Stuffed and rolled meat questions

[fishy]

Cookbooks usually instruct you to refrigerate stuffed/rolled meats (eg. lamb saddle w/ prunes) overnight. Why should this be done? can i skip this step?

Im guessing it has something to do with keeping its shape?

[Broken English]

To ensure it's chilled thoroughly is my guess. I have not had any trouble with 2 hrs fridge time for conventional stuffings, so long as it's tied. I am not sure with Transglutaminase, as I mentioned in the other thread. Maybe some other members can shed some light on that subject?

Edited July 10, 2011 by Broken English (log)

[rlibkind]

There is a food safety issue with any meat that has been stuffed, raw or cooked.

[davidkeay]

To ensure it's chilled thoroughly is my guess.

I assumed Fishy meant pre-cooking, in which case why would it matter if you chill it thoroughly? If you're deciding between stuffing, chilling overnight, then baking vs just stuffing and baking right away, the latter seems like it would always be better from a food safety perspective.

I've always just assumed it was to help hold the shape, but I'm also curious to hear if there are other reasons.

[fishy]

Exactly my question, why not stuff then cook straight away? hopefully some of the more experienced members can fill us on this.

[deepfryerdan]

I was under the impression that it was to even the cooking process. It's easier for it to cook more evenly if the entire thing is the same temperature.

[Broken English]

My bad, I misread the original post. I'm thinking it has to do with firming everything up before cooking. Not sure it'd make that much difference, thinking about it.

[fishy]

I have yet another question about the rolled saddle or any rolled meat for that matter.

How do I get both ends (the ones that overlap) to stick together after cooking. Is there a technique to getting it more secure?

sometimes one of the ends curls over while cooking. what can I do about this?

[pastrygirl]

Low tech: string

High tech: meat glue

[Twyst]

<3 meat glue. Biggest problem with it is I can only find it in huge quantities. Wish they sold smaller packets.

Edited July 18, 2011 by Twyst (log)

[Broken English]

Red Spoon company in Sydney sells small quantites, I don't know if they will ship overseas but it's worth a shot.

http://www.redspooncompany.com/