10 Oven Meat Recipes / And Cooking Tips

When you need to prepare a quick and delicious dinner, baking meat in the oven is the best option. This could be pork with a cheesy crust or beef with a flavorful glaze. We’ve gathered useful tips and great recipes to ensure your oven-baked meat is always tasty and juicy.

How to Choose Meat

Different cuts of meat can vary in flavor, juiciness, and tenderness. Therefore, it’s important to choose the right pieces for a specific recipe.

What to consider:

• Choose cuts like tenderloin, thigh, ham, or fillet — boneless meat. Bone-in meat is perfect for making broths and stews.
• Avoid purchasing meat weighing more than 2.5 kilograms — such a large piece may burn on the edges but won't cook through in the middle. Likewise, very small pieces are not suitable. Remember that meat shrinks in size when baked.
• Opt for meat with fine fibers and less fat.
• If you're going to bake turkey, choose smaller birds; the meat from younger birds is more tender and juicy.

Tip: If you're following a healthy diet, prefer turkey meat. It’s lean and high in protein: about 21 grams per 100 grams of product.

Which Spices to Use

Before baking meat in the oven, don’t forget to salt it: classic salt, sea salt, or Himalayan salt will work. Pay attention to fragrant and pink pepper as good alternatives to black pepper.

Beef pairs excellently with herbs. You can use fresh rosemary, basil, or dried thyme, oregano, or a mixture of Provençal herbs. Fresh or dried garlic complements any meat. For spices, consider saffron, cumin, red paprika, or mustard seeds.

Season pork with the same spices as beef. You can also season meat before baking with dried dill, parsley, turmeric, or red pepper.

For turkey and chicken, dried garlic, ginger, coriander, thyme, and black pepper work wonderfully.

Interesting Fact: Some spices, such as cumin, rosemary, and mint, positively impact the nervous system due to their essential oils.

What to Marinate Meat In

Fresh meat will turn out juicy with a simple marinade of salt and spices when baked correctly. If you're looking for something more unusual, try these options:

• With oil and herbs: Mix olive or vegetable oil with fresh basil, crushed garlic, and black pepper.
• Sweet and sour: Use ready-made chili, adding sugar, sweet paprika, and garlic.
• With honey and mustard: An ideal marinade for pork: honey, mustard, garlic, and soy sauce.
• Creamy: You will need low-fat yogurt, coriander, lemon juice, and a bit of ginger root.
• With teriyaki sauce: Combine soy sauce with teriyaki, adding garlic and ginger for an Asian-style marinade.

Tips for Baking Meat in the Oven

To avoid drying out the meat in the oven and to achieve the right texture and crust, it’s important to follow a few rules.

• One kilogram of meat = one hour. If you are baking two kilograms of meat, allocate two hours for this. However, consider the type of product: for instance, beef requires more time due to its fibrous and tougher texture.
• Bake meat in ceramic dishes or other heat-resistant cookware. During baking, meat releases a lot of juice, so if you're using a baking sheet, wrap the product in foil.
• For juicy meat, it’s advisable to set the oven temperature below 125 degrees Celsius. The meat will cook longer but become tender. This method is suitable for pork loin or turkey breast.
• If you want a golden crust, bake the meat at temperatures from 200 degrees Celsius. It’s important not to dry out the meat, so it's better to use this method only for smaller pieces.
• To keep the meat juicy inside, leave a small layer of fat on the piece.
• The meat will bake more evenly in the oven if you arrange it in neat slices in the shape of a roll and tie it with culinary thread.
• Try to bake meat so that it doesn’t touch the bottom of the dish, for example, by placing a layer of vegetables underneath, with pieces of meat on top.
• When the meat is fully cooked, remove it from the oven, cover it with foil, and let it rest for a few minutes. This allows the juices to redistribute throughout the meat.
• Avoid storing meat in a container with a closed lid; instead, wrap it in parchment and place it in an uncovered container.

Oven-Baked Meat Recipes

Herb Beef 

A classic recipe for oven-baked beef with fragrant herbs and olive oil.

• You will need:
  • 800 g beef tenderloin
  • 30 ml olive oil
  • 2 sprigs of thyme
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 2 g dried mint
  • 2 g dried oregano
  • Salt to taste
• Cooking Time: 1 hour 20 minutes.
• First, make aromatic garlic oil with herbs to coat the beef. Crush the garlic and mix it with thyme, mint, oregano, and olive oil. Rub this mixture over the beef and let it sit for five to ten minutes. Then salt it, wrap it in foil, and place it in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 40 minutes. After that, remove the foil and bake for another 15-20 minutes.

Meat with Mayonnaise and Mustard 

The famous French meat recipe has many variations: it can be made with beef, pork, with or without onions.

• You will need:
  • 500 g pork
  • 250 g onion
  • 250 g mayonnaise
  • 50 g mustard
  • 100 g mozzarella
  • 30 g vegetable oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

• Cooking Time: 1 hour.

