| What's the difference between roasting and | | | | works equally well in the oven or on the |
| baking? Many Aussies would tell you there's | | | | barbecue. |
| none at all. We call roasts 'baked dinners'. | | | | |
| But for the purpose of this article we are | | | | "Butterfly of lamb" is simply a leg of lamb |
| going to separate the two. | | | | from which the bone has been removed. You |
| | | | can either do this yourself (it's not as |
| Roasting is done in the presence of fat, | | | | difficult as it may seem) or get your butcher |
| baking is not. It's that simple. | | | | to do it for you. |
| | | | |
| So, potatoes cooked in the oven using fat are | | | | The first thing to do is to lay the meat skin |
| 'roast' potatoes. Cooked dry in their skins | | | | side down on a flat surface and open it out. |
| they become baked potatoes. | | | | Sprinkle the meat fairly liberally with soy |
| | | | sauce and add some rosemary, thyme, crushed |
| This is a useful way to separate the two | | | | garlic, a bay leaf or two and some sliced |
| systems and one we'll stick to, if that's all | | | | onion. Fold the meat over the herbs and place |
| right with you? :0) | | | | it upside down in a bowl. |
| | | | |
| Roasting | | | | Upside down means skin side up, okay? Who |
| | | | cares! It really doesn't matter that much. |
| Despite plenty of evidence to the contrary, I | | | | |
| still see recipes that insist you should cook | | | | Marinade the joint overnight in the |
| meat at high temperature for the first twenty | | | | refrigerator, having added half a cup each of |
| minutes or so - to 'seal' it - and then lower | | | | soy sauce and red wine. |
| the level for the rest of the cooking time. | | | | |
| | | | Oven cooking |
| This is the traditional way. Fortunately for | | | | |
| my guests, like the great Galloping Gourmet | | | | Preheat the oven to 230° C. |
| Graham Kerr, I'm not a traditionalist. Let's | | | | |
| put this myth to bed once and for all. | | | | This may seem like an incredibly high |
| | | | temperature but the outside of your meat is |
| Cooking meat at high temperature, whether in | | | | protected by two things - the liquid it has |
| the oven, on the barbecue or in a pan does | | | | been marinated in and the fat on its |
| not seal it! | | | | surface, which you are going to sprinkle |
| | | | fairly liberally with salt. |
| It burns it. That's why it goes brown. And it | | | | |
| introduces extra flavor, because the outside | | | | This is one occasion when you simply must |
| of the meat generally has a covering of fat. | | | | cook your meat directly on the rungs of the |
| Fat is what gives meat it's unique flavor. | | | | oven, fat side up, and you will cook it at |
| | | | this temperature for about 20 minutes. Then, |
| Adding this crust to the outside of the meat | | | | you will be relieved to hear, you can reduce |
| will also slow down the cooking of the rest | | | | the temperature to a mere 200° C. |
| of the joint, and help to keep it rare. | | | | |
| | | | This next bit is important, and you have to |
| Think. Do you really want to do this with | | | | trust me. Roast your meat for exactly eight |
| chicken, for example? | | | | minutes per pound and no longer. Allow it to |
| | | | relax for around 15 minutes and then carve |
| No of course not. Chicken in particular needs | | | | and serve. |
| to be thoroughly cooked and high temperature | | | | |
| roasting will not help that process. | | | | On the barbecue |
| | | | |
| Basting, on the other hand, will. | | | | This is where I really test your nerve and |
| | | | the faith your guests may or may not have in |
| Basting is simply taking the juices from the | | | | you. |
| bottom of the pan and pouring them back over | | | | |
| the cooking meat from time to time. By doing | | | | The first thing to ensure is that your |
| this, and cooking at the right temperature, | | | | barbecue is ready and at full temperature. |
| you will produce far more succulent results. | | | | Incidentally, I'm talking about a genuine |
| Browning will still take place, but gently, | | | | charcoal barbecue, not the gas or electric |
| as part of a process. | | | | variety which you can use in exactly the same |
| | | | way as the oven. |
| Using a roasting tin | | | | |
| | | | Now place the meat fat side down directly |
| It's not a good idea to cook meat inside a | | | | over the heat. After a few seconds it will |
| roasting tin. A much better way is to place | | | | burst into flames and you will have a heart |
| the joint directly on the rungs of the oven | | | | seizure. Go with the flow. This really is |
| with the roasting tin underneath it. In this | | | | meant to happen. |
| way, you can pack vegetables in the roasting | | | | |
| tin and they will cook nicely in the juices | | | | Resist all temptation to interfere. Just let |
| from the meat. | | | | the flames die down and then turn the meat |
| | | | over and leave it to cook for a further 10 |
| If you don't like that idea, because it means | | | | minutes. |
| you have to clean the rungs after use, put | | | | |
| the meat on top of a rack in or on the | | | | When you remove the meat from the barbecue it |
| roasting tin instead. You don't need to buy | | | | will look more like a piece of charcoal than |
| a special tin for this, simply use a cake | | | | the succulent, highly flavored lamb that it |
| rack or something similar. I have even used | | | | really is. In fact, it will look like a |
| two or three kebab skewers and rested the | | | | total disaster. |
| joint on those. | | | | |
| | | | Ignore the sympathetic murmurs from your |
| However the advantage of cooking directly on | | | | guests. Carve into the lamb and listen to |
| the rungs is that the air circulates freely | | | | and enjoy their gasps of astonishment when |
| round the joint, ensuring even cooking, and | | | | they see the perfect meat inside the salty |
| you can remove the roasting tin to make your | | | | crust. |
| gravy while leaving the meat where it is. Of | | | | |
| course, if you do that, you will want to put | | | | There is no more delicious way to serve lamb |
| some kind of drip tray under the joint, but | | | | and you will have created an authentic |
| any ovenproof dish will do for that. | | | | Mediterranean flavor that is just perfect for |
| | | | those balmy summer nights. All it takes is |
| Temperatures and cooking times | | | | nerve (and maybe a couple of beers or glasses |
| | | | of wine!). |
| Using my method (actually it's Graham Kerr's | | | | |
| method which I've adopted but what the heck) | | | | Add a really crisp, well-dressed salad and a |
| you don't need to learn a lot of complicated | | | | mountain of frites to complete the feast. |
| temperature/time formulas. Cook your red | | | | |
| meat at 350F, 180c, gas mark 4. | | | | Waddya mean ya don't know what frites are? |
| | | | They're the real French fries/chips. They're |
| Cook poultry at 325F, 160c, gas mark 3. | | | | what Ronald pretends to serve. They are so |
| | | | versatile just thinking about them brings |
| Calculate your cooking time as 30 minutes for | | | | tears to my eyes. |
| every 500 grams of meat. This will produce | | | | |
| thoroughly cooked poultry, beef that is well | | | | I buy mine from Birds Eye, but that's just a |
| cooked on the outside and rare inside, pink | | | | sentimental thing (my family once farmed |
| lamb and pork (yes you can safely eat | | | | peas). Any skinny chip that you deep fry from |
| 'underdone' pork, providing the internal | | | | frozen will probably do the trick. |
| temperature reaches 160C for a period of at | | | | |
| least 10 minutes!) | | | | You could also serve rice or fettucini or any |
| | | | other pasta of your choice. The main thing |
| If you want to change anything - alter your | | | | will be the meat - just don't expect to have |
| cooking times accordingly but beware. There | | | | any leftovers! |
| is a very thin line between meat that is well | | | | |
| done and boot leather. If rare meat is more | | | | Thermometers |
| than you can handle, it's a much better idea | | | | |
| to use my cooking times but then turn the | | | | While most underdone meat, except poultry, is |
| oven off and leave the meat in it for a | | | | safe to eat, it's important not to be too |
| further 30 minutes or so. | | | | cavalier about it, particularly if the joint |
| | | | has been boned. |
| Which brings me to one more point; it's very | | | | |
| important to let the meat stand for at least | | | | That's because bacteria that were not |
| 20 minutes before carving. | | | | originally there may have been introduced |
| | | | into the meat on the tip of the butcher's |
| Why? Because when you heat protein (which is | | | | knife. |
| what meat is) it shrinks and toughens. | | | | |
| Allowing it to relax and cool a little | | | | Fortunately these will die at temperatures of |
| restores some of its elasticity. Just keep | | | | around 160C, and the best way to ensure your |
| it in a warm place with a sheet of cooking | | | | meat reaches that for a prolonged period is |
| foil over the top while you prepare the | | | | by using a meat thermometer, especially one |
| greens and gravy. | | | | that can be left in place during cooking. |
| | | | |
| Exceptions | | | | A good thermometer will also allow you to |
| | | | accurately judge cooking times, because it |
| What would rules be without them? | | | | will come equipped with a table which shows |
| | | | you how well the meat is done at any given |
| The example I am going to use is typical of | | | | temperature. |
| high temperature Mediterranean cookery and it | | | | |