The perfect roast: here's how to cook it and which meats to use

The roast meats are a Italian tradition that has always been confirmed during the holidays and that today has expanded into a much more commonplace use in the kitchen. However, the roast is always a premium dish because it must always include high-quality meats, noble cuts, and therefore requires special care and attention in the use of raw materials. 

Today, large distribution and industry push pseudo-rolled meats that are called stuffed roasts and, among other things, gain the consent and success of the average consumer. Just reading the labels (a practice that the average Italian has not yet adopted as a technique of food self-defense) would be enough to understand that a roast is not just meat, but a whole mix of additives, flavor enhancers, and stabilizers that make it more akin to a "synthetic roast" than a roll of meat and vegetables. 

One of the founding reasons for Spaghetti & Mandolino is precisely to counter this type of product that fascinates for their form and ease of use in the kitchen, but then leaves traces of dissatisfaction and, worse still, synthetic substances to be eliminated from our bodies. In short: one can treat oneself better without being able to say that one has spent a fortune more. It is the philosophy of eating better to live better, the awareness of a considered and right choice of products to put on the table for ourselves and our children. But let's move on to our dear roast.

Our tips for bringing an excellent roast to the table

Precisely because it has always been the main dish of family Sundays, we tell you about a unique product that is not so simple to prepare. First of all, all meats can be used in the preparation of a roast: the important aspect is not the type but the cut that is chosen. For a guaranteed success of the roast, it is always better to choose the shoulder cut or round of veal, a turkey breast, or the pork shoulder or loin. 

Choosing spices for your roast

A fundamental step in making roasts is the selection of spices to add, and here one can behave differently depending on taste, availability, and seasonality when we talk about fresh products. For example, wild fennel, which smells of saltiness, will be a breeze to find for those living near the Mediterranean scrub along the sea. Lucky them! Or rosemary, thyme, and oregano will be more aromatic and rich in intensity if you live under the sun of southern Italy, perhaps among the ancient folds of the Madonie lands in Sicily. Those who breathe the sea from the heights of the Sila will be lucky with chili pepper.

As for garlic, those who live in sandy and muddy lands along the great rivers, and therefore also in northern Italy towards the Po River delta, are favored, where we can find Nero Fermento with its fermented garlic, and of the Adige.
 

In short, to each their own, but logically each of the most used spices can today be purchased either fresh or dried (here we talk about the organic broth from Well Alimentare) in various grocery stores and neighborhood greengrocers. Be careful, however, that each meat is suited to a particular aroma. For instance, veal and beef are perfectly complemented by oregano, parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. With pork, cumin, fennel, mustard, and again thyme, oregano, garlic, onion, and chili pepper are more suitable. 

How and when to use salt and pepper with the roast

The use of salt divides cooks and housewives. Before or after cooking? Here, each can assert everything and the opposite of everything. Yet a good roast usually, if massaged before with coarse sea salt, receives a better predisposition for the concentration of the aromas in the meat and will present a better flavor in the end. 
Pepper should never be added before cooking, but only after roasting, and, if possible, always in coarse grains. Different types of pepper can be used. Green and pink pepper for white meats, while black pepper is always better for beef, such as Sarawak aromatic pepper.

How roasting occurs

One of the fundamental steps is the cooking, which for all of us common mortals who do not have professional kitchen ovens does not involve the use of ovens with steam jets or a combined use of fire, steam, and microwave. However, those who have a state-of-the-art oven that also allows for steam production during cooking (and we congratulate them on the choice!) will surely have guaranteed results. In fact, keeping the cooking method sufficiently moist is one of the secrets for the best cooking of roasts. Humidity prevents the meat from drying out too much, keeping it always tender and juicy inside while forming a thicker crust on the surface. 
For all others who do not own this type of oven, some strategies can be adopted, such as adding a heat-resistant bowl with water at the bottom of the oven. This way, the water vapor tends to slow down the drying of the meat.

The roast trolley from Spaghetti & Mandolino

Among our suppliers, Salumificio Pavoncelli has a production line tailored to the realization of roasts that recalls ancient artisanal cooking techniques. The inclusion of technology allows the use of lower temperatures and steam jets that always favor soft and flavorful products. Among the most interesting, here are some highly successful items used by butchers and in neighborhood shops, at the counters of cooked meats and rotisseries. The Smoked stewed pork loin with Bologna cut and natural beechwood smoking. The Baked loin roast that can also be sliced for tasty and pleasant sandwiches. A product of great enjoyment is undoubtedly the Herb roast cooked ham, both sliced and whole: a unique product that will amaze with its balanced aroma and the consistency of the dry and firm meats. Also delicious is the Roman porchetta produced with the ancient technique of Ariccia. Finally, for lovers of pancetta, here is the Stewed and smoked pancetta always all natural with beechwood, an ideal product for seasoning succulent pasta dishes or delicious carbonara. 

Bernardo Pasquali

S&M