Why tie a non-stuffed beef pot roast?

Question

Recipes for beef pot roasts often include the step of tying the roast with twine prior to cooking, even for roasts without stuffing. Why? What difference in outcome can I expect between a tied roast and an untied roast, all other things equal?

Answer

Since ovens cook by heat radiation, you want to expose as high a proportion of the surface area as possible, which is why most roasts are vaguely cubic or cylindrical in shape. Any part of the meat that's pressed against the pan (i.e. the bottom of the roast) isn't going to get that nice brown crust.

It's also very important with slow-cooking methods that require you to put some liquid at the bottom of the vessel; obviously you want as little of the meat as possible to be in the water, so that most of the work is done by steam.

Tying (or more accurately, trussing) the meat is simply how you maintain the shape in the oven. If you don't truss it, then you'll not only end up with a very flat roast, you'll also end up with uneven cooking, and only the top will be browned since there are no "sides" to speak of.

It's similar with chicken and other birds; you truss the legs so that the oven has a chance to crisp them up on all sides, not just the top.

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