Julia's Kitchen Wisdom (14 page)

Broiled Fish Steaks—About ¾ Inch Thick

For salmon, swordfish, tuna, bluefish, shark, mahimahi, and so forth. Here you concentrate on browning the top of the fish; no need to turn it. Dry the fish, paint both sides with melted butter or vegetable oil, and season with salt and pepper. Arrange in a shallow pan that will just hold them comfortably. Pour around the steaks ⅛ inch of dry white wine or French vermouth and set 2 inches below a preheated broiler. After 1 minute, brush a little soft butter on top of each and squeeze on drops of lemon juice. Continue broiling about 5 minutes more, or until lightly springy to the touch—cooked through but still juicy. Serve with the cooking juices spooned over.

VARIATIONS

• THICK FISH STEAKS—1 TO 2 INCHES THICK.
  Broil to brown them nicely, then finish off in a 375°F oven.
  

• FISH FILLETS.
  For such fish as salmon, cod, hake, mackerel, trout. Leave the skin on, to keep the fish in shape during cooking, and follow directions for the preceding fish steaks.
  

Lamb Brochettes

Cut roasting-quality lamb, such as leg or loin, into 1½-inch chunks. You may wish to marinate them for several hours or overnight, as suggested below; otherwise, season and oil the meat. Thread onto skewers, alternating each piece with a square of
blanched bacon
and a piece of imported bay leaf. Arrange on an oiled broiling pan or in a hinged rack. Broil 2 inches from heat, turning every 2 minutes for several minutes, until the meat is just springy to the touch.

HERB AND LEMON MARINADE FOR LAMB OR BEEF.
Here is a basic formula that you may vary as you wish. For every 2 pounds of meat, mix the following in a bowl: 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon ground rosemary, thyme, oregano, or
Provençal herbs
, 2 large cloves puréed garlic, and ¼ cup vegetable oil.

OILS—FOR COOKING, FLAVORING, AND SALADS.
Use fresh-tasting, neutral-flavored oils for cooking, such as light olive, canola, or other vegetable oils. Olive oils for flavoring and salads can be mild or fruity, and since they have become a status symbol, you can pay enormous prices for some of those labeled “extra virgin.” Test them out yourself to find the brand or brands that suit you.

NOTE:
“EVOO” is contemporary cook talk for “extra virgin olive oil.”

Broiled Flank Steak

To keep the meat in shape while cooking, lightly score the surface (cut crosshatches ⅛ inch deep) on each side with the point of your small, sharp knife. Give it the
marinade treatment if you wish
, for ½ hour up to a day or two; or season with salt, pepper, and a little soy sauce, and brush with vegetable oil. Set close under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until just beginning to take on springiness to the touch—for rare. To serve, cut into thin, slanting slices across the grain.

Broiled Hamburgers

Prepare them as described for sautéed
hamburgers
but omit the flour coating. Brush with cooking oil and set close under the hot broiler for 1 to 2 minutes on each side—when just beginning to take on springiness to the touch, they are medium rare. You might want to top them with one of the
flavored butters
.

Butterflied Leg of Lamb

Half an hour or the day before cooking, trim off excess fat and spread the lamb out skin side down. Make lengthwise slashes in the 2 large lobes of meat and spread out to even the mass. Brush the flesh side with the meat
marinade
, or season with salt, pepper, and rosemary or
Provençal herbs
, and oil both sides. Set 7 to 8 inches under the hot broiler element and brown nicely for about 10 minutes on each side, basting with oil. (Browning may be completed an hour or so in advance. See box below.) Finish in a 375°F oven, roasting for 15 to 20 minutes to a meat-thermometer reading of 140°F for medium rare. Let rest 10 to 15 minutes before carving, which allows the meat juices to return to the flesh.

BROIL/ROASTING AHEAD OF TIME.
For a large piece of meat, like a butterflied roasting chicken or a boned and butterflied leg of lamb or pork loin, you can do the preliminary browning somewhat in advance. Cover loosely and leave at room temperature, then finish it off later.

Roast/Broiled Butterflied Pork Loin

Here you roast it first, until almost done, then finish it off under the broiler to brown and crisp the surface. For 8 people, buy yourself a 3½-pound boneless pork-loin roast and untie it; it is already butterflied. Remove excess fat but leave a ¼-inch layer on top. Slash the thick sections of meat lengthwise to even it out, and rub the meat either with dry
spice marinade
, or with salt, pepper, allspice, and pulverized imported bay leaf. Oil the meat, cover, and refrigerate overnight. Roast it fat side up for about an hour at 375°F, to a meat-thermometer reading of 140°F. Half an hour before serving,
make decorative cross-slashes in the fat side and rub in ½ tablespoon or so of coarse salt. Brown slowly under the broiler to an internal temperature of 162° to 165°F.

DRY SPICE MARINADE FOR PORK PRODUCTS, GOOSE, AND DUCK.
Blend the following ground spices in a screw-topped jar and use ½ teaspoon per pound of meat. For about 1¼ cups: 2 tablespoons each of clove, mace, nutmeg, paprika, thyme, and imported bay; 1 tablespoon each of allspice, cinnamon, and savory; and 5 tablespoons white peppercorns.

SALT PROPORTIONS.
In general, the proportion of salt to use in liquids is 1½ teaspoons per quart. The proportion of salt to raw meat is ¾ to 1 teaspoon per pound.

FLAVORED BUTTER TOPPING—FOR BROILED MEATS, FISH, CHICKEN.
To make the standard
maître d’hôtel
, beat drops of lemon juice into a stick of softened unsalted butter, adding a teaspoon each of minced shallot and parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. Other alternatives or additions can be puréed garlic, anchovies, Dijon mustard, chives or other herbs, and so forth. Make a larger quantity, roll it into a sausage shape, wrap it, and freeze it; it is ready for instant use.

