Tis the season. Moist Heat vs. Dry Heat

Before the trees shed their girded boughs and the landscape is transformed into the season of lights we begin to enjoy the pleasures of slowly simmered food and drink. Slow cookers begin to emerge from pantry spaces in anticipation of cool weather dishes of brisket’s, chili’s, soup’s and stew’s. There’s nothing better than walking in the door and having the taste bud titillated with enveloping aromas of a favorite meal. Moist heat cooking is the clear choice as we retreat to our seasonal interior spaces.

Passing the torch

Keeping the fires burning was, historically, a way to ward off the seasonal chill. When it was time to make a hearty meal, hefty cauldrons were placed over the fire to provide a bottomless bounty of meats and vegetables.

Huge fireplaces, with built-in iron or added accouterments, brought the outside kitchen into interior spaces

Keeping the flame alive

The invention of the modern day kitchen range, dutch ovens became the shrunken version of the fire situated all-day simmer.

The efficiency of a cook top sear and an oven finish is used today to release the full flavors of the sinewy cuts of meat produced from the homestead livestock.

As the subsequent generations moved away from rural settings, life got busier. High thermal heat transfer was invented in the form of the pressure cooker. Any foods that could be prepared using standard moist heat could now be cooked in a fraction of the time.

Stove top and Pressure cooking required live monitoring. It wasn’t long before inventor Irving Nachumsohn patented the idea of a counter-top slow cooker in 1936. He created an electric slow cooker that could be left unattended to completely cook the daily meal. He introduced the Crock-Pot to the masses. Finally, the idea of being able to throw ingredients together quickly and without a lot of mess, became a time-honored tradition.

The Crock pot was a welcomed edition to the kitchen for an on-the-move populous. An electronically controlled, combined sear surface, pressure cooker and slow cooker wouldn’t arrive on the scene until the next century.

Robert Wang is credited as the inventor of the Instant Pot. Now seasoned cooks could prepare meals and present plates that would rival the look, taste and feel of your favorite restaurant.

Finding your means to the end

Reaching sustained temperatures while retaining hearty, natural flavor profiles is the goal of the moist cook. Fast or slow, consuming fully simmered meals will keep you warm and toasty when the weather turns cold.

Cooking with moist heat improves the texture of tougher cuts of meat. It also delivers fall-off-the-bone tenderness for newly dining toddlers and folks with fabricated dental work.

Butchers Best prides itself in providing our clients with the highest quality of Beef Chicken and Pork portions to accompany any hearty feast. Stop by and choose your favorite, restaurant quality steaks and briskets.