baste

Definition

To periodically spoon, brush, or pour liquid over meat while it's cooking, theoretically keeping it moist and flavorful but mostly giving you something to do while pretending to monitor the oven. It's the culinary equivalent of watering a plant, except the plant is a turkey and the water is melted butter. The technique that makes Thanksgiving take 47% longer.

Example Usage

The recipe called for basting the roast every 15 minutes, ensuring the cook would never actually leave the kitchen.

Source: Wiktionary via Free Dictionary API

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