Roast Recipes & Tips

Ok this is going to sound really bad but I seem to suck at combined Roasts...

I can cook Roast Meat perfectly, and I can do the best Roast veg but for some reason I can't do both at the same time in the one oven without something being over or undercooked... what am I doing wrong.

So there ya go everyone has their culinary disabilities :P

I normally do meat in the slow cooker if I want oven roasted veg, or I do shallow fried veg if I'm doing a roast in the oven.

I know it can be done... I just find the veg isn't that great if you cook it at 180C and meat overcooks if its any higher than that... or am I missing something?

Ok I'll get over this embarrassment soon I hope...

My roast veg are always dodgy, so I'm going to watch this one for some tips ;)

Cailin, a trick my Mum taught me is that meat tastes better if it's rested before serving (so that it can relax) so I take my roast out and the turn up the temp while I'm making my gravy. The 5-10 minutes on a higher temp seems to crisp up my potatoes nicely.
Also do you put your veges on your hot shelf? Most ovens seem to have one shelf that is a bit hotter than the others (I've found it's the top shelf in conventional ovens and in front of the fan in a fan forced oven).

Then again I usually just use the slow cooker these days - it's easier than twiddling knobs and juggling with shelves.

ETA - totally off-topic but I love your new ticker Sarah!!

Do you have an electric frypan at all?
I'm not the biggest fan of electric cooking at all, but have come to cooking my meat in the electric frypan and the veges in the oven. I normally roast my meat with garlic and onion to add some extra flavour.
Then if need be, put the meat in the oven at 220 for about ten - fifteen minutes at the end to crisp it up a bit. That way, your veges are at a consistent heat to make them good and crunchy (i love my roast potatoes) and the meats been fairly slow cooked as well.
If this all makes sense?!
The beauty of it all is, once the meat's cooked you can use juices from the electric frypan to make a really tasty gravy.
-Ashlea

Yeah I do the frypan thing Ashlea, but I'm hoping to be able to it all at once coz I'm lazy LOL!

Thanks Chloe for the tip thats a good one... Do you parboil your spuds? And when do you put them in as oppose to your roast?

Sarah I love your ticker as well :) Very you :D

I put the vegies in with about an 50 minutes to go. Less if I parboil the potatoes.
Then I do the same as Dach. The meat comes out to rest (about 50 minutes after the veg has gone in), the oven goes up high and I move the veg to the top shelf in front of the fan which makes them go nice and cripsy. By the time I make the gravy, then the meat is carved the vegies are golden and crispy.
Now I really feel like roast lamb and veg for dinner....but we're having risotto. Couldn't be further from a roast if I tried! :(

DH has recently started cooking the meat and carrots in the BBQ with the lid down while I do the other vegies in the oven. It works a treat - everything is soooo yummy. If something is cooking too quickly it can just be turned down so it's all ready at the same time.

Megan what temp do you do it all at? I find if I have to put my veg in at least an hour before I put the meat in or they don't cook... see how much I suck at roasts?!

Don't worry after a few too many vodka's last night I'm actually not cooking anything tonight LOL kids are having leftover chicken pasta from last week ;)

I do the same as dacloster. i cook roast on 180 too. Take the meat out when it is done, wrap in foil or cover with something. Turn the oven up to max temp and give the vegies 10-15 min longer. Make sure the veg aren't not touching each other.

Mum makes a cracker roast. Cooks on 180. No parboiling. Puts potato and pumpkin in 1.5hrs before meat due to be cooked. She has a better oven than me though.......

It's hard to overcook roast veg. Longer is better!

On the topic of roast my mum makes a pureed parsnip dish with breadcrums on top. I wasn't reallly a fan of parsnip until i had this, it is DIVINE!!! We call it parsnip puff!

Boil parsnips, (maybe 4) mash, add 2 eggs, 1/2 C cream, knob of butter, grating of fresh nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. Put in a dish and cover with a breadcrumb and melted butter mix. Pop in oven to heat up and brown 20 min before roast ready.

Cailin, I don't bother with parboiling. I just cut them in half (or quarters if they're medium/biggish or eigths if they're whoppers) and chuck them in with a good splash of olive oil and whatever seasoning I'm in the mood for.
My brother puts a splash of boiling water in bottom of his pan with the olive oil and seasoning - but it didn't work well for me when I did it.
I usually put them on about 45 minutes before I expect the roast to be ready. So it's 45 minutes plus the time it takes to make gravy and get plates out.
For potatoes I think the variety can make a big differance. I like the Coliban because it's usually at the supermarket but if you have a better greengrocer they might help you out by suggesting a better potato.

