Welcome back! (See
my B word! I’m really into this blog challenge!) I hope you left off reading my
first post wondering what is coming up. I had a lot of fun gathering some usual
and unusual terms for you. Today . . .
B is for Bard
Bard is a verb. Barding is attaching thin slices of fat
or bacon to a roast or poultry before cooking. It probably comes from the
Persian word pardah meaning a
covering for a horse.
Now why would one bard
one’s meat? Sometimes poultry and roasts dry out while cooking. (Haven’t we all
had tough and dry meat at some time?) Barding
provides not only a cover, but a cover that adds to the moisture while also
keeping moisture in. There’s something about fat . . .
Alli, from my Mission Impastable book, should bard something in the sequel. Maybe she could teach the word to her cooking school students. Hmmm.
B is for Braise
Braise is also a
verb. A friend who has been cooking for a very long time recently commented
that she had seen the word braise on
menus (and liked the foods that came that way) but wasn’t quite sure what braising meant. Ta Da! Here I am with
the answer for others of you in the same spot.
To braise is to
cook in liquid AFTER searing or browning the meat. That simple. It’s a cooking
method using dry and then moist heat. Just cooking in liquid doesn’t produce
the depth or layers of flavor that browning-first imparts. Just browning
doesn’t get the depth of flavors either. Sometimes you’ll see people call braising, pot roasting.
I have braised many times. Have yet to bard, but I can certainly wrap slices of bacon around just about anything :-)
ReplyDeleteLOL! Yep, I can see why bacon-stuff is so popular with those weird state fair foods! Thanks for coming by! I haven't been to see your B cheese post yet today. I'm trying to guess what you'll do for each letter! I hope Brie, cause I love it!
DeleteHi Sharon, We are braising a roast for dinner. Love your blog. I'm glad the A to Z challenge led me here.
ReplyDeleteHi, Jeanette. Thanks for stopping in. A roast from one of your own animals, I bet! I checked out your blog, too. ;-) I loved our farm lambs; we never had goats, but I'm sure they're similar. This challenge is a fun way to find new folks.
DeleteI have never heard of barding! I learn something new every day. :)
ReplyDeleteOh, and I love the name of your culinary mystery!
Madeline @ The Shellshank Redemption
Minion, Capt. Alex's Ninja Minion Army
The 2014 Blogging from A-Z Challenge
Thanks, Madeline. Food puns for my culinary mysteries are great fun to think up. The next book has lots of meat recipes: Prime Rib and Punishment. I am also working on Ancient Grease set in the Aegean. LOL Thanks for coming by! I'll check out your site, too!
ReplyDeleteBard, huh? The only one this English teacher knew about wrote for a living. I bet they wrapped meat in bacon from early times for exactly the reason you specified. BTW, I'm loving your A-Z blog,!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sandy! I appreciate that. It's a great way to get introduced to new bloggers you could guest post for in the future! Think about it for next year when you are in a different place. It's also amazing to be part of almost 2300 folks working for the same goal.
DeleteHi Sharon,
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the Challenge. It can be stressful to keep up. I don't do a lot of cooking, but it's good to know about barding>
Mary Montague Sikes
Thanks for coming by, Monti. I write a week of these short ones at a time. That helps with the stress of daily posts. Your series is really interesting to me! I'll be stopping in throughout the month to catch up and add places to my bucket list.
DeleteWonderful and concise information. I shall never look at a singing bard the same way again.
ReplyDeletewww.bannedlibrary.com
Thanks, Evan! I know! I couldn't resist including the cooking term bard in this series since I am such a lit person! lol Thanks for coming by. Hope to see you again.
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