Restaurant Inspired Roast Beef

Succulent roast beef sliced as thin as I can served resting on a Yorkshire Pudding puff laid atop a bed of Garlic Mashed Potatoes served with Seasonal Vegetables.

Shelley and I went for a drive the other day to Perth, Ontario just to get out of the house on Labour Day. We ended up at a nice restaurant (Michael's Table) and I ordered their Roast Beef. What follows is a result of that wonderful meal.

Planning The Meal

At the restaurant I was very pleased with the presentation. The roast beef was sliced and placed on top of the Yorkshire Pudding, which was itself placed in the middle of the plate on top of mashed potatoes.

The roast beef was drizzled with a horseradish-type dressing that was delightful. I am not normally a fan of horseradish with my beef, as I find the taste too strong, but this was very tasty. It was creamy and added a softened element of taste that really went well with the beef and gravy.

At the restaurant, my plate came with some wonderfully roasted seasonal vegetables. For my supper, I know Shelley really enjoys beets; and we had a few kicking around in the pantry, so I augmented their number with some more from Farm Boy. I also wanted to have something sweet and earthy to go complement the biting horseradish coulis I was going to add.

The Roast

Is there anything more refined than a great beef roast?

Shelley isn't much in to meat these days, so the roast was allllll mine to enjoy. Farm Boy has these burger patties that are not meat - made from Mung Bean I believe, and I cooked those up for her and she said they were quite delicious.

I, however, enjoyed the beef very much. The roast was brought out of the refrigerator to rest for an hour before searing. I simply sprinkled the beef with rock salt and fresh ground pepper. In a hot pan with some grape-seed oil, I seared the roast on all sides before placing it on its baking pan; uncovered, and placed in the oven to roast.

Recipe

• 14 lb/6.35 kg bone-in beef rib roast

• 1 1/4oz/35 g salt

• 1 tbsp/6 g ground black pepper

• 1 lb 8 oz/680 g rough-cut Standard Mirpoix (optional)

• 2 qt/1.92 L Brown Veal Stock (optional)

1. Season the beef with salt and pepper.

2. Place the beef on a rack in a roasting pan and roast in a 325ºF/177ºC oven until it reaches an internal temperature of 125ºF/52ºC.

Our oven has a probe which gets inserted in to the roast so that it automatically stops cooking when the roast reaches the ideal set inner temperature. Otherwise, one would simply have to bake the roast and check the temperature using a meat thermometer. I also filled the roasting pan with some water underneath the roast to provide some moisture while it was roasting.

Glazed Beets

I decided to serve this dish with some glazed beets!

• 1 gal/3.84 L water

• 2 fl oz/60 mL red or white wine vinegar

• 2 lb 8 oz/1.13 kg red or golden beets, tops and root ends trimmed, skin on and washed

• 3 1/2 oz/99 g sugar

• 1 tbsp/15 mL red or white wine vinegar

• 3 tbsp/45 mL orange juice

• 8 fl oz/240 mL Chicken Stock

• 1 1/2 oz/43 g butter

• Salt, as needed

• Ground black pepper, as needed

1. Combine the water and 2 fl oz/60 mL vinegar in a large pot and add the beets. Bring the water to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook the beets until they are soft when pierced with a fork or skewer, about 40 minutes, depending on size.

2. Drain and cool slightly. Peel and slice the beets into 1/4-in/6-mm-thick rounds or uniform wedges. Hold warm until ready to serve.

3. In a small sauté pan, combine the sugar, vinegar, juice, stock, and butter and bring to a simmer. Cook gently until the glaze has the consistency of a light syrup, about 15 minutes.

4. When ready to serve, toss the cut beets in the glaze over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper. Serve Immediately.