What temp Chloe?

Thanks guys for all the tips...

Lucy where are you?!

OT - thanks guys :)

About 180 then I turn it up to above 200

Mmmm - believe it or not we had roast tonight - DH cooked the meat to perfection - mmmm, yummo! You guys really should try cooking the meat in the BBQ!

Cailin - you sound like such a whiz in the kitchen I find it hard to believe that your roasts don't turn out - are you just being too hard on yourself? Could it be the size of the vegies - maybe you just need to cut them smaller?

They turn out but the vegies are no way near as good as if I do the roast & veg seperately. Maybe my expectations are too high I dunno... I just see these people who do these amazing roasts with perfectly succulent meat, and super crunchy golden vegetables... and I can only get that if I do them seperately. Maybe its my oven?! It is old... like 1950's...

I par-boil my spuds, toss them in the strainer to make them fluffy, throw in some herbs, toss some more. Then I take the roast out to rest (usually under foil in the grill area of the oven - to keep warm) and then put the spuds into the pan, I usually have par-boiled a piece or two of sweet potato and also throw in a few cloves of garlic, I turn the heat up in the oven and cook the veges for 10-15 mins to make them crispy since they don't have to cook.

While this is going on I steam the other veges that we're eating. They're all then ready about the same time.

Well there you go....A excuse to get a new oven....Cause you can't cook roasts properly in it and we all know a man can't live without his roasts and roast vege's!! Well mine can't anyways.

Cai, the oven makes a huge difference. When we had an old oven I couldn't get anything to work out. Maybe that's it.

Cailin, I cook it all on 180 and then turn it up to around 210 for the last 10 minutes for the vegies. I think it's a bit of trial and error depending on your oven. In our last oven I would cook the veg for a bit over an hour. This oven here cooks everything much quicker and I am still struggling to get used to it. I've had quite a few disasters recently.

heya

i have googled the cooking times for my pork roast doing it in an electric fry pan but i cant find it and you guys are an awesome font of information:D so i thought i would ask you to find out how long to cook per kilo

also any hints for getting the crackling to be extra crunchy would be awesome

love Ashlea (via Anthony cook extraordinaire in training)

I'm going to try using the oven tonight because I wasn't paying attention at the butcher's (the perils of shopping with toddlers lol) and he gave me a giant leg.
There's no way it will fit in my SC.
I'm a tad nervous lol. I'm used to my SC and it's very forgiving.
I just weighed it and it was almost 3kg :doh:
Does this mean I need to cook it for almost 3 hours?

I think we're going to eating this leg for a few days with some frozen meals to spare lol

We always use oven bags and our lamb is always beautiful.. that way its cooking and steaming through its own juices. DH usually salts it down and rubs in a little rosemary. Puts it in the bag, sticks the themometer in the meat and in the oven at 200 degrees. We just go by the thermometer as to when its ready, but usually takes around 20 mins per kg.

I have no idea what to do with this does anyone have any recipe ideas?

Could I do something in the SC?

Any help would be wonderful, thanks.

hugs xoxo

I always cook roast beef in the slow cooker - turns out beautifully.
What cut is it? (ie - inside round, cross rib, prime rib, blade, etc?)

Blade roasts make the nicest slow cooker roasts IMO, because I love a moist, falling apart flavourful roast. I usually put it in the slow cooker frozen about 4-5 hours before dinner. I season it with a little salt and pepper, a bit of garlic (powder or minced cloves - 1 or 2) and a beef boullion cube, crumbled over it. Then I add one chopped onion, and a diced tomato. (tomato is optional, but we love it) Throw a tablespoon or two or margarine on top, and then pour boiling water into the slow cooker. (About 3-4cm deep.) Put the lid on, and cook on high for 4-5 hours.

Yum that sounds delish, not sure on the cut tho as I got it in a Chrisco hamper. Thanks.

hugs xoxo

Bumpity bump, Cricket that sounds great but I don't have a stock cube, is this ok? Do I need any other liquid?? I have a 1kg topside roast that's half defrosted...how long and what setting should I have it on in the SC?! Also I have potatoes I want to cook too, should I do these in the oven, if so at what time, how long etc? LOL Dinner time is about 7pm.

