Temps & Techniques for Roasting or Baking Meat in the Oven

[Shel_B]

There are those who advocate baking or roasting meat by starting out "low and slow" and then, towards the end of cooking, they raise the temp substantially to finish cooking the meat. Then there are those who champion the opposite approach, high heat at first and then a low oven for a longer finish.

 

　

I'm just starting to play around with making certain meat dishes, like ribs, char sui, pork tenderloin, and the like, in the oven, as I no longer have a grill or a smoker.　I'm curious as to which method you use and why you think it's better for what and how you cook.　 Might some meat react better to one method or the other?

 

Thanks!

[Martin Fisher]

Generally, I prefer high heat at first and then low heat to finish.

The opposite can cause serious problems with juice profusely flowing from the meat....not good!!!! 

[Blether]

As I've posted before, I roast lamb shoulder low & slow - like 6 hours at 130C, no temperature change.  It's ideal for meat with more connective tissue, and browns beautifully.

 

With meats that can be eaten rarer, you have other options, of course.  The standard approach I grew up with was the high-then-lower one.  There's the old saw about "sealing in the juices", which I think's a fairy story.

 

I'm interested to hear the responses you get, too.

[Shel_B]

Generally, I prefer high heat at first and then low heat to finish.

The opposite can cause serious problems with juice profusely flowing from the meat....not good!!!! 

 

Does juice = fat?  If so, I wouldn't mind rendering more fat from certain cuts of meat.

[Martin Fisher]

I'm referring to juice (mostly water) that flows out due to muscle fiber contraction in response to the high heat, not fat rendering.

[gfweb]

High heat will tend to overcook the outside, so I sear in a pan and then oven roast at 300 to 350 depending on the meat. Tough cuts I braise or SV cook.

[Smithy]

Ribs I cook low and slow.  I haven't seen much difference between searing first or letting them brown by themselves, so I avoid the risk of toughening them by cooking too fast.  By 'low and slow' I mean slightly below 200F for several hours, covered until the last half hour or so.

 

I've generally cooked thicker cuts of meat - prime rib, tri-tip - by searing quickly in a good hot pan to get a good browning reaction and then finishing at about 200.  Based on Blether's post I may try the low-slow method and see how that works. If the surface is adequately dry, there should be good browning even without the searing step.  And yes, the business about 'sealing in the juices' has been pretty thoroughly debunked.  (I have a friend who still believes it, however, and I don't try to convince him otherwise.  He's a good cook, he knows what he knows, ...and he's a bar bouncer.  )

[rlibkind]

Another technique you might want to consider for smaller but not especially tender cuts, like lamb breast (separated into riblets or groups of riblets) and lamb shoulder chops in particular, tho I imagine it would work on similar pork cuts:

Braise in appropriately seasoned liquid for as long as it takes cook (only 15-25 minutes for riblets), then finish under the broiler after slathering with spice and a sugar rich glaze (lightly crushed cumin seeds, orange marmalade thinned on the stove with a little lemon juice or cider vinegar, perhaps?) to develop some crunch.

Edited September 11, 2014 by rlibkind (log)

[ChefPip]

I use my kitchen oven,  smoker,  rotisserie grill which I can cover, and crock pots.

 

If I cook on charcoal fire,  I cook low and slow and then if necesary transfer the meat to the kitchen

oven to bring the meat up to a safe temp.  I measure it with thermometers which I can insert into the

meat and read the temp in the center of it.

 

The Rotisserie has fire baskets on either side of the revolving meat with foil pans under the meat to catch drippings.

The fire is kept around 350 gauging it with my hand.  About 6 seconds.

 

If I use the kitchen oven I start at 500F and after twenty minutes to a half hour reduce it to 350F for one half hour to fourty five minutes.  Depending on the weight of the piece of meat. I use a roasting pan with a wire rack in it to support the meat.

 

If I'm using the crock pot I start it on high and get it hot and add some broth and then the meat which has been washed off

and patted dry.  No Searing it, brining it first.  Once it becomes hot,  I turn the heat back.  My Crock Pot has a start position that gets it hot fast,, High, and Low.  Once the contents begin to simmer and bubble I turn it to Low for a long slow cook.

[Blether]

...and he's a bar bouncer.  )

 

Hahaha!

 

 

 

I've generally cooked thicker cuts of meat - prime rib, tri-tip - by searing quickly in a good hot pan to get a good browning reaction and then finishing at about 200.  Based on Blether's post I may try the low-slow method and see how that works....

 

 

YMMV Smithy, but I wouldn't do that to a premium meat like prime rib, unless you're talking about low as in SV-low temps, which I guess will not give you the browning.  The lamb shoulder roast is a way to do high-connective-tissue "stewing" style meat so it's done right through (meltingly so), but with a roasted surface.  (The timing I gave is for a boneless shoulder of the size that I had).

 

Two iterations in previous posts are here and here - the crisp parchment that the fatcap leaves behind is absolutely phenomenal.  If there's some shoulder left you get to make shepherd's pie like here.  Autumn is coming!

Edited September 12, 2014 by Blether (log)

[Smithy]

I see what you mean now, Blether. Thanks for the clarification and the links. Those lamb shoulders are *beautiful*!

[cyalexa]

Have gotten excellent results many times with these techniques:

 

Slow-roasted Standing Rib Roast

Remove from refrigerator 2 hours before roasting. Season as desired and tie parallel to bones if they are unattached. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 200°F (not convection).

Roast on rack until internal temperature is 128°F (for rare to medium-rare). This will take approximately 30 minutes per lb for smaller roasts, approximately 45 minutes per lb for larger roasts. Rotate roast and insert thermometer approximately half way through roasting time.

Remove from oven and cover with foil. Rest for 20-45 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 500°F about 45 minutes before service. Uncover roast and put in hot oven about 30 minutes before service. Roast until brown and sizzling, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven and rest 15-30 minutes before carving.

 

Slow-roasted Pork Shoulder

Rub or season shoulder as desired, insert thermometer (dial-type), put in oval, enamel covered cast iron pot.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Put covered pot in oven and decrease temp to 225F.

Remove when it reaches an internal temp of 190F, about 6-7 hours.

Turn oven off, roast can stay in turned off oven for a long time if necessary.

About 45 minutes before service, remove the LC from the oven and increased the oven temp to 500F. When the oven is hot put the roast on a rack in a shallow pan and put it in the oven until it has nice crust, about 15 minutes.

Edited September 12, 2014 by cyalexa (log)

[Shel_B]

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions thus far.  There are definitely a few things here that are very helpful.  The idea of doing a braise and then baking in the oven is interesting, and I might play around with that idea.