Beef on Weck

By lorik

Buy refrigerated prepared horseradish, not the shelf-stable kind. Note that the cooked beef must rest for 30 to 60 minutes before slicing.

Ingredients

• Horseradish Sauce:
• 1/2 cup prepared horseradish, drained
• 1 tablespoon sour cream
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• Beef:
• 1 (2- to 2 1/2-pound) boneless eye-round roast, trimmed
• 5 teaspoons vegetable oil
• Kosher salt and pepper
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
• 1/4 cup prepared horseradish, drained
• Jus:
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 1/2 cups beef broth
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• Weck:
• 8 kaiser rolls, split
• 2 teaspoons caraway seeds
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

Preparation

Step 1

1. FOR THE HORSERADISH SAUCE: Combine horseradish, sour cream, and mayonnaise in bowl; set aside.

2. FOR THE BEEF: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 275 degrees. Cut roast in half lengthwise to make 2 even-size roasts. Rub each roast with 1 teaspoon oil and season each with 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, and 1 teaspoon thyme. Tie roasts with kitchen twine at 1-inch intervals.

3. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch ovensafe skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add both roasts and cook until browned on all sides, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer skillet to oven and cook until roasts register 130 degrees, 28 to 32 minutes. Transfer roasts to carving board, tent loosely with aluminum foil, and let rest for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour. Reserve skillet and any meat drippings. Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees.

4. FOR THE JUS: Return skillet with meat drippings to medium-high heat (skillet handle will be hot) and add onion and oil. Cook until onion is just softened, about 3 minutes, scraping up any browned bits. Whisk cornstarch into broth. Add broth mixture and thyme sprig to skillet and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until reduced by half and slightly thickened, about 7 minutes. Strain jus through fine-mesh strainer set over small saucepan; discard solids. Cover and keep warm.

5. FOR THE WECK: Place rolls on rimmed baking sheet. Combine caraway seeds and salt in bowl. Whisk water and cornstarch together in separate bowl. Microwave cornstarch mixture until consistency of glue, about 30 seconds. Brush cornstarch mixture on roll tops, then sprinkle with caraway mixture. Bake until caraway mixture is set and rolls are crusty, about 7 minutes.

6. Slice roasts against grain as thin as possible. Toss sliced meat, 1/3 cup jus, and horseradish together in bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Sandwich meat mixture in rolls (about 1/2 cup per roll). Serve with horseradish sauce and individual portions of jus for dipping.