SC - Re: Roast beef explanation

[Stefan li Rous]

Hauviette answered me back with:
> > Thanks. Yours and Admantinus explanations make it much clearer. Although
> >  one thing is still not totally clear. I'd like to know if I'm guessing 
> >  right, though. You are cutting successive slices from opposite sides of 
> >  the hunk of beef, right?
> 
> Actually, I start on one side and continue to cut  on that same side so that 
> I can have a "carpet" of meatII'm thinking carpet roll). Imagine a fruit roll 
> up as a solid piece then taking a knife and cutting into it so that the roll 
> could begin, you keep cutting until there is no more solid hunk left and it's 
> all flat. I don't know if that helps or is more confusing! :)
> 
>  The cuts would look like:
> >  _____________
> >  |   |   |   |
> >  | | | | | | |
> >  | |   |   | |
> >  - -------------
> >    A       B
> >  
> >  And if you simply stretch out A and B you get the flat piece that
> >  you later roll up. Something like:
> >  
> >  - -----^---------^---------^---------
> >  |_________^_________^_________^____|
> >  A                                  B
> >
> 
> That seems to be coming out to the same result, I'm just not sure about the 
> cutting on both sides thing. I wish I had a digital camera! My husband is 
> helping to web our household page and I will have several feasts and recipes 
> webbed as well. Having a digital camera would allow me to post a pictorial.

Ok, this is much clearer now. Maybe I'm just dense. While my method will
work, yours is more straight forward. The meat is soft enough that no
irregular bumps are formed by the meat being turned.
   
> >  An interesting technique. I've been thinking about trying one of 
> >  these rolled meat recipes since it was first given on this list
> >  several years ago. I remember they did such a dish at a feast I
> >  helped prepare recently, but I wasn't watching how they were
> >  cutting the meat.
> 
> It is alot of fun to do and makes a great roast, very tender and flavourful.
 
Ok. We will see.
 
> Hope you get to try it out sometime soon.

It is cooking right now and should be done in about fifteen more
minutes. I
chose a (oops. the label is now in the trash outside) shoulder blade roast
(I think) because it was $1.63 per pound instead of the cut you recommended
(bottom round?) because that was $2.63 per pound. It is sitting on its side
in the pan since it ended up wider than the spiral portion was tall and it
would have fallen over if I had turned it spiral shape up.

I cut up the herbs (cilantro and onions and tyme in the food processor.
Maybe there's a better way? I think it got more pulverized than intended.
But I like the convenience of simply adding the herbs to the processor,
cutting them up and then adding the eggs and the spices etc and letting
it mix things. Those of you who use food processors how would you do
this recipe for home use, not a big feast?

I was surprised how much the herbs and stuff thickened up when I added
the eggs.

I was concerned about cutting the meat since the cut I got was only about
two inches thick by six by eight. But I put it in the freezer while I went
to the grocery to get the cilantro and tyme, and that helped. Also the
knife I used hadn't been used much since it was last sharpened. Other than
one spot where I cut it a little thin and another where it was thicker than
wanted it cut fairly well. Not too bad for my first attempt at such a thing.

> As a side note, the Amarone must is now in my hot little hands and I will be 
> reducing it next week. After confering with canning books and the owner of 
> the vinter's shop (who makes vino cotto- sappa in medieval language) it will 
> keep "forever". She makes her's to dip biscotti into. I bought clear bottles 
> so that you can see the final colour better. I'm so excited!!!!!
> (Oh, now you know I love to cook when I get excited over reducing juice! :) _)

I would love to see more suggestions on how to use this must besides
just mustard. I suspect that if I limit myself to making mustard with
one or two bottles it is going to last a real long time.

Ok, off to see how the experiment worked.

- -- 
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.florilegium.org ****