When You Should (and Shouldn't) Cover a Pot When You Cook

Stock pots, soup pots, Dutch ovens, saucepans, and skillets: If you have these in your kitchen, you also have their corresponding lids. And sometimes, it seems like that stack of lids is doing nothing more than taking up room in your cabinets.

So, how often should you really be using them? Some recipes tell you when to put a lid on a pan, but others are silent on the matter. By following a few simple guidelines, you can hone your cook's instincts and stop wondering whether you should simmer with the lid on or off—and learn which route to take when sautéing, boiling, and more.

When to Cover a Pot

Always cover your pot if you're trying to keep heat in.

Simmering and Boiling

Keep the lid on if you want to bring something to a simmer or a boil for two reasons. "One, heat escapes through an open lid, so it would take longer for water to come to a boil," says Ronna Welsh of Purple Kale Kitchenworks. "And two, water escapes in the form of steam, reducing the amount that was originally in the pot."

In the event that your goal is to keep moisture in—like when your pot of soup, stew, or sauce is already at the right consistency, but you want to keep cooking the vegetables and melding the flavors—leave the lid on to keep any more liquid from evaporating.

Braising

Braising is the go-to cooking method for tougher cuts of meat, like brisket, chuck, pork shoulder, and short ribs. Keep the lid on when braising meat, as it needs moist heat over a long period of time to break down the collagen and connective tissues for fork-tender results. "Pot covered, the ingredient you are braising gets continuously bathed in these steaming and simmering liquids, which the item flavors in turn," says Welsh.

Steaming

Like braising, steaming is only effective when both heat and moisture are trapped in the pot. Steaming foods like vegetables, tamales, seafood, and grains with the lid on supplies gentle, moist heat that will cook these foods to perfect tenderness without drying them out. "When you steam vegetables, you want the lid to trap the evaporating liquid in the pot, sealing the steam inside," says Welsh.

When to Keep the Lid Off

Leave the lid off of your pot any time you want to keep moisture out of your pot or pan.

Thickening Ingredients

To thicken a soup, stew, or sauce, leaving the lid uncovered is ideal. "It must be off, or semi-covered, if you are slowing down the reduction process," says Stephen Chavez, chef-instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education. "You are trying to evaporate some of the excess liquid when you are reducing or thickening liquids. If the lid stays on, the liquid water turns to steam, condenses back to liquid on the lid, and drops back into the sauce."

The longer you cook your dish, the more water that will evaporate and the thicker the liquid becomes—that means the flavors become more concentrated, too.

Searing

You should also leave the lid off whenever you're trying to achieve a beautiful sear. Searing takes place in a very hot pan and serves to create a flavorful, caramelized crust on the exterior of steaks, duck breasts, lamb chops, tuna, and more. Moisture is the arch nemesis of pan searing, as it creates steam and prevents a crisp coating from forming. "If the steam released when searing food gets trapped by a closed lid, that steam will fall back into the pan as liquid and dilute any browning achieved," says Welsh.

Frying

Moisture also interferes with creating a caramelized, crispy surface on stir-fried and deep-fried foods. All foods give off some steam when cooking, so it's important to leave the lid off the pan during frying so the steam evaporates rather than collecting on the lid and dripping back into the hot oil. "If you cover a pot of hot oil and add food to cook, the food still gives off steam (that’s all the bubbling and popping when you add the food)," says Chavez. "The steam will condense and will drip back into the hot oil which will cause popping and splashing and will become more dangerous than if left uncovered."