Is basting necessary?

Ada Ma said:

I'm wondering if it is necessary to baste while roasting.

Basting is fairly useless. You get zero penetration. You are better off brining.

Quoted message said:

Sometimes people recommend that one should rest a roasted bird before cutting - is this necessary
for all meat?

Yes. I hear it lets the juices settle or something. I don't know why, but I know it's a good idea.

--
John Gaughan
johngaughan.netjohngaughan.netOpen ↗
[email hidden]

John Gaughan said:

Ada Ma said:

I'm wondering if it is necessary to baste while roasting.

Basting is fairly useless.

You're useless, especially your brain... what a stupid thing to say.

Quoted message said:

You get zero penetration.

Bend over, I'll show you penetration. Basting is not intended to add anything internally (unless
yoose wanna talk gynecologically), basting's sole purpose is to enhance the *exteriour* of the food
being cooked, especially its texture and appearance, not to mention the flavor.... basting a brace
of fowl imparts a glistening succulent crispness to the skin, and flavor, depending on the
composition of the basting medium... much more appetizing than the dried out, dull, parchment-like
quality of your old lady's appearance. Geeze but you are a kitchen imbecile of the first order... I
wouldn't trust you to peel spuds.

---= BOYCOTT FRENCH--GERMAN (belgium) =--- ---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =--- Sheldon
```````````` "Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."

(Ada Ma) said:

Hi to everybody on RFC,

I'm wondering if it is necessary to baste while roasting. Are there some sort of meat that
definitely need basting? Most importantly, what does basting add to the finished product?
Sometimes people recommend that one should rest a roasted bird before cutting - is this necessary
for all meat?

Basting is only to brown the skin.

Quoted message said:

Lastly, you see those supermarkets / fastfood store that have chicken roasting machines - well I
never see them baste their chicken is it because the rotation sort of replaces basting?

When you rotate a bird, there isn't much chance for the juice to settle and seep out of the bird,
keeping much of the moisture inside.

What does render out of the bird will baste another bird underneath it.

-sw

(Ada Ma) said:

I'm wondering if it is necessary to baste while roasting. Are there some sort of meat that
definitely need basting? Most importantly, what does basting add to the finished product?

Basting adds some flavor and prevents meat from drying out. Mostly used for roasted birds.

Quoted message said:

Sometimes people recommend that one should rest a roasted bird before cutting - is this necessary
for all meat?

It's said to have something to do with allowing the juices to consolidate back into the meat. TV and
cookbook demos show this to be true -- that is, a roast or bird that's cut into without a rest will
spill a lot of juice around, while one that has been left to sit for a time has juice in the meat,
not on the plate. Many roasts will also continue to cook after being removed from the oven, so the
resting is process of finishing up the cooking. This is recommended for both meat and poultry. There
was a recent discussion here about fish, but I didn't see any conclusions.

Quoted message said:

Lastly, you see those supermarkets / fastfood store that have chicken roasting machines - well I
never see them baste their chicken is it because the rotation sort of replaces basting?

I believe rotisserie roasting does not *require* basting because the rotation of the meat keeps it
basted with it's own juices. After all, one often bastes with the juices that collect in the bottom
of the pan.

I never understood how basting was supposed to work to keep meat/poultry moist inside. Just cook at
a high enough temp and take the meat/poultry out when it's done, allow the meat to rest, and you'll
be fine without basting.

Always rest meat/poultry after roasting/grilling. This allows the food to reabsorb the juices. If
you slice/carve it right away, all kinds of juice will just run out on to the platter. Let a
roast/poultry rest 20-45 minutes and it will be much juicer. Let a grilled steak rest until you
don't see steam coming off of it (5-8 minutes).

Rotisserie cooking does an internal sort of basting - it's definitely different, and good, and no
external basting needed.

--
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
Louis Cohen Living la vida loca at N37° 43' 7.9" W122° 8' 42.8"

Bah! Humbug!

"Ada Ma" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi to everybody on RFC,

I'm wondering if it is necessary to baste while roasting. Are there some sort of meat that
definitely need basting? Most importantly, what does basting add to the finished product?
Sometimes people recommend that one should rest a roasted bird before cutting - is this necessary
for all meat?

Lastly, you see those supermarkets / fastfood store that have chicken roasting machines - well I
never see them baste their chicken is it because the rotation sort of replaces basting?

Many many thanks to all.

Ada

Louis Cohen said:

I never understood how basting was supposed to work to keep meat/poultry moist inside.

Basting is NOT supposed to work to keep meat/poultry moist inside... if only you could think...
oops, anudder of those EDU dummys.

---= BOYCOTT FRENCH--GERMAN (belgium) =--- ---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =--- Sheldon
```````````` "Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."

