i have been reading that crock pot cooking is actually braising. my confusion is if i take a chicken say and add no water to it and put it in the crock pot,the term used for crock pot cooking is braising . But if i do the same thing in a oven proof bag its called baked chicken or steamed chicken no mention of braised here. Whats the difference? thx.
Braising....?
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salt and pepper
Executive Chef
Braising is cooking with liquid, the food sits in the liquid. You can bake with liquid but the meat sits on top of the liquid on a rack and the juice is used to make gravy or stock. If no liquid is used its baking.
Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
Both in the oven bag and the crock pot, you are cooking with a moist cooking method-braising. Both ways you will end up with liquid along with the chicken when the cooking is done.
As we have discussed before, baking is a dry cooking method (similar to roasting) done uncovered in the oven. We have also previously discussed how at times certain cooking terms are used incorrectly.
Your solution is to learn and understand the definitions of the various terms and decide what the correct term is based on what you have learned.
As we have discussed before, baking is a dry cooking method (similar to roasting) done uncovered in the oven. We have also previously discussed how at times certain cooking terms are used incorrectly.
Your solution is to learn and understand the definitions of the various terms and decide what the correct term is based on what you have learned.
Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
Chicken in a bag is a moist cooking method. Baking is a dry cooking method. Baked and steamed are NOT synonymous.
jennyema
Chef Extraordinaire
braising
going by this i thought 06-26-2012, 11:14 AM #2
CrystalWriter
Assistant Cook
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: England
Posts: 40
I would call lasgna a baked meal. The bake in the bag, by my understanding, is that it does use steam to bake with, rather than the dry heat. So I would call that steaming.
I am sure that someone who has more intelligent that me, will correct me if I'm wrong, but that's my opinion
going by this i thought 06-26-2012, 11:14 AM #2
CrystalWriter
Assistant Cook
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: England
Posts: 40
I would call lasgna a baked meal. The bake in the bag, by my understanding, is that it does use steam to bake with, rather than the dry heat. So I would call that steaming.
I am sure that someone who has more intelligent that me, will correct me if I'm wrong, but that's my opinion
Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
Bake in the bag is a marketing term, not a cooking term. CrystalWriter was correct. Cooking in the bag is steaming.
Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
I'd say braising is the more accurate of the two. Steaming usually has the liquid that generates the steam separate from the food. Braising has the food in the liquid.
brasing
just to make sure..... bag chicken can be called either braising or if it is called steamed. the better or accurate choice of word would be braising? i have a rec. titled steam chicken in a bag,so i was thinking the steam meant from the food itself(moisture) ,the person who wrote the rec. should of used braising.thx
just to make sure..... bag chicken can be called either braising or if it is called steamed. the better or accurate choice of word would be braising? i have a rec. titled steam chicken in a bag,so i was thinking the steam meant from the food itself(moisture) ,the person who wrote the rec. should of used braising.thx
Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
salt and pepper
Executive Chef
Stop. steaming and braising are two very different things. If you stick a chicken in a bag and steam it , how is that braising? I don't care how much liquid you add. When you braise ,you add flavors to the meat so it incorporates into the meat. How would you add flavor when it can't reach the meat by steaming it in a bag? I would like to see someone make Osso Bucco in a bag! Just use a crock pot! Save a bag! Really, braising is an art,throw the bag away. Sorry if I seem abusive, Just finished a few Beers.
Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
To me the primary difference between the two is whether or not the food is in the liquid. Steaming is usually done with the food suspended over the steaming liquid. Braising calls for the food to be immersed in the liquid. In either case the liquid can be seasoned.
In the case of the chicken in the bag, the liquids given off by the food are the braising medium. This is, as suggested, what a slow cooker does. Often, slow cooker recipes call for no added liquid, acknowledging that liquids will be there to perform the braise.
no mayonnaise
Sous Chef
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When I think of braising, I think of a heavy lidded vessel cooking something in liquid that doesn't fully cover the item being braised. And it's done over low heat for long periods--usually. Steaming is when you cook something by warm, moist air but the item being steamed never contacts the liquid directly. They are two very different cooking methods.
Either way, I'd say a bag is a pretty bad place to steam or braise. I braise in a dutch oven on the stovetop and I always get perfect results. I'm not a fan of slow cookers as you can't really sear the food and create fond in the pan of a slow cooker. I steam in the microwave, or on the stovetop in a steamer basket/steamer insert for a pot. Sometimes I use those stacking bamboo steamer baskets when the occasion calls for it.
Either way, I'd say a bag is a pretty bad place to steam or braise. I braise in a dutch oven on the stovetop and I always get perfect results. I'm not a fan of slow cookers as you can't really sear the food and create fond in the pan of a slow cooker. I steam in the microwave, or on the stovetop in a steamer basket/steamer insert for a pot. Sometimes I use those stacking bamboo steamer baskets when the occasion calls for it.
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