KitchenSavvy

Can I Use Olive Oil to Marinate Beef

I have a family favorite flank steak marinade that uses vegetable oil.  Can I substitute olive oil (health reasons) and get the same taste and marinade?  I am worried that when the meat is marinaded over night in the refrigerator that the olive oil will harden.  Thank you for your assistance.

--Sandy

The reason for using fat of any sort in a marinade is because many flavor compounds dissolve in fat, but very little or not at all in water.  The oil carries those flavor compounds onto the surface of the meat.

Very little oil is actually needed to accomplish this.  Only enough to lightly coat the meat.  For a typical marinade, a few tablespoons of oil per cup of other liquids should be enough.  The exception, of course, being pastes that are made of herbs puréed in an oil base, like pesto.

Contrary to popular belief, the oil does not help to tenderize the meat.  Marinades only penetrate the outer 1/8" (3 mm) or so and therefore can not affect the interior.  Since the meat is made up largely of muscle fibers which are saturated with water, it is almost impossible for the oil in particular to penetrate even that far.

So, to answer your question, olive oil will be perfectly fine, as it doesn't have to stay liquid to do its job.  In fact, I use olive oil for marinades all of the time.

In order to be sure that the oil soluble flavor compounds are carried to the meat, finely chop any fresh herbs that you use, and mince or press garlic.  Combine the herbs, spices and other flavoring ingredients like garlic with the oil before adding the other liquids.  Also, I am a fan of putting the meat and marinade into a resealable plastic bag, since this allows you to redistribute the marinade by "massaging" the meat through the bag.  This helps distribute the oil, and therefore the flavors, over the surface of the meat.

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Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

Salting Meat Before Cooking

I love grilled steak but am never sure if I should salt it before putting it on the grill.  I have heard that salting the meat before cooking it will cause the juices to leak out of it.  Is that true?  When is the correct time to salt a steak you are going to grill?

Some people prefer to salt their meat after it has been seared, exactly because of your concerns.

There is some truth to the comment that if you salt meat before cooking it that it will lose some of its juices, but is that necessarily bad?  The deep rich flavor of a grilled streak comes largely from a chemical change called the Maillard Reaction (see Browning Meat for Slow Cooker) that occurs when the natural sugars and proteins in meat are heated  together.  If you salt meat shortly before cooking, the salt will draw out some of the juices, which are rich in those sugars and proteins, onto the surface.  Then, when you grill the meat, you will get even better browning and more flavor.

If, however, you leave the salted meat sit, you will see a puddle of juices collect.  This is because of a process called osmosis that moves water from inside the cells to outside.  But an interesting thing will happen if you wait a bit longer.  The osmotic effect will reverse as the salt becomes diluted, and the liquid starts to be absorbed again.  This reversal will start in about 20 or 30 minutes.  While not all of the juices will be reabsorbed, in effect what you get is a quick brining that penetrates the outer surface of the meat.

Now, if you grill the meat, it won't be so dried out from losing liquid, but the salt will be in the meat rather than on the surface.

The worst case scenario is salting the meat and then leaving it sit for 5 or 10 minutes.   Then both juices from the meat and most of the salt will be left behind on the plate.

I suggest you try experimenting with salting the meat shortly before cooking and waiting just until it gets a slight sheen of liquid on the surface, compared to leaving the meat sit for 30 minutes or so until some of the juices are reabsorbed.  See which method you prefer.

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© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

Getting Cheeky

I see a lot  dishes at fancy restaurants featuring beef cheeks.  What are they, and how are they best prepared?

--Alana

Beef cheeks are exactly what they sound like.  They are the muscles in the facial cheeks of cattle.  They are a finely textured meat with some internal silverskin.

Following the general rule that the more a muscle is used, the tougher it gets when cooked, beef cheeks are best marinaded overnight and then braised in a long, slow process.  This technique produced the tenderest results.  You can use your favorite recipe for braised beef ribs, classic French Boeuf en Daube, or even Osso Bucco recipe, although the last one may need to cook longer at a lower temperature. Personally, I would lean toward something that uses a full bodied red wine and a hearty beef stock.