"Ada Ma" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi to everybody on RFC,

I'm wondering if it is necessary to baste while roasting. Are there some sort of meat that
definitely need basting? Most importantly, what does basting add to the finished product?
Sometimes people recommend that one should rest a roasted bird before cutting - is this necessary
for all meat?

Lastly, you see those supermarkets / fastfood store that have chicken roasting machines - well I
never see them baste their chicken is it because the rotation sort of replaces basting?

Many many thanks to all.

Ada

First off, if you don't baste, the skin dries out and gets ugly looking. Basting keeps the skin
moist and the immediate meat below the skin moist.

As for stupidmarket roasting machines, they are rotisserrie's <sp> . They don't need to be basted as
they are sort of self-basting.

In article <[email hidden]>,

John Gaughan said:

Ada Ma said:

I'm wondering if it is necessary to baste while roasting.

Basting is fairly useless. You get zero penetration. You are better off brining.

Not only that, but you dump quite a lot of heat every time you open the oven door.

Basting is as evil as stuffing is.

--
Mark Shaw contact info at homepage --> panix.com~mshawOpen ↗
========================================================================
"It looks great at night. In the day, it winces like a hungover vampire." -James Lileks,
on Las Vegas

Many thanks for everybody's reply.

I'm going to roast a chicken tonight and see what happens.

Cheers, Ada

[email hidden] (Ada Ma) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Hi to everybody on RFC,

I'm wondering if it is necessary to baste while roasting. Are there some sort of meat that
definitely need basting? Most importantly, what does basting add to the finished product?
Sometimes people recommend that one should rest a roasted bird before cutting - is this necessary
for all meat?

Lastly, you see those supermarkets / fastfood store that have chicken roasting machines - well I
never see them baste their chicken is it because the rotation sort of replaces basting?

Many many thanks to all.

Ada

I think basting is a matter of the cook's choice. No, you don't have to do it, and your roast will
probably turn out fine. I _choose_ to baste roast chickens and turkeys fairly frequently during
roasting with the juices in the pan, as I think it results in a nicer looking main course, and
better gravy drippings. I generally choose to slow roast birds at a lower heat,about 300 to 325
degrees and I baste every twenty minutes to half an hour, or whenever I remember to do it. They
finish being very moist and tender, but a higher oven temperature for a shorter roasting time is
also fine. Maybe it's all in my head, but I do think a basted bird has more moisture, and is
slightly more flavorful. I basted a leg of lamb with lemon and garlic butter during roasting , and
the result was delicious. Letting a bird or a roast rest for a little bit before carving is a good
idea, as almost everyone else has already pointed out.

Melissa

In article <[email hidden]>,

Ada Ma said:

Many thanks for everybody's reply.

I'm going to roast a chicken tonight and see what happens.

I'm one of the ones (hopefully not the only one) who said that basting was bogus, because you lose
too much heat. However, last night I grilled a spatchcocked chicken using a recipe from Cuisine at
Home magazine -- they specify that you should baste it with a mixture of lime juice and chopped
cilantro during the last 15 minutes.

It was great. But remember, by this time it doesn't really matter if you dump some heat;
additionally, you build it up again fairly quickly on a gas grill. And it really did bring a lot of
flavor to the bird -- the dry, crackly skin really soaked up a lot of the lime juice.

--
Mark Shaw contact info at homepage --> panix.com~mshawOpen ↗
========================================================================
"Grown men are not comfortable explaining why they want to use the sniper rifle on fictional dogs
with speech impediments." -James Lileks