The five types of dry heat cooking are:

¨ broiling or pan-broiling

¨ sautéing

¨ deep-frying

¨ stir-frying

¨ roasting (baking)

Dry heat cooking methods use high heat and little moisture. Cooking is not entirely dry, as the name implies, because all meat have plenty of moisture that contributes to the cooking process.

Since extra moisture is not welcome because it reduces the high cooking temperature, it is always a good idea to wipe the seafood thoroughly with a paper towel just before cooking or, if fried with breading, before applying the coating.

The hottest heat in dry cooking method is grilling (barbecuing) and broiling. To avoid sticking, brush the surface of the grill or broiler pan with a film of oil, and for added insurance, do the same with the meat.

The intense heat (with some help from the brushed-on oil) rapidly browns the surface of your meat. By the time you cook the inside, the surface color is a deep caramel brown or, if you’re not careful, charcoal black.

Never turn the meat more than once either on the grill or under the broiler. This keeps handling to a minimum and produces attractive grill marks. Determine the time to cook one side, set your timer and don’t even peek until the time is up. Quickly flip the piece over and set the timer again. Now you can get ready to check the internal temperature.

When you are grilling smaller pieces, skewer them. Keep heavy work gloves near the grill to turn skewered meat.

A quick and easy way of cooking meat is pan-broiling, which is similar to grilling or broiling. To pan-broil meat, place it in a heavy preheated skillet over medium heat. Cook the meat directly on the hot surface without water or oil, turning only once.  This is an excellent way for preparing steaks and ground meat patties. Some cooks sprinkle salt in the pan before adding the meat to prevent sticking.

Initially the meat may stick a little, but if you detach it from the pan right away, the fat and juices from the meat keep it from sticking again.

Sautéing, deep-frying and stir-frying all use oil. Sauté meat in small amount of fat on strong heat. Sautéing is easy, not messy, very quick and the meat absorbs a minimum of fat.

Keep the pan in constant motion for even browning and to avoid sticking. If you are planning to serve the meat with a sauce, you can use what’s left in the pan as a base-the highly-flavored oil   with some deeply-browned food particles and possibly some juice.

Deglaze it by adding a little wine or stock, even water. The liquid dissolves the particles and within a minute you have it cooked down into a sauce.

Deep-frying and stir-frying are both high-heat methods. The difference is in the amount of oil you use-plenty for deep-frying, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan or wok for stir-frying.

Food absorbs more fat in deep-frying than in any other cooking method, but if you do it properly, you can reduce fat absorption. Deep-fried food of any kind is wonderful but home deep-frying is messy.