Basting is “anointing” food that you are cooking with a liquid, either a sauce, a broth, or the drippings of juices and fats from the meat. It is done when roasting, grilling and barbequing. Basting a turkey or chicken Basting poultry does not help to keep the meat moister. The fat you baste a bird…
A proper beef roast is one that not only can but should be dry roasted without any liquid or cover involved.It will come from the Rib, Short Loin or Sirloin area of the cow, though there are one or two cuts from the Chuck that some people say they get away with dry roasting as…
Brining a turkey is a process that draws water into the raw turkey to plump it out, while seasoning the meat all the way through. Fans swear that turkeys that have been brined turn out seeming more tender, and moist. They also say that for salt lovers, the added saltiness makes the turkey meat irresistible….
Carving boards are boards for carving meat on at the table. They have sunken rims around them, and sometimes also sunken grooves through them. These are designed to catch and channel juices from meats being carved so they do not overrun on the table.
French roasting pans are rectangular roasting pans that have rounded corners, and fixed handles that rise up vertically from the sides.
Gravy is a thickened savoury sauce made from the juices (“drippings”) of cooked meat. It may be dark or light in colour, and is served hot as a pouring sauce. Gravy, in theory, gets its colour and flavour from the meat drippings. In practice, many people like to use a gravy browning liquid or powder…
Gravy Browning is not the same as gravy powder. Browning just adds colour, and (most claim) some flavour. Gravy Powder will thicken the gravy as well. There are many different Gravy Browning products made, including such brands as such as Kitchen Bouquet, Goodall’s, and Crosse and Blackwell. Strict Gravy Browning products — ones that have…
Instant read meat thermometers are thermometers that give you nearly instantly the internal temperature of meat that is being cooked.
Kitchen Bouquet is a bottled condiment sauce used as an ingredient in cooking, rather than as a table condiment. It is mostly used for its ability to add a dark brown colour. It’s generically referred to as a “browning agent.” Some people think it has no flavour; some people think the flavour is an important…
Oven bags are heat-resistant nylon or polyester bags that are designed for foods to be put in then cooked in the oven. Fans say they keep your oven cleaner, and help anything cooked in the bags to baste itself by keeping steam in.
The trick to roasting a goose is dealing with the incredible amount of fat that will render off it. But do as the French do — see that as a blessing. Put the fat in a bottle and pop it in a fridge for future cooking use. This is a very basic roasting technique for…
Roast Potatoes are peeled potatoes, whole or halved, that are roasted in hot oil in an oven. The potatoes end up light, fluffy and steaming inside, with a crunchy, golden shell that should, ideally, shatter like glass when you start to cut into it. Roast Potatoes are absolutely required at Christmas dinner in England. The…
Roasting is a slow method of cooking meat that is well-suited to larger cuts where the heat needs time to reach through to the middle without charring the outsides. Roasting can be done in pans in ovens, or on spits over open-fires; it can also be done by surrounding a food with hot coals or…
A roasting pan is used for roasting food in. Typically the food is meat such as poultry, beef or pork, but it could also be vegetables. In England, the Sunday roast dinner is still a very common occurrence, so roasting pans get very frequent use. In North America, they live most of the year in…
Safe cooking temperatures are the minimum temperatures that you are advised to cook meat to in order to ensure that it is safe to eat. Here are some absolute base minimums that lab results have show researchers will kill nasties. Beef130°F54°CEggs140°F60°CLamb and Seafood140°F60°CPork150°F66°CPoultry and Stuffing165°F74°C The temperatures that Health Authorities give out are almost always…
A spit is a large sharp metal rod stuck through a piece of meat or through a whole animal to cook it slowly over low heat, usually from a bed of coals, though in modern times it can also be gas flame or electric heat.
Sunday Roast — Chicken © Leclaire & Schenk Sunday Roast is traditional in the UK and in Ireland. It is always served in the early afternoon. Many North Americans make the mistake of thinking they will hit a pub and get a roast dinner at 5 or 6 in the afternoon, which is when North…
A turkey baster is a tool designed to suck juices up from the bottom of a roasting pan, and then release those juices back out onto the joint of meat that is being roasted.
A Turkey Crown is basically the top part of the turkey. The advantage of a Turkey Crown over a whole turkey is that it is quicker to cook, and easier to carve. People who are tired of the yearly routine of dealing with turkey leftovers also like that a crown has less meat than a…
Turkey lacers are thin needles about 11 cm (4 1/2 inches) long that are sharply pointed at one end with a large eye hook at the other end. They are used in combination with thin butcher string to close and hold shut the neck cavity of poultry that has been stuffed. The purpose is to…
Yorkshire Pudding © Denzil Green Yorkshire Pudding is not a pudding at all. It’s a plain puffed pastry served with the savoury part of a meal, whose origins harken back to the county of Yorkshire in England. It is similar to Popovers, but it’s not meant to rise as high or be as airy. Like…