I'd say put it on high for 3-4 hours, for a medium sized half-thawed roast, and you should be fine. The stock cube adds some nice flavour, but with salt and pepper, maybe a little seasoning salt, a bit of garlic and onion, you should be just fine. For liquid, you'll need the bit of margarine, and a little water. (Since yours is thawed part way, boiling water should not be necessary, cold is fine.) Water should be 3-4 cm in the bottom of the pot. You can do potatoes in the pot with the roast, but personally I like them better in the oven. Or try making a packet with tin foil to put the potatoes in, in the slow cooker, so that they keep their own flavour and colour.
Hope you have a great supper!

Ok - so here's the part where I admit to be a negelectful wife and confessing to the fact that I have never cooked DH a proper roast before :redface:. I can do beautiful roasted veggies etc but when it comes to the meat part, I normally cheat and get a roast chook from the chicken shop or one of those rolled marinated roasts. After watching him practically lick the plate after a roast at a friends house recently, I have decided to be domestic goddess and Jamie Oliver rolled into one and cook the hard working boy a roast! Only problem - how long do I cook it for and what temp :cryinglaugh:?? It is a half leg lamb - 1.2kg. I am so clueless its not funny.

I do mine in an electric frypan (do you have one?) with about one cup of water and covered in rosemary and garlic. For about 60 minutes per kg.
Hopefully some of the more seasoned experts can pop in and help you out.

if you have oven bags pop the roast in that 190c @ 25min per 500grms allow to rest in bag for 10min before opening

if no bags pop it on a rack in a tray rub someoil over it and some herbs or garlic, then add a cup of water to pan and roast for same time as above :)

id cut slits in the top and shove rosemary and garlic in, drizzle with oil and cook on 200 for 15 mins then around 1hr on 180, rest for 10 mins prior to carving!

Ya know, the best thing i invested in (you can get them at bigw, kmart.. probably even woolies or coles) is a meat temperature gage. You just stick it in the meat and it has a dial on it that will tell you when its cooked in the middle. I put all my roasts in on 180c. Ive gone on the so much time per 500gs before and my roasts have always come out undercooked in the middle. But with the gage you never ever have that problem! They dont cost much.. like $7 maybe. Best thing to have in the kitchen!
With the lamb roasts.. i just rub them with some garlic salt and rosemary put it in an oven proof dish and they come out sooooo yummy!! Thats it.. nothing else to it. My roasts have never been dry ever doing it this way.

Best of luck!

A good way to test if cooked is to stick a knife in it and if the juices run clear then cooked, if you like it a little rarer then just a bit of pink to the juice.

I usually cook mine at 180 (in a fan forced).. and generally follow the 30mins for every half kg of meat... if you do it that way, yours should be done in 1 1/2 - 2hrs. (Depending on how you like it cooked, as well ;))

I always turn mine down a little after the 2 hr mark.. I usually cook it for around 2 1/2 - 3 hrs.. but I usually get one a little bigger.

For an easy roast, I just slice slits across the top of the meat, stuff some garlic cloves or minced garlic in the holes.

Drizzle a little olive oil over the top, and then rub in some salt, rosemary, and and other herb you like. I usually sprinkle garlic salt & Italian herb mix on mine, too - but I always add the extra rosemary ;)
Alternatively, if you have fresh rosemary sprigs, you can stuff them into the slits with the garlic :D

Yum Yum!!

Good luck with your roast.. I'm sure your DH will love it ;)

Thankyou so much girls for your replies! Very helpful :hug:.
Ok, off to the kitchen I go!!

I have people coming over for dinner and I'm doing a roast. I normally use my george foreman roaster but it is broken so I'm going to have to cook it in the oven but have no idea how long to cook it for or on what temp.
I have a vague recollection of cooking it for an hour and then adding 1/2 hour for every 500 grams. Is that right?
But I have no idea what temp. AAARRRGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!

PLEASE HELP ME!!!!

TIA,
Dan.

I seal at 200 for 1/2 hour then reduce to 180. Not sure about timing though, I thought it was just 1/2 hour per 500gms, but could be wrong, because I rarely roast large cuts. It also depends on how you like it done.

Good luck!!

Thanks Suse. I'll give it a go. If i under cook it I can always claim I meant to do it and if I over cook it they can smoother it in gravy, LOL!!!

What cut of beef are you roasting?
How much does it weigh?

It's a rolled roast that weighs 1.2kg. Might stil be a little frozen too if that makes a difference.