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It seems to me besides boiling/simmering everything requires oil or causes a food to fry in their own oil.

Deep frying obviously doesn't work however I have noticed that when grilling, baking etc the oil comes out of the meat and although it may eventually go to the bottom of the grill rack/skillet, before falling it fries these foods in their own fat on the way down.

I have noticed this same scenario occurs even with steaming i.e. fat comes out and fries food on it's way down. If the food is a flat piece then the fat fries at the top for longer . there is a combination of steam and oil.

Would you agree with me on above observation, are there other cooking methods where food does not need to fry in oil or fry in its own oil besides boiling\simmering?

James Wilson
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    Erm, are you sure? Steaming isn't that hot that the meat would fry or even release much fat. And what exactly are you trying to acchieve? – Stephie Oct 07 '16 at 16:57
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    Even if you boil the food is cooking in it's won fat. Does fry to you have special meaning? Please define fry. I don't understand the question. – paparazzo Oct 07 '16 at 17:39

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I think you're misrepresenting this as frying. Frying requires sustained contact with oil, and little to no contact with water.

If meat ends up cooking in its own juices, sure, there's oil in there, but there's water too, so it's not really frying. Sure, if you cook something long enough you'll cook off the water, and if it was fatty enough there'll be enough fat released to fry it. But that's more for things like bacon and sausage, or skin-on chicken. Common cuts of meat like skinless chicken, pork chops, or steaks don't have anywhere near enough fat to seriously fry the meat in its own fat.

And if the fat is able to drain out fully, like in steaming, there's really no frying going on. The contact isn't sustained long enough, and there's enough steam around that it's the primary method of heat transfer. Droplets of oil being released and dripping off don't constitute frying.

Anyway, you'd probably be better suited by focusing on your actual goals. Are you trying to avoid browning? Just use gentle heat and don't overcook. Are you trying to avoid eating the fat? Use any method that lets it drip out.

Cascabel
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Sous-vide cooking allows meats to cook without the high-intensity heat levels that would amount to "frying in it's own juices." You might want to explore that possibility. Serious Eats has a decent selection of sous-vide instruction, including information about getting started down at the end of the list.

Shalryn
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Two words: liquid nitrogen.

Otherwise, fat melts at 130-140 degrees. If meat contains fat, and it reaches this temperature, it will be rendered out.

I initially thought about sous vide cooking, but the same rules apply there. Steam can reach 212 degrees, or hotter in pressurized environments.

WitYoBadSelf
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    You are "cooking" with liquid nitrogen? – Stephie Oct 07 '16 at 17:01
  • Love it. Created a separate thread to discuss: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/74562/does-the-definition-of-cooking-imply-heat – WitYoBadSelf Oct 07 '16 at 17:17
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    Why don't you expand *this* answer a bit - what exactly are you suggesting OP should do? I'm still trying to understand *the question*, hence my request for clarification above. – Stephie Oct 07 '16 at 17:24
  • A method for using liquid nitrogen would be very helpful here. – Tim Post Oct 15 '16 at 16:47