11.3 Over cooking or under cooking

11.3  Over cooking or under cooking

If not compensated by countermeasures, the opening of the oven door and the resulting loss of temperature and moisture content of the air circulating inside can lead to increased evaporation from the meat surfaces. In the case of tough meats such as beef, bison, and deer, the result can be a hardened, shell-like, overcooked or burned outer crust, while inner layers of the meat may still be undercooked or raw; with soft meats such as poultry, the result can be a thorough drying from the surface to the bone, as in the case of the traditional American turkey.
To prevent this, the easiest solution is to place the meat in a closed oven bag, which traps evaporating moisture and does not let it disseminate into the oven space and then out to the kitchen. The meat is "auto basted" when the air trapped inside the bag reaches the point of its maximum possible moisture content, and the resulting precipitate forms into drops on the surfaces of the meat or the wall of the bag. The drops roll down to the lowest point of the closed space, where the meat sits and cooks in the resulting juices. This technique often requires very minimal or no added liquids other than what the meat already contains, for loss of moisture is virtually negligible from inside the bag.
However, oven bags lose their advantage if they are opened even one time during the cooking process, and seasoned cooks, who prefer adding flavoring, natural oils (herbs), or aromatics in different times and portions during the process, generally use alternate practices to avoid drying out the meat. For instance, they allow extended cooking time, administer increased amounts of juices, coat the meat with moisture rich fruits or fat-rich cuts, such as bacon, or actual fat, place moisture rich fruits and vegetables around the cooking meats, and if possible, use a convection oven.
Cooking times
Choosing the proper cuts 

Braising meats falls into two categories: short braising and long braising. Each method has its cuts of choice.

Tradition implies that long braising works best with the tougher cuts, such as shanks, shoulders, ribs, chuck roasts and briskets, as well as cuts harvested from older animals, which have more collagen in their connective tissue. These cuts need maximum braising time, anywhere from 2 to 4 hours or more to reach the desired fall-off-the-bone tender state. Besides the higher amount of connective tissue in these cuts, they are also more coarsely grained, which is another factor in choosing a good cut for braising. Coarser-grained meats are associated with the working muscles of the animal. This characteristic is important since coarser-grained meats more readily absorb flavors than finer-grained meats.

Short braising refers more to the method of delivering flavor, nuance and complexity to a dish than an actual tenderizing process. This term is reserved for things like vegetable braises. Braised leeks and braised cabbage quickly come to mind. Chicken pieces and seafood, such as braised scallops, also fall into this quicker-cooking category. These foods are not naturally tough and can be braised in times ranging from a few minutes to up to 2 hours.

A braise is based on flavor extraction. The idea is to gently encourage the flavors of the meat and vegetables to mingle with the juices in the pot to create a finished meal truly distinctive in character and greater than the sum of its parts. Once the meat is seared, a small amount of liquid, usually stock, wine, water or some combination of the three, is added and the pot is covered. As everything begins to cook, the broth will begin to pick up the flavors released by the meat and vegetables. The broth transforms from a simple braising liquid into a flavorful, nuanced sauce. The simmering broth will also form steam to further cook the meat.

Braising is a moist-heat cooking technique. Certain cuts of meat cook better with moist heat so, when making a braise, select a cut that becomes tender with this process.
Moist heat breaks down the collagen in meat. Braising allows for this connective- tissue breakdown without muscle-fiber breakdown. The braising process heats the muscle fibers, which consist mainly of water. Once heated, they contract, which squeezes out some of the moisture and causes shrinking and drying. Connective tissues also release water when heated. Plus, the heat and moisture turns the collagen in the connective tissue into a rich, flavorful gelatin that also melds with the braising liquid. When the muscle fibers reabsorb this liquid, the braising cycle is complete.
According to Harold McGee, author of “On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen,” food scientists have compared collagen conversions in a rump roast when it is roasted well done, about a two-hour process, and when it is braised for 30 minutes and for 90 minutes. The roasted sample had 14% of its collagen gelatinized, the 30-minute braise 11%, and the 90- minute braise 52%. The long, slow braise, one can conclude, is the best way to tenderize meat with high connective- tissue content.