Eat Something Good

italian roast beef

I love roast beef sandwiches.  I have no idea why I haven’t roasted one at home.  My knowledge of meat cuts is very average and I find that I have to do a little reading up on the subject.  So when this recipe for Italian roast beef sandwiches (from Cooks.com) came across my screen, I was surprised.  I didn’t know that a bottom round roast could be called roast beef.  What occured to me was that it’s a giant hunk o’ meat that’s roasted.  I thought I had an extended senior moment.  But did I?  Read on.  I got two positive comments while the roast was braising away.  Yes, braising.  A moist heat method.  It works really well for tougher cuts of meats like this one.  And the whole time I was braising away, I became mildly aware of the fact that I was not roasting.  I’ll have to save this headache for another time.

Actually, Steve said the house smelled awesome and sent in our guest to inhale the scents of the kitchen.  It did smell pretty good and I felt like the happy homemaker.  Albeit a buzzed, happy homemaker.  Steve really likes it when I make homey meals.  And I like making them for him cause he gets so happy.  So I sweat, I labor, I worry, I work.  Read on and see how simple this roast is to make.  I think you’ll be surprised.

I seared the five pound mass o’ meat in a large, dutch oven.  I browned all sides that’d been rubbed with fresh minced garlic, s & p.  Next, I added beef broth (this recipe specifically called for Campbell’s - that made me slightly skeptical of this dish) and water to cover roast half way.  Then I added large, sloppy-cut pieces of onion, italian peppers, garlic cloves, dried oregano, fresh chopped parsley, s & p.  I brought that to a boil, threw a lid on it and into the oven at 325F it went.  It braised away, untouched, for almost two hours.  Then out it came and did some sitting with the lid on and lid off for about twenty minutes total.  The first night I made this dish, I served it with baked potatoes with butter, sour cream, s & p.  I actually nuked up some bacon but forgot to offer it to everybody.  And oh, for the veggies, I baked up some asaparagus with freshly grated parmesean cheese.  The roast beef was served au jus although a gravy would’ve been just as nice.

The verdict.  Overall, it was good.  Not fantastic, but definitely not too bad for a first timer.  Despite having messed up by slicing the roast with the grain instead of against it, the beef was tender.  It looked as if it was going to be too tough and chewy but that was not the case.  The au jus flavored the meat nicely.  The baked potatoes were a hit.  They were perfect.  When I prepare a baked potato to eat, I do that thing where I slice it down the middle and pinch in the ends to push the potato through the slit.  Then I take a fork and fluff up the potato inside.  This was awesome part.  When I went to fluff, it indeed was fluffy.  It was like a pile of snow but hot if you can picture that.  The asparagus was a little overdone but I didn’t mind it at all.  Steve’s still not a big fan of it.  I was doing the sophisticated version of trying to get a kid to eat  his vegetables by disguising it in cheese.  It didn’t work.

The next day, Steve had roast beef sammies for both lunch and dinner.  This time I sliced it against the grain and as thin as possible.  Again, I served it au jus with white toast at his request.  For dinner, I made him a hot sammie with swiss, mayo, s & p.  He loved both meals.  I wish I had some hot cherry peppers, kosher pickles and horeradish for his sammies as the recipe suggested.  It’ll happen next time.  I think I’ll cook that one to just medium though.  I want to see a little pink. So alas, the five pound roast is gone.  And of course, Sid got his share as well.  I felt the need to serve his roast beef, au jus, as well.

Ok, I may be headed for a dinner bomb tonight.  I’ll let you guys in on the details some other time.  Til then, chill out and Eat Something Good!