Low-temperature Cooking - Theory

Theory

Low-temperature cooking has been around for hundreds of years; evidence of its usage can be found in indigenous cultures. Samoans and Tongans slow cook meat in large pits for celebrations and ceremonies. However, the technique was not scientifically examined until the 18th century when Benjamin Thompson "described how he had left a joint of meat in a drying oven overnight and was amazed when, the next morning, he found that the meat was tender and fully cooked." Professor Nicholas Kurti from the University of Oxford repeated these experiments in 1969 when he showed that the temperature of Thompson's trial never exceeded 70 degrees Celsius.

Meat is cooked for four reasons — to tenderise it, to provide additional flavours, to kill harmful bacteria, and to kill parasites such as Trichinella spiralis and Diphyllobothrium. While all four can be achieved by cooking a piece of meat at high temperature for a short period of time, it can also be achieved by cooking at low temperature for a long period of time. Each goal is achieved at a different temperature, and takes a different length of time to achieve. There is an inverse relationship between temperature and time; low and slow, or high and fast, with Southern BBQ being an excellent example of low and slow - taking a tough cut of meat and producing pulled pork BBQ by cooking low (at low temperature) and slow (for a long duration).