Grilling and broiling are very similar cooking techniques that uses heat from direct flames or thermal radiation (such as from infrared grills) to cook the food. The difference between the two is where the heat is coming from; in grilling the heat comes from below the food item, and in broiling the heat comes from above the food item. These are both techniques from the dry-heat methods category of cooking that exposes the food to tempereatures often in excess of 500°F (260°C). While it is most common to think of grilling as an outdoor activity, many home cooks have started incorporating indoor grills alongside their kitchen cooktop burners. Indoor grills range from built-in gas grills, portable electric grills, grill pans, or grill plates (although grilling on any surface where the heat isn't direct often would be considered frying especially if the food has a lot of fat (like meat items) and the fat collect at the bottom of the pan). Broiling, on the other hand, is most often done inside the oven. Since the heat is so high with this cooking technique, there is a tendency to overcook the item and so most often it is recommended that the oven door is slightly propped open for temperature control. The doneness and intended browning of the food can also be controlled by variating the distance between the food and the heat source. Barbecuing is often associated with these cooking techniques and is quite similar to the grilling process where by the food is placed on a grill. Barbecuing uses indirect heat as opposed to direct heat with grilling. The food often times include a finishing sauce (barbecue sauce) brushed on the food just before removing from the heat. "The Turn" is an important part of grilling, broiling, and barbecuing which is the act of flipping the food item over to cook the other side. Generally speaking, you should only turn an item once, which means cooking one side, turning it to finish the cooking, and then taking it off the grill. Since there's not much else to do, knowing when to turn is pretty much the essence of grilling, broiling and barbecuing, and it's a sense that you'll develop with experience. Another cooking technique that falls under the same realm is called "Smoking". Similar to barbecuing, it is an indirect method of cooking using heat from smoke to infuse flavor to and cook the food. Smoking is done in an enclosed smoke box called "Smokers". Various types of hard woods like hickory, mesquite, oak, pecan, alder, or maple, and woods from fruit trees such as apple, cherry, and plum are often used in smoking. There are three types of smoking:

1. Hot Smoking exposes the food to smoke and heat at temperatures between 165°F (74°C) to 185°F (85°C). This is the ideal range that produces fully cooked, moist and flavorful foods. If the smoker is allowed to get hotter than 185°F (85°C), the food shrinks excessively because the higher temperatures cooks away both moisture and fat.
2. Smoke Roasting or Smoke Baking is often referred to as barbecuing, pit-roasting, or pit-baking that exposes the food to smoke and heat temperatures above 250°F (121°C).
3. Cold Smoking primarily is used as a flavor enhancer to foods such as protein-based items, and other food items. The food is typically cold smoked for a short period of time just long enough to infuse the smokey flavor into the food. The temperature of the smoke and heat is maintained below 100°F (38°C). In this temperature range, foods take on a rich, smokey flavor, develop a deep mahogany color, and tend to retain a relatively moist texture. They are not cooked as a result of the smoking process, however and are usually combined with other cooking techniques to achieve the desired cooking doneness.

Last night, Didi was telling me about a news report she saw that morning about a practice called "cow pooling". Based on her description and her recommendation, I started googling and found some great information about the subject. First of all, cow pooling has nothing to do with transportation or a childhood prank. It is a revived movement driven by determination in addressing the health needs of using grass fed animals as food sources, the economic needs of purchasing organic food (specifically meats) at affordable prices, and the social need of knowing where our food comes from while developing closer relationships with local farmers in the processing of meat products. Cow Pooling (or Cattle Sharing) is when a group of two or more families pool their funds together to buy a whole cow from a local rancher. They then negotiate amongst each other on the portion of cuts that each family would take. Once the cow or cattle is old enough for slaughter, the local rancher informs the families so that they can have the opportunity to view the process. Of course, this is in general sense and each rancher or farmer have their own restrictions. Additionally, the families can just elect their meats to be vacuum packed and delivered to their houses if they choose to forego witnessing the processing of the animals. There are great benefits to purchasing meat in this manner:

1. Development of a direct working relationship with the source.
2. Since the exchange in the transaction is between two parties, the cost of the purchase is much less. Grass fed beef averages out to be about $3 to $5 per pound compared to about $16 at Whole Food stores.
3. A healthier option without the sacrifice of omitting meats from your diet (for those meat lovers).
4. Personal contribution on the elimination of animal cruelty in factory farms.

As with everything, there's also some disadvantages that is important to keep in mind:

1. Takes a large outlay of funds at the time of purchase especially for smaller family groups.
2. Takes a large commitment of freezer storage space. A typical side of beef weighs about 250 lbs. If there are four families sharing a cow, that's approximately about 125 lbs. of meat for each.
3. Some cuts might not be possible to get based on choices by other familes in the group. For example, if a family want's Porterhouse steaks, that eliminates another family from getting filet and New York cuts since both of these make up the Porterhouse cut.

If you are interested in cow pooling or cattle sharing, you'll have to search for a farmer or rancher offering this service local to your area. One rancher providing this service in Southern California is Megan McDowell of MM Livestock Co located in Wildomar, California. Along with cows, she also sells sheep. The sheep are crossbreeds of Suffolk and Dorper, and the cows are primarily Angus/Semmintal. The meats are Certified Naturally and Humanely Raised, and are U.S.D.A. inspected, graded and processed . They are also hormone, steroid and antibiotic free.

Roasting and baking are two types of cooking techniques using the dry heat method. They are very similar in that they use dry heat (either from a flame, the oven, or other heat source) to cook the food. The difference is that the food is kept whole during roasting, and typically involves a browning process called Maillard Reaction (pronounced mī′yär rē′ak·shən) prior to the actual roasting of the food. In contrast, the baking process are done with individually portioned items and bypasses the browning of the food before baking.

Since this method of cooking uses heated air circulating around the food, it is important to keep in mind that the fattier the food item is being roasted, the more moisture it will retain during cooking. Leaner meats like poultry and today’s cuts of pork have a tendency of drying out especially if the meat is even a little overcooked. A couple of ways to remedy this for leaner meats is to either inject them with seasoned liquid such as a brine mixture or stock, or soak them in a brine solution (brining) prior to cooking.

Brining:

Brining is a process of soaking food items in a liquid solution that includes water and salt as its basic ingredients. In the past, brining was done to preserve meats by extracting moisture to extend shelf life and prevent the meat from spoiling. Since the advent of mechanical refrigeration, this process has been abandoned by almost all meat processors.

Today, brining is used primarily to add flavor and moisture to the food prior to cooking. This will often be referred to as “flavor brining”.

(See the article by Julia Collin on The Basics of Brining)

Maillard Reaction:

This browning process is a very important step in roasting foods, especially meats; and is often referred to as "searing". It intensifies the flavor of the food and adds to the presentation during serving.

The maillard reaction is achieved when amino acids react with a reducing sugar when heat is introduced. It is named after Louis-Camille Maillard, the chemist who first introduced it in the 1910s while attempting to reproduce biological protein synthesis.

The maillard reaction occurs at temperatures 285°F (140°C) or above and can be done over a stovetop or in the oven. For this reaction to take place there needs to be three factors present – High heat, low moisture levels and high alkaline conditions.

Ø On the stovetop – The cooking vessels ideal for this procedure are made of stainless steel materials.

1. Heat the cooking vessel prior to adding the oil (to gauge the temperature of the cooking vessel, check out this video from Rouxbe).

Rouxbe Online Cooking School & Video Recipes

2. Once the cooking vessel is at the correct temperature, add the oil.

3. Make sure to pat the surface of the food dry prior to seasoning and placing in the cooking vessel. Excess moisture in the surface of food will cause oil splatter.

4. Brown the food on all sides before continuing with the next steps of your cooking process.

Ø In the oven – The only requirement regarding cooking vessels using this method is that it be oven safe at higher temperatures.

1. Heat the oven to at least 285°F (140°C) for smaller sized foods, all the way up to 400°F (204°C) for larger sized food like whole turkey.

2. Place the food item in the cooking vessel large enough for the air to circulate around the food. Typically the cooking vessel is the same one that the food will be finished in. In lieu of this, roasting food should be elevated high enough from the bottom of the pan so as not to have contact with any liquid that escapes from the meat during the cooking process (remember, roasting is a dry heat cooking method). Food can be elevated using racks or chunks of vegetables like large cuts of carrots, celery, and onions. As with the stovetop method, it is important to make sure that the surface of the food is patted dry of excess moisture.

3. Place the cooking vessel with the food to be browned in the oven and brown to the desired color intensity.

4. Reduce the temperature of the oven and continue with the next steps of your cooking process.

Finishing:

Once the brining and browning process is done, the rest of the roasting process is very simple. The main points to remember here is the size of the food being roasted typically determines the temperature and cooking time.

Ø Slow Roasting uses temperatures between 200° - 325°F (90° - 160°C) and are ideal for larger cuts of meats and whole large poultry. The benefit to these temperatures is less moisture loss and a tender finished product. The muscles of the meat tend to lose a lot of water at higher temperature rates.

Ø High temperatures are typically used for roasting smaller cuts of meats like fillet mignon or strip loin that are small enough to finish cooking before the juices escape.

As with roasting, one important factor to keep in mind is that the more internal moisture the food item has, the faster it will cook.

Meats should be allowed to rest after the cooking process. This allows the moisture that is driven toward the center of the meat during cooking to be redistributed as the protein molecules relax and are able to reabsorb some moisture. As a result, less juice runs out of the meat when you cut into it. The larger the food item is, the longer the rest period. Smaller items like individually portioned steaks or chicken breasts can rest between 5 - 7 minutes, and larger items like whole turkey or beef roasts can rest between 10 - 15 minutes prior to carving.

