# Help me cook the perfect roast **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 12, 2010, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-cook-the-perfect-roast/524590 "2010-01-12T01:41:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![gurujulp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ba9def/32.png) [@gurujulp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gurujulp)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-cook-the-perfect-roast/524590/21 "2011-05-10T21:38:54Z")
> **[Recipe: Perfect Roast Beef](http://tommyjskitchen.blogspot.com/2005/09/recipe-perfect-roast-beef.html)** > > It couldn't be easier . . . For years, I watched my mother fret and worry over roast beef. It was expensive, so we only had it a few time... MMMMMM- This is the best ever. Please, try it, eat it, love it. I know this is a bit of a zombie, but I couldn’t find the link the first time this went around, and really wanted to share it… I just found it again when a friend mentioned it. Hope you are still around to see this, **blood63!** ---
**Author:** ![blood63](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@blood63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blood63)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-cook-the-perfect-roast/524590/22 "2011-05-11T14:18:32Z")
> [@gurujulp](#): > > [Tommy J's Kitchen: Recipe: Perfect Roast Beef](http://tommyjskitchen.blogspot.com/2005/09/recipe-perfect-roast-beef.html) > > MMMMMM- > > This is the best ever. > > Please, try it, eat it, love it. > > I know this is a bit of a zombie, but I couldn’t find the link the first time this went around, and really wanted to share it… I just found it again when a friend mentioned it. > > Hope you are still around to see this, **blood63!** I am around and I have a rib roast in the freezer waiting for action. Thanks so much! ---
**Author:** ![fumster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@fumster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fumster)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-cook-the-perfect-roast/524590/23 "2011-05-11T15:22:31Z")
> [@maladroit](#): > > I have a cast iron dutch oven I use to brown the meat, then I put the lid on and just leave it in the oven undisturbed for an hour, hour and a half. We like ours more towards well done. I think having the lid on keeps the moisture in. There’s usually carrots, celery and onions in there as well, but no liquids added. > > I can’t speak to the cooking time per pound because I almost never look at the weights, but I usually cook it around 375 - 400. > > A meat thermometer is a great idea. Mine’s gone missing, I need to replace it. That’s not a roast, its a pot roast. Roasting is cooking at high temperatures without being covered so that the outside get a nice brown crust and the inside stays less well done. To other posters, browning the meat first is generally not needed for large cuts of meat - unless you are making a pot roast which will not brown in the moist heat, but as I said, that is not a roast. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-cook-the-perfect-roast/524590/24 "2011-05-11T15:48:34Z")
> [@sh1bu1](#): > > Roasting is cooking at high temperatures Not necessarily. Plenty of roast beef recipes out there are in the 250F range, with an initial or final sear. Many other recipes have you start with a quick oven (say, 375-400) for 20-30 minutes and then finish at 200-250F. Roasting need not be a high-heat cooking method. I will agree that it is generally a dry cooking method, though, and a pot roast is more like a braise than a standard roast. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-cook-the-perfect-roast/524590/25 "2011-05-11T20:30:14Z")
I know it is a zombie, but I love talking about cooking and sharing ideas. At least that statement about not salting was shot down. I cook roasts with a variety of different methods, depending on how I feel that day. Generally, I will season the roast the day before using a good amount of salt mixed with crushed garlic, some herbs, coarsely cracked pepper, and whatever else I’m feeling at the time. Wrap it well and let sit for 12-24 hours. When I’m ready to cook, I will brown on all sides (I use a cast iron pan), then throw some veggie ends (carrot, celery, bell pepper, onion - whatever is on hand) under the meat in the same pan. Stick the meat with a probe thermometer and into a 250 degree convection (275 otherwise) oven until it is 128 degrees and my thermo is beeping away. I’ll occassionally add some water to the pan after the first 45 minutes or so to prevent the veggies and the bottom of the pan from burning too much. Let rest while preparing a pan gravy (still in the same cast iron skillet). Serve with mashed potatoes and the steamed and/or sautéed veggie of your choice (unless you have a dual oven and can roast the veggies separately). Agree with **pulykamell** - cooking in a covered cast iron dish, even if adding no additional liquid, is a braising technique, but roasting is a dry cooking, not necessarily at high temperature. And if one is cooking at a low temperature like 250, browning is needed (I seem to recall reading that you need in excess of 300 degrees for browning, but I can’t find a cite). ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-cook-the-perfect-roast/524590/26 "2011-05-11T20:57:25Z")
