Basting is a cooking technique, and usually involves cooking meat with either its own juices or some type of preparation such as a sauce or marinade. The meat is left to cook, then is periodically coated with the juice or marinade as it cooks.

Prominently used in grilling, rotisserie, roasting and other meat preparations where the meat is over heat for extended periods of time, basting can flavor the meat and keep it moist. However, basting can in some cases actually lead to drying. Since the oven door must be opened several times during cooking, which leads to a decrease in oven temperature, the cooking time must be extended, and the juices may not be well enough absorbed to overcome the drying that this causes. This is a type of cooking that is usually recommended for dishes which have strong flavors mostly served with sauces, for example Chicken chasseur.