Why am I doing this to my roast?

Searing it even before putting in the crockpot would seal in the juices .. maybe not necessary if you’re using a crockpot, but it can’t hurt. Chances are it will give it a little more flavor… that’s a good thing Val.
I never use much salt, so I would just put freshly ground black pepper on it before searing. But some people love to have a salty “crust” on it.
Your dinner sounds wonderful… I’ll be there!!! ;)
Merry Christmas!

Yummy. I would also sear ahead of time to lock in juices as it cooks and then it can fall apart deliciously all it wants to. The salt bit, I dunno because I’ve always believed salt leaches moisture from the meat so I add it later. Happy Holidays lady.
I still have never forgotten a pic you once posted of a table setting for me and my then Mr. which showed a hatchet, butcher knife and some other tools as utensils :D

@hungryhungryhortence OMG!! Omg. Oh too much! That was on wisdm! I was trying to show you how my kitchen looked after hubby installed our new-to-us $15.00 garage sale dish washer!!!! Well, me being me, I hadda throw in something a little….. weird!

@JustPlainBarb Salty crust? Ew. I don’t like that. I don’t eat much salt….but…it doesn’t seem to taste particularly salty!

Sealing in the juices is a fallacy which Alton Brown proved through meticulous scientific testing.

The reason you brown it is for flavor. Read all about the Maillard reaction and it will be clear.

For salting, you either want to do it a full 24 hrs ahead or 5 minutes ahead as both will prevent the salt from leeching out moisture. Anything in between and it’s busy traveling back and forth ( chemically speaking). That’s info from both AB and ATK ( Americas Test Kitchen on PBS)

Enjoy.

Hey, you’re in luck. I found it on YouTube.

I can’t do links from the iphone, bit just go to the search bar on YT and put in:

Alton Brown, myth smashers

Click on the first one on the list. Enjoy. If you’ve never had the pleasure of watching his program, Good Eats, you’ll enjoy his quirky sense of humor while providing meticulously documented information.

@Val123 Yes, lots of recipes have a salt “crust” ... like prime rib for example. They use course salt for that.

@Buttonstc HE PUT A KC STRIP IN THE OVEN???!! That is sacrilege!

I had no idea that salt would pull moisture out of the meat! But…makes sense…

I’ve always had a check about non-stick. Guess now I know why!

That was splendid, m’dear! Learned something new today! I don’t think I’ll be searing my roast any more because it’s just for looks, and when my roasts are done they’re all in pieces anway!

@Val123 – Searing isn’t for looks. It’s for flavor. And salting or brining meat, especially lean meat without a lot of fat to melt into “juice,” does cause it to be juicier after cooking.

@all – I do know from personal experimentation that salting chicken with its skin in place about 24 hours before cooking will help the skin turn out to be very crispy after cooking. Also, soaking chicken in a light brine or in something like buttermilk causes the chicken to plump up and be jucier and more tender.

In addition, putting a roast in a crust of salt is supposed to act like a seal, keeping juices in as in this recipe. Cooks who keep Kosher will soak beef in cold water for ½ and hour or so, and then salt it and leave it sitting a while longer in order to draw out any remaining blood (it is forbidden to consume the blood of animals).

I recently read an article in a cooking magazine, but for the life of me I cannot remember what magazine or who wrote the article. However, the author had conducted experiments with salting various meats 24 hours before cooking and similar examples just before cooking and then comparing the results.

I did find this article which recommends salting lean meats such as turkey to make them moister after cooking.

The article says:

“Brining enhances juiciness in several ways. First of all, muscle fibers simply absorb liquid during the brining period. Some of this liquid gets lost during cooking, but since the meat is in a sense more juicy at the start of cooking, it ends up juicier. We can verify that brined meat and fish absorb liquid by weighing them before and after brining. Brined meats typically weigh six to eight percent more than they did before brining—clear proof of the water uptake.

Another way that brining increases juiciness is by dissolving some proteins. A mild salt solution can actually dissolve some of the proteins in muscle fibers, turning them from solid to liquid.

