Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with roast

Roast Beast

Miko — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 09:33:49 -0800

I recently bought a share of a pig from a farmer, and it came wrapped in various cuts. One of the cuts is a large, meaty, bony one called "chine end roast." How should I cook this? My Googling seems to indicate it comes from the back of the pig and includes some of the bones of the spine, and that it's kind of next to the rib roast. Should I cook it like a rib roast? Or maybe a pot roast? Or braised? I'm just not sure what kind of treatment might do this big ol' meaty cut justice. Thanks for any ideas.

My Goose Is (not) Cooked!

np312 — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:52:22 -0800

Newbie cook seeks fool-proof recipe for roast goose, for a dinner party tomorrow night. The details:
--It's a 12 pound goose, frozen (but currently defrosting in the fridge.)
--Needs to be ready for a party tomorrow evening.
--We'd ideally like to keep the excess goose fat to render for future dishes.

Neither my boyfriend or I have ever cooked a goose, and all the recipes we're finding online seem to wildly differ on technique. We are looking for the safest, most delicious and straight-forward roasted goose recipe you've got!

(Please don't post a recipe unless you've actually used that exact recipe. I can google goose recipes to my heart's content, but I need to feel assured that this is the most fool-proof one.) Please save my dinner from disaster!

Thank you!

Help me roast a friend.

ieatwords — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:45:41 -0800

I am roasting a friend for his birthday in a couple of weeks and I need some one liners and zingers. I know that there are a lot of one liner websites out there but I wanted actual human input. My friend is turning 30 in a few weeks and I'm wondering if any of you have any one liners, zingers, or insults on the following subjects:

1. Turning 30
2. Being bald
3. Unemployed
4. Being in a long relationship and unable to commit to marriage.

Feel free to add any general insults that could tickle a drunk audience.

I have some very specific things I'm going to joke about in regards to my relationship with him and his personality but need some comedy to fill in the gaps. Your comedic genius is greatly appreciated!

Best meat thermometer

Ignatius J. Reilly — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 08:46:00 -0800

What is the most accurate and reliable meat thermometer? I don't care if it has digital whatnots and remote-control soforths, though I am not against those things. I just want to know what meat thermometer actually does the best job of measuring the temperature of a piece of meat in the oven and then conveying that temperature to me.

I live in the United States, at exactly sea level.

Holy cow that's a lotta beef.

lwclec072 — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 10:46:25 -0800

Help us think of roast recipes and chili recipes would be welcome, too. Boyfriend and I found a wholesale beef farm in our town and we got lots of meat, 20 pounds to be exact. We have 2 roasts and some stew meat. One of the roast we are going to slow cook with carrots, potatoes, celery and the works, but the other roast we're not exactly sure what we should do with it, other than just turning it into a slow cooked roast like the other, any ideas like maybe philly cheese steak would that be possible to turn a roast into shredded beef? If so help us do it! :)

We also have stew meat and my boyfriend wants to make chili with that and i'm never heard of such, any ideas with that?

please help me become the maple syrup plum fairy

mustcatchmooseandsquirrel — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 13:28:34 -0800

I want to bake/roast/broil plums in a sauce of maple syrup and/or red wine. Will this work? Have you done this? Does a recipe exist? Plums = slightly underripe.
Wine = Shiraz
Maple syrup = delicious

Other potentially useful ingredients I have: cinnamon, brown sugar, ginger, vanilla extract. I could probably get some other stuff, but I'd prefer not to.

chopped liver

yonation — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 08:05:22 -0800

interested in renting a (very affordable) small space (auditorium, banquet hall, etc) for a "roast" for a friend's birthday in november in new york city. our needs would be simple: some tables, some electricity, and the ability to BYO if necessary. we have the PA already. it DEFINITELY does not have to be "fancy" or "formal" in any way. in fact, the more creative, classic, dive-y and the like would be better; think sammy's roumanian house, or an old high school that rents its big auditoriums out.

we're probably going to be around 30 people; the thing is, we are all students or work in non-profits, so something cheap/affordable really is the priority here (thinking $20 max per person if possible). it also needn't be a weekend night, so perhaps something during the week is cheaper...

thanks!

also, suggestions to roast material (other than reviewing old movies) is also highly welcomed!

