SC - Re: crisp crust meat

[LYN M PARKINSON]

Avelina,


I don't eat in the food court, except for desserts, because of food
allergies, but this evening I read some of Dorothy Hartly's book on the
history of British food.  She says to dredge a cooked roast with flour,
then trickle a liquid--water, wine, something appropriate--over it and
let it continue to cook until it is 'clear'.  I think she means that the
flour should be sort of transparent.  Then you brown it well without
letting it burn, and it makes a good crust.  This is 'open air' roasting,
not in a closed pot or oven.  Her drawings showed me meat on a spit
getting heat from the side of the fire rather than just over the fire;
this is how you can have a dripping pan under the roast.  At probably a
later date than ours, tin reflectors were set up:   fire   meat   tin
screen     and would reflect the heat back onto the meat.


She also made the point that the liquid should be relevant to the type of
meat:  lamb feeds on mint in the meadow, so mint water; venison got the
red wine; beef got broth but was served with milk and dairy sides and
sauces: Yorkshire pudding, etc.


Regards,

Allison

allilyn at juno.com

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