The Lost Art of Carving (Part 3)

Carving Beef Cuts

Beef is perhaps the most common and popular type of meat presented in roasted form. Below are some tips for carving several popular beef dishes including good old Corned Beef.

While each cut may be different eg rib bones they all have in common: Hold firmly on a wooden carving board to avoid accidents and for accuracy; carve with the grain and stack closely together after carving to retain the juices.

Carving Boneless Roast

Begin slicing at the wide end of the fillet, keeping the blade of the knife slightly tilted, carving across the grain. Make the slices about 2cm thick. To keep the warmth and juices within the slices, keep them stacked closely together on one side of the carving board as they are cut.

Carving Boned-Roasts (Rib Roast)

Carving is easier if you have the backbone removed by the butcher and the rib bones cut short.

1 Place the roast on the carving board with the large end down to form a solid base. Insert the fork firmly beneath the top rib. Starting at the right hand edge (the broadest part), slice across the grain horizontally toward the rib side.

2 Use the tip of the knife to cut along the rib bone to release the slice. Be sure to keep close to the bone. Lift each slice individually by sliding the knife back under the slice and steadying it with the fork.

Usually a rib roast is carved in slices, but for hearty eaters you might like to serve a whole rib. To serve a whole rib, cut under the first rib, near the bone, slicing the meat from the rib top inward. To lift the whole rib neatly, pick it up with the knife underneath and use the fork to hold it steady.

Carving a rolled rib beef roast

A rolled rib can be carved lying on its side or on its end. This will be determined by the length or height of the roll.

For a larger roll it is recommended to lay it on its end with the larger cut surface down and the smaller end up. Sirloin roasts may also be carved using this technique.

Insert the carving fork firmly 2-3cm below the top of the roast. Slice across the grain from the right side. Make the first slice thicker than the others in order to get a smooth and level surface from the start.

Place each piece directly on the plate or a hot serving platter.

Reinsert the fork progressively lower in the meat each time, keeping the slices uniform.

Remove any strings as you come to them. When the roast has only 5-10cm left to carve, divide it down the middle. Lay the cut surface flat on the carving board. Continue to slice and repeat for the other portion.

Carving Corned Silverside

Place the meat fat side up, on the carving board, with the tip to the right of the carver. Look for the direction of the grain.

If you’re not sure how it runs, check by cutting off a thin slice or two. Begin at the tip, slicing across the grain at the desired thickness.

As the grain changes, turn the meat so that you are always cutting across the grain, to ensure tenderness.

Note Images: I am grateful to the "www" and the original owners of these images. I have placed a link back to their original recipes in each image as acknowledgement of their creativity and generosity

The Lost Art of Carving (Part 2)

Things to keep in Mind Each Time You Carve

To those of you who have been waiting for some more carving tips, my sincere apologies for taking so long to get back to this series.

I have been busily building a new website for Charcool and while I am quite proud of the result (thanks Joomla!) I have kind of let everything else slide.

Still, we're back now so let's start with some useful tips to remember before we go through some basic carving techniques:

• For firmer, easier carving, allow roast meats to rest in a warm place for 10-35 minutes covered loosely with foil. This will ensure a juicier result. Always retain the juice to pour over the meat when serving or to make a rich complementary gravy.
• This seems obvious but sharpen your knife before, and as often as necessary during, carving. Nothing spoils the presentation of a cooked roast more than inconsistent, ragged and torn slices.
• Remove any string or skewers as you get to them.
• Use a slicing rather than sawing action, making use of the full length of the blade in a gentle follow-through motion with each slice. Apply only enough pressure to cut meat fibres; too much pressure will bruise or tear the meat, spoiling the appearance.
• The angle of the knife should not be changed once the slicing has begun.
  
• Carve across the grain wherever possible. This will aid tenderness.
• Aim for uniformity in the size and thickness of your slices and try to carve the whole roast so the slices can be divided evenly.
  
• If you have enough meat for leftovers, leave some meat unsliced. A solid piece of meat will not dry out in the refrigerator as quickly as slices.
  
• Always carve on a wooden board before transferring to a serving platter. Don't be tempted to save time by carving on the platter. All you'll do is scratch the platter and dull your knife blade!
  
• As the meat is carved, place slices on the serving platter for a formal presentation.
• Preheat plates and the serving platter before carving as meat slices lose heat faster than a whole joint.
  
• Serve individual portions on to the heated plates when carving is completed.

Coming up next: Carving Beef

The Lost Art of Carving (Part 1)

Get the Right Equipment

Once a ritual rite of passage, the decline of the Sunday roast has made the art of carving at the table just a dim but pleasant and re-assuring memory for many people.

