Heat

How to baste meat with butter or juices

Spoon hot butter, fat or juices over food as it cooks to add flavor and help it brown.

Step by step

  1. Tilt the pan so the butter or juices pool on one side.
  2. Use a large spoon to scoop them up.
  3. Pour them over the top of the food, again and again, for a minute or so.
  4. In the oven, baste quickly and close the door, so the oven doesn't cool down.

How you know it's done

The top is glossy and browning evenly.

Common mistakes

  • Basting a roast every few minutes: each oven opening adds cooking time.
  • Letting butter burn: turn the heat down when it foams hard.

Simmerbee recipes that use it (0)

None of our recipes names it in the steps yet; it's here because it comes up in cooking all the time.

In those recipes the word is underlined in the steps; tap it for the short version. In hands-free cook mode, ask “How do I baste?”

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