She's back and she's roasting

Hello again all my dear ones. Did you miss me? I should explain, to those of you who may have been wondering: where has Annalena gone?
Well, after four and twenty years, Guy and I got married. Yup, full smells and bells, or more to the point FULL SMELLS AND BELLS. If you were at the ceremony and the party afterward, you know what I mean. We had a wonderful, grand old time. But I will give some advice to anyone who is thinking about doing this in the future: plan ahead, plan well, and plan to plan more than you thought you would. Our ceremony was on October 12, and rest assured that for all the time I was gone, I was getting ready for the ceremony. And recovering from the thereafter. This is not a simple undertaking, lovelies. And it is not a cheap one. Think long and hard before you do it, and then do it. I guarantee, you will not regret it, although it WILL hurt along the way.

But now, we're back in the kitchen, and we have some catching up to do. I would LOVE to make 300 entries before the end of the year, and then decide: shall we do another year, or shall we close up shop? There are SO many things, so many recipes, I would like you all to know about. And I DO have fun with this blog. But do you like it? Do you read it? I hear from so few of you that it is hard to tell. Perhaps you can take some time from your busy lives and let Annalena know what you think.

So, to turn to the topic at hand, which is roasting, roast beef in particular. For how many of us, was the "sunday roast" an important part of our growing up? Those big hunks of wonderful smelling meat, that provided dinner on Sunday, and then wonderful sandwiches for the days ahead. Remember them?

Chances are, you're misremembering. The truth is, roasting a large hunk of meat, like a roast beef, as we know it, is fraught with problems. Roasts are not uniform in size, and it is inevitable that some of it will be overcooked, some undercooked. Seasoning a roast is no easy task, as they are so large, and so thick, that it is next to impossible to get seasoning INTO the meat. The only way to do it with a large roast, is with a larding needle (something very few of us have, myself included), or by puncturing the meat and shoving the flavorings inside. This, of course, means that the juices of the roast will run out. You may get the makings of wonderful gravy, but you will NOT have tasty, succulent meat. In fact, you will probably have meat that NEEDS the gravy in order to be edible. And while excellent beef gravy is a thing of wonder and beauty, shouldn't we all be focusing on the meat?

Indeed, we should. And I am going to let you in on some of my secrets for making what I think is excellent roast beef.

First, start with the right cut, and the right TYPE of meat. I have told you all so many times of the importance of using grass fed meat, and I will repeat that. It will be more expensive, but it should be. Remember? SUNDAY roast? A roast is something special.

Now, to the cut. If you trust your meat man (or woman) s/he will ask you questions about how you like your roast beef and make an appropriate suggestion. I happen to love the eye round cut, which many people do NOT favor. Ask for help, explain what flavors you like in beef, and the good meat seller will guide you. I, however, will put in a plug for eye round.

Now, to a point that may be heresy. We all grew up with HUGE roasts, that weighed about five to seven pounds. This is why our moms and grandmoms were in the kitchen all day. A roast this size takes forever to cook, and has to be watched. The temperature needs to be regulated to make sure it cooks properly, etc, etc.

I suggest that you cook a SMALLER roast - no more than three pounds. If you have a lot of people to cook for, get two small ones. They will cook more evenly and quickly, and the chances of getting a more uniform, final product, are much higher.

As with all meat, start the night before by salting it. You will NOT regret this step with a beef roast. In fact, if you want more seasonings, now is the time to apply them and let the meat sit in the fridge, overnight.

A well cooked beef roast needs a lower temperature to cook it all the way through, and to retain the juices. This is more important still, with grass fed beef, which is so lean. But a roast cooked at a low temperature, will not take on that dark, caramely like crust that we all love. So, how do you solve it? Any hands up out there?

AH. I knew Sue would get it. Yes, you're right. Sue has been paying attention, and she knows how I cook. What you do is you heat up some oil - in this case, I prefer olive oil, and then sear the meat for a few minutes on all sides. I can't tell you how long. You have to be the judge of how dark you want that outside crust. I like it REALLY dark and crispy. So I take 3-4 minutes before I move it to an uncooked position.

When you have it, or them, nice and brown, place them in a baking or roasting pan (I honestly don't know what the difference is). If you have one roast, try to use a pan that gives it some room, but doesn't swallow it up in space. If you have two, space them to provide as much room as possible between them, to let the heat distribute properly. Else, you may wind up with steamed meat instead of roast meat.

Then, put the roast in the oven, preheated to 325 (a VERY low temperature), and go away. After about 90 minutes, do something rather scary to many people: make a cut in the center, and take a look: how far from cooked to the degree you want it, is it? If it's close, then turn off the oven, and let it sit there for another 20 minutes or so. If it is not, then let it cook for another twenty minutes before you check.

When you're done, let the roast cool at room temperature for another twenty minutes. You will read how this allows the juices and seasonings to redistribute, and that is true. It alos lets the muscle relax, so that you can cut it more easily.

Like with london broil, try to cut across the grain. Thin slices or thick, depending on how you like it. I prefer thinner slices. A good sharp knife is needed for thin slices. You should have one.

You will get more meat out of this than you may think. Certainly enough for dinner for six, or for lots and lots and lots of sandwiches. Or, for a handful of sandwiches, and some good eating as snacks and other things.

You may very well miss your family roast. But I bet that, at this point in your life, you have your own family and they probably miss theirs too. Reawaken those memories, have a family meal with your chosen family, as I did with part of mine this past weekend with a roast of this type, used to make sandwiches and to feed a very hungry young man, and have a lovely time.

Yes, I'm back. And I'm not going away.