Sunday Cooking with Jeremy: Week 4

I was unable to get this post up last week, but this week I'm back with another Sunday Cooking with me, the guy who is in everyone's top 15 of favorite writers at GGN. This week is going to be bit of a lighter meal because, well, I'm in that type of mood because I'm going to be at the game today. Go Jets!  Like the Soy Marinated steaks (see below), this one also comes to us from the Bills, chef Frank DiVincenzo of Billy Ogden's in Buffalo, NY. The Bills may suck but they have pretty awesome food apparently. This one has a long roast time, but it is a sandwich so make sure you get out to the store and start early because this is a good option for an early kickoff game like today's.

Previous recipes:

Week 1: Soy-Marinated New York Strip Steaks
Week 2: Maple and Chile-Glazed Pork Chops
Week 3: Jeremy's Bye Week

Here is today's nom-noms:

Buffalo's Famous Beef on Weck

What you need:

• 2 medium saucepans
• Roasting pan
• Plate
• Shallow pan
• Aluminum foil

Ingredients:

• 5 pound top round beef roast
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• Beef soup base paste
• 2 teaspoons granulated garlic or garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons granulated onion or onion powder
• 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
• Dill pickle spears (optional)
• 6-8 kummelweck rolls, or if you cannot find kummelweck rolls, use Kaiser rolls*
• salt and pepper

Instructions

Making the beef:

Put the beef roast on a metal rack in the roasting pan with the fat side up and season with salt and pepper. Roast until internal temperature is 140 degrees F, about 1 hour and 45 minutes (for medium rare; adjust up or down to liking). Allow roast to rest, covered loosely by aluminum foil, for 20 minutes, then slice into thin slices.

Making the gravy:

In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat until just bubbling. Add flour and whisk until smooth (this creates what is called a "roux").  Cook, constantly stirring, for about 10 minutes (until roux is lightly colored), and remove from heat.

In the other medium saucepan, bring 4 cups of water to a boil over medium heat. Add beef base as per instructions for 4 cups of water on the base jar. Add onion, white pepper, and garlic. Bring it back to a boil and slowly add in the roux you just made. Whisk until blended and smooth. Reduce heat to medium-low heat and cook for about 20 minutes, constantly stirring, until thickened. Be sure to taste the gravy and adjust seasonings to liking. Put the gravy in a shallow pan and add in the sliced beef. Stir the beef in until it is well-coated.

Place beef on the rolls, serve with pickle spears and horseradish and enjoy.

*NOTE: To make it authentic... Buffaloean??... you are supposed to use kummelweck rolls. I have no idea what a kummelweck roll is, but it sounds very German. On the picture, it just looks like a kaiser roll covered with salt and caraway seeds. The book suggests that you can make your own kummelweck rolls by brushing a kaiser roll with a cornstarch slurry (cornstarch added to a liquid to thicken it, use 2 parts cornstarch for one part liquid... could be water), sprinkling the roll with caraway seeds and coarse salt (like a sea salt or kosher salt), then bake the rolls at 400 degrees F until nicely browned. I mean, if you've gone this far, you may as well make it authentic, and I'm sure the salt and seeds give the sandwich a nice overall flavor. However, I'm sure this sandwich is tasty on a regular kaiser roll.

Enjoy!  I haven't personally done this one yet, so if anyone else does, let me know how it is.