Roast Beef

Thats what I call it.

 

ahhh.... so im just not calling it the right name. oops.

 

My mother used to cook roasts just like everyone described - stuffing them with garlic and roasting them with the roast pink to red in the middle. And I love it that way because it reminds me of growing up in my home. That's what dining is all about. It's more about the memories and the fellowship that goes on in a family than about how the food even tastes. I was interviewed in a magazine recently and I talked about just this point. Eating is something you do to alleviate hunger pains after you go through the drive through. Dining is all about coming together with your wife, your family and friends around a dinner table. it's about becoming closer spiritually to someone else. In Louisiana we know the difference.

So here are a few ideas about roasts if you want to be different:

First of all, garlic isn't the only thing to stuff in the knife holes. Onions peppers etc. are great too. Little bacon strips take away dryness too. It's called larding, and that's what happens to our bellies too.

For a juicy roast, don't be afraid to inject a marinade. Most meats that restaurants get are injected with a saline solution to help keep the juices in. salt on the inside keeps juices in; salt on the outside draws them out just like soaking swollen feet in epsom salts... water retention, right ladies . If you stab the roast to stuff it just remember, The juices will leak out the stab wounds producing a drier roast.

If you roast meat, you're cooking it in the oven uncovered in a pan. I always pre heat the oven to a hot 500 degrees or so. Really crank it. This sears the outside. Then I put it fat side up in the hot oven for 15 minutes. after this time, I turn the oven down to 350 degrees and cook it long enough for the inside middle temp to reach 165 to 185 degrees depending on if I want a rarer or more well done roast. Buy the thermometer and use it . Just buy one that has the temps printed on the outside so you don't have to remember.

If you buy a cheaper grade roast, don't even try to go rare with it. It'll be way too chewy. To make it more tender, lower the temp to 250 degrees and roast it for a longer time till you get to the desired temp. Longer roasting times help break down the connective tissues in the meat and make it more tender. You just end up getting a well done roast. It'll take a lot longer to cook though depending on the shape, thickness and type of roast you're working with

Check the roast for temp a couple of times during the roasting and check for dryness too. If it's drying out cover it with foil once it's seared on the outside. also add water to the pan juices to keep them from burning.

If you want a real tender roast, braise it instead of roasting it. Braising is cooking with liquid in a covered pan. This is the famous pot roast you'all were talking about. This tenderizes the meat and does so in a much shorter time period. Just put the roast on top of some onions, celery and carrots that act like a trivet or just use a trivet itself. add about 1/4 to 1/2 inch water to the bottom of the pan and cover it tightly so the water doesn't evaporate out. Use the trivet so that the roast isn't under water. It's OK if it is a little in the water, it'll just be a two tone shade with the underwater part being lighter in color.

You can combine the methods. Sear it in a hot oven (roasting) add water and cover (braising). You can even braise it covered and then roast it uncovered to get the outside the right color/texture.

As far as roast beef sandwiches go The old time po boy shops actually use a simmering method. The'll completely submerge the roast in big stock pots and simmer the roasts till they're tender and done then remove the roasts and refrigerate them over night so they'll be firm enough to slice on the slicer. Then they skim off the foam from the stock and make a gravy from the broth. That's why your leftover roasts are never as tender as the po boy shop's. Technically it's not really a gravy, but a sauce because gravies are made with pan drippings while sauces are made with stocks... but who really cares about that, unless you want to win a beer or a bet.

Sorry for the length of this post, but I thought I could contribute to everyones adventures with roast beefing :yelwink2:.

 

Steve's suggestions are good. I sear mine by browning all sides in a Magnalite roaster then sticking it in the oven. Regardless, the searing is the secret.

 

Good addition SF. I wonder how a bacon weave blanket would do? :hihi:.

especially with the slow roast.

 

try this, I hope it works. http://www.tigerforums.com/showthread.php?t=80197

I still haven't tried it yet. They don't say how to weave the bacon, but if you don't know how look up directions for a lattice pie crust.

I kind of think it'll just crumble when slicing, but I'm going to try it in a slow oven.

 

Oh man! I'm going to have to check out that breakfast thread more often.

Gold, Jerry. Gold!

 

i would think partially cooking it, and while still pliable, cutting it with a pizza cutter (still in the baking pan) so you werent really handling it, then finish cooking it till more crispy. i cook bacon in the oven and now i think im gonna have to try that.