Is it best to wrap joints of meat in foil when roasting in the oven?
I've heard that this ruins the roast. Any helpful hints or advice?

Thanks

Laura wrote:

> Is it best to wrap joints of meat in foil when roasting in the oven?
> I've heard that this ruins the roast. Any helpful hints or advice?
>
> Thanks

Of course it ruins good *roasts*.. it then turns them into "steamed
meat" instead of a dry roasted joint of meat. Sure you can use it for
those cheaper cuts that aren't really roasted anyway but I'd never ruin
a good roast that way. To *roast* means a hot dry heat, not a steam
tent.
Goomba

"Laura" > wrote in message
om...
> Is it best to wrap joints of meat in foil when roasting in the oven?
> I've heard that this ruins the roast. Any helpful hints or advice?
>
> Thanks

Certainly don't wrap your roast with foil. However, I line the roasting pan
with it - it saves a lot of cleanup later. Plus, if I remove the foil
carefully, I can use it to pour off the juices easily into a cup or
whatever.

Dora

Laura wrote:
> Is it best to wrap joints of meat in foil when roasting in the oven?
> I've heard that this ruins the roast. Any helpful hints or advice?
>
> Thanks

You've heard correctly. Depending upon the roast - a really *good* roast
should not be tented with foil. Foil is helpful when preventing
over-browning, such as with turkeys and other fowl, or for when you wish to
have the meat/fish/fowl steamed in liquid. Otherwise just make a pot roast.

Jill

"Laura" > wrote in message
om...
> Is it best to wrap joints of meat in foil when roasting in the oven?
> I've heard that this ruins the roast. Any helpful hints or advice?
>
> Thanks

Roasting is supposed to be with dry heat so the outside of the meat browns.
If you wrap it in foil it will steam, not roast, and the result will not be
very appealing.


--
Peter Aitken

Remove the crap from my email address before using.

at Thu, 29 Apr 2004 13:39:55 GMT in >,
(limey) wrote :

>
>"Laura" > wrote in message
. com...
>> Is it best to wrap joints of meat in foil when roasting in the oven?
>> I've heard that this ruins the roast. Any helpful hints or advice?
>>
>> Thanks
>
>Certainly don't wrap your roast with foil. However, I line the roasting
>pan with it - it saves a lot of cleanup later.

But you lose the caramelised pan drippings that you can deglaze to make
gravy. Making gravy actually solves 2 problems in 1 - it fixes the cleanup
problem that you talked about, and it makes for a delicious sauce for the
meat. The procedure is very simple: Skim off excess fat (the part of the
roasting juices left in the pan that's clear), add flour to the remainder
of the liquid still in the pan to make a pasty substance (called a roux),
cook for a little bit (on the stovetop) until the roux browns slightly,
then add some *hot* stock or water, stirring all the time, until you get
the viscosity you want (gravy can be either thick or thin). When you add
the stock, a stirring/scraping motion on the bottom of the pan will lift up
all the stuck bits. Then when you pour off the gravy from the pan, you'll
be left with a clean bottom - a quick wipe with a soapy sponge should be
all you need to clean the pan.

Some people find making gravy to be too much effort, and if you're one of
those, then, indeed, the foil is OK, but I think the gravy always merits
the effort.

--
Alex Rast

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