In his blog post earlier this week, Stefan shared how to pan-to-oven roast our Chateaubriand. When it’s my turn to cook up a storm in the kitchen, I like to prepare my beef using Low Temperature Cooking – a method often used on the Continent.
It’s considered superior to conventional roasting as there’s less drying of the meat and the juices are retained, so the meat stays moist and succulent with a more natural flavour. A Digital Meat Thermometer is essential for good results but they are easy to achieve in just three easy steps.
1. Before cooking, remove the defrosted meat from its vacuum packaging and pat dry with kitchen paper. Allow the meat to ‘bloom’ and come to room temperature for up to 30 minutes before cooking.
Preheat the oven and a small roasting tray (with the fan turned off) to 80ºC.
Heat a griddle or frying pan on high; add a little olive oil to the pan or brush the oil directly on the meat to avoid using too much. Sear the meat on all sides for 4-5 minutes in total to brown it all over. This will vastly improve both the flavour and appearance of your meat.
2. Season the meat with salt and pepper (do not season before searing as salt can draw the moisture out of the meat). Place the meat on the preheated roasting tray and set the meat thermometer to the 60-65ºC. Insert the probe horizontally into the centre of the meat and place the meat in the preheated oven with the thermometer cord through the door – the main unit remains outside.
3. Keep the oven door closed during cooking. Opening the door lets heat escape and increases the cooking time. When the thermometer beeps (after 60 – 90 minutes), your meat is ready to serve straight away. There is no need to rest your meat as it has rested during the cooking process – the lower temperature allows the meat juices to circulate continually during cooking so the meat stays incredibly soft and the joint is cooked more evenly.
Our Low Temperature Cooking video
Hints and Tips for Low Temperature Cooking
- Always preheat your roasting tray as a cold one increases the cooking time. Do not be tempted to transfer the meat to the oven in the same pan used for searing as this will make the meat cook too quickly.
- If your guests are late you can keep the meat warm at 60ºC for around 30 minutes. If your oven doesn’t have a setting as low as 60ºC, simply switch off the oven.
- It is possible to use a gas oven on its lowest setting for Low Temperature Cooking, but the cooking times given will be reduced – using a meat thermometer becomes imperative!
I hope I’ve convinced you to give Low Temperature Cooking a go – let me know how you get on via our our Facebook or Twitter pages.
Catch you later,
Eddie
This is one of my all time favourite luxury dishes but have never before used this cooking method.
I’d like to know whether wrapping the meat with foil would give a satisfactory result in circumstances where the oven fan cannot be turned off?
Thanks for your comment. We wouldn’t recommend using foil for this method – it’s best to use a meat thermometer to ensure the internal temperature of the meat is at the required temperature. The cooking times will vary slightly if you cannot turn the fan off, so it’s imperative this is used so you can check the meat is properly cooked.
Many thanks,
The DR Team