How to roast meat

Roasting meat is an art that not everyone masters, and getting juicy, tender and soft roast meat is not always easy. There are many techniques that exist to prepare roast beef, but which is the best? What is the cooking time of the meat depending on the method used? These and more questions are what we will solve in this article.

Next, we explain how to roast meat, which are the best cuts of meat to roast, what terms of cooking meat we can do and the most effective tricks to obtain the best results, keep reading!

What are the best meats to roast?

The first step to make a recipe does not happen in the kitchen, but during the purchase.  Why? Because depending on the quality of the product you choose, this will be the final result. For this reason, it is essential to first talk about the best meats for grilling, which are the following:

• Pork meat
• Mutton
• Chicken meat
• Turkey meat
• Tuna
• Swordfish

Now, selecting a product is essential, but what cuts are the most suitable for roasting meat? We see them below.

Meat cuts for roasting

After reviewing the best meats for roasting, it is necessary to delve into the most suitable crates of meat for roasting, since the choice of one or the other will make the difference between an excellent roast meat and a simply good one. Thus, depending on the type of meat, the appropriate cuts are one or the other:

• Beef cuts for roasting: Although beef comes from a young cow and is therefore generally tenderer than older beef, some cuts are more suitable for roasting than others. In this case, the best thing to do is to choose the high loin or some similar piece (the skirt, for example). To roast, discard the narrower cuts of the veal, such as the tail (or fish) and shoulder, as they are less juicy and less tender. To roast the veal meat on the grill, we recommend the entrecote (which is extracted from the loin), the rib eye or the piece of rib strip that makes up the churrasco.
• Cuts of pork meat for roasting: the most recommended cuts of pork meat for roasting are the shoulder, Iberian pork or cholesterol with the loin. The sirloin is inadvisable because it is a very small cut that can dry out when cooking, except if you cook it on the grill. If it is a question of grilling, parts of the face (ear, nose or mask) are recommended; from the inside of the bacon we recommend the secret, the needle in the chops and the sirloin in fillets. These grilled cuts provide a variety of very interesting textures.
• Cuts of lamb meat for roasting: for grilling, the best part of the lamb is the rib or chop, however, sliced ​​leg or neck is also very appetizing.
• Poultry meat cuts for roasting: in chicken and turkey practically any part of the animal is ideal for grilling or grilling.
• Cuts of fish meat for grilling: the ideal fish for grilling are swordfish and tuna because they have hard or meaty textured meats, which allow perfect cooking and in less time than meat (although this will also depend on the thickness). In addition, these fish, unlike white fish that have a more delicate meat, such as cod, do not lose their flavor with fire and smoke. But… what are the best cuts of fish to grill? The fish can be grilled whole, in cuts such as supreme or fillets (both cross cuts without bones), medallions, slices or tracheas (the three vertical cuts with the bone in the center) and darned (a cut on one side of the loin). ) .

If you want to roast a very lean piece of meat, another option is to buy the meat with infiltrated fat or pieces wrapped with a layer of fat, although it should be noted that many chefs reject this option. This type of option favors cuts such as the round, which if cooked lean is very tasty but somewhat dry. However, the ideal is to buy the meat with a certain amount of its own fat, nothing exaggerated, so it is juicier.

How to roast meat: types of cooking?

At this point we come to the outcome of any preparation and a very important point of it: cooking. For this reason, it is very beneficial to know the different types of cooking to know how to roast meat in each of them.

Grill or grill meat

The secret to grilling meat is to cook it slowly. This is achieved by moving it away from the coals and prolonging its cooking time, so they do not burn on the surface, it remains tender and juicy inside. If you roast the meat at very high temperatures, you favor the contraction of the fibers and consequently the meat is tougher. For this reason, if you are wondering how to roast meat so that it is juicy and tender, the key is patience.

To grill meat using this type of cooking, preheat the grill, place the meat from left to right (a well-organized grill makes the cook’s job easier); place thin slices of meat and…, let’s get to work!

Grill meat

The essential thing in this style of cooking is to seal the meat over high heat and then finish cooking it over medium heat. This technique is especially applied to pork, chicken or lamb, which need to be fully cooked, while beef can be cooked rare, always over medium-high heat, so it will be sealed on the outside and raw (or red) on the inside.

On the other hand, if it is fish that has skin, it is placed on the very hot griddle and cooked on that side first. When it is roasted well, it is turned over and it is finished cooking on the side without the skin for less time. For more details, do not miss this recipe: “Grilled fish fillet without sticking”.

Roast meat in the oven

In this cooking technique, perhaps the most important thing is to know your oven very well and the intensity of heat it has in order to calculate the times correctly. To cook a 1.5 kilo piece, it is recommended to cook it for 2.5 hours at 120 ºC. Why? Because this is how a juicy and pink internal texture is achieved thanks to prolonged cooking. On the other hand, if you cook it in 45 minutes at 200ºC, it will be apparently well cooked but in reality it will be overcooked on the outside and a little raw on the inside. Result on the table? The first cooking offers a tender, juicy and appetizing roast meat, the second a hard and leathery texture.

