Stupid cooking question

[shawnkarbabacz]

Ive been cooking my food for about 8 years now, but ive never actually made a 'meal'. I scramble eggs, grill steak and chicken, steam rice, fry turkey...the standard stuff. Ive never actually made anything besides absolute basics though, and im trying to change that.

Im currently making my first meatloaf (turkeyloaf i guess) and im gonna back some red potatoes as well. Most recipes for everything ive been looking at lately is always in oil, which ill use olive. I use coconut for my eggs and when i cook my chicken in a pan, and i know not much stays on. My question is, when baking with olive oil, should you take into account how much you put on as far as fat content, or does most of it burn away like the little in a pan.

Sorry for the stupid post but i dont really know where else to turn Im pretty green when it comes to anything but basics

 

[Meathamer]

Bro- not a stupid question!! Yes u should take in to acount how much u put on.... But yes alot of it will cook off or go to bottom of the pan u cook it in.
Hope this helps!!!!

 

[Mikee]

I tttthinkk it burns off, but dont hold me to that

 

[shawnkarbabacz]

I kinda figured, and im not counting every calorie anyway, but i like to keep a slight handle on things. I dont think ive ever baked anything but chicken in salsa so i didnt know if that would magically push more oil into the food or not

Im gonna start watching the cooking channel instead of just man vrs food

 

[BigChef]

Ive been cooking my food for about 8 years now, but ive never actually made a 'meal'. I scramble eggs, grill steak and chicken, steam rice, fry turkey...the standard stuff. Ive never actually made anything besides absolute basics though, and im trying to change that.

Im currently making my first meatloaf (turkeyloaf i guess) and im gonna back some red potatoes as well. Most recipes for everything ive been looking at lately is always in oil, which ill use olive. I use coconut for my eggs and when i cook my chicken in a pan, and i know not much stays on. My question is, when baking with olive oil, should you take into account how much you put on as far as fat content, or does most of it burn away like the little in a pan.

Sorry for the stupid post but i dont really know where else to turn Im pretty green when it comes to anything but basics

An oil's smoke point is the temperature at which it smokes when heated. Any oil is ruined at its smoke point and is no longer good for you. If you heat an oil to its smoke point, carefully discard it and start over. Olive oil has a higher smoke point than most other oils (about 400 degrees Fahrenheit). Refined olive oils have a slightly higher smoke point (about 410 degrees Fahrenheit).

Whether you're sauteing, stir-frying, panfrying, or deep-frying, use olive oil and this advice to make your high-heat cooking great:
Always heat the skillet or pan on medium-high heat before adding oil.
When the skillet/pan is hot, add olive oil and let it heat up to just below the smoke point before adding your food. This should take 30 to 90 seconds, depending on the heat of the burner and quality of the pan. When you place food in the pan, it should sizzle; if not, the pan and oil are not hot enough.
This old saw has been around for ages, probably because searing meat that will be stewed, roasted, etc. does indeed give much better results. It has nothing to do with sealing in the juices, however. Careful experiments were performed in which identical pieces of meat were cooked with and without searing. If searing did seal in juices, then the seared meat would lose a smaller percentage of its weight during cooking than the unseared piece. In actuality, both the seared and unseared meat lost about the same amount of weight.

 

[shawnkarbabacz]

An oil's smoke point is the temperature at which it smokes when heated. Any oil is ruined at its smoke point and is no longer good for you. If you heat an oil to its smoke point, carefully discard it and start over. Olive oil has a higher smoke point than most other oils (about 400 degrees Fahrenheit). Refined olive oils have a slightly higher smoke point (about 410 degrees Fahrenheit).

Whether you're sauteing, stir-frying, panfrying, or deep-frying, use olive oil and this advice to make your high-heat cooking great:
Always heat the skillet or pan on medium-high heat before adding oil.
When the skillet/pan is hot, add olive oil and let it heat up to just below the smoke point before adding your food. This should take 30 to 90 seconds, depending on the heat of the burner and quality of the pan. When you place food in the pan, it should sizzle; if not, the pan and oil are not hot enough.
This old saw has been around for ages, probably because searing meat that will be stewed, roasted, etc. does indeed give much better results. It has nothing to do with sealing in the juices, however. Careful experiments were performed in which identical pieces of meat were cooked with and without searing. If searing did seal in juices, then the seared meat would lose a smaller percentage of its weight during cooking than the unseared piece. In actuality, both the seared and unseared meat lost about the same amount of weight.

Thanks chef. Yeah i knew certain oils had different smoke points. I actually thought olive oil was lower for some reason, so thanks for the clarification.

Haha i just checked my meatloaf and its got about 15 mins left to bake (as per instructions) its got a white film on top. I have no idea what it is unless its fat from the turkey (i used 93% lean), so thats what im betting it is...hopefully..

 

[BigChef]

Thanks chef. Yeah i knew certain oils had different smoke points. I actually thought olive oil was lower for some reason, so thanks for the clarification.

Haha i just checked my meatloaf and its got about 15 mins left to bake (as per instructions) its got a white film on top. I have no idea what it is unless its fat from the turkey (i used 93% lean), so thats what im betting it is...hopefully..

No problem. Turkey juices are from the fat. Leave that out

 

[shawnkarbabacz]

Yeah thats what i figured. I scraped it off well i pulled it out of the oven. Not too crappy actually! As long as i dont wake up in the middle of the night puking my guts out ill be happy!

 

[muscle_n_blood]

I like safflower oil. Peanut oil is good, too, depending on the dish and the background flavor I want. I stir fry in a wok on high heat, and these work well and are good for you. Olive oil is unbeatable for a lot of dishes, though.

 

[doc]

An oil's smoke point is the temperature at which it smokes when heated. Any oil is ruined at its smoke point and is no longer good for you. If you heat an oil to its smoke point, carefully discard it and start over. Olive oil has a higher smoke point than most other oils (about 400 degrees Fahrenheit). Refined olive oils have a slightly higher smoke point (about 410 degrees Fahrenheit).

Whether you're sauteing, stir-frying, panfrying, or deep-frying, use olive oil and this advice to make your high-heat cooking great:
Always heat the skillet or pan on medium-high heat before adding oil.
When the skillet/pan is hot, add olive oil and let it heat up to just below the smoke point before adding your food. This should take 30 to 90 seconds, depending on the heat of the burner and quality of the pan. When you place food in the pan, it should sizzle; if not, the pan and oil are not hot enough.
This old saw has been around for ages, probably because searing meat that will be stewed, roasted, etc. does indeed give much better results. It has nothing to do with sealing in the juices, however. Careful experiments were performed in which identical pieces of meat were cooked with and without searing. If searing did seal in juices, then the seared meat would lose a smaller percentage of its weight during cooking than the unseared piece. In actuality, both the seared and unseared meat lost about the same amount of weight.

So would you say it has to do with the caramelizing of the meat that improves the taste since it's not the sealing in of the juices?