O Rare Roast Beef

It must be a great satisfaction to Englishmen to realize that although they have gone unchallenged as the world's worst cooks, their roast beef has been the envy of gourmets everywhere. For centuries, the English cook, fully conscious that he couldn't tell sauce from 7-Up, has treated his mighty roast beef with a kind of affectionate humility, simply placing the plain ribs carefully on the fire -- unseasoned, ungarnished and unmolested. In this courtly kitchen gesture, the Englishman has been perfect; for good roast beef should be manipulated as little as possible.

Logically enough, while the cooks of Merrie England were doing right by their ribs, sirloins, barons and haunches, British cattlemen were busy developing the world's best beef on the hoof. Merely the names Aberdeen Angus and Hereford show the origin of the blue-ribbon beef we eat today.

English carvers were also instrumental in establishing the reputation of English roast beef. Unlike the non-interventionist cooks, these carvers were a breed of learned craftsmen who as early as the 16th Century were avidly reading the procedures in the Boke of Kervynge. At the table of Edward IV there stood four official carvers, especially trained knights of the high order known as bannerets, famed for the skill with which they lifted their mighty Sheffield blades and delivered the king's roast beef.

With good reason, then, did the poet Richard Leveridge write:

When mighty roast beef

was the Englishman's food,

It ennobled our hearts

and enriched our blood;

Our soldiers were brave

and our courtiers were good.

Oh! the roast beef of old

England!

Today it's a generally accepted fact that Britishers no longer enjoy the world's best beef. American cattle are better fed and better shaped.

No matter how diverse your guests may be, they will all form an entente cordiale when roast ribs of beef are carried to the board. Nonconformists who may be argumentative about steaks, fidgety with chicken, or suspicious of fish will unbend and welcome the majestic tender slices of roast beef, brown-edged and rare, oozing as from a limitless spring their own pink juices au naturel.

Fortunately, you can now buy rib roast without worrying too much about such criteria as marbling, grain, conformation, porosity of bone, hues of fat and other professional guides that frequently confuse the amateur chef. First of all, look for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) stamp, indicating the quality, which is printed on the back of the roast. If the meat is stamped prime, you're buying the best grade of beef available. Normally the quantity of prime beef available for retail stores is rather small. If prime isn't obtainable, you'll want the next best grade, which is choice. Now, admittedly, with these grades, professional meat men detect minor differences usually not discernible to the untrained eye, but by and large you will have excellent beef if you confine yourself to these two top echelons. Don't buy beef marked good, commercial or utility. Some of the big meat packers use their own nomenclature for grading, and you can follow them if you're familiar with their meaning. The chances are, however, that the packer's self-imposed standards are hardly as objective as those of the government graders. In some parts of the country, beef which is slaughtered locally and delivered locally may not be graded at all. In such cases you must depend upon the good judgment of your butcher, and you should select him with the same care with which you choose a decorator, an architect or any of the other experts who advise you in the art of not just living but living intelligently and pleasurably.

Finally, beyond the ranks of prime and choice there remains the very highest caste in the animal kingdom -- aged beef. This is beef kept on the butcher's hook for several weeks where it becomes more tender and more juicy through the friendly action of enzymes. During the aging process, the meat changes from a cherry red color to a dull red. Veteran beefeaters want their meat aged not only to maximum tenderness, which takes about three weeks, but even beyond this stage until the meat acquires a sharp, almost gamy, flavor. Don't try to age beef in your own refrigerator. It must be kept under controlled temperature and low humidity which only the trained meat-cutter can manage effectively. Now, if there's one kind of man the butcher hates more than the vegetarian, it's the man who demands aged beef. The reason for his hate is simple. Aging shrinks meat. The fresher it is, the more it weighs and the more the butcher collects. If it were possible, he'd love to sell his meat even before rigor mortis has set in. There are, however, in some cities, gourmet butcher shops where aged beef is available at premium prices. Sometimes, wholesale butchers who store aged beef for fine hotels and taverns will sell it at retail prices. Certainly for the best of all possible beef blowouts, you should make every attempt to buy well-ripened beef.

The best ribs for roasting are sometimes known as The First Three Ribs. Anatomically, these are the ribs farthest from the neck and may also be called the 10th, 11th and 12th ribs. In order to avoid confusion, simply tell the butcher that you want three ribs cut from the small end right alongside the short loin. These ribs will contain the large, solid center piece known as the "eye," and will be relatively free from gristle, excess fat and the tough end known as the flank. The ribs should be no more than seven inches long. Tell the butcher to cut off any meat beyond the seven-inch goal line. Use these ends for boiling or braising. Tell the butcher also to cut off the backbone (not merely separate it) for easy carving.

