roast | The Paleo Mom

Mustard and Rosemary Roasted Chicken (21DSD-friendly!)

January 3, 2013 in Meat and Poultry

What do I love most about roasting whole chicken? It’s easy, takes very little time to prepare, makes several meal’s worth (I always cook two at a time), the cooked meat freezes really well for future meals, it’s a fairly cheap meat (even free-range and pastured chickens can be found relatively inexpensively), you get to save the bones for bone broth, and it’s delicious! Is it okay to have seven favorite things?

Where do you buy fully pastured chicken? Both US Wellness Meats sells it and GrassFed Traditions sells it (both for similar prices). You can also buy free-range chicken at Trader Joe’s (for only $2.50/lb) and many other grocery stores and specialty food stores (like Whole Foods).

This particular seasoning for roast chicken is amazing—especially if you want to make gravy with the pan juices! I know that making pan gravy can be daunting for many, but it really isn’t that hard and it’s so worth the effort with this chicken! It takes a little practice to eyeball how much thickener you need, when it’s as thick as you like it, how to handle clumps—but the great part is that gravy is good stuff even if it’s too thin, too thick, or slightly lumpy.

To make pan gravy, place the roasting pan (without the cooked chickens or rack on top) onto a large element on the stove. Turn to medium-high heat (or slightly hotter) and bring the juices to a simmer (if it’s more of a boil, turn down the heat a little). Meanwhile, mix about ¼ cup of arrowroot powder or kuzu starch (my favorite two paleo-friendly starches for making gravy) with about ¼ cup cold water (to dissolve it, this helps with the clumps). Pour the starchy water into the pan while whisking like crazy with a wire whisk. Keep whisking until the gravy has thickened (takes 3-4 minutes). If it’s not thick enough for you (this depends in large part on how much juices you have in your pan), repeat with more arrowroot powder or kuzu starch (if it’s close, just try 2 Tbsp). If you end up with some starch lumps, simply pour your gravy through a strainer before serving. If your gravy ends up too thick, thin it out with a little hot water. Just don’t try to make gravy for the first time at the same time as you are minding other pots on the stovetop.

Ingredients:

2 4-5lb whole chickens
2 Tbsp lard, extra virgin coconut oil, or unsalted butter (I used lard)
2 Tbsp brown or Dijon-style mustard (check ingredients)
1 ½ Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary (measure after chopping, or use 1 Tbsp dried)

Preheat oven to 350F.
Remove chickens from packaging, pat dry with paper towels, remove any giblets (save these for making bone broth!) and place on your roasting pan, using the rack insert that comes with the pan.
Melt lard or coconut oil and mix with Dijon and rosemary. Baste the entire surface of both chickens with the mustard sauce (I just use my hands).
Roast chickens for 20 minutes per pound (or until a meat thermometer reads at least 165F—it’s standard to cook until breast meat reads 180F).
Make pan gravy with the juices if desired. Carve and serve!

Tags: 21, 21DSD, arrowroot, baked, chicken, day, easy, free-range, freeze, gravy, juices, kuzu, leftovers, mustard, paleo, Paleolithic, pan, pastured, poultry, roast, rosemary, simple, starch, sugar detox, thicken, whole
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Greek-Inspired Slow-Roasted Leg of Lamb

August 10, 2012 in Main Dishes, Meat and Poultry

I love lamb. And I love to roast large chunks of meat (for the ease of preparation and for the leftovers). So, leg of lamb is a fairly regular occurrence in our house. It is also a fairly cost effective meat, typically much cheaper than beef and only slightly more expensive than pork (especially if you stick with leg roasts). I have made this recipe both with the deboned leg roasts sold for $4 per pound at my local Costco and with the bone-in grass-fed lamb roasts sold for $9 per pound by my local farmer (GrassFedTraditions and US Wellness Meats also sell leg of lamb). I think the flavor is better with grass-fed (and it’s clearly healthier), but it isn’t always within my budget. I typically find roasts in the 4-5 pound range, but this recipe could easily scale up or down (you’ll just have to adjust the cooking time accordingly). This is another one of those recipes that is better the longer you let the roast “marinate” with the seasonings, but it’s also good if you don’t have time and just pop it straight into the oven.

