Source for Info on High Start Low Finish Roasting?

David B. · June 2001

Does anyone have a source of information on roasting with a high heat start and a low heat finish? I am looking mostly for cooking times and temperatures, I imagine any recipe would work equally well with this method. It seems to me that the BGE should excel at this equally as much as it does at low n' slow. A web site would be best, but a book would be good to.[p]Thanks,
David B.

Mike Oelrich · June 2001

David B.,[p] Shirley O. Corriher writes of this method in her book Cookwise and I believe that it is mentioned in Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking as well. Both are excellent books on the science of cooking.[p] There are quite a few things you can cook on the BGE this way. THe most obvious one is steaks. The standard method of doing those is the sear/sear/dwell method (sear, flip and sear some more, then shut down the BGE with the meat inside until its as done as you want). I've also tried this method with bigger cuts of meat and it works really well if you can get the BGE to cool down fast enough. When I did it, I used me small BGE as the searer and my large BGE as the roaster. Basically, you should sear the meat until the outside is browned. While this will not help to keep juices inside, it will give the meat the nice flavor you want. Then, cook at around 300F (or a little lower, if you want) until you reach about 5 degrees lower than the final internal temperature you want. Remove the meat from the BGE and let it rest about 10 minutes to let the juices redistribute and to let the inside finish heating.[p] If you do not have two BGEs, you can do the initial sear at around 500F before the BGE temperature has equalized (just sear the meat over the flames after you have a good fire going -- the ceramics will not have heated up all the way yet). Remove the meat, place a pan of ice on the grid and shut both vents. Once the BGE has cooled down some, crack the bottom vent, then the top and ensure the fire is still going (it should be). Remember that the BGE is much easier to heat up than it is to cool down. Regain control at the lower temperature and return the meat to the grid (remove the ice).[p] I've also had good luck with doing a three stage cook with larger cuts of meat. High temp, then low temp, then high. The final high temp run restores the outside of the meat to a crispier crust.[p]MikeO

Nature Boy · June 2001

MikeO,
Nice post all around. Great info.
I agree, and it is an extremely big misconception, that the sear seals in the juices. Funny, I even heard Bobby Flay say (with hand gestures) "you want to sear the meat, because it seals in the juices". Seems like it makes sense. But supposedly not in fact![p]Also interesting is your point about finishing off stuff at higher temps to restore the crust. This might also apply to butts, ribs, briskets...well pretty much anything. I do it.[p]Keep up those killer posts!
Hope the knee-healing-procedure is going nicely.
NB

David B. · June 2001

MikeO,[p]Thanks for the recommendations, I will check out both books.[p]David B.

Source for Info on High Start Low Finish Roasting?

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