What are You Cooking the Week of February 18, 2018?

[BakerAunt]

We have plenty of leftovers, so I do not expect to be cooking today, but for those of you who are, here is this week's thread.

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[Mike Nolan]

I will be making pot roast with a 7 bone chuck roast this afternoon.

[cwcdesign]

I’m making crockpot jambalaya which I haven’t made in over a year because o& the white rice. So I’m going to make it with brown rice. One reason I like this recipe is you cook the rice after the rest of the dish is cooked - take all the liquid for cooking the rice. And, with the new method of cooking brown rice that I found in the Boston Globe, it will be great!

[Joan Simpson]

No real cooking today Tuna Salad sandwich and pork-n-beans.

[chocomouse]

We had marinara from the freezer with sausage, peppers, and onions, on ziti. There are leftovers enough for another meal or two for later in the week.

[RiversideLen]

I made meatballs and sauce, had it with Cavatappi.

[Italiancook]

I baked Rainbow Trout. Had it with sautéed mushrooms.

I took a pork tenderloin out of the freezer this morning but have no idea how to cook it. My son used to grill it, and it wasn't dry, but I no longer have a grill pan. Also have only normal pantry ingredients in the pantry and fridge. Anyone know how I should cook this?

[Mike Nolan]

I usually roast it in the oven. Some recipes will tell you to do it at 350, others at 400. I prefer the lower temperature, I think it dries out less. You want it to reach an internal temperature of 150 degrees.

[BakerAunt]

I have a 1.87 pound top round roast. I've told my husband that I am not going to do this one as pot roast. (You may recall that he won't let me buy a chuck roast because of the fat.) I've been scouring the internet for recipes. While some recipes imply it can be braised, most say that it should be roasted. I am thinking of roasting it on top of small yellow potatoes and carrots, after rubbing it with seasoning. There are some disagreements about temperature and time, and almost no one is doing such a small roast. I'm thinking perhaps at 400F for about an hour? I had read to multiply the weight by 30 minutes for medium well done.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 1 month ago by BakerAunt.

[Mike Nolan]

I did about a 2.5 pound top round roast a couple of weeks ago, using the same technique I use for eye of round, starting it at 500 degrees for 7 minutes/pound then dropping the temperature setting to about 150 and essentially letting it coast for a few hours. (The original instructions say to turn the oven OFF and let it coast for 3 hours, but I find it cools off too much that way.)

It got done in under 2 hours, which was a good hour before I had dinner planned. I kept it at 150 until we were ready for dinner, but that dried the surface out a bit too much. I think if I was doing it again, I'd skip the time at 500, do the first hour at 250, and allow about 2 hours start to finish.

[BakerAunt]

Thanks, Mike. That's helpful. I'm going to try 250, with the vegetables, and monitor the time. It may finish sooner than 2 hours, since it weighs a bit less. I want to cook it to about 140F.

[Mike Nolan]

The veggies might be better off at 300-350, simply because of how various temperatures affect the cooking process. (Baking has similar issues, you generally don't get the Maillard reaction below about 280 and you won't get much caramelization under about 350.)

There was a time when the food safety folks said that you couldn't cook ANYTHING in an oven set below 300, but with the advent of sous vide cooking and other low-temp techniques, I haven't heard that much lately.

[BakerAunt]

The meat cooked to 150F in one hour and 45 minutes. Mike is correct: the vegetables were a tad underdone with the potatoes a little firmer than I would have liked, and the carrots more so. However, it was the best top round roast that I've done. Perhaps this cut just does not lend itself to being cooked with vegetables. Perhaps the vegetables should be started earlier at a higher heat.

I seasoned with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and rosemary. I rubbed a bit of grapeseed oil on the roast, then sprinkled the spices on each side. I also rubbed the vegetables with grapeseed oil. I used mini-carrots and small gold potatoes.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 1 month ago by BakerAunt.
• This reply was modified 6 years, 1 month ago by BakerAunt.

[Mike Nolan]

Small cuts always give me problems but top round can be especially challenging, depending on the portion you have and the size. The one I did a few weeks ago had a big fat/connective tissue ridge down the middle.

Meat charts don't always break cuts down into specific muscle groups, I've bought a few books on meat cutting and they seem to do a better job identifying the individual muscles. I need to see what the study materials are for the FFA meat judging competitions, I get the impression that to win those competitions they need to know each muscle. I think there are 3 or 4 separate muscles that make up the top round.

Anyway, I roasted it as one piece, but as soon as I started trying to slice it I wound up dividing it into two pieces, trimmed off the connective tissue, and sliced them separately.

[Joan Simpson]

Today I fried buttermilk soaked chicken tenders,carrots cooked with a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of brown sugar,and scalloped potatoes.

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