Of all the processes at work during brining, the most significant is salt’s ability to denature proteins. The dissolved salt causes some of the proteins in muscle fibers to unwind and swell. As they unwind, the bonds that had held the protein unit together as a bundle break. Water from the brine binds directly to these proteins, but even more important, water gets trapped between these proteins when the meat cooks and the proteins bind together. Some of this would happen anyway just during cooking, but the brine unwinds more proteins and exposes more bonding sites. As long as you don’t overcook the meat, which would cause protein bonds to tighten and squeeze out a lot of the trapped liquid, these natural juices will be retained.”

@Darwin Thank you! That makes sense…if I recall, in Little House, they did the salting thing as a tenderizer. And a preserver. It would make sense to do it 24 hours in advance to let it work slowly. I’ll remember that….

As for searing…what do you make of @Buttonstc post: “Hey, you’re in luck. I found it on YouTube.

I can’t do links from the iphone, bit just go to the search bar on YT and put in:

Alton Brown, myth smashers”

It presents a very compelling argument against searing meat for anything but looks…

You are browning the meat to create caramelization on the sides of your roast. These browned areas will flavor the liquid in your meal as it steams from the meat and vegetables in the crock pot.
In classic cooking of say a stew or other braise, one would brown the meat and then deglaze the pan, that is to say, remove the meat, add wine or other liquid and reduce the liquid by bringing it to a boil or simmer and simultaneously using a spoon or spatula, jar loose the browned “bits’ that are stuck to the bottom or side of the pan. This would incorporate the flavor contained in these “bits” into the braising liquid. The objective is flavor.

There is a dish called pot au feu in which a piece of beef and/or other meats along with root vegetables are placed in a stock pot with clear braising liquid, generally just water. The temperature is raised to a heavy simmer and then allowed to cook until the meat is done. You get a completely different experience by this method: the broth is clear except for the fat globules in it since it results from just the meat and the vegetables. No gravy.

SRM

You didn’t look up Maillard reaction, did you?

As Darwin pointed out, searing is for FLAVOR. The Maillard reaction is responsible for releasing hundreds of different complex flavor molecules.

For just a quick example, it’s why people toast bread instead of just slicing it many times. Think of the flavor defference between the two and multiply it a hundred fold for meat.

A GOOD Crockpot recipe book will advise searing before crock cooking specifically for this reason. It certainly isn’t for looks :) and if one has the time and wants the best flavor possible it’s definitely preferable. With something very strongly flavored such as Chili, the difference may not be as readily apparent but for most things, you can definitely tell.

This is also why there is nothing better than the mouth watering smell of a chicken roasting in the oven.

There is a really interesting book written by Barbara Kafka called “Roasting” in which she routinely advocates using temperatures of 500+ degrees for best flavor.

I’ve tried it and always roast a chicken at 500 now. It’s also done quicker. As long as you let it rest after pulling it out of the oven long enough to allow the juices to redistribute back evenly, it’s great. If you cut into it immediately, it gets ruined cuz all the juice comes pouring out and the bird is left dry and tough.

The other requirement for success is a really clean oven and obviously avoiding a non stick pan. Anything non-stick cannot be used for high temp as it releases poison gases.

But, try it sometime. Btw, Asparagus is incredibly delicious when roasted rather than cooked in water. Just give of a light coating of oil, add salt (or even a little sugar) or Balsamic and watch it carefully after 5–7 mins. When the tips just begin to lightly char, promptly pull it out. Incredible flavor difference. I have never cooked them in water again once I discovered this.

I love Alton Brown, but he isn’t right all the time.

Example ?

The above comments about not needing to brown meat before stewing or braising it.

And apparently his method for brewing beer.

And trhen there is this:

“Alton Brown IS very cool. But he does sometimes disseminate misinformation. On the “cocktail” episode, he shows how to make a mint julep, and employs a muddler. But he uses the wrong end of the muddler. The flat end is the working end, not the handle.”

