Basting is a cooking technique that involves using natural juices or prepared sauces to keep meat moist and tender while adding flavor. Common basting ingredients include melted butter, beef stock, and Worcestershire sauce, and tools like spoons, brushes, and basters are used. Over-basting can lower oven temperature and increase cooking time.
Basting usually refers to a cooking technique where the dish is cooked using the natural juices of the ingredients. This is usually applied for roasted, baked or grilled meat dishes. In addition to meat juices, other types of prepared sauces or flavored liquids can be used while cooking the dish. The word “basting” or the root “baste” can also refer to a stitching technique of temporarily stitching together two pieces of fabric.
One purpose of basting is to make the meat moist and tender. During the cooking process, the very high heat from the oven or grill causes the natural juices and fats in the meat to come out and collect at the bottom of the pan, making the meat dry. Collecting the juices and pouring them over the meat will help the latter reabsorb the liquid and make the meat tender inside.
The basting will also give the meat more flavor, as the juices extracted from the meat are packed with a natural “meaty” flavor that will make the dish more delicious. The cooking technique can also make the dish more appetizing as the sauce will coat the outer surface and give it a glazed appearance. For poultry meats such as turkey and chicken, the outer skin will be browned and crispy when basted.
Aside from natural juices and fats, other commonly used basting ingredients include melted butter, beef stock, and Worcestershire sauce. They can be infused with different herbs and spices like garlic and onion, salt and pepper, rosemary and even some wine. The basting technique also involves a few tools and methods, the simplest of which is to use a spoon to scoop up the gravy or meat juices and pour it over the meat. A brush is also commonly used, although cooks suggest patting the sauce onto the meat instead of sweeping strokes as the latter method transfers the sauce from one area to another. Another often used tool is the “baster,” a stick-like tool that has a light bulb on top that the cook can squeeze to suck in and release the juice onto the meat.
One of the frequent mistakes cooks make is basting their meat more often than you’re supposed to, especially when using the oven. Opening the oven door each time the meat needs to be basted lowers the oven temperature, so the cooking time may take longer. One technique is to wait until the meat is halfway cooked before basting, at most, twice. Many recipes include time intervals between basting, depending on the meat and cooking method.
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