Cooking Class
Real Cooking Made Simple
By Chef Kurt Michael Friese
Roast Beef
Surely the most elegant dish to have at the center of your holiday table is a tender and succulent roast of beef. There’s the intoxicating aroma, the array of wines that can match it well, and the heartwarming tradition of carving the roast at the table with everyone watching in anticipation.
There is still something about roasting that intimidates some cooks, especially around the holidays when the pressure is on to have everything “just right.” I’m not sure why, but roasting seems to make people nervous. It probably has to do with the value of the meat. The cuts that are suitable for roasting are large, and are often the pricier portions in the butcher’s display case.
It should not be a cause for worry, though, because the basics of roasting are so simple, and it takes very little of your time since the oven does most of the work.
The first order of business is choosing the right cut. There are several cuts of beef that are suitable for roasting, but the two that are most popular are top round and prime rib. Ask your butcher for a local, grass-fed Belted Galloway breed if you have the opportunity to be choosey. Whatever cut you choose, the process for roasting it will be roughly the same.
Preheat your oven to 350 f. Season the roast with kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper. In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil, then begin searing all sides of the roast, beginning with the fattiest side, until each is golden brown (on a prime rib, don’t worry about browning the bone side). Transfer the roast to a rack in a roasting pan, careful that the pan is big enough to catch all the drippings for Yorkshire Pudding (see below). Then deglaze the frying pan with 1 cup or so of dry red wine. Pour this liquid over the roast.
Place in the center of the preheated oven and roast for approximately 20 minutes per pound (i.e., a six-pound roast would take 2 hours). You’ll want to use a meat thermometer to check for doneness in the thickest part of the roast. When the internal temperature is between 125 and 130 f., remove from the oven, cover with a lid or foil, and allow to rest for 20-30 minutes before carving.
That rest period is very important. While in the oven, the blood in the roast tries to move away from the heat, concentrating in the center. If it is in the oven too long, pressure builds there and these flavorful juices follow the path of least resistance, along the grains of the meat, to escape. This leaves a dry and overdone roast. However, if you catch the roast at the right temperature (the aforementioned 125-130 f.), all that luscious flavor will still be there, and resting allows it to redistribute throughout the whole roast.
The classic accompaniment to roast beef, especially at the holidays, is Yorkshire pudding. To you vegetarians out there, I can offer no substitute this time. The dish depends entirely on the flavor and chemical characteristics of beef. Likewise those who keep Kosher, as the dish requires the mixture of dairy and meat. For the rest of us though, well, yum.
2 each eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups flour
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons roast beef fat (drippings from the roast)
3 tablespoons cold water
Whisk eggs until frothy with the salt. Mix in the flour, whisking constantly. Add the milk in a thin stream and beat until the mixture is smooth. Chill for at least an hour. The dish can be prepared to this point before the roast goes into the oven.
Preheat the oven to 425 f.
In a 12x9 (or so) casserole, heat the beef fat until it sizzles. Beat the batter once more, adding the cold water. Pour into the sizzling fat, and bake on the top shelf for 15 minutes. Rotate the dish, lower the heat to 400 f., and cook an additional 15 minutes. It should be well risen, crisp, and brown. Serve very hot.
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Comments: 15
We do have roast beef quite often though. It is SO versatile!!!
FYI, yorkshire pudding is okay made with butter instead of drippings, for the vegetarians out there. It certainly isn't exactly the same, but the "veggies" in our family have found it to be an acceptable substitution (and are always pleased that the chefs took the time to make a separate batch just for them.)
This is exactly the way I learned how to make it. I will have to wait, though, as this year I was outvoted. We are having ham for Christmas. Personally, I never heard of such a thing. To me, Christmas is roast beast and yorkshire pudding.
OMG Tara, I know how you feel. One year, my sister was hosting Christmas and she decided that we'd be having Cornish Game Hens! I don't think so! The rest of the family badgered them and roast beast and yorkshire pudding it was.
I'm lucky in that I have a local grocery store nearby with an excellent meat department. They have tons of orders every year and they season the prime rib roast and "cradle" it meaning they cut the bones off of it but then lay them back onto the roast and tie them on so they can still add their flavor while cooking.
For our yorkshire pudding, we use muffin tins and put a bit of the roast grease into each section and then pour the batter in. This makes individual "popovers". Yummy to drizzle gravy over!
Well yeah but one must eat too! :p