And then there is this:

“On the Good Eats chili episode, Alton Brown calls for 3 anchos, 3 cascabels, and 3 de Arbols (also listed as this in online… recipe). However, he actually uses 3 guajillos, 3 cascabels, and 3 de Arbols.”

And this:

“I’ve only found Alton Brown to be actively and willfully incorrect on two things. The first is that he thinks it’s OK to substitute peanut butter for tahini when making hummus…His other weird thing is hating on garlic presses.” And “he’s not always right. In general, you have to be prepared for the fact that he likes salt. A good number of his recipes will come out too salty if you just follow lock step. But the underapreciated part of the show is how it is set up to teach materials, tools, and techniques, not recipes – so, you know, just fix it if you think it’s too salty.
The other thing is his advice changes. You can see this in the Ask Alton Segments on the DVDs, and interviews, and even a couple episodes. Logically speaking he can’t always be right if he’s not consistent (I guess Altonism will be a bit like Catholicism.)”

And this:

“Forgive me but Alton Brown is incorrect. The statement “when the meringue is spread, the filling must be hot. He says this will cook the meringue slightly.” Is scientifically inaccurate. Hot filling is what causes the sugar in the meringue to liquefy when condensation occurs due to the heat. The filling must be cooled first. Then, the meringue, when made should incorporate cream of tarter which is often left out during its preparation. This stabilizes the mixture and prevents the egg whites from separating. Also, excessive whipping can cause the meringue to separate, as does an inaccurate amount of sugar added to the egg whites…The chemical properties of the sugar are what “cook” the egg whites. Not heat.”

And there are undoubtedly more errors on his part. Don’t get me wrong: I love to watch Good Eats. But Alton Brown is not infallible.

thanks for the info. Good to know.

But where did he ever say not to brown meat before stewing or braising ? If you watch the clip, he is just saying, in part, don’t sear because you mistakenly think it’s sealing in juices. He never said don’t sear before braising. I think that might have been Val’s conclusion for herself.

I couldn’t find any clips on braising, but I know he has done stuff about the importance of the Maillard reaction for maximum flavor development.

I never thought he was infallible. And I don’t follow anybodys recipes verbatim anyhow since I really don’t like things salty, so I taste it as I go.

I also never use pepper as I am so super sensitive to hot n spicy anything. But I’m in good company there as Anne Burrell never uses pepper either. But she’s another one with the ton o’ salt tendency. But she’s very straightforward about it. Are you familiar with her ? Food Network has relegated her show (and most of the decent teaching shows) to early Sat. or Sun. mornings.

So much of the majority of the time is all these stupid competitions of one sort or another. Basically crap. Ugh.

I must confess that I didn’t watch the clip but reacted to @Val123‘s reaction, wherein she concluded that searing meat is done for looks. However mistaken I am about this one instance, Alton Brown is not infallible and you asked for examples. I gave you a few.

I do like pepper and cook with all sorts of pepper and peppers. As long as I eat at least four hours before bedtime I do fine. But I do not cook with salt very often at all, except in baked goods and to tenderize meat. Most dishes do just fine if each person adds salt as they wish to their own portion at the table.

The reknowned James Beard also was a salt-oholic and I learned a long time ago to halve the amount of salt going into baked goods made by his recipes.

@Darwin but it seemed to make sense…the video. However, there IS a good reason to sear, right? (I had no idea this Q would get this kind of response! And man I’m hungry!)

Yes, @Val123 – You sear the meat to develop the flavor. While you can make stews and braises without searing, the taste will lack the depth and complexity of the same dishes made with seared meat. That’s how you get that great homemade and “meaty” taste.

So, yes, indeed, there is good reason to sear.

@Darwin Thank you! And also, all, I’m not sure why, but this was, beyond a doubt, the BEST roast I’ve ever made. Somehow it still ended up juicy, rather than a little dry, after, oh 10 hours or more in the crock pot…....it was the best.