Resurrecting the Roast Beef Dinner

• recipe

  Slow-Roasted Beef

  Roasting inexpensive beef usually yields tough meat best suited for sandwiches. How do you transform a bargain cut into a tender, juicy roast that can stand on its own at dinner?

• recipe

  Mashed Potatoes and Root Vegetables

  Adding carrots, parsnips, turnips, or celery root to mashed potatoes sounds like a good idea-until the mash turns out too watery, too sweet, or too bitter.

• equipment

  Meat-Probe Thermometers

  Relying on time estimates to tell when a roast is done is a recipe for disaster—here is the perfect weapon for perfectly cooked meat.

• science

  Salting Meat

  Almost everyone has heard of brining and salting meat to produce juicy meat, but how exactly do these techniques work?