> [@sisu](#): > > Don’t use salt it dries meat out. Sounds like you are cooking it way to long. That’s not true. I use the eye of round, and coat it with a slurry of water and kosher salt (after rubbing with herbs and spices). As it bakes, the water comes out of the salt, and a crust of salt forms that does NOT dry out the meat. ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-cook-the-perfect-roast/524590/27 "2011-05-11T20:58:57Z")
> [@blood63](#): > > I am not a bad cook but I am very bad with meat. > Every roast I cook comes out dry and tough. > My girlfriends mother cooks the best roast. I suppose I could ask her but she is deaf. > Here’s what I know. > > 1. choose a well marbled meat. > 2. bring the meat to room temp > 3. season with salt and pepper > 4. brown each side of the roast to keep the juices in. > > What next? I think its the cooking part that I suck at. I had to answer this: Have you tried writing down your questions about cooking for your GF’s mom? I am assuming she isn’t blind or mute. Have you tried looking over her shoulder? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-cook-the-perfect-roast/524590/28 "2011-05-11T21:21:46Z")
> [@ministryman](#): > > That’s not true. I use the eye of round, and coat it with a slurry of water and kosher salt (after rubbing with herbs and spices). As it bakes, the water comes out of the salt, and a crust of salt forms that does NOT dry out the meat. I agree. I have made salt-crusted prime rib, and it stays very juicy. ---
**Author:** ![Snake\_Plissken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@Snake\_Plissken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snake_Plissken)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-cook-the-perfect-roast/524590/29 "2011-05-11T22:14:49Z")
Cooking threads here are always a disaster. If you are roasting, sear on all sides, put it in a 350-37 oven and use a meat thermometer to get your desired doneness. rest it 10 - 15 minutes, carryover cooking will raise the temp about 10 degrees while resting. Salt does not dry out meat. Cutting it to soon after it comes off the grill or out of the oven causes you to lose all your juices. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-cook-the-perfect-roast/524590/30 "2011-05-11T22:55:10Z")
**sisu** last posted in March and may still be active. I wonder if s/he has reconsidered his/her bad advice with regards to salting, or if s/he still stubbornly clings to the mistaken belief. ---
**Author:** ![mac\_bolan00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@mac\_bolan00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mac_bolan00)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-cook-the-perfect-roast/524590/31 "2011-05-12T06:21:31Z")
sounds like a job for the BBQ Pit Boys! ---
**Author:** ![fumster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@fumster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fumster)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-cook-the-perfect-roast/524590/32 "2011-05-12T06:27:02Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Not necessarily. Plenty of roast beef recipes out there are in the 250F range, with an initial or final sear. Many other recipes have you start with a quick oven (say, 375-400) for 20-30 minutes and then finish at 200-250F. Roasting need not be a high-heat cooking method. > > I will agree that it is generally a dry cooking method, though, and a pot roast is more like a braise than a standard roast. That’s a much better description/definition than what I said. ---
**Author:** ![Ladymarmalade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@Ladymarmalade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ladymarmalade)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-cook-the-perfect-roast/524590/33 "2011-05-14T07:09:03Z")
You need liquid and time. Put in a cup or so of water and maybe oregano or parsley, garlic, onion, celery, whatever. Or a can of onion soup and a can of mushroom soup and a can of water. Cover it. Put it in at maybe 300-350 F. Check it, but count on \*\*four hours \*\*or more. The time is the key. I think people are used to thinking that meat gets tough when you cook it a lot but no, roast works the opposite. The longer you cook it, as long as you’ve got the liquid and it’s closed, it just gets more tender with time. You want it falling apart. So really, it’s easy. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-cook-the-perfect-roast/524590/34 "2011-05-14T07:57:31Z")
