How Do I...?
Sam Gundy is co-owner of Olliffe, Purveyor of the Finest Meats located at The Shops of Summerhill in Toronto. Gundy will be contributing to The National Post Appetizer as our new resident meat expert, posting about the fine points of meat.
The most common question at a butchershop is: “how do I cook this?”
90% of the time customers are referring to the intimidating size of a prime rib, the worry of under-cooking a rack of pork or the pricey overcooking of beef tenderloin.
Roasting meat can become second nature once done a few times at home. Contrary to most roasting recommendations, I don't think searing is necessary, especially if you do not have the large pans or equipment required to do it effectively. Therefore, we promote the method of an initial blast of high heat followed by low and slow cooking. The initial high heat is necessary when not searing to promote dark caramelizing and flavour or else the joint will appear dull and grey.
Beef Tenderloin
Select quality grade tenderloin of AAA or higher from your local butcher. Usually a black angus whole piece is 4 – 5 lbs. Many people associate beef with long aging but with tenderloin we feel it is unnecessary. In fact a good handful of days on the rack in the abattoir and then three weeks at the shop will result in superior tenderness.
Have your butcher tie the ends of the tenderloin for even thickness. This prevents the ends from curling up and promotes even cooking throughout. Salt and pepper and rub olive oil throughout.
Roasting whole tenderloin is quite easy; simply preheat your regular oven to 550 degrees. Turn off the convection option on your oven as the swirling air dries out all meats. Roast the 4.5 lb tenderloin at the high heat for ten minutes then turn the oven down to 350 degrees for another 20 minutes for rare to medium rare. Take the tenderloin out and let rest in its juices for 5 -10 minutes before serving.
Prime Rib
Prime rib is the king of roasts, at the Olliffe butchershop we tend to sell most joints of beef on Sundays when family is over for a late lunch or dinner. When selecting your bone-in beef roast look for marbling or white flecks throughout, the more the better. Also be sure to look at the deli tray the meat is presented on. Look for excessive blood; is it collecting in a pool? Is the meat itself glimmering with a wet sheen? If so then your purveyor is not aging the beef resulting in toughness and a sub par experience.
When cooking a prime rib allow sitting out for 20 minutes or longer. Liberally salt and pepper then rub with olive oil. Place onto a wire rack in a shallow roasting pan and set into your preheated oven of 500 degrees.
The easy ratio of 16 minutes of roasting to every pound of meat rule now applies. Cook your joint at 500 degrees for 16 minutes. After 16 minutes turn your oven down to 300 degrees and roast for 16 minutes for every pound thereafter for medium rare. Allow your roast to rest for at least 20 minutes for a large roast before slicing.
Rack of Pork
Needlessly, many people are nervous of trichinosis, the infection obtained when cooking pork or wild game that is too underdone. Historically it was a problem however our good pork farmers have managed to breed out the problem. We’re not suggesting you should run out and eat pork tartar or a rare pork burger, but good cuts from the loin such as the rack, can be eaten with a generous amount of pinkness. We recommend a medium doneness.
Pork has undergone a renaissance recently with farmers re-introducing heritage breeds with names such as Berkshire, Tamworth, Wild Boar, Ironage and even unique feeding programs including whey (the rich byproduct of cheesemaking). These breeds conjure a host of descriptor characteristics but it can be easily said that the “old-school” taste is brought back forward. In other words the heritage breeds taste like pork did and should, like your Dad or Grandmother would have remembered.
A rack of pork is all about the crackling or the crispy skin flakes on the outside of the loin. A good butcher will leave on a good amount of fat coverage (or tie on more hard fat) and then score the fat in a diamond shape for you.
Cooking a rack of pork follows the same pattern as prime rib and beef tenderloin with a time length exception. Once home you can salt and pepper the loin generously, fire it in the oven for 18 minutes at 500 degrees and turn down to 350 degrees for every 22 minute per pound thereafter for medium. Allow to rest and serve.
