Thursday, October 23, 2014

Beef on Weck, Part 2: The Meat Within

As promised, this is how I do roast beef for "beef on weck." In episode one, we made the weck rolls, which are awesome, but become significantly more so when filled with freshly roasted beef and horseradish. And, don't even get me started on the au jus.

There are many cuts of beef used for this, including top round, rump roast, and brisket, but I like to use a nice thick top-sirloin roast. Instead of cooking it in the oven, I like to pan-roast this on the stovetop. There are many advantages to this approach. Since top sirloin roasts are only a couple inches thick, they cook relatively fast. They're also tender, flavorful, and because of their shape, very easy to slice thinly, which is one of the keys to this amazing sandwich.

As far as the au jus goes, it’s only going to be as good as the beef broth or stock you use, but I have a great tip regarding where to find the nice stuff. Most of your higher-end grocery store chains, which have in-house butchery departments, usually sell homemade stocks in the frozen food section.

It makes sense, since there are so many bones and meat scraps available. Not only are these products usually high-quality, they’re also pretty affordable, so check there before you use something out of a carton.

Anyway, thanks for your patience, and I really hope you try both recipes, and experience Buffalo’s best-kept, and most delicious secret. Enjoy!


Ingredients for 4 Beef on Weck sandwiches:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 pound top-sirloin roast
salt and pepper to taste
2 or 3 teaspoons flour
2 1/2 cups good quality beef broth
2 tsp aged balsamic vinegar, or to taste
4 kummelweck rolls
extra hot prepared horseradish, as needed
serve with chips or fries, and pickles

15 comments:

forkboy said...

sweet Freak Nasty reference.

Alan Hariton said...

Chef, I think you posted the wrong video

Aaron said...

I detect green stuff in your au jus, please advise. =)

Chris K. said...

Thanks Chef, this almost makes me homesick. Then I remember the winters and I feel a LOT better.

Unknown said...

Thank you, Chef John for all the videos you post!


I've been meaning to ask this, but do you mind if I ask the brand name of silicon mat you use?

Thanks again. I can't wait for your next video!

Unknown said...

This looks amazing! I don't understand why you call this au jus... makes no sense to me (I'm french but, I know, you don't care! ;), but this recipe is sooo mouth-watering, perhaps that explains it! Thank you sooo much! I can't say it enough! I'm addicted and your video's should be mandatory for teenagers to watch and learn. Seriously, that good!

Unknown said...

My wife told me this was "the best sandwich I've ever had and I'm 30 and have had a lot of sandwiches, so that's saying a lot." I laughed out loud :) Thanks for helping me to become an actual cook and not a recipe follower!

Roz said...

We had this for lunch today. I made the rolls last night. Once again you hit it out of the park! Very tasty, we all loved them.

Unknown said...

This looks so good!

For UK people, the best beef stock I've found available nationwide is the Heston Beef Stock from Waitrose.

I'm just wondering if it's ok to just drink the remains of that au jus after you've finished the sandwich?

Also, if you're making this for more than 4 people, can you get a bigger piece of meat, or is it better to get 2 or 3 2lb ones?

Thanks :)

S/V Blondie-Dog said...

Dang Chef! Dat' hunk of meat in dat' hot skillet sure do look good to carnivores likes' meself'. And da' way ya' done cooked it up sure couldn't have been any easier. Thanks! You're da' best!

John H. Harris said...

What the... That meat is RAW! I have eaten Beef on Weck all over WNY and this is the ONLY one I have ever seen cooked to less than medium well. More often, it's WELL DONE and then placed in a crock pot to keep it warm.

We need to keep it pure, not give in to the "medium rare" snobbery...

Diana said...

I couldn't find a top sirloin roast at my local grocery store. Could you recommend a good substitute cut that might be more common?

Chef John said...

They have it, it's probably just not sold as a "roast." Just tell the butcher you want a thick top sirloin steak. Top sirloin steaks are the most popular steak sold in a grocery store, so I'd calla round. You will find. :)

Unknown said...

I'm just going to throw this out there: This post totally should have been titled "Beef on Weck 2: The Weckoning."

beemo said...

I spent all day making this, and it worked out, which was a great relief because I have almost zero experience baking bread. The top sirloin I bought was too thick, I guess, because it took much longer to cook than yours, but I had started everything early for safety's sake. It ended up nice and pink and juicy.

Man! The final result was fabulous. We had 2 guests, we all stuffed ourselves without mercy. One guest said she didn't really fancy horseradish, but she discovered she loved it on this sandwich with this sauce. And by a stroke of good luck, I had decided to go with much cheaper poppy seeds instead of caraway, and it turned out both guests claimed to hate caraway. Everybody was a winner!