Good ideas for cooking whole chickens?

handee — Sat, 09 May 2009 09:27:36 -0800

What good recipes do you have for a whole chicken? We're in a chicken co-op and get an organic bird every month, and I'm after interesting ways to cook them. Roast chicken is lovely, but I'm after a bit more variety.

What to do with a brisket?

tavegyl — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 13:02:39 -0800

Went to market, came back with a brisket. Now what? I have a 1.5 kilo beef brisket sitting in the fridge, asking to be cooked for dinner tomorrow. It's now nearly 9pm and I won't have time to go get additional supplies. What can I do with a brisket to have it ready by 7pm tomorrow?

When buying it I'd thought vaguely of searing it like a steak, but it looks like this is a more demanding cut of meat than that.

I've looked through recipes online, but as a novice brisketeer would appreciate tried and trusted or wildly experimental advice.

Some limitors:

1. I work from home, so can dash to the kitchen when needed.

2. Available implements: an oven, a small roasting pan, shallow casserole dishes, and cooking pots of various sizes. No grill, barbeque, crock pot, pressure cooker or Dutch oven.

3. Available condiments: Soy sauce, worcester sauce, brown sugar, basil, star anise, 5-spice powder, crushed chillies, black pepper, garlic, ginger, onions, white wine, chicken stock cube, vegetable stock cube, miso, lemon, fortnight old rosemary, maple syrup, honey. No coffee, but could be arranged in the morning. Cardamom, mustard seeds, cinnamon, fennel seeds.

4. Available vegetables: peas, carrots, new potatoes, chinese broccoli, spinach, 3-4 mushrooms, 1/4 leek

5. Preferences: I'm a total novice. That said, this searing thang that many of the recipes recommended sounds like fun. As did one recipe which recommended a layer of caramelised onions on top. I'm not a fan of hearty stews, gravies or excess sweetness with my meat. I like pink in my meat. Red too.

6. The Brisket: Must be used tomorrow so that a grain fed Devonshire cow should not have died in vain. Rolled into a little cylinder, with a layer of fat about 1/2 cm thick. Gently oozing.

7. Added bonus if any marinading tips come before I go to bed.

Save my dinner! (and, judging by the size of this animal, several dinners to come.)

Should I peel the garlic skin before roasting the garlic?

bluefly — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 08:50:27 -0800

How do you cook whole garlic? Do you need to peel it? If so, how? I am trying to follow a recipe with these directions (it's from a recipe for roasted chicken with garlic):

Slice the tops from the garlic heads, reserving the bottoms; arrange the tops, cut sides down, in the center of the pan. . . . Place the reserved garlic bottoms, cut sides up, next to the chicken in the pan.

Do I need to peel the garlic before I do this? At least the outer skin? The recipe doesn't say to do this, but it might be assuming cooking knowledge that I don't have. I've never cooked with garlic larger than a clove which I always peel completely. Thanks.

How healthy is a bag of guts?

InsanePenguin — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 14:40:42 -0800

Can I cook a chicken with the giblet bag in? I bought one of those Perdue Chicken Roasters that comes with the pop-up thermometer and the bag of giblets inside the chicken. I let it defrost overnight in the refrigerator like it tells you to and I always do, but this time I couldn't get the bag of giblets to come out. Usually it slides out nice and easy, but this one was glued in, I swear. I ended up tearing the bag a little, but not terribly.

Anyways, I put it in the oven anyways but I'm anxious now. The bag is made of a material that doesn't seem like it would melt or hurt the chicken in anyway, but the instructions do tell you to take the bag out before you cook it.

So, MeFi, should Mrs. Penguin and I eat it?

Roasted chèvre, please

gentle — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 09:44:24 -0800

Mmmm... cheese. I went to a tapas restaurant the other day and one of the things we ordered was roasted chèvre — essentially a sticky warm blob of goat's milk cheese in a dish. The edges were brown, perhaps caramelized, and it tasted deliciously sweet. How do I make it? And do I need a butane torch to do it?

