The warm season is coming to an end. It still feels great to sit outside and enjoy the mellow temperature though. It’s dark at around 8 o'clock in the evening already. We're lucky enough to have access to an outside fireplace, which elevates the cozy mood.
After the summer months and a lighter diet of vegetables, salads and plenty of fish, I feel the urge for a hunk of juicy, dark-roasted meat. Slow cooking a beef shoulder gives me satisfaction and calms that meat urge.
Usually there are a few ways I go about roasting a big piece of meat. Generally, it depends on the time I have. Let's jump right into it. Choose a 5–8 pound piece of beef shoulder. It will be enough for up to 10 people. The best place to do that is a butcher store. Let the butcher know that you’re planning to roast a large piece of beef shoulder. I like to brine the meat a day before roasting. Brining large pieces of meat helps with seasoning and moisture retention in the final roasted product. Actually, the meat sponges up water during the brining process—on average around 8% of the total weight. Not to shabby if you consider today’s high meat prices. For the brine, mix 1 gallon of cold water with 1/2 cup Kosher salt. It should be done in a large enough container so the meat can be submerged in the water/salt mixture for 24 hours. Brining has to be done in the refrigerator.
Beef roast cooking
Take the meat out of the brine and dry it with kitchen paper towels.
There are two ways the roast can be cooked.
First method – quick
Season the roast with the spice crust mix (see recipe bellow). Spread it with a tablespoon all over the meat. Roast the beef in a preheated 350 degree F oven to get a browned outside. It takes a while though. The beef will be cooked in 5–6 hours; it depends on the starting weight. I’m looking for a soft meat texture, which indicates that the meat is done. You'll have to baste the meat with some sort of liquid from the fourth hour on. Do that every 20 minutes. At the simplest the basting liquid can be water, but I love to use porter beer, which caramelizes nicely into the roast’s surface.
The pro side of cooking the roast in this way is you get a nicely browned hunk of meat. The con is it won't be evenly cooked. A good portion near the outside will be more cooked than you want to in order to get the meat to doneness in the very center. You're actually cooking your roast hotter than you need to and in addition the overall weight loss will be around 40% of the starting weight. That's why I prefer the second method.
Second method – slow
Brown the meat before it hits the oven on the grill or in a skillet with a little canola oil. Cook the beef for 5 minutes on each side. The idea is that the outside has a dark-roasted appearance. The meat is then placed into the preheated 200 degree F oven. That's the lowest temperature many household ovens can be set to, which is unfortunate since I’d prefer to cook it at an even lower temperature. Anyway, in this way the meat cooks for up to 8 hours and it can take plenty of time to reach doneness without getting dry. In order to get a rad roasted outside, take the beef out of the oven (after 8 hours of cooking) and turn the oven’s heat setting up to 500F. Spread the spice crust mixture (recipe below) evenly over the meat. Put the roast back in the oven and cook for 20 minutes. Remove the roast from the oven and cover it with aluminum foil. Let it rest for 20 minutes. This will assure the roast is tender, tasty and moist at its center. The overall weight loss is around 20% of the starting weight. A win if you consider the before-mentioned 40% when using the first cooking method.
Spice Crust Mixture
(enough for a 5–8 pound beef roast)
1 cup grainy, Dijon-style mustard
1/2 cup soy or gluten-free tamari sauce
1/2 cup tablespoons chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
20 grindings black pepper from a mill
1) Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix with a tablespoon.
Meat Brine
1 gallon cold water
½ cup Kosher salt
1) Combine water and salt and mix with a whisk until the salt has dissolved.
