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Roast!
Posted by tgirsch

On Sunday, I prepared an elk roast that my father-in-law had from a hunting trip. It was a big hit, so I figured I’d share the technique (much of it plagiarized shamelessly from Good Eats).

It’s not exactly difficult, but it does require some work, and there are quite a few steps. I’d suggest reading all the way through before trying it, just so you have a feel for what needs to be done. It’s going to sound like a lot more work than it actually is. I’d still rather do this than, say, make a pie from scratch.

You need:

• A roast (which can be any red meat, including elk, but also beef, venison, etc.).
• Aromatic Vegetables (at least celery, onions, and carrots, but I also use green onions, garlic, and shallots)
• Bay leaves (optional)
• Salt (preferably kosher), pepper, and garlic powder
• Flour (for slurry)
• Red wine (1/2 cup to 1 cup)
• Beef stock (2 cups to 1 qt) — the stuff that comes in a cardboard box works great
• Canola or vegetable oil
• A skillet or saute pan large enough for the roast
• A roasting pan large enough for the roast
• A probe thermometer (optional, but exceptionally helpful)

Step 1: Prepare the roast: If frozen, thaw the roast completely in the refrigerator. About two hours before you’re ready to start cooking, take the roast out and season it liberally with kosher salt, garlic powder, and fresh ground pepper. (I use kosher salt because the flakes are large, and it makes it easy to control where they go as well as see where they are). Rub the seasoning into the roast with your (clean) hands to make sure it sticks. Leave the roast out so that the seasoning can work its magic, and so the roast can come to room temperature (this will allow more even cooking). Protect the roast from dogs and cats and other interlopers by putting it in a covered container or into a room-temperature oven.

Step 2: Prepare the aromatics: Wash and trim carrots, celery, and (optionally) green onions, and cut these into pieces about two inches long. Peel and quarter onions and (optionally) shallots. Smash and peel garlic. Put all this (except peels and trimmed ends) into the bottom of a clean metal roasting pan, and do not use a non-stick pan. There should be enough aromatics to completely cover the bottom of the pan. You can also optionally throw in a couple of bay leaves. Toss gently, and don’t worry about getting it too even. Set the roasting pan aside. Now is also a good time to preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Veggiephobes rejoice: You’re not actually going to eat these vegetables.

Step 3: Sear the roast: Heat about 2 tbsp of oil (canola or vegetable oil, because other oils will burn) in a large skillet or saute pan (not non-stick) over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, put the room temperature roast in the center of the pan and do not touch it for 60 seconds. Don’t poke it, prod it, jiggle it, or even think about it until a minute has passed. If you need a distraction, make sure you didn’t forget to preheat the oven. There will be some steam, so if you’ve got an exhast fan/hood, now’s a good time to use it. Once 60 seconds are up (and I wouldn’t wait much longer than 60 seconds), use a pair of tongs to turn the roast over, and also rotate it 90 degrees. Wait another 60 seconds, and repeat this until all sides of the roast have been seared for 60 seconds each. Remove the roast to the roasting pan, setting it directly atop the bed of aromatic vegetables you created in step 2.

Step 4: “Deglaze” the pan: (Note that steps 4 and 5 are done essentially simultaneously). The pan will have some brown/black crud in the bottom from the searing process. This is where all the flavory goodness is, so we don’t want to lose it. Remove the pan from the heat and pour out any leftover oil (don’t worry about getting it all, just most of it, whatever pours out easily). Pour in the wine and stock (off the heat, please, because wine has alcohol and alcohol is flammable). Use 1/2 cup of wine and 2 cups of stock for a 2-3 pound roast. I’d double this for a larger roast, or if you’re planning on making potatoes or rice. Immediately return the pan to the heat and bring it to a boil. (While waiting for the boil is a good time to go ahead and take care of step 5). Once the liquid is boiling, reduce heat to medium and use a metal whisk or a wooden spoon to scrape all the brown bits up off the bottom of the pan. (This scraping is why you’re not using non-stick, unless you want to eat teflon and ruin your pan.) Let these bits dissolve in the liquid. It will take maybe five or ten minutes. Kill the burner and set the liquid aside.

