Slow-roasted dinners: Let your oven do most of the work

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This article was published 23/04/2011 (5431 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MONTREAL — This grey patch on the edge of spring requires some creativity in the kitchen. The barbecue is still stashed away (or it’s too chilly to be out there anyway), the imported blackberries have lost their lustre and the first local fruits and vegetables won’t arrive for weeks.

The only thing to do is forget the latest snowfall, preheat the oven and get dinner going, slow and easy. Then curl up with a good book or do some spring cleaning and wait it out.

Slow roasting is a simple, old-fashioned way to coax flavour out of inexpensive cuts of meat. It does wonders for vegetables and fruit, too, as they soften and caramelize. Cauliflower, onions, leeks and carrots, for instance, take on sweet, new personalities when roasted with nothing more than a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt. Roasting evaporates much of their water and concentrates their natural sugars.

On a lazy Saturday or Sunday, a slow-roasted dinner warms the house and nourishes the soul — with little intervention from the cook.

"Slow is walk-away cooking, it’s letting an oven do the work for you," writes Christopher Kimball, editor of Cook’s Illustrated magazine, in "The Best Slow and Easy Recipes."

Slow roasting is one of the most basic ways to cook large cuts of meat. All it takes is a low to moderate oven, in the range of 300 to 375 F, a few hours, a handful of aromatics (like garlic, onion and herbs) and a little liquid to yield rich, concentrated flavours and texture that is fork-tender.

Cooks who are notorious for ruining roast beef and pork loin are almost guaranteed great results if they slow-roast at low temperatures.

"A low temperature provides gentle heat, which means that the meat (especially the outer portion) is less likely to dry out," Kimball says. "And large, tough cuts of meat in particular benefit from long cooking, which gives the connective tissue time to dissolve, rendering the meat tender."

As a bonus, the best cuts of meat for slow cooking are often the cheapest ones, well marbled with enough fat and connective tissue to keep the meat moist during the long cooking.

Popular recommendations for slow-roasting are: a leg of lamb, lamb shanks, pork shoulder, beef and veal blade roast, short ribs, and chicken and duck, either whole or bone-in thighs and legs. These are the cheap cuts that our grandmothers turned into melt-in-your-mouth pot roasts. Other popular cuts these days are the flatiron top blade beef cut, known as macreuse in French, and beef and veal cheeks, as well as pork belly.

Diana Henry, author of the cookbook "Plenty" says many people are stuck in a habit of grilling, searing and flash-frying, which requires a leaner, more expensive meat.

"Since I have gone back to the cuts of my childhood I have saved money — but it has also changed the feel of my house. Beef shanks have simmered away on the stove, we’ve had pot after pot of sticky oxtail, and neck of lamb has once again been on my shopping list. My kitchen smells like my mother’s and grandmother’s."

Other than allowing plenty of time in the oven, there are a few secrets to successful slow roasting: Keep things covered. A large heavyweight Dutch oven, in cast iron or enamelled cast iron, with a tight-fitting lid is best. It retains heat and cooks evenly.

The downside to cooking at low temperatures is the lack of a nicely browned crust. To get one, sear meat or poultry until well browned on all sides in a hot, heavy fry pan before it goes into the oven. Or wait until the end of the roasting time, uncover the casserole and jack up the heat for the last 10 minutes or so.

Keep things moist. One form of slow roasting is braising, which involves searing meat and then partially submerging it in liquid (stock, water, wine or beer). Not all slow roasting requires that much liquid, though. Fruits and root vegetables, for instance, caramelize better without liquid, or with just a splash of water, juice or broth and a drizzle of maple syrup or honey to enhance sweetness.

Don’t overcrowd the pan. Vegetables are best cut into uniform slices or chunks and roasted in a large shallow pan. They should be scattered in a single layer so they brown nicely and cook evenly. Pack them in too tight and they will steam and soften to mush.

Reduce. Once the dish is ready, pour off the cooking liquids, strain and transfer them to a saucepan. Simmer over moderate heat until reduced by half to get a thick sauce with concentrated flavour, then add the sauce back to the meat.

Let the roasted meat rest, loosely covered, at least half an hour before slicing.