Carve your roast so you are able to properly serve those feasting at your dinner table.
Large cuts of meat, roasts are served for holidays and special occasions or just as an everyday meal that will feed a large group of people. Roasts can be cut from pork, beef or even venison, and they can be cut with or without the bone still attached. Whatever your purpose for preparing a roast, make sure you know cut the meat in a way that will make the most of your roast. Carving your roast takes a little time and patience, but the payoff is a delicious dinner.
Instructions
1. Take your roast out of the oven and allow it to rest in a warm place on a cutting board for 15 to 20 minutes. Roasts' temperatures rise about 10 degrees in this time, so make sure to take it out before it reaches your desired doneness -- medium rare, medium or well. This resting time also firms the meat for easier carving.
2. Spear the roast with the carving fork to stabilize it. Put the fork near the end you intend to carve first.
3. Slice, don't saw, the roast with the butcher's knife. Cut the roast in the thickness you desire; for instance, if you're serving roast beef sandwiches, cut it 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick; if you're serving roast beef and potatoes, cut the roast 1/2- to 3/4-inch thick or thicker. Cut against the grain -- the direction of the strands of flesh that make up the roast -- if you're cutting a beef roast. This will keep the roast more tender than if you cut parallel to the grain. Cut between the ribs for a pork roast, leaving a rib bone with each serving.
