On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 314

Minutesperinchthicknessandminutesper
pound are the usual approximations.
However,themathematicsofheattransfer
show that cooking times are actually
proportionaltothethicknesssquared,orto
the weightto the2/3 power. And the
cooking time also depends on many other
factors. There is no simple and accurate
equationthatcantellushowlongtocooka
particular piece of meat in our particular
kitchen.Thebestwecandoismonitorthe
actual cooking, and anticipate when we
should stop by following the temperature
riseatthecenterofthemeat.
Becausefryingisarapidcookingmethod,it’s
appliedmainlytothesamethin,tendercuts
bestsuitedforgrillingandbroiling.Aswith
grilling,fryingwillbebothfasterandgentler
ifthemeatstartsatroomtemperatureor
aboveandisturnedfrequently(seebox,p.
156).Cooksmakefryingevenmoreefficient
bypressingdownonthemeat—withthe


spatulaoraheavypanorbrick—toimprove
thethermalcontactbetweenmeatandpan.
Forthickercutswhoseinsidestaketimeto
heatthrough,thecookslowsheattransfer
aftertheinitialbrowningtopreventtheouter
portionsfrombeingovercooked.Thiscanbe
donesimplybyloweringtheburnerheat,or

byshiftingthepantotheoven,which
continuestheheatingfromallsidesandfrees
thecookfromthenecessityofturningthe
meat.Restaurantcooksoften“finish”fried
meatsbyputtingthepanintheovenassoon
asthefirstsidehasbeenbrownedandthe
meatturned.
HotOil:Shallow
andDeepFrying

Fatsandoilsareausefulcookingmedium
becausetheycanbeheatedtotemperatures
wellabovetheboilingpointofwater,andcan
thereforedry,crisp,andbrownthefood