Free Julia's Kitchen Wisdom by Julia Child Page A

oil.
    OILS—FOR COOKING, FLAVORING, AND SALADS. Use fresh-tasting, neutral-flavored oils for cooking, such as light olive, canola, or other vegetable oils. Olive oils for flavoring and salads can be mild or fruity, and since they have become a status symbol, you can pay enormous prices for some of those labeled “extra virgin.” Test them out yourself to find the brand or brands that suit you.
    NOTE: “EVOO” is contemporary cook talk for “extra virgin olive oil.”
    Broiled Flank Steak
    To keep the meat in shape while cooking, lightly score the surface (cut crosshatches ⅛ inch deep) on each side with the point of your small, sharp knife. Give it the marinade treatment if you wish , for ½ hour up to a day or two; or season with salt, pepper, and a little soy sauce, and brush with vegetable oil. Set close under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until just beginning to take on springiness to the touch—for rare. To serve, cut into thin, slanting slices across the grain.
    Broiled Hamburgers
    Prepare them as described for sautéed hamburgers but omit the flour coating. Brush with cooking oil and set close under the hot broiler for 1 to 2 minutes on each side—when just beginning to take on springiness to the touch, they are medium rare. You might want to top them with one of the flavored butters .
    Butterflied Leg of Lamb
    Half an hour or the day before cooking, trim off excess fat and spread the lamb out skin side down. Make lengthwise slashes in the 2 large lobes of meat and spread out to even the mass. Brush the flesh side with the meat marinade , or season with salt, pepper, and rosemary or Provençal herbs , and oil both sides. Set 7 to 8 inches under the hot broiler element and brown nicely for about 10 minutes on each side, basting with oil. (Browning may be completed an hour or so in advance. See box below.) Finish in a 375°F oven, roasting for 15 to 20 minutes to a meat-thermometer reading of 140°F for medium rare. Let rest 10 to 15 minutes before carving, which allows the meat juices to return to the flesh.
    BROIL/ROASTING AHEAD OF TIME. For a large piece of meat, like a butterflied roasting chicken or a boned and butterflied leg of lamb or pork loin, you can do the preliminary browning somewhat in advance. Cover loosely and leave at room temperature, then finish it off later.
    Roast/Broiled Butterflied Pork Loin
    Here you roast it first, until almost done, then finish it off under the broiler to brown and crisp the surface. For 8 people, buy yourself a 3½-pound boneless pork-loin roast and untie it; it is already butterflied. Remove excess fat but leave a ¼-inch layer on top. Slash the thick sections of meat lengthwise to even it out, and rub the meat either with dry spice marinade , or with salt, pepper, allspice, and pulverized imported bay leaf. Oil the meat, cover, and refrigerate overnight. Roast it fat side up for about an hour at 375°F, to a meat-thermometer reading of 140°F. Half an hour before serving,make decorative cross-slashes in the fat side and rub in ½ tablespoon or so of coarse salt. Brown slowly under the broiler to an internal temperature of 162° to 165°F.
    DRY SPICE MARINADE FOR PORK PRODUCTS, GOOSE, AND DUCK. Blend the following ground spices in a screw-topped jar and use ½ teaspoon per pound of meat. For about 1¼ cups: 2 tablespoons each of clove, mace, nutmeg, paprika, thyme, and imported bay; 1 tablespoon each of allspice, cinnamon, and savory; and 5 tablespoons white peppercorns.
    SALT PROPORTIONS. In general, the proportion of salt to use in liquids is 1½ teaspoons per quart. The proportion of salt to raw meat is ¾ to 1 teaspoon per pound.
    FLAVORED BUTTER TOPPING—FOR BROILED MEATS, FISH, CHICKEN. To make the standard maître d’hôtel , beat drops of lemon juice into a stick of softened unsalted butter, adding a teaspoon each of minced shallot and parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. Other alternatives or additions can be puréed garlic, anchovies,