Reduce Costs, Increase Profitability

Time Is Money

The food service industry revolves around quality, service, portion costs, and thin profit margins. Food costs represent a substantial contribution of your input costs. Cooked yields or saleable weights of roasted meat are manageable variables that should not be overlooked. High heat roasting can have a very profound effect on your bottom line and may be costing more than you thought.

Roasting yield tests confirm that "lower and slower" roasting will result in higher cooked yields, lower shrink and juicier pork roasts that will impact your bottom line.

Duplicate sets of roasts were cooked in conventional and convection ovens using two distinct roasting patterns for comparison.

Traditional: Roasted at 400°F (204°C) to an internal temperature of 180°F (82°C)

High Yield: Roasted at 250°F (121°C) to an internal temperature of 160°F (71°C)

Duplicate roast samples were also tested in an Alto-Shaam cook and hold unit, and a Rational steam cook combination oven for comparison. All samples roasted in these units were cooked to high yield specifications (250°F (121°C) to an internal temperature of 160°F (71°C)).

The shrink and yield percentage was calculated by comparing the cooked weight to the raw weight of each sample. The cooked values were calculated by comparing the raw cost per lb/kg to the cooked yield. All samples were weighed (out of packaging material) just prior to roasting in the test ovens. All raw samples were removed directly from refrigeration with the same relative internal temperature prior to roasting.

Low and Slow Means Higher Profit Potential

Principles of Dry Heat Roasting

  1. Low-heat roasting tenderizes protein, connective tissue, and retains a higher percentage of natural juices if the cooking process is slower.
  2. Low-heat roasting techniques provide higher cooked yields, lower portion costs and a superior finished product in terms of taste, appearance and handling performance beyond the kitchen.
  3. Products cooked to "medium" or "medium well", depending on your consumer preference, can be achieved more efficiently using the low and slow philosophy. The critical points are time and temperature.
  4. High-heat roasting toughens an shrinks protein. Even cuts that are low in connective tissue and considered tender will shrink, toughen and dry out.
  5. High-heat roasting causes the outside of the roast to cook much faster than the inside core. This results in excessive moisture loss, uneven degrees of "doneness" and a tough outside crust.
  6. High-heat roasting results in finished products that have very poor holding and standing capabilities.
  7. High-heat searing of roasts prior to cooking does no seal in the juices. Meat is composed of an open network of fibres. Searing will create an outer crust that is no more moisture-proof than an unbrowned meat surface.
  8. High-heat roasting results in excessive carving losses due to charred, dried out and unsaleable edges.

Important Factors to Remember When Roasting Today's Leaner Pork

Tenderness is not the only goal of roasting pork:

  1. Proper roasting will develop a superior flavour and a desirable appearance.
  2. Roasting will produce pan drippings that can be used for flavourful stocks and sauces.
  3. Low-heat roasting can prevent excessive shrinkage and nutrient loss that directly effect the quality of the finished product, its holding characteristics and your profit potential.
  4. Testing for doneness, placement of the meat thermometer or probe must be in the centre of the roast, not touching fat, bone or stuffing. Quick read thermometers offer an instant temperature reading.
  5. All types of ovens - conventional, convection, cook/hold and steak cook combination units - have specific cooking instructions and characteristics.
  6. Calibration of oven controls are not always accurate; temperatures should be regularly tested with thermometers placed inside the oven. The oven should also be tested for hot spots.
  7. Size specifications of roasts vary - larger roasts cook and shrink differently than smaller roasts. Exterior fat covering and bone content can also affect cooking time and yield.
  8. Shrink, yield and cooking time can be affected by the number and placement of roasts per oven. Roasts that are close or touching one another will restrict the circulation of air and heat, causing uneven roasting.
  9. The internal temperature of roasts will continue to rise 20-30 minutes after being removed from the oven. The internal temperature of a roast cooked at higher temperatures will rise higher than that of a roast cooked at lower temperatures. During this time, internal juices set and the roast will become easier to carve.
  10. The "pull" temperature for pork is 155°F (67°C) to 160°F (70°C). The final serving temperature will increase during the standing period.
  11. Storage temperatures - raw pork should not be stored at temperatures higher than 40°F (4°C) in order to keep bacteria levels in the "safe" zone.

Times Have Changed

At one time, pork was served only well done. This was to ensure the meat was safe to eat and to melt out the fat. Today's Pork has changed.

Fact: Today's Pork is lower in fat and cholesterol than ever before. This is due to improved breeding and feeding practices, a revised grading system which encourages the production of leaner meats, and better trimming of external fat by the meat packer.

Fact: Trichinosis is virtually nonexistent in Canada due to improved production methods. In Canada, there has not been a case of trichinosis related to pork in over 15 years. According to Agriculture Canada, trichinosis is destroyed in any meat if cooked to an internal temperature of 137°F (58°C), well below the recommended 160°F (70°C) for a medium doneness.

Fact: As a result of these positive changes and improvements, Today's Pork should be cooked to a medium doneness. this will ensure the most profitable, tender and delicious pork that your customers expect.

Fact: Outdated commercial cooking methods that utilize the hotter/faster philosophy with oven temperatures as high as 400°F (204°C) and internal meat temperatures as high as 180°F (82°C) will result in dried out, tough finished products with the lowest yield and the highest possible portion costs.

Fact: The message is medium. Remember leaner pork means higher yields. In an industry that revolves around portion costs and thin profit margins, today's pork performs.