Technique of the Week: Tying a Roast

Tying a roast is WAY simpler than it might first appear. Even if you end up with a roast that looks like a bank robbery hostage, your roast will still be uniform shape and cook more evenly.


But we can improve on that. Here’s how.





1. Cut a piece of butcher’s string about 4 feet long.


2. Place your roast end to end, pointing away from you.


3. Wrap one end of the string around the far end of the roast, about 1 to 1-1/2 inches from the end. Pull the string firmly around the roast and tie a knot. You now have a loop knotted onto the roast and about 3-1/2 feet of loose string.


4. At about 6 inches above the knot, hold the string in your left hand. With your right hand, hold the string about a foot further out. Move your left hand to the left side of the roast. Place your right hand at 12 o’clock at the far end of the roast.


5. Now slide the string under the roast using your right hand. Keep sliding it under the roast until both your left and right hands are about 1 to 1-1/2 inches closer to you than the loop you tied.


6. Bring your right and left hands together above the center of the roast. With your right hand, run the string under the string in your left hand, and pull it tightly. You have just formed a new loop, parallel to your first one.


7. Repeat this process, until you reach 1 to 1-1/2 inches from the near side of the roast. At that point just tie the string in each hand into a knot. You’re done.