If you can't find a beef cheeks, brisket or flank can be used instead, although the texture may be not quite as fine.

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Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

How Long will Leftover Turkey Keep in the Fridge?

We roasted a fresh turkey un-stuffed on Thanksgiving and the left-over pieces have been stored in the refrigerator in it's own container.  How long is too long to safely consume the left-over turkey?  Thank you.

--Betty

In our house, most of the leftover turkey is consumed for late night snacks or lunch the next day as Turkey Buns.  In fact, I have been known to say the only reason to roast a turkey for supper is to have leftovers for turkey buns.  Still, there is alway some leftover for turkey with gravy, tetrazzini or some other dish.

The general rule for meat is that it will safely keep for about three days, provided that:

• the meat was thoroughly cooked;
• it was not left in the "danger zone" temperatures of between 140°F (60°C) and 40°F (4°C) for more than two hours; and
• the refrigerator is kept below 40°F (4°C).

If any of the above is not done, then the storage time will be reduced, and the risk of food-borne illness greatly increased.

For turkey and chicken, the meat must be cooked to at least 165°F (74°C) throughout, although you likely want to cook the dark meat to closer to 180°F (82°C) for the best results.  If the turkey had been stuffed, then the stuffing should be completely removed from the bird and refrigerated separately.  Because of the extra moisture in stuffing, it will only keep for one or at most two days.  As much as possible, the meat should be stored in large pieces.  Most food safety experts recommend taking all of the meat off of the bones before refrigerating.  The carcass can be discarded or used to make stock or soup.

Reheat the leftover turkey to at least 165°F (74°C), preferably in gravy, or some other sauce, before serving.

To learn more about how long food can be left out before refrigeration and the danger zone, read How Long Can Cooked Food Be Left Out.

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Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

Cooking Two Roasts at Once

Hi.  I managed to find two beef roasts of about 8 pounds each that together are enough to serve company coming for Easter dinner.  My question is, how long do I need to cook them?  Do I treat them like one 16 pound roast?

--Shaun

The amount of time that it takes a roast to cook depends on two major factors:  the temperature at which the meat is cooked and the thickness of the meat.  By thickness, I mean the shortest distance from side to side through the middle of the roast.  For a standing rib roast, that would likely be the distance running across the ribs at the center.  For tenderloin, the distance would the the diameter at the thickest point, not the length.

Weight is used to estimate how long it will take enough heat to reach the center, which is why in recipes there is a frequently a wide variation in the range of cooking times, and why they may give a shorter time per pound for very large pieces to cook.

If you were to place the roasts together so that they are in contact along one side, then the cooking time would be somewhere around double the time needed to cook just one of the roasts alone.  If your oven and roasting pans are large enough to accommodate both roasts at once with plenty of space between them for air to circulate well, then the roasting time for both will likely be only slightly more than the time needed to cook just one of them.

This assumes that your oven can keep its temperature high enough.  Because the oven heat is going into cooking both of them at the same time, two roasts will cool the oven down faster than one, so the heating element may be on for a greater portion of the cooking time.

You should still use a thermometer to check the temperature.  For beef, the USDA recommends cooking temperatures of 145°F (63°C) for medium-rare, 160°F (71°C) for medium, and 170°F (77°C) for well done.  The Joy of Cooking specifies temperatures that are somewhat lower, 130-135°F (54-57°C) for medium-rare, 140-150°F (60-66°C) for medium, but about the same for well done at 170-185°F (77-85°C).  The lower cooking temperatures allow, in part, for the fact that the temperature will rise as the meat rests after cooking.

A roast is usually allowed to rest 15 to 30 minutes once it is taken out on the oven.  Since the outer part of the roast will be hotter than the center as it comes out of the oven, resting allows for more even distribution of heat throughout the roast and may make carving easier.  To rest the roast, place it on a platter and cover loosely with aluminum foil.  I also drape over that one or two layers of clean cloth kitchen towels to help keep in a bit more of the heat.

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Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

Rainbow Colors on Meat

I notice sometimes that meat in the display counter at my local butcher shop has a green and magenta sheen to it.  What causes this?  Is the meat still okay to eat?

