Ask Sara: TV Chef Answers Your Questions

April 14, 2011— -- Celebrated author and TV chef Sara Moulton is the food editor at "Good Morning America."

You've written to her with questions about what you want to do in the kitchen -- and she responded.

Sara Moulton Answers Your Questions

Susan Harris:Hi Sara. What is the best cut of meat for a moist and tender pot roast you can slice? A chuck roast tastes good but it is only about an inch and a half high, and is not really sliceable. It more or less just shreds apart. Thank you.

Sara's Answer: Susan

For this question I reached out to my buddy, mentor and cookbook author Jean Anderson. Her most recent book, "Falling Off the Bone," was published last year by Wiley and is all about braising. Here is Jean's reply:

Despite the "GMA" viewer's complaints, beef chuck is still best for pot roast because of the proportion of fat to lean. As you know, fat is what makes meat succulent and flavorful, and chuck has more fat than either round or rump (two other popular pot roasts). Round is far too lean for my taste, meaning a pot roast that's dry and lacking in flavor. Having slightly better marbled lean, boned and rolled rump is somewhat better (my second pot roast choice after chuck). But it should have a good outer covering of fat because it lacks the interior marbling necessary for a truly tender and juicy pot roast. If the outer layer of fat is skimpy, I drape the rump roast with bacon before it goes into the oven. Then as the meat braises, the bacon drippings will baste it and help keep it most. The drippings also add flavor. And here's something else people should know: Pork fat (bacon) is the least saturated of all the meat anmal fats (lamb fat is the most saturated, beef fat second, then veal, then pork).

The Main Problem: Most of our meat -- at least supermarket meat -- is cut and prepackaged hundreds of miles away, and the buyer has to settle for what's available. I suspect that the viewer bought something called chuck pot roast, which definitely would have been about 1 1/2 inches thick. The reason it "shredded," or fell apart, when sliced is that the viewer sliced it with the grain instead of across the grain. Chuck is composed of long fibers -- noticeable when raw and far more prominent when cooked. So slicing the pot roast with the grain merely separates these long fibers.

Solution: Go to a good butcher or high-end grocery with a butcher who knows his stuff, and order a Boston Cut (big blocky piece of chuck) or a Boneless Chuck Roll (also big and chunky). Then pot roast according to your favorite recipe. When slicing, cut across the grain and slightly on the bias. That way, the slices should remain intact. And your pot roast will be superbly succulent and deeply flavorful.

Lona Smith: I've wondered for quite some time now how I should store leftover chopped or sliced onions. I've read online that onion isn't good to keep in the fridge -- turns to some poison or something. I usually put my leftovers in a sealed, specially marked plastic container and refrigerate it. Is that safe?

Sara's Answer: Lona,

To the best of my knowledge, it is fine to chill onions after they have been sliced/diced. I do it all the time and have not hurt anyone yet.

Patty Brown:Please share some secrets about Indian food and spices. What combination of Indian spices go together?

Sara's Answer: Patty,

I have two favorite cookbook authors that I would recommend you check out. Madhur Jaffrey and Julie Sahni. They have each published many books on the subject of Indian cuisine and are amazing teachers. If you don't want to purchase one of their books, I 'm sure you can find them at the library.

Carol:When serving little new red potatoes, how do you cook them and keep them red for the recipe? Mine always are gray skinned when they cook tender.

Sara's Answer: Carol,

I am sorry, but that is just what is going to happen every time. Because of some kind of chemical reaction (which is way beyond me to explain), there is no way to keep that red color red. Sorry!

Mary:Why does my meringue "shrink" a good 1/2 inch from the sides of my pie plate after I place it under the broiler to brown? Thank you for your assistance.

Sara's Answer: Mary,

My solution comes from Shirley Corriher, author of two very useful books: "Cookwise" and "Bakewise.""When meringues are baked in the oven, the tightening of the egg white proteins causes the meringue to shrink. It also makes the meringue difficult to cut smoothly. My solution to this problem is to add a little corn starch paste to the meringue. Corn starch prevents the egg white bonds from tightening (in the same way that it prevents eggs from curdling in pastry cream) so the meringue doesn't shrink. This tender meringue with starch cuts like a dream. To add cornstarch to a meringue, you should first dissolve it in water and heat it. Dissolve 1 tablespoon cornstarch in 1/3 cup water and heat it until a thick paste forms. After all the sugar is beaten into the whites and the meringue is firm, keep the mixer running and add all the cornstarch paste, 1 teaspoon at a time."

Also, make sure you spread your meringue all the way to the edge of the pie tin.

Barbara:My lemon curd for my lemon meringue pie always turns out to be very soupy. What am I doing wrong?

Sara's Answer: Barbara,

I consulted Shirley Corriher's book "Cookwise," again for this answer. She says that it is important to reheat the filling after the eggs have been added because heating kills an enzyme in eggs that can thin a starch custard. (Meanwhile, don't worry, eggs will not curdle because of the presence of the starch.). So make sure you bring the sauce base bake to a boil after you add the eggs and let it boil for a few minutes.