  Cut the pork (ideally, the shoulder) into pieces and pound them well. Salt, pepper, and arrange them in a baking dish. Slice the onion into half-rings and lay it over the meat pieces. Mix the mustard with mayonnaise and spread it over the meat. Generously sprinkle with cheese and bake for 30-40 minutes in the oven at 180 degrees.

  Pork Under a Cheese Crust 

  This recipe resembles meat à la française. It’s an ideal hearty dinner option for the whole family.

• You will need:
  • 1 kg pork
  • 1 onion
  • 2 tomatoes
  • 200 g hard cheese
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • Mayonnaise to taste
  • Salt and pepper to taste

• Cooking Time: 1 hour.

  Grease a baking dish with vegetable oil, preheat the oven to 200 degrees, and pound the meat well. Salt and pepper the pork, place it in the dish, and coat it with mayonnaise. Top with onion rings and tomatoes, and bake for 15 minutes. After the time is up, remove the meat and sprinkle it with grated cheese. Bake for another 30-40 minutes.

  Pork Roll in the Oven 

  This roll will adorn any festive table. It’s quite simple to prepare, and the filling can be anything.

• You will need:
  • 400 g pork
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 large pickled cucumber
  • 150 g hard cheese
  • 50 ml milk
  • Salt and pepper to taste
• Cooking Time: 1 hour 30 minutes.

• In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with milk, salt, and pepper. Make an omelet and cut it into medium pieces. Cut the meat into equal pieces and pound them. Overlap them, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle with grated cheese, add the omelet and finely chopped pickled cucumber. Carefully roll it up, wrap it in foil, and bake in the oven for 50 minutes at a temperature of 180-200 degrees.

  Veal Steak in the Oven 

  A steak made from tender veal is even more delicious when baked rather than fried.

• You will need:
  • 640 g veal
  • 5 g butter
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 0.25 cup red wine
  • Salt and pepper to taste
• Cooking Time: 2 hours 25 minutes.

• Rinse the meat and dry it thoroughly. Salt, pepper, and marinate it in olive oil and wine for an hour and a half. Grease a baking dish with butter, place the meat, and send it to the oven for 30 minutes at 200 degrees. Once the meat is ready, cover it with foil and let it sit for five minutes.

  Pork with Mustard in the Oven 

  A festive pork dish will perfectly complement any side dish, and the beautiful crust made of two types of mustard will add zest and spice.

• You will need:
  • 500 g pork
  • 20 ml vegetable oil
  • 1 tbsp mustard
  • 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 0.5 tsp ground chili pepper
  • Salt and pepper to taste
• Cooking Time: 7 hours.

• Prepare the marinade: mix regular mustard, vegetable oil, two types of pepper, and crushed garlic. Salt the piece of pork and coat it with the resulting sauce. Spread Dijon mustard over the top of the meat and let it marinate for five hours. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees and bake the meat covered with foil for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

  Honey Mustard Chicken 

  A sweet and savory chicken dish that's easy to prepare and perfect for family dinners.

• Ingredients:
  • 4 chicken thighs
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
• Cooking Time: 1 hour.

• Instructions: Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. In a bowl, mix honey, mustard, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place the chicken thighs in a baking dish and pour the honey mustard mixture over them. Bake for 40-45 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the skin is golden brown.

  Garlic Lemon Roasted Chicken 

  A refreshing and zesty chicken dish that's bursting with flavor.

• Ingredients:
  • 1 whole chicken (about 1.5 kg)
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • Juice of 2 lemons
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp dried thyme
  • Salt and pepper to taste

• Cooking Time: 1 hour 30 minutes.

  Instructions: Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius. Mix garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, thyme, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Rub this mixture all over the chicken, including under the skin. Place the chicken in a roasting pan and bake for 1 hour 20 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 75 degrees Celsius.

  Balsamic Glazed Pork Chops 

  Juicy pork chops with a rich and tangy balsamic glaze.

• Ingredients:
  • 4 pork chops
  • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • Salt and pepper to taste
• Cooking Time: 45 minutes.

• Instructions: Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius. In a small saucepan, combine balsamic vinegar, honey, garlic powder, salt, and pepper, and bring to a simmer until slightly thickened. Place pork chops in a baking dish and brush the balsamic glaze over them. Bake for 30-35 minutes until cooked through, basting with the glaze halfway through.

  Spicy Cajun Chicken Thighs 

  A flavorful dish with a kick, perfect for spice lovers!

• Ingredients:
  • 4 chicken thighs
  • 2 tbsp Cajun seasoning
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt to taste
• Cooking Time: 40 minutes.
• Instructions: Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. In a bowl, mix Cajun seasoning, olive oil, and salt. Rub this mixture all over the chicken thighs. Place them in a baking dish and bake for 30-35 minutes until cooked through and crispy on the outside.