how do you dredge in cooking

Dredging in flour is a great way to help encourage browning and caramelization in your food. While this method is most commonly used for meats, it can also be used for vegetables.

When we hear the word dredging used, we more often think of ponds and lakes before food. However, dredging is a common kitchen practice you may not know youre already using.

Dredging is done by lightly coating food in a combination of flour and other dry ingredients. This thin, even coating of flour to prevents the food from sticking to the pan and also promotes browning. It also serves as a buffer between the heat and chicken so that it doesnt dry out. Thus preventing the food from becoming tough.

This simple step is often used on its own for sautéing or pan frying, but sometimes for deep frying. Like calamari. It gives a light golden color without a heavy battered coating. Correctly dredging what you deep fry can help prevent excess grease as well.

If you want a thicker, crisper coating, you can take your dredging a step further by turning it into breading. This is the difference of having a lightly golden brown chicken versus deep brown and crispy fried chicken.

It’s a straightforward process. “Dredge” means lightly coating food with a dry ingredient, such as flour, cornmeal, or breadcrumbs. Often, you’ll dredge foods before frying. Note: Many recipes call for food to be dredged, then dipped in a liquid (such as eggs or buttermilk) followed by a seasoned coating.

How To Dredge Chicken In Flour

The often-missed step in basic dredging is patting the food dry. When meat is taken out of packaging it is naturally a little moist on the outside. Too much moisture makes the flour soggy which actually prevents browning; the opposite of what you want.

• Pat the meat dry with a paper towel.
• Fill a shallow dish with the flour and any seasonings you want, like garlic powder, salt, black pepper, etc…
• Lightly press the chicken into seasoned flour to lightly coat it. Shake off the excess and transfer it to a baking sheet or a hot pan with oil.

There are gadgets you can get called “flour dredgers” that some people adore. Its a great way to shake on flour quickly, but it doesnt guarantee even coverage as well as a bowl. I prefer using a flour dredger for shaking flour onto a counter when kneading bread or rolling out cookies.

Is It Different From Breading?

In traditional cuisine, breading and dredging are two different things. Even though both require you to first dredge the food with flour. Throughout the years and generations, these two methods have become conflated and seems to vary more by location.

The important thing to know is that they are indeed different. If any liquid or beaten egg touches the food before cooking then it is battered. Even if your grandma swears that her chicken recipes are only dredged.

How to Dredge | Yummy Ph

FAQ

Do you dredge in flour or egg first?

What is an example of a dredge in cooking?

How do you dredge food?

Prepare the coatings for dredging and place them in separate shallow dishes. This allows you to dredge in flour, dip in the liquid mixture, and coat the food with the outer coating in an assembly-line fashion. Dredge meat like chicken or fish in flour first. The flour will help seal in moisture to protect the food from the high cooking heat.

How do you dredge a frying pan?

So, dredge and fry/cook right away. Start by dredging the food, shake off excess then dip in the wet ingredient (egg, milk, etc.). Make sure the entire piece is evenly moist. Next, coat the food with a dry ingredient (breadcrumbs, flour, cornmeal, etc). Make sure there is an even coating and gently shake off the excess.

What does dredge mean in cooking?

The basic definition of dredge applies to vegetables, too. For example, before frying, you generally prep the sliced onion with a light dredge in flour and seasonings for crisp-coated onion rings. Breading food takes dredging a couple of steps further.

How do you dredge chicken?

Here’s how to dredge chicken or other food. Spread the coating in a shallow dish, such as a pie plate. Roll the food around in the coating until the food is coated on all sides. Shake off excess. Continue as directed in your recipe.