The loss of this simple skill is now so acute that Baby Boomers and Gen X are signing up for master classes just to the learn skills which can put formal family meals back on the agenda.

But carving isn't really some arcane science which needs specialist help and out-sourcing. The purpose of carving, after all, is simply to obtain the greatest number of large, moist slices of meat from a joint of meat or poultry.

While you can spend hundreds of dollars on the best equipment, all you really need is a large fork, sharp knife and a carving board - all of which you already own or can be purchased for a modest price.

Basic Materials

Carving Knife:
Purchase a stainless steel (preferably "high carbon" ss) carving knife between 20 cm 38 cm (8 and 15 inches) in length.

You'll notice that a carving knife is thinner than a kitchen or chopping knife (particularly at the spine), enabling it to carve thinner, more precise slices. They are generally shorter and wider than slicing knives.

Despite some of the better brands selling for around $250 each, you should be able to pick one up for less than $100 (check the sales!). With reasonable care (which includes separate hand-washing and storing them in a block not in contact with other kitchen utensils) your knife will last for many years!

Some popular brands are: Furi, Wurtoff, Mundial and Wiltshire.

Carving Fork:

The carving fork's purpose is two-fold: to hold your roast steady while carving and to retain all your fingers!

Look for one with a long handle and two long, sharp "tangs" or prongs. Normally a carving fork will be the same length or a bit shorter than your carving knife.

While carving forks with a protective guard at the bolster (where the tangs meet the handle) are less common these days there are very many designs around and if you are worried about a bit of home surgery, it's worth looking for this specific feature.

Again, look for quality stainless steel with a comfortable grip. Carving forks are usually included in knife block sets which can be another economical was to pick up good carving equipment at a reasonable price.

Carving Board:

As you would know from reading earlier posts I strongly recommend wooden carving boards over plastic, marble or glass for the inherent anti-bacterial properties and because wood is also kinder to your knives.

A high quality, medium density carving board like camphor laurel is an investment that will give years of service.

In fact, Australian camphor laurel has so many great properties for carving and chopping boards that we carry a large range of boards on our retail site.

I highly recommend the Federation Carving board which is a huge board (40cm x 50cm) and has deep juice channels to collect the juices which can then be poured over the carved meat prior to serving or used to make a sumptuous gravy.

Coming In Part 2

So, having invested in a some reasonable quality carving equipment, next part of this series will look at the basics of carving different meats and share a few kitchen secrets to make your carving experience all the richer.

Are Camphor Laurel Chopping Boards Safe?

A customer asked the other day if Camphor Laurel chopping boards were safe for use with food. She said she had read on the internet that Camphor Laurel can be dangerous.

There is no doubt that camphor laurel, like eucalyptus or peanuts, can, be the cause of of individual allergies, and the use of refined camphor oil does require considerable caution.

However, even the most ardent opponents of camphor laurel don't usually claim processed boards are dangerous.

Our supplier quotes a 2002 report about camphor laurel boards which had this to say:

"there is no evidence to suggest that food contact with Camphor laurel wood (particularly after curing) would produce any adverse effects.

There is no guarantee, as there cannot be with any substance, that a particular individual will not be allergic to any of the chemicals in timber, but most of them commonly occur in foods & confectionery."

The report contains references to a number of the natural chemicals which are found not only in found in Camphor Laurel but in Eucalyptus oil, sassafras, nutmeg, star anise, cinnamon, cacao, lavender and black pepper.

Together these compounds combine to deliver great anti-bacterial properties plus a semi-hard board which is kind to knives and not susceptible to knife gouges which can harbour bacteria.

I have read quite a lot about camphor laurel over the past 2 years and I have never seen a credible claim (as opposed to "a friend of a friend") or any evidence that these natural boards are anything other than a magnificent, natural product.

Our boards are not raw timber, and have been kiln dried so they are quite inert.

Germs Hate Timber Cutting Boards

Like most of us, all a hard working bacteria wants is a nice, safe to live and for germs like salmonella and e.coli, a cutting board can represent a prime piece of kitchen real estate

But for germs, as for people, some neighbourhoods are safer and more desirable than others. The debate on which cutting board material is least attractive to bacteria has been going on for years and like the germs themselves shows no sign of disappearing.

Not so long ago a friend of mine purchased one of those new silicon cutting boards which have been popping up in stores all over the place. She was immensely proud of the colorful board and the shop assistant had told her that plastics are the cleanest option for food preparation.

H-O-G-W-A-S-H!

Plastic is absolutely discredited as a chopping board material!

Plastic boards are easily scored by knives which leaves little nooks and crannies on an uneven surface for bacteria to hide and multiply.

