Baking Meats

 Otto Say’s 

Pasta sanza vino e come il cuore sanza amore

Pasta without wine is like a heart without love

Baking is a form of dry - heat method that uses hot, dry air to cook food. Like other dry-heat cooking methods, baking browns the surface of the food, which in turn develops complex flavors and aromas.

Baking  a method of cooking an item by enveloping it in hot, dry air, generally inside an oven and at temperatures of at least 150 C. and often much hotter. A convection oven, which circulates hot air throughout the oven, can enhance the browning reaction.

The browning that happens when we heat carbohydrates (like when we bake a loaf of bread, for instance) is the result of caramelization

Cook Uncovered

Baking require that the food be cooked uncovered, so that it's the hot, dry air that delivers the heat, not steam from the food.

Because it uses indirect heat, baking cook food fairly evenly since all of the food's surfaces are exposed to the heat to the same extent. This differs from pan – frying for instance, where the surface that touches the hot pan gets much hotter than the side that faces up.

Browning

Though the words "roasting" and "baking" are frequently used interchangeably, some chefs distinguish between the two based on temperature, with roasting implying greater heat and thus faster and more pronounced browning than baking.

Others may prefer to use the word "roasting" specifically for meats, poultry and vegetables, but use the term "baking" for fish and other seafood or bread and cakes

Oven Baked Rump Roast ( serves 6 to 8)

Ingredients

2 kg Rump beef roast

3 ml salt

2 ml. pepper

1 onion diced

4 garlic cloves

1 bell pepper sweet

250 ml beef stock

125 ml. flour

Method

1. Marinate the roast over night (in the refrigerator) with all ingredients except the salt and flour

2.When ready to cook put in a baking dish and add the salt and flour and mix well  .Bake for about 2 ½ for 3 hours .It should be ready. Remove the roast and drain the juice and it will be beautiful gravy for your roast

How Bake Pork loin(serves 6 to 8)

A pork loin is a beautiful piece of meat. But if you don't cook it properly, it ends up being tough, dry, and inedible. Treat it gently

Ingredients

2 kg Pork loin

Salt and pepper to taste

100 ml. vegetable oil

6 cloves of garlic

5 ml thyme

20 ml. Dijon Mustard

100 ml. White wine

150 ml. Vegetable stock

Method

1. Pre-heat oven 190 C.

2. Let roast stand at room temperature that the chill of the refrigerator is off so that it will cook more evenly

3. Season roast with salt and pepper

4. Brown the meat on all sides about 2 minutes of each side make sure the pan is really hot to sautéed

5 Add the rest of the seasoning or if you want to add more and the white wine, mustard and the stock

6. Lay the roast into a baking pan ( not a cookie sheet ) for about 1 hour or so,

7. When cooked let the roast rest for about 10 to 15 minutes before serving

Baked Veal roast with vegetables (serves 6 to 8)

Ingredients

2 medium carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

6 mushrooms, 200 ml

250 ml.dry white wine

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

2 sprigs fresh sage

1 ½ kg boneless veal shoulder roast, tied

35 ml. olive oil

10 ml. Aromatic spice

Salt and pepper, to taste

400 ml. chicken or veal stock, optional

Method

1 .Preheat oven to 250 C. Mix the carrots, celery, onion, garlic and mushrooms in a pan.

2. Add the wine and spread the vegetables evenly over the bottom of the pan. Lay the sage and rosemary on top of the vegetables.

3. Rinse the veal and pat it dry with paper towels. Trim off any excess fat. Using your hands, rub the meat with the olive oil, then the aromatic spice blend, then the salt and pepper. Place the veal on top of the vegetables and herbs.

4. Roast at 250 C. for 15 minutes, then flip the veal over and roast for another 15 minutes so that both sides are well- browned. Lower the oven temperature to 180 C. and cover the roast covered loosely with aluminum foil.

5.Cook until about 2 hours, basting every half hour with pan juices. If you prefer a browner roast, remove the foil for the last 15 minutes of cooking.

5. Remove the pan from the oven and transfer the roast to a cutting board. Cover with foil and let it sit for 15 minutes. Cut into desired able sliced about 2 cm. slices.

6. Remove the rosemary and sage and return the sliced veal, to the pan.

7. You can refrigerate the roast at this point if you are serving it later.

8. Reheat at 180 C. for 10-20 minutes.

Baked Chicken Recipe (Serves 4)

Ingredients

1 1/2 to 2 kg   chicken, cut into 8 parts (2 breasts, 2 thighs, 2 legs, 2 wings)

75 ml. Olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper

175 ml. of chicken stock or white wine (to make gravy optional)

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 200 C...Dry chicken with paper towels. Coat the bottom of a roasting pan with olive oil. Rub some olive oil over all of the chicken pieces in the roasting pan. Sprinkle both sides of the chicken pieces with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Arrange the pieces skin-side up in the roasting pan so the largest pieces are in the center and there is a little room between pieces.

2. Cook for 30 minutes at 200°C. Then lower the heat to 180 C. °F and cook for 10-30 minutes more depends on size of chicken until juices run clear when poked with a sharp knife or if your chicken pieces aren't browning to your satisfaction, you can put them under the broiler for the last 5 minutes of cooking, until browned sufficiently

3. Remove roasting pan from oven. Remove chicken from roasting pan to a serving plate. Let rest for 5 minutes or so before serving.

Smile and Be Sweet

“The best way to win a friend is to listen and

Smile it only takes a minute” - Otto