The Knife and Fork

One man's opinion on cooking (and drinking)

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Top Sirloin with Potato-Parsnip Puree - A Fine Return


It’s time for my annual post to this blog. That’s right, it’s been a year to the date since I’ve posted anything here. Pathetic, I know, thanks to some gentle prodding by friends who will remain nameless (Brian, Erik, Tony and dad).  Enough with past foibles, the subject at hand is perfectly cooked meat and a new friend in the world of root vegetables.

Don't waste the fat trimmings - they are white gold!
It is well established that the slower a hunk of meat cooks, the more uniform the ‘doneness’ is throughout. I still marvel that current recipes recommend roasting large pieces of beef at 350 or 400 degrees because that results in a huge variation in internal temperature from the roast’s center to its exterior. It may register medium rare/135 on the meat thermometer at its center but a cross section will reveal the full spectrum of doneness – a slow transition from rosy pink to Soviet gray as it reaches the exterior. Flavor and texture are seriously compromised.

Tied to give uniformity and even browning.

Keeping this phenomenon in mind, I preheated the oven to 250 degrees while I prepped the top sirloin (top block) roast I got from the local butcher.  The quality of meat from our local butcher is so superior to the supermarket that I gladly pay a premium for it, knowing I won’t be enraged at the dinner table when the “good deal” I got on sale turns out to be a glorified chew toy. The piece I got was essentially a super thick top sirloin steak. I seasoned the nearly 3 pound hunk with kosher salt, pepper and Penzey’s Italian Herb mixture. I let it sit at room temp for several hours for the salt to do its magic then tied it around the perimeter to cinch it up and form a plump, even mini-roast. I browned it in a heavy pot in the rendered fat from the trimmings, which tends to develop a beautiful browned exterior.  Then it was into the oven for a slow finish to about 130 degrees.

I didn’t want to waste all the precious fond in the browning pot so I deglazed it with some Port and basted the roast with it through its cooking time. I had enough left that I simmered it down to make a port wine reduction to drizzle over the slices. I unapologetically use a digital meat thermometer to monitor the internal temp of roasts and was amazed at how quickly and steadily the temperature rose in this one despite the low oven temp. I kept backing the oven temp off until I finally just turned it off and let the residual heat finish the cooking. When it hit 130 I pulled and let it rest while I finished the side dishes. The digital thermometer probably saved me from a disaster.

The holy grail of done-ness.
The Food Mill - Indulgent gadget perhaps, incredible texture absolutely.

Note the removal of the woody core.
Speaking of side dishes, I made a Yukon Gold and parsnip puree that I had seen on Secrets of a Restaurant Chef, hosted by the rough-and-ready Anne Burrell. I boiled one pound each of peeled and diced potatoes and parsnips (I removed the core from the larger parsnips because they can be woody) in salty water for 30 minutes; ran them through a food mill and stirred in butter and cream (go to Food Network for the full recipe). The results were terrific. Silky texture, great potato flavor followed by the haunting, licoricey  taste of parsnips. Absolutely tremendous.

Truthfully, the meat was so good that the port reduction was a detraction.

As you can see, the meat was cooked perfectly through. It looks rare but has the flavor and texture of medium rare and was completely uniform throughout. 

Tiny Cat observed but never lunged.