How To Tie Meats To Roast & Why You Should Do It
I put together a collection of cooking videos that I thought best represent how to tie a roast before cooking. To some more experienced cooks or those who love to tie knots, this may seem simple but to those of us who were never scouts or just don’t tie that many roasts, this can be very helpful.
I could explain how to tie the knot that holds together a piece of meat together for roasting, but it is a lot simplier to just watch how it is done. I’m hoping after you watch these videos a few times, you’ll have the confidence to grab some butcher string and start tying.
If you don’t have a roast lying around to practice on, improvise with a kitchen towel, a small pillow or how about a large sneaker. Whatever works!
I also learned from these videos is it is a good idea to tie roasts, both the kind I cook in the oven or the type I braise in a Dutch oven or crock pot. To be honest, I don’t often do this and yes, when I cook a pot roast in my crock pot, it does all fall apart.
This technique will be especially important when you stuff a piece of meat like a flank steak or butterflied pork loin.
Why Tie A Roast In The First Place?
Great question. Chef Edward Leonard from Le Cordon Bleu explains in the first video:
- You want the meat you are roasting to keep its shape so it cooks evenly.
- You want the meat to keep together while cooking.
- If the meat maintains it shape uniformly through the cooking process, the temperature of the meat when done should be the same throughout.
- Provides a better presentation.
Chef Edward Leonard Ties a Roast
The butcher at Darrenkamps uses individual ties and describes his method of tying a roast like we learned as kids to tie our shoes.
The rabbit comes around the tree, up through the forest, then down around the tree again….
Here Deliciousmagazineuk shows us how to tie and roll a pork loin so it can cook evenly:
Now I know where to go for roast tying tips. Gotta practice my knots. Where’s the string, where’s the dog?