals, be it hot cereal for bkfst or defrosting bread for lunch or reheating leftovers or cooking vegetables. But I don't really consider that "cooking".

In terms of prepping meals, probably saute would be my go to process because, even if I'm making, say a soup, I start out by doing up the onions, garlic, veggies, etc. I'm a real chop and drop cook....wood board next to the stove, in goes a little bit of oil and then start the chopping and dropping.
lindac92
10 years ago
Grilling....no question...steaks, chops ( pork and lamb) chicken, breasts, hind quarters and whole, fish...salmon, cod, grouper...and shrimp. Grill basket of onions, peppers, zuchinni , tomatoes....potatoes on a skewer,, hot dogs, brats, polish sausage....etc etc. Grilling is easy and good.
ruthanna_gw
10 years ago
Baking is the primary method used for fish, meats and poultry. I guess you'd call it oven-braised because except for fish, a bean pot or Dutch oven is often used.

For most fresh or frozen vegetables, my first choice is microwaving.

Imake a lot of soups, sauces, rice, and beans so simmering is the other method I use, although I guess according to the listed categories above, it would be classofied as boiling.

I haven't deep fried for at least 20 years and grill much less than I used to in the summer.
westsider40
10 years ago
Microwave. Fast and easy clean up because our lazy bones trump our gourmet dining wishes. Good for veggies, too. I actually have kind of mastered (made edible) cooking a half pound frozen hamburger in the mw. Go ahead and turn up your noses but I am out of the kitchen in record time. Minimize grunt work.

Favorite Cooking Technique

cookncarpenter

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