SC - My try at Roman Roast

[Stefan li Rous]

Christianna posted a message and recipe on Roman Roast last Wednesday, 
January 27.

>         We have a dish here that we have served for years, and it
> originally came from a Knight in Trimaris, (Sir Ragnar? we're talking
> about 20 some-odd years ago now).  It is called Roman Roast.  It is
> basically this:
>         Take an inexpensive cut of meat, chuck roast works well, and have
> it cut into 3-5 pound portions.  Using heavy duty aluminum foil, season
> the  roast with pepper and A LOT of salt.  We usually dust the pepper on,
> and use about 1/4 - 1/2 cup of salt per roast.  Seal the foil, and bake
> until done through and falling apart, usually about 3 hours or so.  Take
> them out of the oven, and let them sit for a few minutes.  Open the foil,
> and pour 3/4 - 1 cup of honey over the roast.  Close the foil back up and
> let them sit for 15 minutes or so (longer is fine).  When ready to serve,
> remove the roasts, shred, and pour the juices over the meat.  Leftovers
> will not be an issue.

I decided to try this for dinner today. I used a little over 3 pounds of
chuck roast but mostly measured the other ingredients by eye. I cooked
it at 350 degrees for about three hours.

I used a double layer of medium wieght foil, as that was what I had and
placed it on a baking pan. Good thing I did as the juices/salt leaked
out. Next time I'm going to use a thicker foil. I also liberally pierced
the roast with a knife while I was salting it and worked the salt into
the meat. I may have pierce the foil, which is why some of the
juice leaked through the foil. I also liberally sprinkled worcheshire
sauce over the roast. No, I don't consider worcheshire sauce a good
replacement for garum and garum wasn't mentioned anyway. It wasn't for
a feast. I just thought it would taste good.

The resulting sauce is quite good, although very rich with all the salt
and honey. A little goes a long way.

My wife and I both loved it. I served it with garlic bread and mashed
potatoes.
 
>         This is really tasty, and one of the most popular meat dishes
> around here.  I wonder if it has any sort of documentable history?  It
> came down to us with the story that this would have been cooked by
> legions on the move, using salted meat and stew pots.  Anybody have any
> idea?

I doubt it is in anyway period as cooked but it is delicous. I would
suspect that meat would be cut into thin strips before salting rather
than salting a whole roast, although maybe a roast could be put into
brine? I don't think a roman legion on the move would have baked it.       
- -- 
Lord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
Mark S. Harris             Austin, Texas           stefan at texas.net
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:
          http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/rialto/rialto.html ****
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