Undergraduate carvers are often partial to boned rib roasts. These are sometimes called Spencer or Newport roasts. Offhand, they would seem to be easier to handle, but actually they present some difficulties which should not be overlooked. Boned roasts take a longer cooking time per pound than roasts with the bone left in, because the meat is much more compact and chunky after it is tied. The butcher, in boning and tying the meat, will sometimes include the tough flank which would otherwise be eliminated. Then, when you go to carve the boneless meat, the cord used to hold the meat together will sometimes drop off prematurely and the wobbly, unsupported meat will actually be harder to slice than a roast in which the stalwart bone remains.

For handling a rib roast properly, there is certain basic equipment you should own. First of all, you want a shallow, uncovered roasting pan at least 10 by 14 inches. You'll want a carving board, and it should be a thick, hard maple board, not the thin, warped affair used for slicing bread or buns. The widely used spiked board is helpful to some carvers and a damned nuisance to others. The spiked board is particularly bothersome when you stand a rib roast on its end for carving, and the meat stubbornly bends like a leaning tower. To set the roast aright it may be necessary to place a saucer or other supporting object beneath the meat. This is rather difficult on a spiked board.

The best knife for carving is known appropriately as the roast beef slicer. The long, narrow weapon of uniform width is rounded at the blade's end, making it easy to swing the knife up to, and around, the bones. For steadying the meat and lifting the slices, you'll need a carving fork with genuinely sturdy prongs and handle.

Before any tenderfoot chef places his roast in the oven, he should take heart and understand that the interior of roast beef isn't a deep, dark continent full of mystery but something which can be easily gauged at every stage of the roasting procedure by the use of a meat thermometer. Insert the meat thermometer, and you'll be able to tell whether the meat is rare, medium or well done. A word of warning, however: for some years now, the manufacturers of meat thermometers have held a somewhat naive idea of what constitutes "rare." Most meat thermometers indicate rare as 140° (the internal temperature of the meat). In Playboy's opinion, beef is rare at 130°. Let the temperature go to 140° for medium and 160° for well done.

Usually there's someone at a roast beef party who asks for the crisp, well-done end pieces, but most adult roast beef lovers will not tolerate beef that isn't rare.

Never buy a roast containing less than two ribs. Small roasts are subject to excessive loss of flavor in the oven because the cut sides may be just as large in a one-rib roast as in a four-rib roast. A three-rib roast is a good average size.

Raw beef for roasting which has been stashed away in the deep freeze is never equal to unfrozen beef roasts because of the huge flood of juice which is unloosed when the large cuts are thawed prior to roasting. If you roast frozen beef without thawing it beforehand, you must allow from 15 to 20 minutes more cooking time per pound than for the unthawed roast. This additional cooking time varies with the shape and size of the roast. You should insert the meat thermometer as soon as the meat is soft. In either case there will be a pronounced loss of juice with a corresponding loss of flavor.

Butcher shop browsers will discover a number of other cuts which are used for roasting. Plain sirloin of beef, that which is called "boned shell" by the butcher, is luxurious eating and quite expensive. The real potentialities of this cut, however, are best realized when the meat is cut into steaks for broiling. Top sirloin or sirloin butt roasts are semitender and must always be roasted quite rare or they lose their savor. They are sold boneless, and while the meat can be quite succulent at times, they lack the robust flavor of the ribs. Top round roasts are quite coarse in texture, semitender at best, and while containing very little waste, they are definitely of hash house calibre. Lastly, roast filet or tenderloin of beef is the most expensive and most tender cut of all. In French restaurants, roast filet of beef is usually featured with a lush wine sauce. The sauce is added because, while the winsome meat melts in your mouth, the flavor is flat alongside the unmatched palatability of the roast ribs.

The amount of beef to buy naturally depends upon the capacities of your guests. For instance, if you're entertaining the unabashed when-do-we-eat sort, you may want to provide oversize portions, and you should allow a pound of raw beef per person. Thus a three-rib roast, weighing 9 pounds trimmed and ready for the oven, would satisfy nine such hefty appetites. Naturally, after cooking, the meat will weigh considerably less. If your guests, on the other hand, are noted for the slim waistlines they keep, you might allow from 3/4 to 1/2 pound of raw beef per person.

No supporting dish has ever upstaged roast ribs of beef on the table. Before the roast is ushered in, you might serve some plump oysters on the half shell or offer a cup of clear green turtle soup. Under no circumstances would you dull your palate with a heavy purée soup. Along with the roast beef itself there are some alluring time-tested consorts -- fluffy baked, stuffed potatoes flavored with chives, the youngest of green baby string beans, the natural gravy of the meat known as jus, and Yorkshire pudding, a thin, tender shell of crust baked with the drippings of the beef itself. Certainly with roast beef it would be hard to imagine a more buoyant or more amicable beverage than cold beer or ale freshly poured into oversize tankards.