Where's the beef?

mds35 — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 07:07:32 -0800

Where can I get a great roast beef sandwich in Boston? The wife and I love the roast beef sandwiches from Bill & Bob's, Kelly's, Jimmy's and even Toula's. Problem is, we live in Roslindale and we don't want to drive all the way to the Saugus, Lynn, Andover, Georgetown, Revere, or Natick to get really good roast beef sandwiches. Are there any really awesome roast beef sandwiches to be had in Boston, Brookline, Newton, Quincy, Milton or the near South Shore? I know about Chowhound and Yelp, but I'm looking for recommendations from MeFites based on their own experiences.

Cooking topside of beef

mooreeasyvibe — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 10:01:46 -0800

I have a topside of beef - it weighs 0.65 kg - it's not huge really. What's the best way to cook it? I don't have a slow cooker or anything fancy. I have a roasting tray and foil. Anyone got any ideas?

Why was my pork so pink?

otherwordlyglow — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 11:45:16 -0800

Why did my pork roast turn pink? Friday night I roasted a 2.5 lb boneless pork blade loin roast. I used a Cook's Illustrated recipe that calls for you to first sear the loin on the stovetop for about 10 minutes to brown the exterior and then to roast at 300 degrees for about 45-50 minutes or until 135 degrees. It was in the oven for about 70 minutes before my meat thermometer registered over 135 degrees (checked at several locations) and then I took it out and let it rest for about 20 minutes, covered in foil, still on the roasting rack but over a carving board.

The recipe suggests that the roast will continue to rise in temp while it's resting by about 10-15 degrees. (I never checked the temp again though and by the time we sat down to eat it, the roast was somewhat cooler.)

In the intervening 20 minutes or resting, the roast dripped a couple teaspoons of bright red juice and then when I carved it, the end pieces were noticeably pink. Not something you'd normally want to see in a pork roast. However, the middle pieces of the roast were much less pink. In fact, they looked pretty normal.

As far as I know, both the oven and my meat thermometer work fine and the roast was in there much longer than suggested. Why would only the (thinner) ends be pink while the (thicker) mid section was white? We actually ate some of the pink pieces and had no ill effects so I think it was fine, it just looked weird. However, I'm curious as to what was going on. I've heard that a lot of pork from the grocery store (I got this meat at Safeway) is injected with liquid to make it juicier, could that have played a part?

Whence comes sediment-free after-dinner coffee?

Mapes — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 19:31:07 -0800

Please tell me about the coffee I'm often served in restaurants after dinner (especially in hotels) and at event receptions (especially in hotels). It seems to be totally sediment free and tastes "cleaner" and simpler, perhaps less roasted, than your typical cup of drip coffee. Is it a special type of coffee, or is it prepared a special way? Does it have a name? Could it be percolated?

My rib roast is finishing too early. How can I let my meat loaf?

donpardo — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 13:11:00 -0800

My 11 lb rib roast is about to be finished early (4:00 for a 6:30 dinner). The roast is currently out of the oven, wrapped in foil and a towel, sitting at 115 degrees. I'm planning on putting it back at 5 or so to bring it up to 125, then blast it at 500 after it sits for a bit (I'm using Alton Brown's method). Is this a reasonable approach? Or should I just plan on making hash?

Details: My oven can handle as low as 110 reliably. I'm planning on making Yorkshire Pudding, but I'll be happy to skip that to save the roast.

M. Bison: flawless victory?

ikkyu2 — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 10:59:50 -0800

Help me cook this bison sirloin tip roast. On a whim, and because it was a good-looking piece of meat, I bought a 2 pound bison sirloin tip roast. I've never cooked a sirloin tip roast before, and I've never cooked bison. I know that compared to beef, bison is very low in fat.

Please offer delicious recipes or cooking suggestions!

Roast for my wife

fijiwriter — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 13:44:00 -0800

Bring me your finest roast recipes, either in the oven or Crock-Pot-esque type equipment. Mrs. Writer has been hankering for a slow-cooked roast, and I want to surprise her with one for being such a great wife and mom.

