Smothering poultry in cooking oil?!
Smothering poultry in cooking oil?
What is the point of smothering poultry in hot cooking oil?
Seal in the juices? Does not quite make sense prior to a casserole. Is there are appreciable taste difference if I was to just bung the chicken or pheasant breast directly in the sauce before casseroling it?
Answers:
What you're trying to accomplish is extracting flavor via the "Maillard reaction." By lightly searing the protein, you affect how the amino acids react with sugars in the food. And the only way to accomplish this is over a stove at a certain temperature. Your bird may taste bland if you skip this step.
Source(s):
Epicure
yuck, cooking oil??? it would be way better to use butter, unless they are talking about using the fats and grease from cooking the chicken.
I know using olive oil makes it more like a marinade, and it is much better for you than regular cooking oil.
So, yes, it does not make sense to me either.