A Hungry Bear

I think I’ve finally started to cook enough roasts that I’m starting to get the hang of it. The most important thing I’ve learned is that you absolutely have to use a meat thermometer, and start checking it not even halfway through the amount of time you think it will need to cook. When a roast is perfectly cooked - to medium rare - and you let it rest for at least 10 minutes before you slice it, it’s incredibly juicy and flavorful. I’m giving this pep talk in advance of the recipe, since 3 pounds of NY strip is kind of pricey. It’s well worth it though; if you’re diligent with checking the temperature early and often this will be one of the best roasts you’ll ever try. The mustard cream sauce was an amazing complement too.

Adapted from October 2009 Bon Appetit.

Ingredients: (cream sauce) 1/2 cup sour cream, 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, juice of 1 lemon juice, kosher salt; (roast) 1 tablespoon room temperature butter, 2 garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary, 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper, 3-pound boneless beef loin New York strip roast; (fall vegetables) 1/2 pound crimini mushrooms, 2 turnips, 4 carrots, 1 celery root, 4 large shallots, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary, olive oil, kosher salt.

The mustard cream sauce will taste better if you make it the day (or at least a few hours) before, so the flavors meld together. Whisk the sour cream, mustard, lemon juice and a pinch of salt together in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate.

Instead of a marinade, this recipe calls for an herb butter to be pressed into the roast a few hours, or up to a full day, in advance. To make it, let the butter come to room temperature, and mince the garlic and rosemary.

Mash the salt, pepper, garlic and rosemary into the butter to form a paste.

Lay the beef fat side up in a roasting pan. Spread the herb butter over the top of the beef. Whether you refrigerate it overnight or not, make sure you let it sit out on the counter for an hour before roasting it so it comes to room temperature.

When the roast is resting on the counter coming to room temperature, you can prep the vegetables. Peel the turnips, carrots, celery root and shallots, and wipe the mushrooms clean. Slice the mushrooms in half, and cut the rest of the vegetables into spears. Thinly slice the shallots, and mince the rosemary.

Toss the vegetables with olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper.

Transfer the vegetables onto a rimmed baking sheet, and preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place the vegetables on the lower rack in the oven, and the roast on an upper rack, and roast for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven to 350 degrees.

Continue to roast everything at 350 degrees until the vegetables are tender and brown (stir them every 15 minutes or so), and the roast is 130 degrees in the thickest part. (It took about another 25-30 minutes, but go by the read out on the thermometer, not the clock!)

Let the roast rest for at least 10 minutes, then slice. Serve the vegetables and roast slices with the mustard cream sauce on the side.