The Cottage Smallholder

Do you have simple methods that you found work well for you? Any tips for roasting, braising stewing etc. – relating to cooking dinner or supper.

I will kick off with two of mine. They are not original but I use them all the time.

Make a foil nest in your roasting tin for your joints when roasting

This keeps the juices concentrated around the base of the joint and helps to prevent them from burning off like they could do if you simply plonk your joint in a roasting tin. It means you have more juices for making a gravy or sauce.

For roast beef, pork and lamb I use on open nest, with the sides tucked in fairly snugly to the meat. For roast chicken I close the nest completely. It does not have to be a tight seal, just covered over. After an hour I open the nest, slit open the thigh joints, and roast for a further 30 mins or so with an open nest. Timings depend on the size of the chicken and temperature of oven.

We always have two sizes of foil: standard and turkey size. The bigger one is perfect for my chicken method. I often line the base of the foil nest with another layer because sometimes a hole can appear in the base and the juices escape into the roasting tin. Maddening.

Use carrot water in your gravy

Luckily I love vegetables and we almost always have carrots with a roast, as well as another veg. I make the gravy after cooking the veg and add half a mug of the water that the carrots were cooked in to the meat juices in a saucepan. Very often I do not have to add flour, just a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and let it reduce for 15 minutes or so at a high boil.