Roasted Foods By placing a lid over the food, you create moist heat. Any time you roast a food, leave the lid off. Roasting meats and vegetables cooks them quickly, while creating a golden crust and tender interior.
When cooking a roast in the oven, keep it uncovered until roasted to the desired doneness. After removing from the oven, tent with foil and let stand 15 minutes before carving. This allows the juices to redistribute, preventing them from draining out during carving—and preventing dry, disappointing meat.
But when you put a lid on, the heat stays in the pot. It helps cook your food faster. Less time cooking results in less energy used. So yes, putting a lid on your pots and pans while cooking does make your food cook faster, saving energy.
Use a pressure cooker to roast meat quickly.
Pressure cookers steam the roast by using a great deal of pressure and force the heat into the meat. This option will roast food in approximately 1/3 of the time compared to traditional cooking methods.
Wrapping your brisket in aluminum foil speeds up cooking time and keeps in the meat's fat and juices, leaving it tender. It also helps keep the temperature constant, allowing it to cook evenly. However, timing is crucial when using tinfoil, especially for those who like their meat slightly crispy.
Wrapping Meats
After a cut of meat is finished cooking, gently wrap it with aluminum foil in a tent-like fashion. This will keep the meat warm after it reaches its peak internal temperature while resting. Depending on the cut of meat, rest times will vary.
You should cover a beef roast with kitchen foil for at least part of the cooking time. This stops the roast beef from drying out too much during cooking.
Cook on low.
While you can prepare this easy crockpot roast beef on the “high” setting, we always recommend low. The low temperature brings up the internal temperature of the meat so slowly that the whole roast cooks evenly across its entirety — the roast will be perfect from crust to center!
Placing aluminum foil over the content of the slow cooker or placing it over the top of the crock with the cover placed on top of the foil will speed up the cooking process.
Undercooked pot roast will be tough and chewy. Test your roast with a fork before you remove it from the pot. If it is done, the fork will go in easily and you'll be able to twist off a forkful of meat. It if is still firm, return the roast to the pot and continue cooking for another hour.
The steam is trapped in the closed dish, slowly working at tenderising your meat. If you're roasting beef fillet you wouldn't need to use a lid as little, if any, collagen is present, but a pork shoulder or leg of lamb will benefit from being cooked in a covered dish — at least initially.
All foods give off some steam when cooking, so it's important to leave the lid off the pan during frying so the steam evaporates rather than collecting on the lid and dripping back into the hot oil.
Traditional roasting is uncovered, but for long, slow cooking times, it's best to cover the meat for at least half of the cooking time to retain the moisture and pan juices. You can use a baking dish with a lid, two layers of foil or an oven bag.
Pot roast is meant to be braised, which means cooking meat slowly over low heat with minimal liquid, covered. If you add too much water/broth, you are going to miss out on that roasty flavor that comes from the top part of the meat cooking above the liquid.
You do not need to submerge the pot roast to cook it thoroughly. In fact, the heat from your slow cooker and the bit of braising liquid from deglazing your pan will be just enough to prepare the food for you perfectly. Much of what you're cooking, in this case, meat and vegetables, will release liquid as they cook.
Add enough water to the pot to cover roast; add celery, garlic, onion, basil, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer for 2 hours and 15 minutes, adding additional water if needed to keep the roast covered. Add turnips and potatoes; simmer for an additional 15 minutes.
Cover the crockpot and cook on LOW for 10 to 12 hours or until the beef and vegetables are tender. Skim the fat from the rendered juices. Add the juices to a pot, add the butter and mix well until combined. Remove from heat once it has reduced a little and has a good texture.
Slow-roast
Best cooked at 150-170C, recipes that require slow-roasting are trickier to control using a domestic oven. Brown the joint first to give it a bit of colour, cook it covered on low, then turn up the heat at the end to brown the meat.
When using a common stewing beef such as a chuck roast it is necessary to cook the dish slowly in order to ensure the breaking down of these muscle fibers. The tenderizing process is necessary when using these cuts of meat.
Crockpots may vary but generally, the LOW setting is about 200 F and the HIGH setting is about 300 F. One hour on HIGH is approximately equal to 2 to 2 1/2 hours on LOW. Most crockpot recipes recommend cooking 8 to 10 hours on LOW. Some recipes recommend the HIGH setting based on the nature and texture of the food.
Roasting beef at 225 degrees, about 100 degrees lower than most recipes call for, produces a much better roast than one cooked at higher temperatures. Of course, roasting beef at a low temperature isn't a secret to everyone.
Roast for 12 mins per 450g/1lb (about 55 mins for a 2kg/4lb 8oz joint) for medium-rare, or 15 mins per 450g/1lb (about 1 hr 10 mins) for medium-well.
Season and oil generously. Brown in a 220°C/Gas 7 oven for 20 mins, then turn down to 160°C/Gas 3 and add a little water to the pan. Cook for 20 mins per 500g (add/subtract 15 mins for well done/rare). Wrap in foil and leave somewhere warm to rest for at least 15 mins before carving.
Method. Remove the beef from the fridge 30 minutes before you want to cook it, to let it come up to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 240°C/475°F/ gas 9.