Roasting 101

One adage that I really subscribe to is “Teach them correct principals and allow them to govern themselves.” This was used in reference to child rearing, but I think it applies just as well to cooking. As we know the proper technique to Sautéing, Roasting, Baking, Braising, we then are more free from recipes and we can be more creative. Roasting is a principal that once understood, you can make almost any cut of meat taste better by following simple guidelines.

One important thing to remember when roasting is that you have to remember what meat you are dealing with. That is going to really impact how you roast it. Unfortunately there is no one way to do it, but I will try to make it as easy to follow as possible.

Roasting rules to always remember in quick reference format:

1. Season everything you roast
2. Sear everything
3. Always use a temperature probe
4. Let the roast rest

Here it is in greater detail:

1. Season it and season it well

When I lived in Louisiana, I learned a lot about food. One of the more popular things they do is a crawfish boil. Those little critters are everywhere down there. By themselves they are okay, fishy and a little dirty tasting. But once you boil them in a spicy crawfish boil and add a lot of seasoning, then they turn into something utterly divine. When I first started eating them I would break off the tail peel it and season it. It was a long process, and there was no real easy way to get around it, I mean what was my game plan. Finally I learned in one of my last boils was the key was to heavily season the whole crustacean and then as you break the tail with your hands (which are covered in the spicy seasoning) your hands then flavor the meat. And it make the whole process tons messier, much more enjoyable, quicker to eat and easier to handle. So even though I couldn’t season every individual tail I could still get the effects by seasoning the out side of the Crawfish.

The reason I bring this up is that it is the same principle applies with the crawfish as it is with roasting big and small cuts of meat, you can’t season the inside meat but you can season the outsides well enough that the inside will feel the effect and therefore taste better.

2. Sear everything

I don’t care if it is a pot roast, rib roast, or roasted chicken, everything will taste better seared. There is a common misconception to searing that it holds in the juices, that is just not true, what it does do is caramelize the outside of the roast and bring much more depth and flavor to the whole piece of meat.

They’re a couple ways to sear

1 –Sear it on the stovetop

Take a hot pan and sear all sides of the meat. This method is great for quick cooking meats and slow cooking meats. One example is tenderloin. Tenderloin should be seared in a pan then roasted in the oven. It is too thin to sear in the oven because the high temps will overcook the meat.

2-Sear in the oven

Set your oven temp to 500. Once it reaches that temp, put it into the oven, then turn down immediately and adjust to desired temp.

This method is great for Rib roast, Chicken, and Poultry of any kind. It is much easier than the pan method because you just heat up your oven and just make sure you turn the temp down. You don’t have to worry about burning yourself or making too much of a mess.

3- Always use a temperature probe

With the temperature probe you can have your meat come out the same exact way every time – it is a must-use tool for any roast. Then once you know what internal temp you prefer and understand carry-over cooking time, every time your roast will be exactly how you want it.

4-Let it rest, let it rest, let it rest

No matter the meat always let it rest once out of the oven. The roast will continue to rise in temps and finish cooking, also the juices will settle and stay in the roast. In fact you can always tell when you cut something too early because it loses a lot more juices than it should. I made a small steak for the kids the other night, and I waited to cut it so it would cool down for their little tongues. When I did that there was very little juices that came out, because they all stayed in the meat. Then next steak was for me, and I cut it right away. I can handle hot meat! I clearly noticed that my plate and cutting board were covered in a lot more juice than the kids’ plate.

Even though all meats are different, roasting principals are all going to stay the same with very few exceptions. As you use these four tips you will have better more succulent tasting roasts.