Need help cooking a roast!

[zephyrhillsusan]

I grew up eating only the cheapest cuts of meat and hamburger and have no idea how to do a Real Roast in an oven!  I've always been scared of ruining one and have only ever done them in a crock pot.  But since we have some lovely grass fed Dexter beef in our freezer, I would really love to do a traditional oven roast beef for Christmas.  Would some of you be willing to tell me how you do your roasts--temp, time, seasoning, liquid, etc?  We love our beef medium rare.  I have a meat thermometer, btw.  Since this is grass fed beef I'd rather not just look in my Better Homes & Garden cookbook.

I'd like to make a Yorkshire pudding to go with it if you have a perfect recipe for that, too!

Thanks in advance! 

[midhilldexters]

HI Susan,
I cook my grass fed roast long and slow. I just had a roast from an older cow this last week and it was just perfect. All I use is salt and pepper, and I keep the roast out of the juices. Use an up turned plate or cook on vegetables if you don't have a rack. I cook mine in a covered cast iron Dutch oven. I cover my roast to start, some do not, I always remove the lid at the end.
Find out how low your oven goes, most are about 170-200, I did one at 200 and this last one at 170, and cook until you reach the temperature for medium rare, its about 140*(I think but check on that). It may take 4-5 hours to get to that temp, but what you get is medium rare right through the roast, not just a little part in the middle. Allow meat to stand 20-30 minutes before carving. Use juices in your gravy.

There is a pic of one I did a while back on the beef here dextercattle.proboards.com/thread/2675/butchering-aged-animals?page=1
Any Yorkshire pud recipe you find on google will work, just make sure your pans or trays are hot when you pour in the batter and they need to be served right away when cooked, I use bacon grease if I have it to cook my Yorkshire puds in.

Hopefully you will get some more hints from others,

Carol K

[zephyrhillsusan]

Thanks so much, Carol K! I remembered seeing that post, but not what thread it was under. You're making my mouth water! I don't have a Dutch oven (need to rectify THAT!); do you think I could put it on the rack in my turkey roasting pan? That would keep it out of the juices, and I could cover it with foil if that's advisable.

[midhilldexters]

Susan if you can get the turkey roaster down far enough in temperature to do the roast low and slow then I don't see why that wouldn't work, heck try it out and let us all know. Don't forget the horseradish!
The one thing about butchers over here is they take way too much fat off the meat for my liking, so when I take my animals in I leave instructions for the butcher to leave some fat on all the cuts. So what happens, I take a pig in last week to be done to a new butcher and I totally forget to tell him to leave the fat on!

Carol K

[jamboru]

Susan the absolutely best roast we ever had was a Dexter wing roast, ie bone-in rib roast which was slow roasted for 4 hours at about 120C (c250F)
But then half the family was held up for two hours, during which time the roast was covered with foil and turned down to 70C (c160F).
That meat fell off the bone and melted in the mouth.

I agree with Carol K about the fat. The fat protects the meat, makes it unctuous and gives it flavour. It can be cut or drained away after the cooking process. If you like to season your meat you could sprinkle a pinch of star anise and a good grinding of pepper over it, but not salt. Gravy to serve will be salty enough later.

If you use a meat thermometer the inside temp should reach 70C.

Carol, Mum asked the butcher to find her a fat leg ham for Christmas. The ham is 9.9kg (22lb)!! That will be glazed with bourbon, brown sugar and mustard. We will also have roast Dexter beef, roast turkey, roast Carragheen lamb (thank you Louise) and stir-fry marinated chicken on the table. Come on over. All welcome!!

[wvdexters]

When do we eat?!!! Sounds so good!

Slow cookin' in cast iron. We love it here. You really get that old timey flavor. And the house smells so Wonderful. Add mashed pots and hot rolls right from the oven and you have a feast for your family.

Auctions are a great place to pickup cast iron cookery. Young people sell them off in favor of "new" not realizing what they have. You can find really nice pieces; large and deep for cooking. Plus they can go in the oven for baking or on top for frying.

[jamboru]

If you mean the heavy old pots with a handle and a lid that are used over hot coals, we call them camp-ovens.
FranJ

[zephyrhillsusan]

Thanks to all of you for your suggestions! I'm putting a cast iron Dutch oven on my wish list! (I think the Lodge outlet isn't too far from us.) But for this time I'll use the non-stick turkey roasting pan with the roast up on a rack and see how it works. I'll let you know and try to remember to take a photo.

