Norman’s Roast Beef

Norman’s Roast Beef

All my life, roast beef has been a favorite of mine. I like my beef roasted rare and I like tons of gravy. I usually make so much gravy, that you should wear a life vest as you approach the gravy bowl, just in case.

Roast beef is an easy meal to prepare. All you need is an oven, or a charcoal grill set up for indirect heat, and it is almost foolproof. If, however, all you have is a campfire and a cast iron pan, it is more difficult. Until one fly-in fishing trip to Canada, with my dad and his friends, I would have said it was impossible to do over an open fire with only a cast iron pan. My dad proved me wrong.

Getting the fire ready

At the start of the fishing trip, my dad had a frozen beef roast in a cooler. A couple of days later it was thawed out and ready to cook. I remember that morning expressing my doubts to him. I said that he’d ruin the roast trying to do it in a fry pan over a campfire. He said not to worry, he had it under control.

Jerry and I were drinking beer and I didn't see how it was done

That afternoon, unfortunately, I didn’t watch how he did it. You see, I was fishing and drinking beer with his friend Jerry. I was astounded when he said dinner was ready. He served us rare roast beef with gravy and mashed potatoes. I know aluminum foil played a role, but I have no idea how he did it. Whatever he did, it came out perfect. The only thing missing was the wine. We made due with Canadian beer, and we over-served it to ourselves.

Anyways, here is how I make roast beef. I use an oven mostly, although, sometimes I do it in my wood-burning grill. Either way, the procedure is the same. When you pick out a roast, you want one with plenty of fat on it. It can even be one of those roasts tied with string, that’s ok. What it must have is fat. The fat is what will give you the gravy.

4 to 5 lb. beef roast
2 cloves of garlic, slivered olive oil
1 tbs. Cajun seasoning
1 tbs. white pepper
1 tbs. onion powder
flour
smoked paprika
salt and pepper

1/2 tsp. oregano
beef broth

Preparation

Rub the roast with the olive oil, all over. In a cup, mix the Cajun seasoning, white pepper and onion powder together and sprinkle and pat it in all over the roast. Set the roast in a roasting pan on a rack. You want the side with the most fat facing up.

With a sharp knife, make deep slits in the roast. As you pull the knife out, slide a sliver of garlic into the slit. You want to get several slivers of garlic into any area with fat, because the fat will render and carry the garlic flavor into the meat. Do this until all the garlic slivers are in the roast.

Place the roast in a 420º degree oven and after 10 minutes, turn it down to 375º. Now, I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you how long to roast it for. You see, the shape of the roast affects how long it takes. A long, thin roast will cook much quicker than a fat, compact roast. What you need is an instant read thermometer. You stick that into the thickest part of the roast and look for a temp of around 120º. When it reaches that, pull it out of the oven, place it on a carving platter, and tent it with foil for 15 minutes.

Now it is time to make the gravy. Place the roasting pan on the stove and turn the heat on medium high. Sprinkle flour into the fat until most of the fat is absorbed. You want the flour to be kind of a wet paste. Now sprinkle with salt, pepper, oregano and smoked paprika. Stir and cook the flour for about three minutes. Start adding the beef broth, a cup at a time. After the broth is added, stir and bring it to a boil. Wait to add more until after it boils to see how thick it will be. Keep going until you have a nice gravy thickness.

Taste the gravy for seasoning and adjust it for salt and pepper. After you carve the roast (very, very thin please) add any juices form the roast back into the gravy.

Serving

Serving roast beef is very simple. Take a huge pile of thinly sliced beef and place that on the plate. Next to that, put a mountain of mashed potatoes. Smother both of them with gravy. Now add a large pile of mixed vegetables with butter. Finally add fresh homemade bread, a crisp salad and the best cabernet sauvignon you can afford. Now that’s a meal. Unplug the phone, lock the doors and have two or three helpings. It is the right thing to do.