Combination Cooking Fundamentals

Lesson Goals

Combination Cooking involves both dry- and moist-heat cooking. Braising, stewing and pot-roasting are all combination cooking methods which are excellent for cooking tougher (but often tastier) cuts of meats. These types of cooking methods require long, gentle cooking to turn tougher cuts of meat into those fork-tender dishes that we often refer to as “comfort foods”.

In this lesson, you will learn the few key steps and fundamentals to combination cooking. Understanding these key basics will help you stew, braise or pot roast without the need for a recipe.

At the end of this cooking school lesson, you will be able to:

• define combination cooking
• choose the right cut of meat for combination cooking
• understand what connective tissue is and why it is important
• choose the right pot when combination cooking
• describe why browning is often important
• understand how the type and ratio of liquid used affects the final dish
• understand why slow cooking at low temperatures is best for combination cooking success

Pre-requisites

• How to Make Stock Fundamentals
• Pan Frying
• Submersion Cooking Methods