--Toni

What you are noticing is likely a phenomenon referred to as iridescence, or more technically birefringence.  Essentially, this is the same effect as light passing through a crystal and splitting into a rainbow of colors, only the rainbow is from light reflecting off of a surface rather than passing through something.  This can happen with either fresh cut or cured meats, and depends mostly on the angle at which the muscle fiber happens to have been cut.

Birefringence is more noticeable on darker colored meats like beef that lighter ones like chicken because the dark background gives greater contrast.

Provided that it is caused by the reflection of light from the surface and not a permanent green color to the meat, it is still safe to eat.  You can tell by moving the light source, the meat or yourself to a different position and seeing if the rainbow colors shift or disappear.

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If you have food or cooking questions, send them to Questions@KitchenSavvy.com
Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

Roast Turkey Temperature

When roasting a turkey, what temperature should it be cooked to and what is the best way to measure the temperature.

--Brenda

Ideally, the meat on the breast of a turkey should be roasted to 165°F (74°C) to be at its most tender.  However the leg and thigh need to be cooked slightly higher, to between 175°F (80°C) and 180°F (82°C).  At those temperatures, the light and dark meats are at their most tender and moist.  Above those temperatures, the proteins start to tighten, squeezing out moisture and leaving the meat drier.

There are a lot of techniques that have been devised for getting around this temperature difference.  The Joy of Cooking suggests roasting the bird breast down or on one side for about two hours and then flipping it on its back to finish.  In The Way to Cook, Julia Child suggests breaking the turkey down into pieces before roasting.  Because the drumsticks and thighs are away from the larger breast, they will cook faster.  The cooked turkey can be carved and presented as if it had been roasted whole.

The easiest method is simply to roast the turkey whole and cover the breast with a double layer of aluminum foil for the last half hour or so of cooking.

Total cooking time depends on the size of the bird and whether or not it is stuffed.  Smaller birds and those that are not stuffed will cook faster.  In general, allow about 15 minutes per pound for a stuffed turkey and about 12 minutes per pound if it is not stuffed.  Also, remember to add 20 minutes to a half hour resting time once the turkey comes out of the oven before carving it.

To measure temperature for a whole roasted turkey, plunge an instant read thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh away from the bone, but towards the body and wait until the needle stops moving.  If the tip of the thermometer is close to or touching bone, the reading will not be accurate.  Measure the temperature of the breast by plunging the tip of the thermometer into the thickest part of the breast, again away from any bone.  The temperatures should both be at least those noted above.  If you break the turkey down, each piece must be tested for temperature individually.

Also, remember that to be safe the stuffing should read at least 165°F (74°C), measured by inserting the thermometer into the deepest part of the stuffing.

Finally, if your turkey comes with one of those pop-up buttons to show when it is done, still check with a thermometer.  The button is only an estimate and may not be completely reliable.

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Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

Tenderizing Meat with Lard

Is there a recipe for tenderizing steak with lard?  Someone told me this works well and I would like to try it.  Thank you.

--Elsie

None of my references say anything about tenderizing steak with lard, although there is a technique called larding, which is used to tenderize larger cuts of meat like roasts.  To lard a roast, pieces of un-rendered fat, usually from fatback or pork belly, are inserted into the roast at spaces of about 1 1/2 to 2 inches (3.8 to 5 cm).  As the roast cooks, the fat melts and spreads into the muscle fiber, tenderizing the meat.  The effect is to essentially increase the marbling of a lean cut of meat.

A tool called a larding needle is specifically made to insert pieces of fat, or you can simply cut strips of pork fat about 1/4 inch (0.6 cm) square by about 2 to three inches (5 to 7.6 cm) long and freeze them until they are fairly stiff.  Then plunge a narrow pairing knife into the roast to make an incision into which a piece of the fat can be inserted.  If you wish, you can also insert a thin slice of garlic at the same time to add flavor.  Do this all over the surface of the roast.

Another technique, called barding, involves simply tying a thin layer of un-rendered fat onto the top of the roast before cooking.  The fat is removed for the final half hour or so to allow a final browning to occur.

