Panasonic NN-ST641W manual Cooking Tender Cuts of Meat using Micro Power

Cooking Tender Cuts of Meat using Micro Power

For best results, select roasts that are uniform in shape.

Place meat on a microwave rack in a suitable dish. Beef rib roast should be placed cut-side down. Other bone-in roasts should be placed fat-side down. Boneless roasts should be placed fat-side up. Halfway through cooking, turn roasts. Half hams should be shielded by wrapping an 8 cm wide strip of foil around the large end of the ham. Secure to the body of the ham with wooden toothpicks. Fold 3 cm over cut surface. For shank ham halves, shield shank bone by cupping it with foil. One third of the way through cooking, remove ham from oven and cut off skin. Turn fat side up and reshield edges. If desired, glaze last 10 to 20 minutes of cooking. Loosely cover baking dish with wax paper or paper towel to prevent splatter. If a large amount of juice accumulates in the bottom of the dish, drain occasionally. If desired, reserve for making gravy. Multiply the weight of the roast by the minimum recommended times per 500g. Programme Micro Power and Time.

Meats can be shielded at the beginning of cooking or halfway through cooking. If you wish to shield at the

beginning of cooking, remove foil halfway through the cooking time. Beef and pork rib roasts should be shielded around the bones. Foil should extend about 5 cm down from bones. The shank and thin ends of boneless roasts should also be shielded. Make sure foil does not touch the sides of the oven, as arcing may occur. Canned hams should be shielded on the top cut-edge with a 3 cm strip of foil. Wrap strip of foil around ham and secure to body of ham with wooden toothpicks. Fold 2 cm over cut surface. After heating, check temperature using a meat thermometer. The thermometer should not touch bone or fat. If it does, the reading could be inaccurate. Lower temperatures are found in the centre of the roast and in the muscle close to a large bone, such as a pork loin centre rib roast. If the temperatures are low, return meat to the oven and cook a few more minutes at the recommended power level. DO NOT USE A CONVENTIONAL MEAT THERMOMETER IN THE MICROWAVE OVEN. Let stand, covered with foil,

10 to 15 minutes. During standing time the internal temperature equalises and the temperature rises 5°C to 10°C.

Cooking Less-Tender Cuts of Meat by Microwave

Meat

Less-tender cuts of meat such as pot roasts should be cooked in liquid. Use 1⁄2 to 2 cups of soup, broth, etc. per 500 g of meat. Use an oven cooking bag or covered casserole when cooking less-tender cuts of meat. Select a covered casserole deep enough so that the meat does not touch the lid. If an oven cooking bag is used, prepare the bag according to package directions. Do not use wire or metal twist-

ties. Use the nylon tie provided, otherwise, use a piece of cotton string or a strip cut from the open end of the bag. Make six 2 cm slits in top of bag to allow steam to escape. Multiply the weight of the roast by the minimum recommended minutes per 500g as suggested in the chart below. Programme Power and Time. Turn meat over halfway through cooking. Meat should be tender when cooked.

Meat Chart for Microwave Cooking
MEAT	POWER	APPROX. COOKING TIME
		(minutes per 500 g)
Beef
Roasts Medium
Rare	Med-High	10 to 12
Medium	Med-High	12 to 14
Well	Med-High	14 to 16
Pot Roast	Defrost	25 to 30
Pork
Leg of Pork	Med-High	11 to 13
Loin of Pork	Med-High	11 to 13
Ham Canned (fully cooked)	Med-High	4 to 5
Lamb
Medium	Med-High	8 to 10
Well	Med-High	12 to 14

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