Roasting and Braising

ROASTING AND BRAISING BASICS

ROASTING—While roasting formerly signified cooking food over an open flame, today roasting indicates foods cooked by a dry, high heat, usually 400° or hotter. Other indicators of a roasting recipe are rubbing a fat on the outside of the food before cooking to create a golden-brown exterior and cooking the food uncovered.

—The opposite of roasting, braising is usually a two-step process which cooks food by a wet, relatively low-temperature heat. Most braising recipes begin by quickly sautéing or searing the food in a hot pan to brown the exterior, followed by adding a small amount of cooking liquid. The food is then