I prefer bone-in leg of lamb roasts when I can find them. I think the flavor is better when the meat is cooked around the bone, and the marrow in the bone is so luxurious (I have been known to suck it out with a straw) that it’s worth the sacrifice of a little less meat on my roast. I advise using an oven-safe meat thermometer here to make sure you get your roast done perfectly to your liking. Serves 6-8.

Ingredients

4-5 pound Leg of Lamb (boneless or bone in)
Zest of 2 Lemons (about 2 Tbsp)
¼ cup Finely Chopped Fresh Oregano (measured after chopping; or use 3 Tbsp Dried Oregano)
5-6 cloves Fresh Garlic, crushed
1 ½ tsp Salt
½ tsp cracked Pepper

1.    Combine lemon zest, oregano, garlic, salt and pepper. Rub over entire surface of the leg of lamb roast. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours, overnight is preferable.
2.    Preheat oven to 250F.
3.    Unwrap roast and place fat side up on a roasting pan (there’s usually one side of the roast with a thicker fat layer or fat cap). An oven-safe meat thermometer is fantastic for making sure your roast is cooked perfectly to your liking. Make sure to check it at least a half an hour before you think your roast should be done.
4.    Bake in the oven for 3-3½ hours for rare (or internal temperature of 130-135F), 3½ -4 hours for medium-rare (internal temperature of 140-145F), or 4-4½ hours for medium (or internal temperature of 150-155F). (Internal temperature goals are 5F below the goal temperature because of the next step)
5.    Turn oven onto broil. Broil roast for 5-7 minutes to create a nice crispy top.

6. Remove roast from oven and cover with tin foil. Let roast rest 10-20 minutes before slicing and serving.

Tags: ancestral, bone in, boneless, Diet, Grass-fed, greek, How To, lamb, leg, low-carb, medium, paleo, Paleolithic, primal, rare, Recipe, roast, slow-cook, slow-cooked, temperature
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Herb-Crusted Pork Loin

July 9, 2012 in Meat and Poultry

I love to roast large hunks of meat. It’s easy and quick to prepare, the meat lasts several nights (yay for leftovers!), the meat is usually much cheaper per pound than more labor intensive (by the butcher) cuts, and roasts are delicious! This is my favorite way to cook a pork loin roast, which is surprisingly lean. I typically buy conventional pork loin because it is so lean (at least until I can afford to eat pastured meat exclusively!). I like to buy the whole tenderloins at Costco (typically around $2/pound) and butcher them myself (takes about 5 minutes to cut it into three 3lb roasts which I pack in large ziplock freezer bags and then toss in my freezer). I also usually skip the optional step of “marinating” the pork since I don’t typically plan that far ahead. If you are thinking ahead though, it is worth it!

If you don’t have fresh rosemary and thyme, you could substitute a scant 2 Tbsp of Dried Whole Leaf Rosemary or Dried Whole Leaf Thyme for each.

Ingredients:

3-4 lbs pork center loin or sirloin
2 large sprigs fresh rosemary (about 2 Tbsp chopped)
10-12 sprigs fresh thyme (about 2 Tbsp chopped)
½ tsp Salt
½ tsp cracked Pepper
8-9 cloves Fresh Garlic
2 tsp lemon zest
½ tsp Paprika

