What's the Beef?

You'll see me come back to this one over and over. Roast Beef is good.

The regular news, with an extra shout-out to Fox news, is lame.

I mean let's face it. You come home, you've been working all day, you just want a little comfort. After all you work hard you deserve it. So, when you slide that roast out of the oven, and the whole house smells of beef, and you put a few slices on your plate along with a heep of garlic mashed potatoes and green beans , and you pour on the gravy, just at that moment you know that today was a good day. Then you turn on this.



Scary stuff, Oh No!, the whole world is going to hell in a hand basket! Run away! Run away! Now far be it from me to downplay the dangers of the modern world. Justin Bieber alone is a reason to tremble. Your news people shouldn't be just trying to scare and manipulate you though. Democratic uprisings in the middle-east aren't going to have guaranteed outcomes. Still, democracy is a good idea, right?



Listen for just the first few moments(or the whole thing if you want, this is America). Democracy is a noble thing. It was well worth blowing up a country of strangers and killing 10's of thousands of their people if we can bring that off. Then go back to that first clip. Apparently the Egyptians aren't ready to take the training wheels off the bike, and God only knows about all those other countries. (Shhh! don't tell anyone, but muslims live there.). Hogwash! Enjoy your dinner, turn off the news, and talk to your kids about why democracy is good and why people have the right to self determination. You could have the kids send Billo a letter reminding him when he liked democracy too. You know  what you believe. Consequences and Billo be damned.

What is the Beef!

Boy that's kind of a prissy meal. Well let's tackle the beef and then we'll man up the rest of the plate.



Now the big problem with big hunks of meat is getting the things cooked without turning them into jerky. This is extra hard with things like turkey where there's 2 kinds of meat in one oversized package, but it is also a problem with beef where the cuts we can afford (Top round, bottom round) are flavorful but not necessarily well marbled or particularly tender. The Roast beef joints get around this by cutting the stuff wafer thin.

We have to go with plan B.

1. Start by setting your oven to 275 degrees. We are going low and slow to keep the juice and collagen from ending up in the bottom of the pan.
2. Rub salt and pepper on the outside of the roast and let it sit out for an hour. (between the salt and the thickness of the beef contamination is not a worry).
3. Heat up your cast iron skillet.
4. Sear the beef on all sides.
5. Place on a rack in a pan. We don't want it to steam in its' own juice. (steaming is bad).
6. Cook until an instant read thermometer says 125 degrees for medium rare, between 1 and 2 hours. 
7. Know your oven, it will help with the timing.
8. Let the roast sit while you, finish the sides, make gravy, and Rock and roll! Roast Beef is absolutely Rock and roll!

Democracy is rock and roll too! I wish the people on the news believed that as much as we do.