Step 5: Put the roast in the oven: (Note that steps 4 and 5 are done essentially simultaneously). If you have one, insert a probe thermometer into the roast so that the tip is in the middle of the thickest part, and set the temperature alarm for 145 degrees for medium rare or 160 for medium. Put the roasting pan in the oven, and increase the temperature to 325 degrees. Set a timer for about an hour and fifteen minutes (especially if you don’t have the temperature alarm), longer for a larger roast.

Step 6: Wait: This is the hard part. For the next hour or so, there’s really not much you can do. If you’re making potatoes or other sides, you can knock these out while you wait. But otherwise, the smell of seasoned, roasting meat and aromatic vegetables is going to take over your house as the roasting continues.

Step 7: Remove the roast: When the roast is done (anywhere from an hour to 1:45, depending on the size of the roast), remove the roasting pan from the oven, and remove the roast to an oven-safe plate. It’s “done” at 145 for medium rare, or 160 for medium. If you don’t have the aforementioned probe thermometer, at least shell out a few bucks for an instant-read meat thermometer. Turn the oven down to its lowest setting (or, if you’re lucky enough to have a separate warming oven, use that). If using the same oven, prop the door open slightly with a wooden spoon or something, so as not to overcook the roast.

Step 8: Deglaze Again: Move the roasting pan to the stove top over medium-high heat. Add the liquid from step 2 and bring to a boil. While you’re waiting for the boil, it’s a good time to make a flour-and-water slurry, and set it aside. Once a boil is achieved, reduce heat to medium and repeat the scraping technique you used in step 5. This time, you’ll have to work around the vegetables, but you’ll cope. You can even use the veggies to help scrape.

Step 9: Gravy Time: Strain the liquid out of the roasting pan back into the original skillet. I use a slotted spoon to take most of the veggies out of the pan first, and then pour what’s left out of the roasting pan into the skillet through a strainer. Set the veggies aside (they’re still useful, as I’ll explain later). Put the skillet on the burner from which you just removed the roasting pan (still over medium heat). Once a slow boil is achieved start slowly whisking in the flour and water slurry, a little at a time, until the gravy reaches your desired consistency. There’s no shame in using a stick blender to remove lumps. While you’re waiting for the gravy to thicken, it’s a good time to remove the roast from the warming oven and set it aside to rest (see step 10). Now’s also a good time to taste the gravy and season it with more salt and pepper if needed.

Step 10: “Rest” the roast: Once you’ve removed the roast from the oven, you need to let it “rest” for about 5 minutes, to allow the juices to settle down. If you don’t do this, they’ll all come squirting out when you carve, instead of staying in the meat where you want it. So just remove it from the oven to a countertop, cover it loosely with a lid or some aluminum foil, and leave it alone for five minutes. No matter how good it looks and smells, don’t touch it! Let it be! Your patience will be rewarded.

Step 11: (At last!) Carve and Serve: Once the meat is rested and the gravy prepared, carve it in thin slices (an electric knife works best if you have one) and spread out on a serving platter (or put directly on dinner plates, if everything else is ready). Top the meat with some of the gravy, and enjoy!

But what about those vegetables? They were there mainly to flavor the gravy, but throwing them away sounds like such a waste! Although my wife likes to nibble on them, I have a different use for them. Remove any bay leaves if you used them, put the veggies into a blender or food processor, and give them a good, coarse chop. Set aside, allow to cool, and congratulations! You’ve just made dog food! We put it atop their kibble the next day, and they love it.

Pork roast: Use vegetable stock instead of beef stock, and cook to an internal temperature of 180. You could also substitute white wine for red, although this is optional.

Roast chicken: Use a large whole roasting chicken. Add dried rosemary needles to the rub in step 1; use chicken stock and white wine in place of beef/red; and skip steps 3 and 4 (no pre-searing necessary, and thus no early deglaze).

Roast turkey: Put the aromatics in the bottom of the roasting pan, as in step 2 above, and otherwise do the turkey the way you normally would. You’ll have a richer gravy, and you’ll also have dog food! You can deglaze the roasting pan with the juices that are already in the pan from the turkey, but this is optional.

Your comments?

December 26th, 2006 Food & Cooking | one comment