Cooking For Engineers

[ljtong]

Hello all,

In some chinese cooking recipes, some involve boiling the meat (pork usually) first, then actually frying it or cooking it properly the 2nd time around.

What's the reason for that? Besides ensuring the pork is really cooked?
Does it increase tenderness compared to frying only?

Thanks

[brueggjr]

[JohnnyFartPants]

People who cook meat twice might simply be in the early stages of senile dementia. I would simply pretend you hadn't noticed and just make sure they do not go down town to pick up a pizza dressed in their pajamas.

[GaryProtein]

There is no need to cook pork twice to make sure it is safe. The recommended cooking temperature for pork has been lowered over the last twenty years because if its safety.

Steaming or braising briefly before barbequing can be used to increase tenderness.

[LAN3]

Boiling the meat can be handy because it'll shorten the cooking time-- for example, you can parboil odd ribs and finish them on the grill, and you still get grill marks, great brown crust and all the flavor, but they don't take much time. However, with regular boiling, you don't get the benefits of a braise. A violent boiling could even ruin the meat, as it might tenderize the surface of the meat and then strip it off.

And just the other day, on the first episode of Alton Brown's road-food show "Feasting on Asphalt," they went to a hot-dog place that would first poach the hot dogs (suggesting that the water was much cooler than a boil-- I'd bet around 150-160) and then toss them on the flattop to be cooked in melted butter. Brown says that this does something for the skins that gives them the right bite.

If you're going to boil something, remember that adding salt gives a small boost to the boiling point and will also season the meat, so don't double-salt something.