Saucepan lid cooking tips to ensure perfectly ‘tender’ food each time

Many kinds of kitchen pans come with a designated lid but they’re probably used less often than they should be.

Some recipes explicitly outline when to use them while others make no mention whatsoever.

While they may seem like an optional cooking tool, there are a few simple saucepan guidelines every home cook should follow to improve their food.

According to an expert at Martha Stewart, the first rule is a simple one. A saucepan lid should always be used when trying to keep the heat in.

This applies to simmering and boiling anything. Whether it be pasta, vegetables or a pot of soup.

Of course, it’s also essential to remove the lid at the right time to stop liquids from boiling over and ruining the food.

But when it comes to recipes that call for lots of moisture, the experts claimed that the lid should be kept firmly on the pan.

They explained that this applied to pots of soup, stews and sauces that are already at the right consistency but need longer to cook.

In this case, keeping the lid on will prevent excess liquid from evaporating and spoiling the flavours.

For recipes that call for both heat and moisture to be kept within the food, the experts said: “Plan to keep the lid on, as this is the best way to achieve both.”

Anything that’s steamed or braised, like vegetables, seafood, and grains is best cooked with the lid on to supply “gentle, moist heat”.

The cooking experts claimed this will “cook these foods to perfect tenderness without drying them out”.

This is especially important for cuts of meat like brisket, pork shoulder, and short ribs – all of which can quickly dry out if cooked carelessly.

Prolonged moisture and heat work to break down the collagen and connective tissues for succulent, fork-tender results.

There is, however, a few exceptions to cooking with a saucepan lid. And one of them is when the texture of a liquid-heavy recipe needs thickening.

Cooking stews and soups uncovered allows the water to evaporate while concentrating the flavours at the same time.

The experts said: “This same principle applies with most sauce and gravy recipes, which include a step to reduce a liquid – often stock, juice, or wine – in order to reduce volume and intensify flavours.”

Seared food should also be cooked with the lid off to create a “flavourful, caramelised crust” on the exterior of meat or fish.

Whether it’s steak, pork chops, salmon, tuna or scallops, an open-lid approach is the best to ward off moisture – the “arch nemesis” of searing, according to the experts at Martha Stewart.

The same applies to stir-frying and deep frying, during which moisture interferes with creating a crispy surface. 

Of course, all foods give off some steam when cooking, so it’s important to leave the lid off the pan to ensure it evaporates rather than collecting and dripping back into the pan.