I can't see using using either of these techniques on a steak, however, as the meat is usually too thin to be larded and the cooking times too short for barding to be effective.  Also, if you like your steak on the rarer side, you might find that you encounter chunks of unmelted fat.  I suppose you could try rubbing baking lard into the surface of the meat, but penetration would be shallow.  The major tenderizing would likely come from the mechanical action of massaging the steak while doing so.

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Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

Slicing Roast Beef

Every time I try to slice a roast, the taste of the meat is really good but I end up with shredded meat instead of nice neat slices. What is the secret to getting good sliced roast beef?

-- Toni

As the meat cooks, the fat and connective tissue in it dissolve from the heat.  Most of the connective tissue is collagen, which partly turns into gelatin at somewhere around 140 °F (60 °C).  At about 170°F (76°C), muscle fibers begin to tighten, forcing out water, eventually making the meat seem dry.

If you are cooking your beef roast to well done, then the muscle fibers will have started to tighten and at the same time much of the fat and collagen will be in a liquid state.  Now, if you slice the beef at this temperature, following the general rule to slice across the grain, you end up with short little bits of muscle fiber with nothing holding them together - instant shredded beef.  This is especially true for cuts like brisket where there are fairly large distinct bundles of muscle fiber, or heavily marbled cuts like rib roasts.

To avoid having the beef shred, allow it to rest, covered with a layer of aluminum foil, for about 15 to 20 minutes.  As it rests, two things will happen.  First, the muscle fibers will absorb some of the juices that were previously squeezed out during cooking.  They will also soften up a bit.  At the same time, some of the gelatin, collagen and fat that had melted will start to set, gluing the muscle fibers back together.

Cuts of meat like round roasts that have very smooth muscle are less prone to shredding, but will usually produce a tougher roast.

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Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

Meat Dries Out in Slow Cooker

I've just started using a slow cooker, and have had pretty mediocre results in keeping my meat moist vs. conventional cooking. For example, the chicken always seems overdone and dry.  Even my beef stew has been on the dry side, with my latest one almost inedible (not tough--just dry) after 7.5 hours on Low. My question is:  Am I simply overcooking it (i.e. the slow cooker might be hotter than the recipes call for)?  Should I start adjusting my times down, and if so, by how much?  Or is it meant to be stewed longer?  Should I add more liquid?  The vegetables seem perfect, though.

I've actually used several different models of slow cooker (some borrowed, some bought and returned), and they all seem to dry the meat.

-- Ramona

This may come as a surprise, but what is likely happening is that you are overcooking the meat.  We tend to think that if you stew meat, the longer it cooks, the more tender and juicy it gets.  In fact, this works only up to a point.

As proteins heat up, they loosen their internal bonds, begin to uncoil and bond with neighboring protein molecules.   See Custards and Sauces for a description of how proteins change with temperature.

However, at somewhere around 170°F (76°C), depending on the meat used and the other ingredients present, the protein network begins to break apart again and and the individual molecules tighten back up.  As that happens, the muscle fibers in the meat shrink, their cell walls break open and the water that was trapped within the muscle fiber starts to leak out. The result is that the texture of the meat becomes dry even though it was cooked in liquid.  The same thing can happen in a pot roast or even with meat dishes cooked on the stovetop.

If you're like many people who start supper in the slow cooker before you leave for work in the morning then you are taking part in a balancing act.  You are trying to cook the food at a sufficiently high temperature so that it gets out of the danger zone for bacterial growth fairly quickly.  That temperature range is between 40 °F and 140 °F (4 °C to 60 °C).  On the other hand, you don't want to overcook the meat to the point of being too dry. This isn't an easy balance to achieve.

I would try cutting the meat into somewhat larger chunks, perhaps up to about 2 inches (5 cm) to a side, and cooking for a shorter period of time.  Once the cooker gets up to temperture, try cooking the food for about 5 hours longer.  That should give you a total cooking time of about 6 hours.  If the meat is still coming out dry, reduce the time by another half hour or so.  For safety, though, always be sure that the meat is cooked completely.

If you want to see more recommendations on using a slow cooker check out the posting Browning Meat for Slow Cooker.

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If you have food or cooking questions, send them to Questions@KitchenSavvy.com
Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward