Dry Heat and Moist Heat Cooking
Cooking methods in the culinary arts are divided into two categories:- Dry heat cooking, such as roasting, broiling or sautéing.
- Moist heat cooking, like braising, steaming or poaching.
"Dry" Oil and Other Fats
It's worth noting that cooking methods involving fat, such as sautéing and deep-frying, are considered dry-heat methods. If this seems confusing, remember that oil and water don't mix, so while fat can take a liquid form, in many ways it's the opposite of water — hence "dry" heat.Choosing the Right Cooking Technique
Using the appropriate cooking method for the type of food being prepared is a major part of the culinary arts. Tough cuts of meat like brisket or shank need to be cooked slowly, at low heats, for a long time, and with plenty of moisture. Prepared properly, these cuts can be incredibly tender and delicious.On the other hand, dry-heat methods typically involve very high temperatures and short cooking times. A piece of brisket cooked in this way — on a grill, let's say — would be tough, chewy and largely inedible. Interestingly enough, a beef tenderloin steak cooked using a slow, moist-heat method such as braising would also turn out tough, chewy and inedible — albeit for different reasons.
Dry Heat Cooking
Dry heat cooking refers to any cooking technique where the heat is transfered to the food item without using any moisture. Dry-heat cooking typically involves high heat, with temperatures of 300°F or hotter.Baking or roasting in an oven is a dry heat method because it uses hot air to conduct the heat. Pan-searing a steak is considered dry-heat cooking because the heat transfer takes place through the hot metal of the pan. Note that the browning of food can only be achieved through dry-heat cooking. Examples of dry-heat methods include:
