Cooking - Covered or Uncovered?

[HelpMeID]

What is the best way to cook in the oven - covered or uncovered and what is the difference?

[Andy M.]

Welcome to Discuss Cooking.

The answer to your question depends on what you're cooking.

If you're roasting a chicken or other piece of meat, you roast uncovered-roasting is a dry heat cooking method.

If you're making a pot roast or stew, you cook covered as you are braising-a moist heat method.

If you could provide some specifics, we can come up with more detailed answers.

[Claire]

If you're cooking in liquid and want to retain most of it, you cover, be it in the oven or stove top. Sometimes, though, you want to brown and crisp, in which case you do not cover, you want the liquids to evaporate. In the latter cooking methods, you will add liquid later if you want a sauce. In the former, the liquid will be there when you pull the item (roast, chicken, whatever) out of the oven.

[auntdot]

Welcome HelpMe, glad to have you here.

Hope to see a lot more of you.

Basically Andy and Claire are right on, as they always are.

But like all rules there are exceptions. Sometimes you want to cook a dish covered for a while and then uncover to brown.

We will do that with certain casseroles, including potatoes au gratin, or, at times, scalloped potatoes, or the baked potatoes you cut up toss in oil and herbs/seasonings and bake.

Most of the time you will cook uncovered or covered. But there are always exceptions to any rule.

The best idea is to follow the recipe.

Good luck and great to have you here.

[jrussell567]

Aside from cooking uncovered in order to brown while baking, why do many stove top recipes say to cook uncovered, even if boiling/simmering for a short time?

Since we know it takes a low temp to boil when covered, it would seem to make since to always cover when boiling, unless of course you have a small amount of liquid. A classic example, pasta recipes/spaghetti always say uncover, even when you have a large amount of water boiling for 10 to 20 minutes. Surely this is not needed to retain moisture?

I prefer to boil covered to save energy and money. Appreciate inputs.

PS: Regarding pasta, large amounts of water are ask for, why? What happens if you reduce it and boil covered instead, again to save energy/waste.

Thanks, Jim Russell, San Diego

[justplainbill]

Originally Posted by jrussell567

Aside from cooking uncovered in order to brown while baking, why do many stove top recipes say to cook uncovered, even if boiling/simmering for a short time?

Since we know it takes a low temp to boil when covered, it would seem to make since to always cover when boiling, unless of course you have a small amount of liquid. A classic example, pasta recipes/spaghetti always say uncover, even when you have a large amount of water boiling for 10 to 20 minutes. Surely this is not needed to retain moisture?

I prefer to boil covered to save energy and money. Appreciate inputs.

PS: Regarding pasta, large amounts of water are ask for, why? What happens if you reduce it and boil covered instead, again to save energy/waste.

Thanks, Jim Russell, San Diego

With pasta less water can require longer cooking times and result in more starch residue. Since I pay $1 per gallon for my drinking & cooking water I used a reduced quantity of water for cooking pasta. I cook it at a high heat and stir constantly to prevent it from frothing over.

[Andy M.]

Pasta water aside, you boil/simmer uncovered when you want to cook off some of the liquid to thicken or concentrate flavors.

[Josie1945]

Originally Posted by HelpMeID

What is the best way to cook in the oven - covered or uncovered and what is the difference?

Welcome to DC.

Josie

[Josie1945]

Hi Jim,
Welcome to DC.

Josie