[wvdexters]

Hope everyone is having a great Christmas Eve!

I think you are right Fran. They are probably one in the same. Many of the old recipes I've seen call for putting them right down in the fireplace coals.

I'd like that Genebo, Thanks! Good reading for cold, wintry days. My Mom remembers when the first "new" cookware starting coming out. They were excited because they were so convenient and much easier to handle (lighter). But luckily, they kept the old stuff around for us too. For the flavor.

And Susan I'm looking forward to seeing that photo so don't forget. It'll be delicious I am sure. Save those drippings for a nice pan of gravy or maybe for a pot of soup. (That is if you have any leftovers after the family gets done)

Have Fun!!!!

[wvdexters]

Oh, and don't forget those cheap cuts. I was raised on them too. An arm roast, or blade, bone-in or out (the bone adds flavor though, I think) is great eating. A little oil in your cast iron pan with some onion, a little garlic maybe. Then cook for a few minutes to soften. Flour roast and brown on both sides. Cut up carrots, pots, and throw in. Add water and season. Cover with lid and Slow cook on top of stove for a couple hrs or until beef falls apart. mmmmm You'll even have a gravy in the bottom from the flour.

Or throw roast in pyrex pan (no flour). Add pots, carrots (other root veggies is you have them, I like parsnips) Season. Cover with lid or foil and bake low and slow.

Great one-pot meals. Easy and dinner is ready when you are.

[djdewetsa]

I think I will start the fire for a nice Dexter Steak. We are still privilage here as we can make a open fire with wood to make a great barbeque. (PS - sorry for the spelling - english not my first language)
Have a great Christmass.

Cheers
Danie

[zephyrhillsusan]

Danie, please don't give a thought to your spelling! I would like to see any of us Americans post in Afrikaans! (And I spelled it wrong the first time--had to check it on Google!) Your English is perfectly understandable! I've been enjoying your recent posts, so please keep it up! Merry Christmas!

[kozzy]

I might have missed it because I skimmed responses but there are a couple of other points---

First, REST YOUR MEAT AFTER COOKING. Don't cut into it until you think it's been out resting waaay too long. The internal juices need to redistribute and they won't until the temp goes down a bit and the meat relaxes. Professionally, they recommend resting about 15 minutes for each hour it cooked but it really depends on how big the cut is and lots of other factors so the only real answer is "longer than you think". Most people tent it with aluminum foil while resting so the heat leaves more slowly and evenly.

Second, if there is a lot of fat-cap you might give it a shot in a really hot oven to brown the surface right at the end (some argue right at the beginning theorizing it seals the juices in). My oven has a convection roast setting which works well but ovens vary so you have to do what works for you. Brown tastes good so you really need to get a good brown (sometimes even a bit of char on the fatty bits) to add flavor.

As was said, don't fuss with oddball seasonings--salt and pepper let the meat speak for itself. You almost can't put too much salt on the outside because it doesn't really penetrate--at worst, you'll have a nice salty crust. Kosher salt is preferable (for virtually all cooking) due to it's coarse grain and lack of additives. Iodized salt should never hit your kitchen (you don't really need the iodine for you goiter or a pending nuclear attach any more). One trick on pepper is to take peppercorns, break them (not grind them) with the bottom of a pan, and fry them off in a little oil. This mix gets put on with the salt. Pre-frying brings out the pepper flavor and drives off some of the heat-compounds so you get to taste it without the kids whining about "too hot".

Horseradish-based dipping-sauces would be a whole new thread but I happen to think a good creamy horseradish/sour cream sauce REALLY takes it over the top.

[wvdexters]

Genebo: I got it!! Thank you so much. I can't wait to read it. The perfect way to spend a cold winter's evening. Curled up with my fuzzy blanket, warm slippers, my little dog Millie and a good magazine.

Thanks again

[zephyrhillsusan]

Here's the roast I did for Christmas.  It was 4.65 lbs. I put it on a rack in the large rectangular turkey roaster and baked it according to directions.  As you can see it was a bit more rare on the bottom half than it should have been.  I think it would have been better if I'd had a Dutch oven, even leaving it open.  But it tasted delicious!  The scrambly-looking stuff on the back right portion of the roast is some of our bacon that I put there to cover up an area that didn't have any fat at all on it.  The bacon didn't have much fat, either!  But at least it kept the roast from drying, although the outside got quite dark as you can see on the bottom right.  Thanks, all of you, for your help and advice!  This is definitely worth doing again!