[recipe_title]On the Fire[/recipe_title]

Remove beef from refrigerator at least an hour before roasting in order to bring it as close as possible to room temperature. Preheat oven at 425°. Place ribs fat side up in an uncovered roasting pan. Insert meat thermometer through the fatty side of the roast. Don't salt or pepper the meat. Salt only penetrates meat to about 1/2 inch from the surface. Excess salt draws off beef juice. Roast beef slices may be sprinkled with salt after they're carved. Roast the meat at 425° for 20 to 25 minutes. Then lower temperature to 325°. Roasting at a constant high temperature causes excessive shrinkage. Keep the roast on the fire until it is done as indicated by the meat thermometer. From time to time you may have to pour off the light beef drippings for Yorkshire pudding. If you don't have a meat thermometer allow about 18-20 minutes per pound for rare roast beef, 20-22 minutes per pound for medium and 25 minutes for well done.

[recipe_title]Au Jus[/recipe_title]

The thin roast beef gravy, with no thickening whatever added, should look like a dark consommé. To give it an authentic roast beef flavor, two steps are necessary. First, you must use the dark drippings on the pan bottom or sides (not the light melted fat of the beef). Then you must carefully capture the pink juices which flow out as the roast sets after it is removed from the oven. If possible, the beef juices that flow out as the meat is carved should be added to the gravy boat too. In starting the job, first pour off all fat from the pan. Add (for a three-rib roast) 1-1/2 cups boiling water. Scrape the pan bottom and sides to loosen the drippings. Add 2 bouillon cubes and a dash of Kitchen Bouquet or Gravy Aid for color. Add 2 teaspoons sweet butter, 1/8 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil. Reduce flame and simmer 3 minutes. You may have to use two top burners to simmer the liquid in the large pan. Strain the jus if necessary.

[recipe_title]At the Carving Board[/recipe_title]

Before taking your command post at the head of the table, be sure that the (concluded on page 76)Roast Beef(continued from page 38) roast has been removed from the oven at least 20 minutes. A 25-30-minute interval is even better. During this time the beef sets -- that is, the internal juices stop flowing, the cooking subsides and the meat is now amenable to easy, clean slices. Usually a three-rib roast will remain hot during this time. If the roast should be cooled by a kitchen draft, you can reheat it by placing it in an extremely slow oven, 200°, for 5 to 8 minutes. Place the meat upright on the meat carving board with the rib bones on your left. Support the meat, if necessary, so that it is on a level plane, by placing a small plate or dish beneath it. Be sure your roast beef slicer is razor sharp. If necessary, sharpen it on a knife stone, and pass it over a knife steel to temper the edge. Keep a large-size napkin or towel handy. Steady the meat by inserting the meat fork between the top rib bones. Be sure to use a long, steady motion with the knife blade, not a short, stacatto movement. Starting at the right side and carving toward the bone, cut off the end slice, making it fairly thick -- about 1/2 inch. Cut down to free the meat from the rib bones. Lift the meat, using both knife and fork or fork and serving spoon. Cut the following slices about 1/4-inch thick, checking frequently to make sure the slices are parallel. Cut away the rib bones when necessary. Pour escaped beef juice into gravy boat.

[recipe_title]Yorkshire Pudding[/recipe_title]

This light, airy pudding rises in the oven and falls when it is cut. It's really a hollow shell like a popover since it's made from a popover batter. Since Yorkshire pudding is baked at 400°, and beef is roasted at 325°, you'll have a minor problem in kitchen strategy here. It can be solved as follows: Prepare the pudding batter. 10 to 15 minutes before the roast is removed from the fire, turn up the heat to 400°. Put the pudding in the oven for about 15 minutes. Remove the roast to let it set. Continue baking the pudding until it is done, about 25 minutes longer. To make Yorkshire pudding batter, beat 2 eggs in a deep bowl. Add 1 cup milk. Beat well again. Gradually add 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Beat with a rotary egg beater until the batter is very smooth. Strain the batter. Pour 1/4 cup light drippings into an 8- by 8-inch square baking pan. Add the batter. Bake at 400° 35-40 minutes. Serve at once, cutting the pudding into squares. This formula will make about six portions. A martini or two before eating is, as always, a grand idea; and on this occasion, you'll probably make them with that gin they call Beefeater, if you tend toward waggish ways.