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Roasts with the most
Is there anything more comforting to come home to than the aroma of a roast cooking in the oven? We’ve got tips on the type of “cuts,” cooking methods and finishing techniques to help perfect your roasting skills.
Roasts are large cuts of meat that can feed multiple people. Cooking methods that rely on direct hot temperatures are not best suited for these cuts as the outside of the meat will cook before the inside. Instead, you will need to combine a low and slow cooking method with a quick searing method for best results.
All about the cut
Most of us want juicy, tender cuts of meat. However, with the right cooking method, even a tough cut can become a more budget-friendly delicious meal. Typically for large animals such as beef, pork or lamb, the less active the muscle more tender it will be as a roast. Here’s a quick breakdown of where pork and beef roasts fall in terms of tenderness.
Beef
- Very tender (Premium): Prime Rib or Standing Rib Roast, Striploin, Top Sirloin, Sirloin cap or Coulotte, Tenderloin
- Tender: Sirloin Tip, Tri-Tip, tenderloin roast, crown roast
- Less tender: Eye of Round, Outside Round, Inside Round, Rump
Pork
- Very tender (Premium): Tenderloin, Center cut loin roast, pork crown roast
- Tender: Pork Shoulder or Pork Butt, Pork Picnic, Pork belly
- Less tender: Pork Leg or uncured ham
Lamb
- Very tender (Premium): Lamb Rack
- Tender: Bone-in or Boneless Lamb
- Less tender: Lamb Shoulder
A Note on Marbling
A very popular term when it comes to Beef specifically. A term that is especially important in the actual grading of Beef. Marbling refers to the intermuscular fat of each animal and is inspected on the hanging beef carcass.
This matters because marbling directly contributes to the juiciness of a steak or roast. The more marbling you have, the Juicier the cut will be.
What’s the Diff? Roasting or Pot Roasting
The difference is simple: Roasting is a dry heat cooking method, and “Pot Roasting” is braising and thus a moist heat cooking method.
Great cuts for “Pot” roasting are the tougher cuts such as:
- Beef – Short ribs, Chuck or Blade steak or roast, Shank, brisket
- Pork – Pork Shoulder, Ribs or Belly
- Lamb – Shanks or Shoulder
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Roasting Temperatures
The roasting temperature depends on what you are cooking. Large beef or pork roasts tend to need lower temperatures so that the entire roasts cook evenly. We tend to first oven-sear our roasts at 450F for the first 20 minutes to enhance the flavour and then reduce the temperature to 325F until the roast has reached its desired doneness.
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Resting & Carry-Over Cooking
Once you have taken your roast out of the oven, it’s important to let it rest. Resting is leaving the roast alone for 10 - 30 after cooking is done. There are two reasons for this:
The temperature on the outside of the roast will be higher than the temperature on the inside. The resting time allows the temperature to even out throughout the roast. Typically, you can expect the internal temperature to go up another 5°F while it rests
This allows the meat to firm up again, making it easier to carve, as well helps reduce how much moisture is lost.
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Slicing
How you slice your roast is just as important as how you cook it. Muscles are made up of fibrous strands and, depending on how you cut through them, will change the texture of your finished roast. To get consistently tender slices, slice against the grain of the roast. This means to go across the direction of the muscle fibre. If you go with the direction of the fibres, your roast will be chewier.
A good sharp slicing knife is the paramount tool to your show stopping-success with a roast. Learn how to sharpen yours with this video.