It is also important to realize that foods continue to cook even after it is removed from the heat. This is called "carry over cooking" or "residual heat cooking". This being said, it is ideal to remove the food from the heat source prior to reaching the ideal cooked temperature, and tented with aluminum foil to take advantage of this carry over cooking stage during the rest period. Smaller items can be taken out at least 5 degrees prior to final temperature, and larger items can be taken out at least 10 degrees prior to final temperature. (Click here for a guide on how to use a meat thermometer and temperature chart for each type of meat).

We’re all conspiring to be gourmet so cook to your heart’s content!

In simple terms, cooking is a process of preparing food by applying heat. The method used in applying heat varies from different countries, cultures, environment, and preference. Generally, these methods can be categorized into one of two categories – dry heat cooking methods and moist heat cooking methods.

Dry Heat Cooking:

Dry heat cooking refers to any cooking technique where the heat is transferred to the food item without using any moisture. Dry-heat cooking typically involves high heat, with temperatures of 300°F or hotter.

Ø Roasting and Baking are forms of dry heat cooking using hot dry air to cook the food.

Ø Grilling and Broiling rely on heat being conducted through the air from open flames.

Ø Sautéing and Pan-Frying are quick methods of cooking and almost similar in techniques with a few key differences. Sautéing uses a very hot pan with a small amount of fat, and the food is kept moving by tossing or flipping the food. The word sauté means “to jump” in French. Pan-Frying differs in that there’s no tossing of the food, uses slightly more fat, and slightly lower temperature than sautéing. When pan-frying larger cuts of meats, the cooking process if often finished in the oven after the surface is cooked to the desired degree. The reason for this is that the food isn’t in the pan for very long and finishing the cooking process in the oven would insure the food is cooked through on the inside as well.

Ø Deep-Fat Frying is a technique of cooking food by submerging in hot, liquid fat.

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.

Moist Heat Cooking:

Moist heat cooking methods include any techniques that involve cooking with moisture — whether it's steam, water, stock, wine or some other liquid. Cooking temperatures are much lower, anywhere from 140°F to a maximum of 212°F, because water doesn't get any hotter than that.

Ø Poaching, Simmering, and Boiling are different moist heat cooking methods where food is cooked either in hot water or in some other cooking liquid such as broth, stock or wine. What defines each one is an approximate range of temperatures, which can be identified by observing how the cooking liquid behaves. Each one — poaching, simmering and boiling — has certain telltale characteristics:

o Poaching Cooking in liquid with a temperature ranging from 140°F to 180°F is called poaching and is typically reserved for cooking very delicate items like eggs and fish.

o Simmering is cooking in liquid that's a bit hotter than poaching — from 180°F to 205°F. Here we will see bubbles forming and gently rising to the surface of the water, but the water is not yet at a full rolling boil.

o Boiling is the hottest of these three stages is boiling, where the water reaches its highest possible temperature of 212°F. It's actually the least likely of the three to be used for cooking. That's because the violent agitation caused by the rolling boil can be too rough on food and will often damage it.

Ø Steaming is a moist-heat cooking technique that employs hot steam to conduct the heat to the food item. Once water is heated past the 212°F mark, it stops being water and turns into steam. Steaming has an advantage over methods such as boiling or even simmering is that there is no agitation involved, so it's gentler on delicate items like seafood. And because it doesn't require the food to be submerged, it avoids the loss of nutrients through leaching. It also cooks relatively quickly.

Ø Braising and Stewing are forms of moist heat cooking that are almost similar in process.

o Braising is a method of slowly cooking meat, poultry, or meaty vegetables in a heavy-based covered pan or covered casserole, using a bed of chopped vegetables, which can also include some diced ham or bacon added for flavor. Enough liquid, such as water or stock, is added to the pot to cover the meat or meaty vegetable halfway.

o Stewing is a method in which the added liquid (beer, cider, stock, water or wine) covers the meat and is heated to just under boiling point. This technique is reserved for the toughest cuts of meat which need long, slow cooking, and the meat is generally cut into chunks to aid the tenderizing process.

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.

Reduce, refine and replace. Three simple actions can prevent abuses of animals occuring every day in factory farms. They’re mutilated. They're crammed into tiny cages. And they endure often-agonizing slaughter. Sadly, this is the reality for many animals on factory farms. But you can help.

Each year U.S. factory farms raise and kill about 10 billion land animals. Just like dogs and cats, farm animals have their own personalities and interests—and can feel pain and pleasure.

Yet factory farms routinely abuse them. No federal law protects them from cruelty while on the farm, and most states exempt common agricultural practices from animal cruelty laws, regardless of how abusive.

Fortunately, all of us can help decrease their suffering by following the Three Rs:

1. Reduce our animal consumption.
2. Refine our diet by switching to higher welfare animal products (e.g., cage-free).
3. Replace animal products with readily available vegetarian options.

For more information, please visit the The Humane Society