Need quick answer to a cooking question...

Robin, i know this doesnt go here.....but i have my roast on the stove and needed a quick response to this....

I thought i had beef stock, but when i looked in the pantry all i have is chicken stock. i even have some homemade chicken stock in the fridge....

But i am making a pot/oven roast. I have seared my meat and veggies and was going to put some beef stock in everything then place it in the oven, but i have none.

Is it unsanitary to use the chicken stock with beef? will it mess up the flavor of the roast?

It's not unsanitary in any way, from that respect stock is stock and they're both sanitary. As far as flavor goes the are obviously different but I don't see it being a problem for a roast. I would certainly go ahead and do it and not worry about it.

Mark, thanks. When i think chicken, i just dont want to mess with anything. But after i read your response, makes sense that sanitation is not an issue....

Threw in the stock and roast should be ready in a couple hours....Thanks again!

Roast sounds good. What time should we get there?

[Robin Garr]

It's not unsanitary in any way, from that respect stock is stock and they're both sanitary. As far as flavor goes the are obviously different but I don't see it being a problem for a roast. I would certainly go ahead and do it and not worry about it.

Next time, Becky, use the chicken stock without fear, but consider adding a dab of tomato paste and maybe an undetectable shot of soy sauce to boost up the stock just a bit. Not really enough to add flavor, just to darken it a little and provide what the Japanese call "umami."

I'm a vegetarian, so that should disqualify me from answering, but from my past life, you could use chicken stock, or even vegetable stock, and you'll be A-OK...

Cheers

i like robin's idea to add soy. i love that umami concept. water would have worked in the roast in a real pinch. or veggie or chicken stock.

and just as a side note... i recently discovered the idea of adding some apple cider vinegar to my roasts, about 1/4 cup. it's not sour or unpleasant in the finished product, as one might think. i think it's really delicious!

I add worcestershire to mine. Douse it pretty good. No other liquid. It generated enough moisture and blended alittle cornstarch in water at the end to make alittle au jus - not a gravey. Magnalite pans do a good job. Haven't cooked anything like that in years. My husband likes that type food more than I do, so he uses the crock pot/slow cooker. This time of the year we think of heartier meals. We might not make it to the Hofbrauhaus anytime soon, but may have to head to the German restaurant on Browsboro Road next to the Party Mart. Also, Irish Rover is more appealing this time of year. (Wish there were a Hofbrauhaus here. Would have liked Brownings to have gone that route.)

i thought the thread had disappeared but i just found it....

the pot roast came out beautifully. I thought that chicken stock would give it a chicken-y flavor....but nope.

I usually add a bit of tomato paste or sauce to my pot roast Robin, it is sort of half-way to ropa vieja...... but i was trying different flavors, i used thyme and rosemary. Different flavors for me, since i believe these are typical in a lot of roasts.

Funny you mentioned soy sauce because i saw it sitting there and i was tempted to throw some in the pot, but i didn't want to funk up my flavors too much.....i will have to try it next time.

Vinegar i wanted to try as well, but my mind kept thinking it is going to make it tart? Does that go away in the cooking process?

oh...BTW..... we had 6+ lbs of roast......almost all gone after dinner!

about the vinegar...i saw it done on food network, and my dad told me he had started making roasts with it and liking it. i have only seen it done with apple cider vinegar, so i don't know whether other vingars would work well for this or not. i was really skeptical at first too and thought the roast would turn out tangy or tart or something. i only use a little bit though, like 1/4 cup for a four pound roast. in the end, there is a difference in my roast's flavor. i can't put my finger on it but it's there, and definitely not tart or sour. try it with a small roast and see if you like it.

try it with a small roast and see if you like it.

well why the heck didn't i think of that?! I think i will try that. I always see these little itty-bitty roasts and they make me chuckle to myself. I know there are families out there that are small enough where that is all they need. But like i said, we had two 3.5 lb roasts and they were almost all gone.

Do you season with regular seasonings, or do you need something to counter the vinegar?

Not quite the same, but I brine pork tenderloin in a vinegar (generally apple cider)/salt mixture before roasting - it doesn't make it tangy or sour, just more flavorful and really helps with moisture retention.

becky, i still season the roast the same way, very simply in fact. i just liberally salt and pepper the roast and then sear it in the dutch oven, take it out. roughly chop and brown a big onion and take that out, roughly chop and brown a pound or two of carrots then add the onions and roast back in (i like how the brown parts on the carrots taste but you could skip this step and just dump them in). i dump in a can of beef stock or whatever stock i have on hand, then the vinegar. some people like herbs in their roast and i'm sure that would be fine with the vinegar. i like it sans herbs, whether i'm using vinegar or not. i don't use potatoes because we like our roast over mashed potatoes or noodles. i'm sure potatoes would be ok with the vinegar too, though. i also laugh at the small roasts! there are only two of us, but we dig leftovers, so a four pounder is mandatory at my house

brad, i think you are on to something with that moisture retention thing. i can always tell a difference in my roast when i use the apple cider vinegar, but i never can quite describe it. i bet that's got something to do with it.

brad, i think you are on to something with that moisture retention thing. i can always tell a difference in my roast when i use the apple cider vinegar, but i never can quite describe it. i bet that's got something to do with it.

Again, I'm not totally sure of the chemical causes, but I know that brining actually adds moisture/liquid to meat. Therefore, when you cook it, the normal amount is lost but you are left with more at the end than if you hadn't brined because of the moisture added during the brining process. I know this largely has to do with the salt content of the brine, as the salt is what forces the additional moisture into the meat.

I suspect that perhaps the acidity of vinegar contributes to this process.

Call Alton Brown for a better explanation.

http://www.edinformatics.com/math_scien ... rining.htm

This pretty much breaks it down in lots of terms I don't understand, but I get the gist.