Ultra-Slow-Roast Rump
Introduction
At the restaurants we follow the advice of food scientist Harold McGee and cook whole rumps of beef very slowly at temperatures that maximise the fibre-busting activity of enzymes within the meat. First though we sear the crust on our charcoal grill which lends the final result a touch of the charred flavour that would have been present in the days of roasting (rotating) beef on a spit by an open fire. Unless you have two ovens it’s difficult to serve it this way with roast potatoes, so at home we usually forego this new-fangled technique and opt for a traditional Rib Roast.
Ingredients
1.2–1.5kg Longhorn rump | |
Maldon sea salt | |
freshly ground black pepper |
Essential kit
You will need an ovenproof meat thermometer.
Instructions
Remove the beef from the fridge a couple of hours before cooking.
Preheat the oven to 75°C/170°F (we haven’t included Gas because it’s less than ¼.) and place a large griddle over a high flame. Once the griddle is smoking hot, season your rump of meat with lots of salt and pepper, then sear each side twice, creating a criss-cross pattern over the surface of the rump.
Once you’ve seared the outside of the rump, place it in a roasting tin and insert an ovenproof meat thermometer. Roast for 4–5 hours, removing when the thermometer reads 55˚C for rare, 57 ˚C for medium rare and 60 ˚C for medium. If you don’t have an ovenproof meat thermometer you could check the internal temperature with a standard meat thermometer every half hour or so at around the 4-hour mark until it reaches these temperatures. Leave to rest for at least 20 minutes whilst you make the Yorkshires (by which time the internal temperature will have risen by a couple of degrees).
NOTE: You will need an ovenproof meat thermometer for this dish.