ROASTING

Roasting or baking means to cook food in the oven, usually in an open pan—sometimes with a cover, but not with a liquid. Roasting with a liquid is officially called braising or stewing. Roasting is certainly the most painless way of cooking a whole chicken or turkey, prime ribs of beef, legs of lamb, and so forth. Fortunately, a roast is a roast is a roast—all of them are done in much the same way. Give yourself plenty of time. Always preheat the oven at least 15 minutes before you begin, and start testing rapidly with your instant meat thermometer 10 to 15 minutes before the end of your estimated roasting time. Remember that the roast needs a 15-to-20-minute rest before carving, which allows the hot and bursting juices to retreat back into the meat. A large roast will stay warm a good 20 minutes at least before being carved, so plan accordingly. Note: All roasting times in this book are for conventional ovens.

MASTER RECIPE

Roast Prime Ribs of Beef
For a 3-rib 8-pound roast, serving 6 to 8 people

Roasting time at 325°F: 2 hours for medium rare—internal temperature 125° to 130°F (about 15 minutes per pound).

1 Tbs vegetable oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper

For the Deglazing Sauce

½ cup each chopped carrots and onions

½ tsp dried thyme

½ cup chopped fresh plum tomatoes

2 cups beef broth

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Rub the exposed ends of the roast with oil and a sprinkling of salt. Arrange the roast rib side down in a roasting pan and set in the lower third of the preheated oven. After ½ hour, baste the ends of the roast with accumulated fat, strew the carrots and onions into the pan, and baste with the fat. Continue roasting, basting again once or twice, to a meat-thermometer reading of 125° to 130°F at the large end.

Remove the roast. Spoon fat out of the roasting pan. Stir in the thyme and tomatoes, scraping up coagulated roasting juices. Blend in the broth and boil several minutes to concentrate flavor. Correct seasoning, and strain into a warm sauceboat.

ROAST BEEF: SIZES AND APPROXIMATE ROASTING TIMES TO MEDIUM RARE
(125° to 130°F)

5 ribs, 12 lbs / serves 12 to 16 / roasts about 3 hours at 325°F

4 ribs, 9½ lbs / serves 9 to 12 / roasts about 2 hours and 20 minutes at 325°F

3 ribs, 8 lbs, serves 6 to 8 / roasts about 2 hours at 325°F

2 ribs, 4½ lbs / serves 5 to 6 / roasts 15 minutes at 450°F, 45 minutes at 325°F

ROAST BEEF: TEMPERATURES AND MINUTES PER POUND

Rare, 120°F, 12 to 13 minutes per pound

Medium rare, 125° to 130°F, about 15 minutes per pound

Medium, 140°F, 17 to 20 minutes per pound

Roast Top Loin (New York Strip) of Beef

A boneless ready-to-roast 4½-pound strip serves 8 to 10. Timing: 1¼ to 1½ hours; roast at 425°F for 15 minutes, then at 350°F, to internal temperature 120°F for rare or 125°F for medium rare. (It’s the circumference of the meat that dictates the timing; thus all lengths roast in about the same time—a little less or a little more, depending on weight.) Oil and salt the 2 exposed ends, and roast fat side up on an oiled rack, strewing ½ cup chopped onions and carrots in the pan
halfway through. Make the sauce as suggested in the master recipe.

Roast Tenderloin of Beef

A boneless ready-to-roast 4-pound tenderloin of beef serves 6 to 8. Timing: 35 to 45 minutes at 400°F, to internal temperature 120°F for rare, or 125°F for medium rare. Just before roasting, salt the meat lightly and brush with clarified butter. Set in the upper-third level of the oven; rapidly turn and baste with clarified butter every 8 minutes. For sauce suggestions, see the box below.

SIMPLE HORSERADISH SAUCE—ESPECIALLY FOR ROAST BEEF.
Whisk 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard into 5 tablespoons bottled horseradish. Fold in ½ cup or so of sour cream, and salt and pepper to taste.

Roast Leg of Lamb

A 7-pound leg, hip and sirloin removed, weighs about 5 pounds and serves 8 to 10. Timing: about 2 hours in a 325°F oven to internal temperature 140°F for medium rare; to 125° to 130°F for rare; to 120°F for blood rare. Before roasting, you may wish to puncture the meat in a dozen places and push in slivers of garlic, then brush the surface with oil, or paint on a
mustard coating
. Roast fat side up in a preheated oven as described in the master recipe, rapidly basting every 15 minutes with accumulated fat. After an hour, strew in ½ cup of chopped onions and several large cloves of smashed unpeeled garlic. Make the sauce as described in the master recipe, adding ½ teaspoon of rosemary, and 2 cups of chicken broth. See also the box below for other suggestions.

A SIMPLE SAUCE FOR LAMB.
Have the lamb hip- and tailbones (plus other lamb bones or scraps if available) chopped or sawed into ½-inch pieces, and brown with a little oil in a heavy pan with a chopped carrot, onion, and celery stalk. Sprinkle on a tablespoon of flour and brown, stirring for a minute or two. Add a chopped plum tomato, an imported bay leaf, and a big pinch of rosemary, plus chicken broth and water to cover. Simmer slowly, loosely covered, for 2 hours, adding more liquid as needed. Strain, degrease, and boil down to concentrate flavor. Use this plus ½ cup of dry white wine to make your deglazing sauce.

Simple Sauce for Meat and Poultry.
Follow the same general system as above for other meat and poultry sauces, using beef or poultry bones and scraps, other herbs, and beef rather than chicken broth, as appropriate.

Port or Madeira Sauce.
Use exactly the same system, substituting dry port or Madeira wine for the dry white wine.