The cold weather is here and many of us are roasting meat instead of BBQ’ing, except you diehards who BBQ all winter long. So let’s review a few easy steps that will help keep your meats moist and flavourful (and your guests begging for more!)
First thing, if there is a lid on the pan then it is not considered roasting! Really! If the loin of meat is semi submerged in liquid with a lid on it is considered braising, which is best done for a long period of time to break the meat proteins down and add flavour.
For roasting ideally you will want to use a tender cut of meat such as ribeye or tenderloin, For those types of cuts you would add rough chop onion (50%), carrot (25%), celery (25%), with small amount of canola oil, and flavourings (i.e. garlic, bay leaves, rosemary) and roast (without lid) for a shorter period of time on a higher heat, around 400 degrees will do nicely.
Next, remove from pan and deglaze the pan with the vegetables and an acid (red wine, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar) to make your demi-glaze.
THE ALTERNATIVE TO A CHOICE CUT:
Now if getting access to a nicer cut is not possible then try larding a roast. You can try the “eye of round”, but be careful, even though it has great flavour, it can be tough as leather if roasted incorrectly, or it can become as dry as English gin if over cooked.
To lard a roast simply make an incision every 3″ down the roast on both sides, in each cut shove pork fat into the hole with a chop stick or any aid around that size. If you can’t find pork fat, then substitute with pancetta (don’t use bacon however, it’s too overpowering).
Roast until you reach approximately 130-degree internal temperature. Let sit and repeat the same process for deglaze the pan.
Enjoy!