Roast beef straight on brick?

[abrasha]

Heya fellow WFOistas!

A book I read has a roast beef recipe thah calls for tossing the cut directly on the hearth. This sounds intriguing as I can envision the heat blast searing the bottom creating a cruncy crust. At the same time, I'm concerend about the bricks sucking the moisture out of the poor creature. I thought I'll check if anyone has tried this before, lest I destroy an expensive cut..,

Thanks!

[Jraducha]

Re: Roast beef straight on brick?

I wouldnt want to roast it directly on the hearth because I want that good juice that the beef gives off when it cooks.

[Frances]

Re: Roast beef straight on brick?

I don't think that would work with a roast, because you need lower temperatures... A "dirty steak" could go right on the floor or the coals at a high temperature for a short time, but a roast? What temperature does your recipe call for?

We had roast beef from the WFO the other day and this is how I did it: Take the roast out of the fridge an hour in advance to get it to room temperature. Sear in a hot pan with some oil for five minutes to get a nice crust on all sides. Then place it in a preheated dish in your WFO at 80C (or 176F) for two hours. You can serve it right away without any resting time.

Dunno if this helps, but it was without doubt the best roast I've ever cooked!

[dmun]

Re: Roast beef straight on brick?

I've done this with a pork roast, just sitting on a piece of aluminum foil on the floor: nobody wants to make gravy with pork, and who wants to clean a greasy roaster? With roasts where I want gravy, I use a pan.

As Frances points out, this is retained heat roasting. I like a pink roast as much as anyone, but pizza temperatures would produce a cold, raw interior