Andrew’s perfect roast beef

Photographer: Sara
Serves 8

Last week we introduced Andrew, a Design Engineer here at F&P.  Rather than relying on luck when cooking a roast beef, he used a method based on a principal of thirds.

Cooking for me has always been my creative outlet but Andrew’s shown me it has another side, a technical side.  He chooses cooking techniques based on an understanding of the foods’ structure and composition.  For his ‘perfect roast’ he took the time to get to know his piece of beef and cooking equipment in order to produce the best results.

This is an example of someone showing the ultimate respect for the meat which should be inspiring to any carnivore.

Here’s his first ourkitchen recipe, with hopefully many more to come.

Sara

INGREDIENTS

For the beef
1kg scotch fillet beef roast
Salt and pepper to season
1tbsp oil (I used rice bran)
1 bulb garlic, beheaded

For the herb crust
1 shallot, peeled and finely chopped
½ bulb garlic, finely chopped
50g parmesan cheese, grated
A handful fresh parsley, chopped
1tbsp oil (I used rice bran)
Salt and pepper to season

For the gravy
2 cups beef stock
1tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2tbspsugar
1tbsp flour
10g butter

For the roast vegetables
3 large kumara, peeled and cut into large dice
4 large beetroot, peeled and cut into large dice
500g vine ripened tomatoes
2tbsp oil
Salt and pepper to season

For the garlic beans
500g green beans, stems trimmed
1 knob butter
Salt and pepper to season

METHOD

For the beef
1. Remove beef from fridge. Leave on bench for 1hr to bring to room temperature.
2. Rub beef with oil and season with salt and pepper.
3. Place beef on roasting rack. Place beheaded bulb of garlic next to beef and insert temperature probe into the centre of the roast.
4. Put in oven set to the Roast function (note this function does not require preheating). If your oven does not have a Roast function, preheat to 180°C and then place in beef.
5. Cook until the centre of the roast reaches approximately 2/3 of desired temp (medium is 60°C, so remove when 40°C). This took 30 minutes.
6. Remove roast from oven, tent loosely in foil and rest for 30 minutes.
See roast vegetables – this is when you place these into the oven.
7. Combine all herb crust ingredients in a bowl then apply to the surface of the roast (don’t worry if some falls into tray). Add sugar for gravy and 1/3 cup of water to the roasting tray before returning to the oven.
8. Cook for another 30 minutes or until the centre reaches your desired temperature. Note allow for a few degrees of temperature increase during resting.
9. Rest for a further 20-30 minutes to allow meat fibres to relax and reabsorb juices, and enable the core temperature to reach desired temp.
See beans – this is when you start cooking the beans.

For the roast vegetables
1. Coat the vegetables in oil and season well with salt and pepper. Place in oven when the beef is removed for its first resting phase.
2. Turn vegetables every 15 minutes to prevent them sticking to the tray.
3. Remove vegetables after approximately one hour of cooking.

For the green beans
1. When beef is removed from oven for its final rest, take the head of garlic and use roll knife over and squish out the garlic flesh.
2. Melt knob of butter in a pan over medium-high heat and add beans. Sauté for 5 minutes, then add half a cup of water and cover for 10 minutes to allow beans to steam, stirring occasionally.

For the gravy
1. Stir butter and flour in a saucepan over a medium heat. Deglaze the roast pan with beef stock and add this to the butter and flour in the saucepan. Strain away rogue herb crust if desired but I like to leave in for extra flavour and texture.
2. Stir the gravy over high heat until it thickens. Finally add balsamic vinegar and season well with salt and pepper.