Labor Day Savings with the Magimix

For Labor Day we decided to use the Egg to Smoke a Sirloin. We invited several of our neighbors to join us. Tim, Bea, Claire, Robert and Darryl  joined us. Claire brought flowers, Tim prosciuto and Bea some great wines.

We followed a recipe for Horseradish-and-Cumin-Crusted Whole Smoke-Roasted Sirloin with Mustard A'ioli from License to Grill by Schlesinger and Willoughby. We purchased the Sirloin from McCall’s Meat and Fish, and it wasn’t exactly what I expected. It was a very large roast. Because the meat was of an irregular shape I did not think that it would cook evenly. I was afraid the narrower parts would be well done, the thicker parts rare. Nate assured me that if I cook it, low and slow (about 200 degrees for 4 hours in the egg) it would be evenly cooked. He was right! The A'oli was mustard tasting with a perfect cconsistancy. I wondered how cooks could make a sauce that thick before the invention of the Magimix!

The meat was covered in a horseradish and Ararat Herb coating that we had also purchased at McCall’s. It smelled just wonderful as it smoked. The smoke permeated the meat and most of the horseradish covering cooked off in the egg. It was an amazing piece of meat.

It was a warm night and we started with drinks on the patio overlooking the city, before going to the dinning room.

We made a Watermelon and Feta Salad from Plenty by Yotam Otttolenghi. Amazingly this is the first watermelon that Cathy and I ever bought. We have never previously served it! This salad was delicious and super easy to make. I recommend it!

With the Smoked Sirloin we served a Fennel, Cherry Tomato and Crumble Gratin also by Ottolenghi from his first cookbook: The Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi Sami Tamimi. This is a wonderful gratin and went perfect with the meat. You can get the recipe from our blog of: July 24, 2011. Click the date to get the recipe.

The entire dinner became a testimony to our new Magimix. This Cuisinart-like device really was helpful and chopping, grating and mixing the food as we prepared the many courses. I am really glad we bought this device!

Darryl and Robert brought a Polenta Cake that they covered with Fresh Strawberries prepared with Wine.

This was a memorable dinner and it provided us with great leftovers.

Watermelon and feta

Plenty

Yotam Otttolenghi

This you must eat on the beach, or at least outdoors, on a hot day, with the sun's rays unobstructed. It reminds me of hot sweaty nights on the seafront in Tel Aviv, when everyone is out enjoying beer, loud music and often a heated conversation. The sweet juiciness of the watermelon and the crumbly saltiness of the feta give this salad all its character. So make sure you choose the best possible of both.

Serves 4

10 oz feta

41/2 cups large chunks of watermelon

3/4 cup basil leaves

1/2 small red onion, very thinly sliced (optional)

olive oil

Slice the feta into large but thin pieces, or just break it by hand into rough chunks.

Arrange all the ingredients, except the olive oil, on a platter, mixing them up a little. Drizzle over some oil and serve at once.

Horseradish-and-Cumin-Crusted

Whole Smoke-Roasted Sirloin

with Mustard A'ioli

License to Grill

Schlesinger and Willoughby

SERVES    10    TO    15    AS    ENTREE

Save this one for a real banquet. It's big and it's expensive, but the taste and texture of a whole roasted sirloin is both impressive and unique, as you would expect from this cut which is almost always cut into sirloin strip steaks. Because the piece of meat is so large, achieving the proper state of doneness can be something of an issue. I advise you to get a good meat thermometer (the small instant-read ones about the size of a pen are the most convenient), because this cut of meat is best—depending on your taste, of course—when cooked on the rarer side. I pull mine off the grill when it's anywhere from n8° (way rare) to i24°F (starting to get medium-rare). Make sure you're taking the temperature down in the middle of the meat, or you're not going to get the reading that you're looking for. If you take the sirloin off the grill and then find that it's rarer than you like it, you can cut it into thickish slices (one to two inches), grill them as you would steaks, and tell your guests you're serving them unique "smoke-roasted then grilled" steaks. I would definitely have some toasted crusty bread with the beef and the mustard mayo, a combination that gives a whole new meaning to the term "roast beef sandwich."

1 10- to 11-pound whole beef sirloin (ask your favorite butcher)

For   the   Spice   Paste

1-1/2 cups grated fresh horseradish (or substitute l cup prepared horseradish)

1/2 cup cumin seeds, toasted if you want, or 1/4, cup ground cumin

1/2 cup minced garlic

1 cup olive oil

1/2 cup kosher salt

1/2 cup freshly cracked black pepper

For   the   Aioli

4 large egg yolks

6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1-1/2 lemons)

1/2 cup Dijon mustard

2 cups olive oil
Salt to taste

4 bunches watercress, trimmed and washed

1.    Start a small fire in one half of a large covered grill, using about enough charcoal to fill a shoe box. Let the fuel become completely engulfed in flames, then wait a few minutes for the fire to burn down a bit.

2.    While the fire is getting going, trim any areas of thick fat off the sirloin—but don't remove every speck of fat, because you will want to leave some to add flavor to the meat.

3.    Make the spice paste: In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix well. Rub the sirloin generously with this mixture, then place it on the grill over the side with no fire, being careful that no part of the sirloin is over the coals. Put the lid on the kettle with the vents open about a quarter of the way and cook for about 1-1/2 hours, adding charcoal as necessary to keep the fire going. At the 40-minute mark, turn the sirloin around, changing the side that is closest to the fire.

4.    At the 1-1/2 hour point, begin checking the sirloin with an instant-read ther­mometer: Remove from the fire at 118°F for very rare, 122°F for rare, 126°F for medium-rare, and so on, adding 4 degrees for each level of doneness. Let the sirloin rest for 30 minutes before slicing.

5.    Meanwhile, make the aioli: Combine all of the ingredients except the oil in a food processor or blender and blend well. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the oil until just incorporated. Place the aioli in a small bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.

6.    Make a bed of the watercress on a platter or individual plates, slice the sirloin, and place on the watercress. Serve with the aioli on the side.