127 basting recipes

A thick, hearty steakhouse potato soup loaded with ham, carrots, celery, and sharp cheddar cheese spread. Chunky, warming, and big enough to feed 10 hungry people on a cold night.

Pan-fried bass or trout amandine with butter-toasted slivered almonds, thyme, and a squeeze of lemon. A classic French-inspired fish dish done simply.

Pescado a la Tipitapa, a Nicaraguan pan-fried fish in toasted cornmeal with a tomato, sweet pepper, and white wine sauce. Crispy cornmeal crust under a savory, tangy vegetable sauce.

Homemade beef gravy mix from scratch using flour, beef base, cornstarch, and ketchup. A DIY replacement for store-bought gravy packets with pantry staples.

Delicious Pan-fried fillet of seabass on grilled asparagus with mustard seed, mango and toasted coconut salad, served with a glass of Nobilo Regional Collection Sauvignon Blanc, 2008, £8.49 from Asda, Thresher, Morrison's, Sainsbury's, Somerfield, Tesco

Rich and creamy mushroom soup with three kinds of mushrooms (dried, portobello, button), heavy cream, and beef base. Dried mushroom soaking liquid delivers serious umami depth.

Sea bass simmered in a fragrant homemade curry paste of lemongrass, turmeric, ginger, and cumin with coconut milk. A from-scratch Thai fish curry that's deeply aromatic and satisfying.

Light Asian fish rolls wrapped in rice paper with sea bass, bean sprouts, napa cabbage, and snow peas. Served with a tangy tomato-ginger dipping sauce for a fresh, low-calorie appetizer.

Barbecued chicken legs slathered in a homemade sauce of tomato, chutney, Worcestershire, mustard, paprika, and lemon. Cut, marinate, then grill or broil with frequent basting for layered flavor.

Shawayuh is Yemeni-style grilled steak seasoned with hawayij spice blend and cooked over hot coals. Simple, bold, and smoky with just meat, spice, oil, and fire. Authentic Middle Eastern barbecue.

Grilled caribou steaks marinated 24 hours in red wine with ginger and hot pepper sauce, then rubbed with bacon drippings and grilled medium-rare. Wild game cooking at its most direct.

Chicken leg pieces marinated in spiced yogurt with ginger-garlic paste, mace, cumin, and gram flour, then roasted on skewers. Cook it tandoor-style, on the grill, or in your oven.

Homemade Balkan-style skinless sausages (cevapi) made from a three-meat blend of lamb, veal, and pork with paprika and garlic. Grilled until charred and smoky.

Roast ham with crackling slow-roasts a fresh ham or pork shoulder at low temperature, scoring the rind into a crackling-crisp golden crust. Three ingredients, no basting required.

Roasted Cornish hens stuffed with lemon, garlic, and rosemary, basted with honey-lemon glaze and finished with a white wine pan sauce. Elegant individual portions for special occasions.

Roasted pork loin with dried apricots, prunes, and apple in an oven bag, glazed with brown sugar and white wine. Tender holiday-worthy roast that bastes itself as it cooks.