I found a great review on plastic, timber and marble cutting boards and their germ-friendliness at MSN Health recently. In that experiment wood was a clear winner over plastic and marble cutting boards.

Timber cutting boards have the edge because hard wood boards are too tough to be bothered by knife marks and the capillary effect of wet wood grain sucks bacteria into the board where it is killed as the board dries.

It was interesting that marble, which is really hard, is still not as clean as timber. Why? Because it's strength (a tough, impervious surface) is also weakness.

When a marble board is washed, the bacteria the germs are transported all over board like a water slide and they set up colonies right across the board's surface. The MSN study found too many colonies to count on their sample while for wood, the bacteria aren't spread.

Before you ask, a glass cutting board behaves exactly the same way as marble.

Over at Charcool, were have never had any doubts about the superiority of timber cutting boards. They are much nicer to look at; friendlier to knives and harbour fewer germs but we have one more ace up our sleeve. Our timber cutting boards are made from camphor laurel timber.

Camphor laurel is like the Sahara for germs:

• the hard grain means no knife marks;
• the boards are made from a single piece of wood so there is no chance of delamination allowing bacteria to slip into the cracks and multiply
• the naturally anti-bacterial effect of the camphor gives extra protection.

Voila, a grem retardant trifecta!

Alan Waterson, from the Southern Cross University in Lismore, Australia did a study into the antibacterial properties of several cutting boards and found camphor laurel beat cedar, plastic and glass hands down.

"Camphor Laurel Timber, as tested here, was the most effective food preparation surface with regard to reducing microbial growth.

"This appears to be a result of the nature of wood in general, & the presence in this particular wood of anti-microbial substances, which are also known to occur naturally in edible products".

Caring for Timber Cutting Boards

Caring for your new camphor laurel timber cutting board couldn't be easier.

Camphor laurel cutting boards are simple to keep clean and require very little maintenance but here are some tips to keep your board looking and smelling like new:

Regular Cleaning.

Simply wash your board in warm soapy water and wipe it with grapeseed oil every few months or whenever timber appears dry.

Let your board completely air dry before storing.

NEVER leave a timber cutting board soaking in water. Timber is porous and it will quickly saturate and never use a bleach which will destroy the natural antibacterial properties of the board.

A dishwasher is an evil environment for a timber cutting board combining all the terrors of: soaking; chemical bleach and very hot water. PLEASE AVOID.

Dealing with knife marks

All timber boards are marked by sharp knives. Firstly, don't fixate on this. The ability of timber boards to absorb and reflect regular use is one of their charms and contributes to the uniqueness of your board.

Camphor laurel's unique long grain only allows surface marks, not deep gouging, burring or splintery edges that can develop with other timbers.

If you feel your board could use a quick make-over, you can lightly sand the surface back every couple of years and then re-oil with grapeseed oil.

The side- benefit of a light sand for your board is that it will refresh the camphor smell if it fades over time.

After sanding don't forget to oil.

Grapeseed oil is terrific for timber boards because doesn’t oxidize as quickly as other vegetable oils and won’t go rancid. Most vegetable oils go tacky; smelly and change color when left on the board and grapeseed oil leaves no taste.

Aussie Camphor Laurel Best for Timber Cutting Boards

With timber cutting boards available the world over and made from so many different species of wood, it's hard to get a handle on what is the best material.

In Australia we are blessed with the Camphor Laurel tree which has so many unique qualities that it must rank amongst the world's best timber cutting board material.

Camphor Laurel timber cutting boards have a beautiful, rich-honey coloured grain which combine with a clean, fresh camphor smell to make a wonderful first impression from the moment they are arrive.

Australian Cinnamomum Camphora arrived from Asia in the 1820s and easily established itself in it's new home, dominating many areas of the east coast of New South Wales and Queensland.

However the tree quickly became an unwelcome guest by displacing the native vegetation. These days culling the tree provides the perfect material for your new timber cutting board.

For example you could choose a Camphor Laurel timber cutting board just because they are so beautiful but don't forget they are also naturally anti-bacterial; easy to maintain and have a distinctive, calming smell!

And while many hard wood timber cutting boards can damage your knife edges, camphor laurel is a hard wood or medium density that is kind to your knives and so much loved by chefs and butchers.

But that's not the end of Camphor Laurel's advantages as a cutting board material.

Each of Charcool's timber cutting boards is made from a single, unique piece of camphor laurel timber which ensures a lifetime of durability. They have two contrasting Australian red gum handles screwed, then glued to either end, making them stable, easy to carry and oh-so attractive.

So, forget the mass produced anonymity of plastic, glass or glued laminates, the very best timber cutting boards in the world are right here in Australia.