Blades of glory: knife wars

Behind every good roast is a great set of knives to carve it. But great chefs disagree about the best knife for the job.

Celebrated American chef Thomas Keller likes a carbon chrome variety as the “thin blade allows for a straighter cut because there is less wedging within the food when the blade passes through.”1

Outspoken Anthony Bourdain says all you need is “ONE good chef's knife, as large as is comfortable for your hand… High carbon makes them slightly easier to sharpen, and stainless keeps them from getting stained and corroded.”2

Actor Stanley Tucci swears by the stainless steel knives he picked up in Paris while filming Julie & Julia.3.
Material matters – steel (stainless or otherwise), carbon, titanium, ceramic – as much as technique.

Roasting is an art and a good knife technique is the perfect finishing touch to plating a masterpiece for friends and family come Sunday lunch.

Selaks New Zealand Roast Day celebrates the roast in all its glorious forms, from the usual meaty suspects to roast vegetables, fish and fruit. Food unites like nothing else and NZ Roast Day is about bringing people together around the dining table to break bread and share stories – and of course to celebrate the soul-warming roast.

In preparing for this year’s Selaks NZ Roast Day home cooks are well advised to consider investing in a knife that will see them through one thousand roasts with friends and family in the years to come.

There is also the advice of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's favourite butcher, Ray Smith, with his tips for carving a bird4:

• After the bird has rested let the juices and fat drain out of the cavity into the roasting pan and put the bird on a chopping board.
• Start by removing the legs, slicing straight down with your carving knife. A fork can be used to hold the bird steady but don't puncture it, try to use the fork in the back of the roast.
• Find the breastbone with your thumb and, using the carving knife cut downwards on one side then out along the ribs.
• Using your carving knife, remove the breast in a single cut which you can then slice into perfectly round pieces.
• Separate the thighs from the drumsticks and slice the thigh meat parallel to the bone.
• Take off the wings with as much of the remaining meat as possible attached to them.

With winter upon us and home cooking on the menu, Selaks is urging New Zealanders to get together over the Sunday Roast - and wash it down with a fine wine. Selaks would love you to join in celebrating New Zealand’s much loved family fare on Sunday 7 August 2011.

Visit www.selaksnzroastday.co.nz for tasty roast recipe ideas, competitions, cooking tips, lists of restaurants where to go for the Sunday Roast on the day, and much more about roasting.