So, looking for a good, lip-smacking roast recipe I can do in the oven or even in a slow cooker, but it's not terribly large. And any hints for the process are greatly welcome - and what makes a good roast great? What are the best cuts of meat, veggies to use, etc.?

Note: my wife is a sorta picky eater, so leave out roast covered in truffle oil and foie gras, OK?

CoffeeFilter: Does light roast have more caffeine than dark?

cerebus19 — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 11:11:57 -0800

CoffeeFilter: Does light roast coffee really have more caffeine than dark roast? I heard this from a barista at a Caribou Coffee the other day, and I've Googled it extensively. I've found sites that say there's almost no difference at all, and sites that seem to indicate that the difference is noticeable. I just don't know whom to believe.

Does anyone know of a study of this question that's been done with actual, scientifically obtained data to back up a conclusion, one way or the other? I want to know how to get the most caffeine bang for my buck.

Roasting a little fella that's cute, yellow, and chubby...

ztdavis — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 21:34:00 -0800

What is your favorite recipe for roasting duck? My family is a turkey or ham family when it comes to the holidays, but my fiance and I want to have our own holiday dinner soon and thought duck would be a nice main dish.

But neither she nor I know the first thing about cooking a duck -- what seasonings are good, whether or not to marinate it, what dishes go well with it, etc.

Any advice will be helpful, but I'd love to hear about any recipe you've used and enjoyed.

Thanks fellow mefites!

How can you have any meat if you haven't had your pudding?

craniac — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 10:55:49 -0800

I could have sworn that I read something by Jeffrey Steingarten in which he encourages his readers to cook a turkey roast made of turkey breast, herbs, and possibly other meats tied together with twine, instead of fussing with a full sized bird. It's not in The Man Who Ate Everything, however. Does anyone remember this? Or, could someone recommend an easy to make, impressive main dish for our Christmas dinner?

Reheating Roast Potatoes?

Joh — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 11:19:03 -0800

Travelling with roast potatoes - reheat or part-cook? I am eating thanksgiving at a friend's house this afternoon, and we decided to split the cooking between three of us. I am taking roast potatoes, roast parsnips, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce. Roast potatoes/parsnips are best straight out of the oven, IMO, while crispy. What would yield the best results - completely cooking them at my house, then reheating them in the oven at her house, or part-cooking them at my house, then finishing them off at her house? I am wondering if reheated roasties will be too crispy, or if something weird will happen if I part-cook, cool, then finish cooking them.

Any experience mefites? Thanks!

Roast Material

billysumday — Tue, 28 Mar 2006 11:48:29 -0800

I'm going to be participating in a bachelor party roast in a week and a half and need some supplementary material. Obviously a great roasting of someone would be both personal and hurtful, but besides that, what are some good generic, fail-safe insults that I can hurl around? I'm thinking of that Jerry Stiller Roast where Jeffrey Ross said "I wouldn't fuck Sandra Bernhardt with Bea Arthur's dick." That's hilarious. Anyway, anyone done a little roast like this before? Advice? Suggestions? Good one-liners? Thanks.

Why Does Burned Coffee Rule?

ParisParamus — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 21:06:39 -0800

Why does (what is the psychology of) Starbucks thrive(ing) selling coffee that, it would seem, most people find less than ideal? From speaking with a friends, family, and collegues, I can't recall anyone saying that they actually love Starbucks' coffee. Perhaps I travel in an atypical "coffee circle," but I wonder.

Specifically, why does Starbucks insist on selling medium-to-dark roast coffee exclusively, when, I suspect, most Americans would prefer a good light roast brew (or, why not sell both; dark roast does make sense for frappuccinos, etc.).

Is it that Starbucks has concluded that, given that most people put milk in their coffee, that "burned coffee" (what many call it) is, overall the best compromise?

Is it that people don't really go to Starbucks for the coffee but the ambiance and/or pastry?

Is it that dark coffee, psychologically, has a status/appeal BECAUSE most people don't actually like it? Something else?