roasting meat

Roasting large pieces of meat to the correct doness can be fairly difficult at times and once the roast is too much done, there is no turning back anymore.

The easiest solution to avoid disappointment is to use a meat thermometer. I prefer this “scientific” approach much better than how i learnt many years ago by “poking” a meat fork into the meat and establishing the doness of the meat by trying to judge the cooking temperature by the color of the juice that sipped out of the whole where the fork was removed and/or the temperature of the needle held against the lower lip ( which if well done can burn). This might be the “old fashion method” but it still works just as well especially when one is experienced in using this method.

What you'll need
* Meat thermometer, digital or analog
* Meat fork or stainless steel needle


What to do
While one can leave the thermometer inside the joint/roast while roasting, this is not always advisable as, especially when roasting meat on a BBQ grill, due to the basting with liquid or marinate.

Stick you needle into the meat, so that the needlepoint reaches the middle of the thickest point of the roast. Depending on the type of thermometer used, ensure that you allow time for the needle to come up to the final reading.

All meat should be well rested after roasting.
This is done on a warm (below 60C or 140 F) place; 10–20 minutes depending on the size of the roast will be sufficient. This will help in equally distributing the juices throughout the meat and the meat will be equally done rather then very bloody on the inside and grey around the edge of the meat.

In general the meat will “heat through” a bit during the resting period, one should calculate approximately 10% additional “cooking” during the resting period.

As a general guideline to determine the doneness follow these temperatures:

Very Rare / 45C (113F) / blood of meat will be cold
Rare / 50C (122F) / deep red to purple, “bloody”
Medium Rare / 55C (131F) / dark red
Medium / 60C (140F) / pale red,
Medium Well / 65C (150F) / light red to pink, almost clear
Well Done / 71C (160F) and above / clear, no blood visible

beef and red wine jus

Ever wondered how to make that dark rick sauce that nearly every restaurant serves with their meat dishes, while it is best to make your own stock, there is nothing wrong with the good commercial ones you can by from the supermarket.

What you'll need
2 litre Veal or beef Stock
1 litre red wine
2 shallots (eschallots) peeled and halved
4 sprigs tyme
3 bay leaves

What to do
Place all the ingredients except for the veal stock in a sauce pan over a low flame and reduce by ½ (I usually make a little pen mark on the outside of the pot, so I know when it is half).

Add the veal stock and reduce that amount by half again.

Strain, portion and freeze and use as required for your next dinner party.

A little more than a tablespoon is all that is needed per serving of beef, lamb etc; so you should have enough here for a few dinner parties.

prawn oil

Next time you prepare a dish that leaves you with a lot of left over shells do not throw all those wonderful bits out, instead make up this oil and you will regret every time you did throw them out. With this oil in your fridge you will be able to add a beautiful richness to a large range of dishes.

What you'll need
1 kg of any or all of the following: prawn, crab, lobster or bug heads & shells
1 brown onion (peeled and roughly chopped)
carrot (peeled and roughly chopped)
stalk of celery (roughly chopped)
2 bay leaves
A few sprigs of thyme
1 tbsp tom paste
1 litre (1 quart) virgin olive oil


What to do
Crack, break or chop the shells into pieces (approx the size of a thumb nail).

In a large heavy based pot over high heat add a few tbs of olive oil and sauté the carrot, onion and celery until soft.

Add the shells and tomato paste and continue to cook a further 5-8 minutes.

Carefully pour in the remaining oil, add the bay leaves and thyme, make sure that all the ingredients are covered in oil, you may need to add more than a litre depending on the shape and size of your pot.
* Leave on high heat for 5 minutes and then reduce to low and allow to cook for at least 3 hours.

Turn off and allow to cool for at least 2 hours.

Once cooled strain though a colander and allow solids to drain of all the oil.

Discard the solids and strain the liquid through a fine chinois (sieve) at least twice.

Once oil is completely cooled down transfer it to a bottle and it will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of months.

chefs tip
When using the oil in recipes you will need to remove it from the fridge about an hour before you need it so it can become liquid again.

Use it as the oil called for in any seafood pasta dish. Toss it through any al'dente pasta along with a little chopped parsley. Drizzle it on top of any soup. Cook scrambled eggs with salmon in it. Once you understand the flavours in it, let your imagination run wild.

tomato dust

This is perhaps the simplest of recipes and one of those that sound so fancy on a restaurant menu
But, tomato dust or powder is a handy thing to have around the kitchen. Use it as simple decoration sprinkled on the rim of plates or dust a little on top of the mascarpone that I like to top a creamy pasta with or to sprinkle on a savory souffle.

The same process can be applied to slivers of beetroot or carrots, citrus peel (peel only, all the white pith needs to be removed) and slivers of sweet potatoes to achieve different flavors and colors.

What you'll need

Tomato peel - the peel that is left and dis-garded when peeling tomatoes



What to do

Spread out the tomato peels on a baking paper lined sheet pan, or rack and dry in an oven at 80 C (175 F) for approx 2 hours, until the tomato skins are completely dry and crisp.

Place the crisp tomato peel into a coffee grinder or blender and turn it into a fine dust.

Store in a dry shaker for usage anytime when needed.

segmenting citrus

Often when you read in a recipe to ‘segment’ a grapefruit or orange or any kind of citrus for that matter, this doesn’t as many believe just mean to peel the fruit and remove the segments. It actually refers more to ‘filleting’ the fruit, as in you are segmenting the fruit but only taking the premium flesh within the segments, leaving behind all the fruits pith, pulp, skin, rind and seeds.

What you'll need
A piece of citrus
A sharp small to medium cooks knife
A sharp paring knife, (ideally straight edged)

What to do
Peel the fruit with the cook’s knife, ensuring that you remove the membrane around the back of the segments. The best way to do this is to peel the fruit with a knife with the fruit standing on a chopping board.

Then hold the fruit in your non-dominant hand, and carefully align the paring knife on the back of the segment right next to the membrane that separates that segment from its neighbour and cut towards the centre of the fruit

Then repeat this on the other side of the segment and the fillet should come free.
Repeat this to each segment around the fruit and you will have properly ‘segmented’ a piece of citrus.