Roast meat in pressure cooker

The pressure cooker is a very effective culinary tool for roasting meat with a soft and juicy texture that melts in your mouth. In addition, it allows you to obtain this result in half the time those other cooking methods, such as the oven. To do this, place the piece in the pot with the extra ingredients and chosen seasonings, cover it and let it cook for 30 minutes or 1 hour, depending on the type of meat and the size of the cut. The result will be a meat so tender that it will crumble as soon as you pinch it.

Roast meat under vacuum or at low temperature

Sous vide or vacuum cooking is a very interesting and effective technique for obtaining tender meats. The methodology here is very curious, since it consists of storing the food in a bag that closes under vacuum, so you can cook it in a bain-marie at a constant temperature. A common cooking in this technique would be cooking for 16 hours at 75ºC, for a cut of 1.4 kilos of weight. At the end of cooking, a second cooking or technical treatment is recommended, usually at a high temperature, using the grill (salamander), thus guaranteeing an excellent presentation of the meat.

This method of roasting meat also allows you to put the marinade that you like the most in the bag. In this sense, in the following sections we will see some examples.

Meat doneness

For both grilling and grilling, there are different cooking points for the meat that offer varied textures. To get one or the other, you need to know the cooking times of the meat. Of course, keep in mind that these times also vary depending on the size and thickness of the cut. Here we leave you a small guide with the cooking terms of the meat:

• Very rare: cooking time 1-2 minutes per side. Internal temperature from 40 to 50 ºC.  Red zone from 90 to 75%. Cooking zone from 10 to 25%. In performance it loses 10%.
• Rare (juicy): cooking time 2-3 minutes per side. Internal temperature from 50 to 55 ºC.  Red zone 50%. 50% cooking zone. In performance it loses 20%.
• Medium Rare: 3 minute cook time per side. Internal temperature from 55 to 60 ºC. Red zone 40%. 60% cooking zone. In yield it loses 25%.
• Three quarters/done: cooking time of 3-4 minutes per side. Internal temperature of 58 to 65 ºC. Red zone 25%. Cooking zone 75%. In yield it loses 30%.
• Well done: Cooking time 4-5 minutes per side. Internal temperature 65 to 75 ºC. Red zone 15 to 5%. Cooking zone from 85 to 95%. In yield it loses 40%.
• Well done: cooking time 5-6 minutes per side. Internal temperature from 70 to 80 ºC.  Red zone 0%. 100% cooking zone. In yield it loses 40-50%.

How to prepare meat for roasting?

Before roasting the meat, it must be prepared. In some cases, this preparation simply consists of seasoning the meat to taste because the piece used does not require any other work. However, in others it is necessary to soften the meat so that it is more juicy and tender when roasting or marinating it to enhance its flavor.

To break down the fibers and tissues of meat in order to tenderize it, the best method is to pound it with a meat mallet. Likewise, the carination itself also guarantees a softer and tenderer roast meat, so it is possible to carry out both methods. What type of marinades is most suitable? It all depends on the type of meat but, in general, marinades made with lemon, mustard, yogurt or milk, mixed with spices such as curry, basil, paprika or cumin are excellent options.

Tips for cooking perfect roast beef

To achieve a juicy, soft and very tasty roast meat, it is very important to keep in mind all the previous tips and some more tricks, such as the following:

• Choose a good cut. Each type of meat (fish, pork, chicken, beef, etc.) has cuts that are more suitable for one recipe than for another. Based on this you should choose the most successful.
• Tenderize meat before cooking. There are many techniques to soften the meat before cooking it; the best known is to beat the raw meat as we have already explained.
• Marinate the meat. A good marinade applied to the right meat and the right time guarantees a very tender and delicious meat.
• Accompany the meats with sauces. When the roast is not very juicy or somewhat dry, the ideal is to serve the meat accompanied by a sauce to give it more moisture.
• Cook slowly over medium-low heat. Cooking over medium heat and prolonging the cooking time ensures a good result. It doesn’t matter if you decide to roast the meat in the oven, on the grill, in a vacuum, in an espresso pot, on the grill or on the grill, in all these techniques prolonged cooking (adapting the time to each technique ) with a medium heat guarantees a silky and exquisite meat… a true delicacy!
• Let the meat rest after baking. If you eat the meat as soon as it comes out of the oven, the fibers and juices haven’t relaxed yet and this tension can give you tough meat. What is most advisable? Wrap the meat in aluminum foil and let it rest for 15 minutes before serving, enough time for the meat to reach a uniform temperature, the juices to expand inside and it to be softer.
• Slice meat properly when served. Once the meat is roasted, to get the most out of it, it is essential to cut it properly. The correct way is to cut perpendicular to the grain, so the fillets will not crumble or become rubbery.