1.    Preheat oven to 350F.
2.    Blend spices in the small cup of your Magic Bullet or a small Food Processor. If you are using entirely dry spices, you could blend in a Spice Grinder. Alternatively, you could chop extremely fine and then grind in a mortar and pestel.
3.    Rub spices evenly over entire roast (if you don’t quite have enough for an even coat over the whole roast, focus on the top of the roast, which should be the side with the fat cap).
4.    Optionally, you can wrap the roast in plastic wrap, place in your fridge, and let “marinate” for a few hours or even overnight.
5.    Place roast fat side up on a roasting pan. Cook for 20 minutes per pound, until internal temperature reaches 160F.
6.    Remove roast from oven and let sit 5-10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Tags: ancestral, crusted, Diet, dinner, garlic, herb, lemon, loin, meat, paleo, Paleolithic, pepper, pork, Recipe, roast, rosemary, Thyme
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Heart Roast

May 21, 2012 in Main Dishes, Organ Meat

This method of cooking heart meat was inspired by a quick internet search looking for cooking temperatures for rump roast. It suddenly occurred to me that this might be a good way to cook heart, since it also can be fairly tough. Well, it was an epiphany. The roast was tender with an amazing flavorful (that rich steaky flavor that heart meat should have and not that almost liver-like flavor that it can have at times). My 2.5 year old even snuck around the table and ate all of my 5-year old’s meat when she wasn’t looking! Good thing there was more! This will likely become a weekly staple in our house from now on. Heart is definitely my favorite organ meat. I buy mine from a local farmer, but both US Wellness Meats and GrassFed Traditions sells them. The heart I used was on the small side for a beef heart, but I am confident that this would work up to about a 3-4 pound heart size. If the heart you want to roast is on the 4-6 pound side, I think you can make this even more simply by putting the roast in a pan (make sure it’s one that can handle high temperature cooking) and putting it into a 500F oven for 20 minutes. Then reduce the temperature to 275F (open the door so the oven cools down to 275 quickly), add the onion, cabbage and broth to the pan and cook for 20 minutes per pound for rare (I have done this successfully with a 4 1/2 pound roast). This would work beautifully with lamb heart as well.

Ingredients:

1½ -3 pound beef or lamb heart
1 medium yellow onion
4 cups shredded cabbage
3-4 cloves garlic, crushed
½-1 tsp Salt, to taste
¼-½ tsp cracked Pepper, to taste
¾ cups bone broth (chicken or beef)
2-3 Tbsp tallow (or other good cooking fat like extra virgin coconut oil)

1.    Trim any vessels or tough sliverskin off the heart meat. This is easiest with a very sharp boning knife. Hearts are typically cut open already (part of the USDA inspection before you can buy it). If not completely open, finish the cut so the meat can lie flat.
2.    Prepare some lengths of butcher twine. You’ll want 1 to go the length of the heart and then 1 per inch around the width of the heart.
3.    Coast the inside of the heart with crushed garlic, salt and pepper. Roll the heart up into a roast shape with the seasonings on the inside (I found it easier to cut the heart in half lengthwise, and rotate one half around so that my roast didn’t have a fat side and a skinny side). Tie the lengthwise truss first. Then start tying the widthwise trusses every inch or so down the length of the heart, tucking in any bits as you go. This does take some practice, so don’t worry if it’s not perfect your first time (plus you can always cut a truss and redo it if you need to). When your heart is trussed, sprinkle more salt and pepper around the outside.
4.    Slice onion into ¼” thick semicircles. Preheat oven to 275F.
5.    Heat an oven-safe skillet, roasting pan or shallow pot over medium-high heat (I used a cast iron frying pan). Add tallow to the pan.
6.    Place heart in pan and sear on each side, rotating every minute or slightly less with tongs until all sides browned. Once browned, remove from the pan and set aside.
7.    Add onion to the frying pan and cook, stirring frequently, until starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Add cabbage to pan and stir, until wilted, about 1 minute.
8.    Pour broth into the pan. Lay the roast on top of the cabbage and onion. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes per pound for rare (25 minutes per pound for medium-rare).
9.    Remove from the oven and let rest 10 minutes. Remove the trusses, slice and enjoy! Serve with cabbage and onions. Also, the broth from the pan can be thickened to make gravy or poured au jus style over mashed cauliflower or turnips.