to seal meat or not to seal ????

angeleyes

hi guys
I have a leg of lamb for roast tomorrow -anyway having seend gordon ramsey programmes etc he always seems to seal his meat before roasting. Does anyone know if this actually changes the flavour or just make the outside browner ..
any hints very welcome
(not sure if this was the right place to post or not)

Thanks :beer:

thriftlady_2

I'm roasting a leg of lamb tomorrow too.I won't be browning it first though, that just sounds like more washing up to me.Surely it gets lovely and brown in the oven,isn't that the point of roasting meat?

aliasojo

I always thought the purpose of sealing was to seal the juices in, therefore making the meat more tender (supposedly).

thriftlady_2

I think the sealing in the juices thing is now regarded as a myth.Cookery writers seem to agree that browning the meat creates a crust of good flavour and nothing else.After all if it sealed in the juices where does the juice for the gravy/sauce come from?

intel

Its a bit of a misconception that sealing meat actually captures or holds in the juices what it actually does is caramelise the fats and sugars on the skin or the flesh itself thus making the meat taste sweeter...

Thats wot G Ramsey said the other night anyway... I can see what he meant though.

Pal

As said above this is a misconception. According to my food encythopedia (!) it was a myth disproved in the 1930s. If "sealing" actually sealed in the moisture there wouldn't be the hissing and popping sounds when meat is roasting or frying, nor any roasting juices, as the noises are caused by water evaporating.

It is however important to do it because the caramlised crust tastes fantastic.

MATH

I always sear beef and lamb joints (I don't eat pork) before roasting or slo-cooking, It adds flavour and colour imo

apple_mint

When I do leg of lamb, I do it Hugh FW style. Rub in some olive oil and rosemary (I think Hugh also adds slivers of garlic but I haven't looked in the book for a while) and a little rock salt. I put it in a hot oven for 30-40 minutes (you can hear it popping in sizzling) and this makes the outside all scrummy and then lower the oven to around 160c (I have a fan oven). The resulting roast is gorgeous and I've never been tempted to sear it first. The caramalised juices make a lovely gravy.

thriftlady_2

That's exactly what I'm going to do with my lamb today Apple mint,I've just been checking Hugh FW he uses anchovies with the rosemary and garlic so I think I'll give it a go.

wayne

gordon always swears a lot too but that doesn,t mean you should tell your leg of lamb where to get off.lol

soba

When I make a stew or steak and onions in gravy I always used to brown the meat first, now I don't bother, and in all honesty I can't tell any difference. My hubby was a butcher and they had stew on the go nearly every day and they just chucked everyting in the pot. If it's good enough for a butcher it's good enough for me!