Getting seasoning into a roast
I'm getting into braising a lot of pork and beef roasts. Standard routine: pick cuts with more connective tissue, sear on all sides, then into the oven with seasonings, herbs, veggies, and liquid (I use broth; can't use wine or beer, or add a bunch of fat or carbs, for dietary reasons), and cook for several hours at about 325F.
I'm getting good results texture-wise, but the inside of meat is always bland. What techniques can I use to season the inside of the meat? It seems like if I could just get some salt in there it would help. With the pork, maybe brining is the way to go? Not sure if you can even brine a beef roast, though.
Best Answer
I have only a partial answer that you may find interesting anyway.
In case of your beef recipes you might be able to use the chemical composition of the muscle fibers and they way they react to heating and cooling to your advantage. When you heat beef, the muscle fibers contract, pushing out some of the moisture. A phenomenon every cook will have encoutered.
A little used fact in kitchens is that this effect is reversible. Once let the meat cool back down to below the 60C temperature point the muscle fibers extend back out and "suck in" some of the stewing liquid that it is in contact with.
I use this effect very succesfully with lamb stews and espcially Rendang and other Indonesian stew dishes. It is often used as a partial explanation for why stews taste better the next day (Others provided here), but I have found that you can achieve similar results on the same day by rapidly force cooling the dish and then gently reheating before serving.
I must admit I'm not sure if you can use this effect to its full potential with larger cuts of meat, but I am quite sure it will help some with flavour penetration.
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How do you season a roast before cooking?
Just rub the roast liberally with kosher salt and pepper (and whatever other spices you'd like to use), and set it, uncovered, on a sheet tray or roasting pan in the fridge. Don't even think about taking the meat directly from the fridge to the oven. It will take longer to cook, not to mention roast unevenly.How long before cooking should you season a roast?
Put the salted roast in the fridge overnight to allow the salt and spices to tenderize the meat. While a full 24 hours is recommended to create the most flavorful and tender piece of meat, you might not have that much time.Should you season a roast before cooking?
Use salt (and time) to improve the texture of your meat. Salting is more convenient than brining (no need to cram a large container of salt water in the fridge), and it won't thwart the goal of crispy skin on poultry or a well-browned crust on steak, chops, and roasts since no moisture is added to their exteriors.How do you add spices to meat?
Seasoning Tips for Improving FlavorHow to Cook Perfect Roast Beef | Jamie Oliver
More answers regarding getting seasoning into a roast
Answer 2
For Smaller meat items that i sear and then oven finish. I use a technique that I call cross flavoring. I get my wooden chopping board and drop some olive or vegetable oil on it. then drop the spices directly into the oil. such as pepper corns, garlic, Chile & rosemary. work the seasoning into the chopping board. then push the seasoning mater to one side of the board leaving the infused oil.
add some salt to the board the rub the meat on the infused chopping board.
This method works well when you want to subtly flavour the meat when using things such as garlic and rosemary with out over powering the finished dish.
Answer 3
The main ways of getting flavoring deeper into a roast involve putting the flavoring below the surface.
You can stab the roast every couple of inches, and shove a sliver of garlic, or a paste of salt and herbs in each one.
You can also get giant syringes, so that you can inject a flavorful liquid into the roast.
Yet another option is to slice the roast open, pound it flat, and turn it into a roulade ... although you often use some other cut for that technique.
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