Meat
Cooking advices
11
To bake meat, pre heat oven at least for 15 minutes in max. temperature.
Pastries
Pastries must be cooked at moderate temperatures between 350°F~400°F
and require a 15 minute oven pre-heating.
Do not open the oven door when cooking yeasted dishes (for example: bread,
yeasted dough and aouffles); cold air currents prevents the growing of the
dough. To check baking point, a toothpick must be introduced in the middle of
the food. If the toothpick comes out dry, the pastry is baked to the point.
At least 3/4 of the expected baking time must have passed before the check is
made.
If the pastry is more cooked in the outside then in the inside, a longer baking
time at a lower temperature will be necessary.
Fish
Roast amall fish at a high temperature. Mid-sized fish must start to roast at a
high temperature and then the temperature must be hradually reduced. Big
fish must be roasted at a moderate temperature from the beginning.
Check if the fish is well roasted by gently lifting one extremity; the meat
must be evenly white and opaque, unless it is salmon, trout or other fish
with a different color.
Minimun weight of meat to be rosated is 2.2 lbs (1 kg) to prevent it to
becoming too dry. If the meat roll does not have a lot of fat, use oil, margarine,
or a little of both. Margarine and oil will not be necessary if the meat roll has
enough fat of its own. When the fat is located just at one side of the roll, place
it in the oven with this side up; the fat will melt and spread to the bottom side.
Start roasting red meat at a high temperature, reducing it afterwards to finish
cooking in the inside.
Cooking temperature for white meat can be moderate from the beginning to
the end. It is possible to check cooking point by carving the meat with a fork: if
the meat is firm, it means it is cooked to the point.
Meat rolls must be taken out of the refrigerator one hour before cooking, so
they do not get rough with the sudden temperature variation.
Place roast in the oven in appropriate shallow containers (deep
containers make heat penetration harder), or directly over the grill,
placing a large container in the bottom grill to collect spatters and dripping
fat.
When cooking is finished it is advisable to wait for at least 15 minutes before
cutting the meat to prevent the sauce from draining. Before serving, plates can
be kept hot in the oven at minimum temperature.
