Cooking a Roast

At our house, roast is a special meal usually reserved for Sunday evening. The smell of a roast cooking in the oven always reminds me of all-day baking and time with the family.

As with any meat, you should always allow your roast to come to room temperature before cooking it to ensure that it cooks all the way through. Roasts are generally very tender cuts of meat, and prime beef does very well when roasted. Tougher cuts of meat should be braised if you plan on eating them as you would a roast, or you can use them in other types of meals.

Why waste extra time, pots, and energy in cooking vegetables separately from your roast? Just use one roasting pan with a good lid, and place your vegetables all around the roast. Cut potatoes and onions into small pieces, and throw in some baby carrots and green beans if you like. Add half a cup of water and about ten minutes to the roast's cooking time. Your entire meal will be done at once, and you'll have a fraction of the dishes to wash when it's all over. You can sort the vegetables into separate serving dishes or serve everything together.

If you are looking for a new way to tenderize a rough cut of meat, you will find that it softens up nicely when braised in black tea.

1. Place four tablespoons of black tea leaves in warm (not boiling) water and allow it to steep for about five minutes.
2. Strain the leaves from the water and stir in half a cup of brown sugar until it is completely dissolved.
3. Season a two to three pound roast with salt, pepper, onion, and garlic powder and place it in a Dutch oven or roasting pan.
4. Pour the mixture over the meat, and cook it in the oven (preheated to 325 degrees F) until tender.

Because the meat cooks slowly, it will take about an hour and a half, but even a cheap cut will turn out so tender you'll be able to cut it with a fork.