Roast Beef

Preparation

1. Difficult to carve

   Step 1

   Let the roast sit for 15 minutes once you have removed it from the oven. The juices will redistribute themselves and the roast will be less likely to fall apart as you carve it.

2. Not browning

   Step 2

   Steam impedes browning. If the roast is covered, there will be more steam, so leave it uncovered. It is generally best to roast meat in a shallow pan.

3. Not enough

   Step 3

   Slice the beef thin, serve it over toast, and cover with a sauce. You can use cheese sauce, tomato sauce, or hollandaise (you have completed your culinary first aid kit by now, haven’t you?), or add a pinch of tarragon to hollandaise and use the resulting béarnaise sauce.

4. Overcooked

   Step 4

   Cut off all unusable burned pieces and slice the roast thin. It will probably be dry and tough, in which case you can float it in a sauce (see “Not Enough,” above).

5. Too rare

   Step 5

   Often the outside slices of a roast are acceptable when the middle section is too rare for some people, misguided as they may be. Serve the outer slices and return the rest to cook while you eat the first helpings, or broil the too-rare slices to the desired doneness.

6. Too tough

   Step 6

   Unfortunately, this is usually discovered at the dinner table, when all you can do is slice it very thin. But you’ll probably have leftovers. The good news is that the meat cooked by a dry method (roasting or broiling, for example) can be tenderized by a moist-heat method for its second appearance. Braising and stewing, which use low heat for a long cooking time, are best. Consider, then, resurrecting your roast as an impressive beef bourguignon.