No, because what you’re talking about is a pot roast. What the OP seems to be talking about is a dry roast. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-cook-the-perfect-roast/524590/36 "2011-05-14T08:38:25Z")
One of my favorites: > [@Gracie Allen](#): > > Put a small roast and a large roast in the oven. When the small roasts burns, the large one is ready. \*\*Maus Magill’s \*\*method should work well for you. I haven’t tried the reverse method **pulykamell** has outlined on a roast yet. In another thread it was described as leaving the interior all at one stage of cooking (like medium rare). I like the transition from well done on the outside to blood rare in the middle, but I’ve got to try that way sometime. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-cook-the-perfect-roast/524590/37 "2011-05-14T15:36:48Z")
> [@Crybaby](#): > > That’ll do it. Put salt in last, it toughens the meat. No it does not! How many times can that be said in this thread? And, once again, a normal roast is cooked _without_ liquid. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-cook-the-perfect-roast/524590/38 "2011-05-14T16:15:04Z")
Missed the edit window: As has been mentioned, **ladymarmalade** ’s recipe is for _pot roast_, which is a basically a braise, not a roast. A different cut of beef is preferred for this type of roast, namely the chuck or the brisket, because, as **ladymarmalade** mentions, this type of “roast” gets more and more tender the longer you cook it (up to a point.) You want a cut with a lot of connective tissue. Chuck and brisket are the best for this. Pot roast is always cooked to beyond well-done temperatures, because the meat does not fall apart and get tender before that stage. A regular roast, depending on your taste, is usually cooked to medium rare or so. The reason is you’re using two different types of meat (one with with a lot of collagen and connective tissue, another without) and the first type of meat is tough, but gets tender with more cooking, while the second type generally gets tougher with more cooking. Why is this? Here’s the deal. Collagen-rich cuts like chuck and brisket experience a transformation that starts at around 160F-170F. (ETA: Actually, I think it technically starts at around 138-140F, but peaks or is most noticeable at around 160-170.) in the connective tissue begins turning into gelatin. If you’ve ever done a pot roast or stew, you know if you pull your meat early, it’s pretty tight and tough, even though it’s cooked through and well-done by any definition. So how can well done meat get tender with further cooking? Because of the collagen-\>gelatin conversion. As the tougher collage breaks down into gelatin, this gelatin also coats the meat fibers, so even though the meat is technically well done and should be dried out, the gelatin gives it a juicy mouthfeel and fall-apart-with-a-fork tenderness. Other roasts, like tenderloin or sirloin tip, for instance, have very little collagen and never reach a stage where cooking more will cause them to get more tender. The trick with these roasts, though, is to select meat that is well-marbled, which is at least of choice grade. (Dry) roasting is a method that is not as forgiving to inferior cuts of meat as pot roasting is. Now, yes, there are some cuts that work well either in a braise or a roast. But those are the general guidelines. Lots of collagen -\> braise. Less collagen -\> roast. Also, the two cooking methods yield _very_ different flavors and textures. I love both and, to be honest, I do more braising than roasting most of the time (it’s cheaper and easier), but if I’m expecting a roast and get a pot roast, I can’t say I wouldn’t be a little disappointed. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2011, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-cook-the-perfect-roast/524590/39 "2011-05-15T01:06:46Z")
Sure, **Ladymarmalade** and **Crybaby** gave dubious advice on roasting, but banning them was a bit over the top, don’t you think? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2011, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-cook-the-perfect-roast/524590/40 "2011-05-15T01:16:47Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Sure, **Ladymarmalade** and **Crybaby** gave dubious advice on roasting, but banning them was a bit over the top, don’t you think? 😉 I don’t know, I consider crimes against meat to be pretty serious 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2011, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-cook-the-perfect-roast/524590/41 "2011-05-15T06:47:09Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Sure, **Ladymarmalade** and **Crybaby** gave dubious advice on roasting, but banning them was a bit over the top, don’t you think? 😉 The problem wasn’t in the kitchen, but in the laundry room. That is, the staff were sorting out socks. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-cook-the-perfect-roast/524590.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-cook-the-perfect-roast/524590.md?page=3)