From: flw	Date: February 27th, 2007 07:47 am (UTC)		(LINK TO SPECIFIC ENTRY)
	R's o T

As "rules of thumb" (another pluralization we should be hearing a lot about along with Courts-Martial, Attorneys General and Crowns Victoria) go, this one is pretty vague.

In order to cook "X" you need to use a high temperature for a short amount of time, or a low temperature for a long time. Or... a medium temperature for a medium amount of time... but do not eat it raw, and don't hold a blow torch to it all day long. Both of those would be bad.

	From: frostedfuckhead	Date: February 27th, 2007 08:13 am (UTC)		(LINK TO SPECIFIC ENTRY)

but cooking chicken at a low temperature for a long time will oftentimes dry it out UNLESS you're boiling/simmering it in liquid.

sauteeing anything for a long time will dry it out also... you usually want to sear the outside of the meat and lock the juices in...

a lot of times even if you're making a roast it's a good idea to sear it in hot oil first for this reason... or in the case of roasting a chicken you want to roast it high first (500 degrees!) for 20-30 minutes to ensure nice browning and the locking in of juices

boiling anything for a long time will obviously soften it...