Roast Beast and Vedge

Monday Sept. 29

Bottom round roast, when bought on sale, is affordable and makes an excellent roast beef; but as New Joy points out, it needs to be treated with care or it will turn into shoeleather.

We purchased a 3 1/2 pounder, and rubbed it with a mixture of a pressed garlic clove, salt, pepper, and a few Tablespoons of olive oil.  Having gotten the oven going at 450º, we roasted the beast for 10 minutes, in the meantime throwing some chopped potatoes, parsnips, and garden carrots into the roasting pan, sprinkled with a little more oil and salt.  

When the ten minutes was up, we decreased the heat to 250º and continued roasting for almost 2 hours, occasionally tossing the vedge around to brown on all sides.

When the dial on the instant-read reached 130º, the beef was declared done, and rested for an almost interminable 15 minutes, while the vedge stayed warm in the oven.  Then we sliced it with Barbara's ancestral knife.  It's actually a lousy knife, and she has very unprofessional technique, as you can see, but she does get it ultra-thin.

Results were excellent: just under medium rare, succulent and beefy, with a little chew to it.  And even the parsnips (stubborn little things) were tender.