Rump roast

When my grandfather emigrated from rural Belorussia to New York, he was lucky enough to have learned marketing skills on the family farm. He was a butcher with the eye of a surgeon and the taste buds of a citizen of the world. His love of good quality ingredients and uncomplicated preparation hints at a background born of country living spiced with experience of Berlin, Paris and New York.

Later, it all came in handy as an owner of supermarkets. Building the relational capital of the business, Grandfather welcomed Hartford's finest for free lunch at George and Mary's. As a child, I took note that all those blue uniforms knew my grandparents and, therefore, me. That made for a very well behaved childhood--and an enduring love for roast beef on a Kaiser roll.

Rump roasts are slow cooked and deliver both a great meal and delicious sandwiches.

Ingredients

* 3 to 3 1/2 lbs of Boneless Rump Roast
(an end cut has more marbling for self-basting)
* Olive oil
* 1 clove garlic cut into 8 slivers
* Fresh thyme, 2-3 sprigs
* Salt and pepper (we recommend kosher salt and freshly
ground pepper or Kampot (Cambodian) ground pepper.

A meat thermometer is useful.

Gravy:

* Red wine, a burgundy
* Consommé or vegetable broth
* Red wine, water, and or beef stock
* thickening agent (use corn starch if in a hurry or
flour if you have time to cook through the flavour)

Method

1 Start with the roast at room temperature (remove from refrigerator 1 hour before cooking - keep it wrapped). Preheat the oven to 375°F.

2 With a sharp knife make small incisions around the roast and insert a sliver of garlic in each. Take a tablespoon or so of olive oil and massage the roast. Rub in the salt and pepper.

3 Place the roast on a rack, fatty side up, in a shallow pan. The spiced fat will run over the garlic and baste the roast as it cooks.

4 Brown the roast at 375°F for half an hour. Then, reduce the heat to 225°F. The total cooking time is about 2 - 3 hours. It is close to done shortly after it begins to drip juices. The internal temperature should be from 135° to 140°F. Let the roast rest for at least 15 minutes before carving. If you are cooking in a col climate, it can be a good idea to cover the roast in foil for warmth.

My grandmother would cook this strictly for the (many) sandwiches consumed by the Hartford Police Department. Grandfather would sometimes commandeer the roast and prepared a red wine gravy, serving the roast as a fine family dinner with mashed potatoes, root vegetables and salad.

The gravy is a simple blending of pan drippings, deglazed with about 3 tablespoons of wine, a quarter cup of broth or consommé and a tablespoon of corn starch (prepared as usual with a tablespoon of cold water, blended) or a tablespoon of flour mixed into the liquid and cooked until the flavour blends in.

Serves 4-6.