Cooking straight-up meat

[PurpleDingo99]

lets be frank: I absolutely suck at cooking 'plain' meat. my mom has always broiled chicken breasts for 10 on each side followed by 10 minutes of covered baking and its terribly dry. first of all, what is the best way to do plain or marinated chicken in an oven?

second, i was planning making a psuedo-native american dinner in a couple days with a 7-bone pot roast (probably with honey, nuts, berries etc.) I can probably do it in a pot with water (or perhaps even stock) but i was thinking about doing it in the oven. its about 3.32 lbs bone-in and a couple inches thick. i want the meat to fall apart- whats the best way to do that in the oven?

Edited January 11, 2005 by PurpleDingo99 (log)

[winesonoma]

lets be frank: I absolutely suck at cooking 'plain' meat. my mom has always broiled chicken breasts for 10 on each side followed by 10 minutes of covered baking and its terribly dry. first of all, what is the best way to do plain or marinated chicken in an oven?

second, i was planning making a psuedo-native american dinner in a couple days with a 7-bone pot roast (probably with honey, nuts, berries etc.) I can probably do it in a pot with water (or perhaps even stock) but i was thinking about doing it in the oven. its about 3.32 lbs bone-in and a couple inches thick. i want the meat to fall apart- whats the best way to do that in the oven?

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Listen carefully. Boneless chicken breasts, flatten with large pot waxed paper top and bottom, mix equal parts grated cheese and breadcrumbs, coat breast ,press in, repeat other side. Heat oil in pan, add breasts, cook until brown, turn reduce heat cook until brown. Plump juicy breasts, serve with pasta alfredo and a salad.

Pot roast takes about 3-4 hours slowly at a simmer.

[snowangel]

For that pot roast, you want to be a Braisin' Hussy. Braise. Stovetop or oven (oven is much easier). Should this thread fail you, run, do not walk to your local library and check out Molly Steven's All About Braising (or buy it). And, do is a day in advance and follow Wolfert's advice about keeping it overnight.

[Mabelline]

I don't know if honey would go with beef. Ditto nuts and berries. Native Americans (including this one) would more likely go with plain salt, pepper, and root vegetables to roast alongside. Although carrots aren't native to the u.s., potatoes, carrots, turnips, etc. would be much more N.A. in approach. If you are wondering why it seems so much like plain old American pot roast, surprise...there's a lot more N.A. in the 'common' American dishes than you would think. You could make it a native presentation with your sidedishes, though. Some corn pudding or cornbread, steamed fresh vegetables, bannock with grapes or blueberries, maple syrup for a sweetener, as honey bees are an import.

[ladyyoung98]

I don't know if honey would go with beef. Ditto nuts and berries. Native Americans (including this one) would more likely go with plain salt, pepper, and root vegetables to roast alongside. Although carrots aren't native to the u.s., potatoes, carrots, turnips, etc. would be much more N.A. in approach. If you are wondering why it seems so much like plain old American pot roast, surprise...there's a lot more N.A. in the 'common' American dishes than you would think. You could make it a native presentation with your sidedishes, though. Some corn pudding or cornbread, steamed fresh vegetables, bannock with grapes or blueberries, maple syrup for a sweetener, as honey bees are an import.

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correct me if im wrong but isnt bannock actually from another part of the world? some part of me keeps saying scotland or perhaps ireland...maybe even australian....and while i admit my knowledge is somewhat limited even in my own native american heritage...i dont recall ever hearing bannock connected to native american culture....but i could be wrong...would love to know more about this

Edited January 11, 2005 by ladyyoung98 (log)

[Mabelline]

I reckon the name came from the Northern fur traders who taught it to the natives. But it's now referred to as bannock, particularly by the Confederation Nation.

Sorry. I meant to include nativeway.com as a source of N.A. recipes. There's also a native site on yahoo. Scope em out. They are good.

Edited January 11, 2005 by Mabelline (log)

[PurpleDingo99]

I reckon the name came from the Northern fur traders who taught it to the natives. But it's now referred to as bannock, particularly by the Confederation Nation.

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Im pretty sure that bannock was brought in by traders as well. Nevertheless, im already using squash for a soup and i wanted something really different, so im going to go ahead with a nut, apricot, and perhaps even bitter chocolate motif. worst case scenario we finish off the ample leftovers from tonights kickass sweet sausage pesto. quite frankly, all of us dont like carrots and none of us care for root vegetables that much, either. So, i might as well just try to make something new.

and btw, wine- i already can cook in a pan just fine thanks. in fact, ill probably make chicken parmesan on wednesday and i made my first pot roast ever (without any direction or recipe or advice, for that matter) flawlessly in a dutch oven a couple weeks back. ill probably take some advice from the braisn hussy thread, tho, and cover with some tin foil.

Edited January 11, 2005 by PurpleDingo99 (log)

[Mabelline]

Aw, well go ahead on, my dear. The Native American is nothing if not adaptable. Just witness what we managed to do with horses.

[pmathus]

lets be frank: I absolutely suck at cooking 'plain' meat. my mom has always broiled chicken breasts for 10 on each side followed by 10 minutes of covered baking and its terribly dry. first of all, what is the best way to do plain or marinated chicken in an oven?

Sweet Jesus, 30 minutes of cooking for a chicken breast?

I broil boneless chicken breasts for 4 minutes a side and they're plenty done. Try it, it's super easy.

[winesonoma]

For that pot roast, you want to be a Braisin' Hussy.  Braise.  Stovetop or oven (oven is much easier).  Should this thread fail you, run, do not walk to your local library and check out Molly Steven's All About Braising (or buy it).  And, do is a day in advance and follow Wolfert's advice about keeping it overnight.

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Amazon delivered that book today along with Bouchon. Oh boy!