A small roast was on special and we haven't had beef for a while so I picked it up. I was out of Beef Rub but I wanted to make gravy so I didn't want too much salt on the roast anyway. Instead I used half a teaspoon of salt and fresh ground black pepper to season the roast. Then I seared it all round on the stove and finally put it in the oven at 250ºF for about 1 hour and 40 minutes for a two pound roast. I use a digital meat thermometer with a cable that runs out the oven door so I can see what is happening without opening the oven.
I paired the roast with mashed potatoes and steamed carrots and broccoli. I put the carrots in the steamer for about 5 minutes then put the broccoli in and when it's almost done but still crisp, run everything under cold water to stop the cooking. When the roast is out of the oven resting and potatoes are mashed, put the vegetables in the pot on low heat with a pinch of salt, butter and extra virgin olive oil. When extra virgin olive oil is cooked gently at low temperature it's flavor improves dramatically. When extra virgin olive oil is heated too hot, it becomes bitter, so care must be taken. That cooked flavor on the vegetables is what I'm looking for but I also have to heat the broccoli and carrots to the center, so the pot must be tossed regularly.
I used the pan drippings for the gravy, putting a teaspoon of flour in and cooking off the flour taste. I added an ounce or two of chicken stock because I didn't have any beef. It didn't make a huge difference. I added the blood from the resting roast and half a cup of red wine. A dash of Worcestershire and cook the wine taste off. Hot horseradish is the condiment. I did add some salt to my beef on the plate because there wasn't enough on the outside. It was all very good, a delicious rainy day meal.
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