Saturday, August 26, 2017

Rotisserie Garlic Roast Beef Wraps

[FTC Standard Disclaimer]  I am proud to be sponsored by Certified Angus Beef.  This is a sponsored post but any opinions stated are my own.

Summer break is over and school is back in session.

For parents who have kids involved in after school extracurricular activities like sports or band, getting dinner on the table can be a challenge because of  the timing.  We never know exactly what time they will be home but they will be ravenous - ready to eat right away.

Trevor plays football for his school and has after school practice or workouts every school day. Two of the ways we deal with having food ready quickly once he does get home are:

  • Cook once, eat twice - This is simply "leftovers on purpose".  For example, if I'm firing up a grill to cook a chicken, cook two chickens instead - one for dinner and one for leftovers.  For these wraps, we cooked a Certified Angus Beef whole beef eye round.  Half was for dinner with mashed potatoes, the other half was for lunch meat.
  • Wraps/Burritos - These are a fast way to compile a bunch of leftovers and fridge finds into something that resembles a planned meal without much cooking.
These Rotisserie Garlic Roast Beef Wraps are a good example of that.  We slathered a Certified Angus Beef whole beef eye round with a garlic paste and fire roasted it on a rotisserie.  The crust adds intense flavor to an otherwise mild cut of beef.  We sliced it thin and then used it for a few meals this week.  Roast beef and mashed potatoes one night, sandwiches for lunch one day, and then these great wraps for dinner the next night.


The wrap is as simple as a fridge dive but here is how we made the Rottisserie Garlic Roast Beef.

Rotisserie Garlic Roast Beef

Ingredients


  • 4 lb Certified Angus Beef eye of round
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt

For the paste

  • 2 heads garlic, cloves peeled
  • 1/4 cup mustard
  • 1/4 cup high temperature oil (avocado, grapeseed, canola, etc)
  • 1/4 cup coarse chopped onion
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions


  1. Make the paste.  Place the paste ingredients in a food processor or blender and pulse until you get a paste consistency.
  2. Prep the beef.  Trim any excess fat off of the eye of round. Score the meat (making small slices on the exterior). Season all over with the salt.  Securely place the beef on the rotisserie skewer rod.  Slather the garlic paste all over the beef.  Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
  3. Preheat your grill medium heat (350°f).
  4. Grill the meat.  Place the rotisserie rod into the motor and bracket on the grill, close the lid, and cook until the roast reaches an internal temperature of 130f - right at 1 hour for me.
  5. Remove the roast from the grill and take it off of the rotisserie rod.  Allow to rest on a cooling rack for 30 minutes.  Wrap in butcher paper and place in the fridge for at least 8 hours.
  6. Slice the beef.  Remove the beef from the wrapping and slice it as thinly as possible.  You can do this with a sharp slicing knife but this time, I used a meat slicer set barely above zero.

Garlic paste recipe for beef roasts
Don't be worried about the mustard.  It is only a binder and you won't notice a mustard taste.

How to trim a Certified Angus Beef eye of round #bestbeef #gorare
Certified Angus Beef eye of round is a lean cut of beef but you will need to trim off any excess fat on the exterior.

How to put beef eye of round on a rotisserie
To make it easier to insert the rotisserie rod, I like to first carefully pierce the end of the eye of round with a small knife.  It doesn't have to go all of the way through.  Just make sure it is straight and penetrate a few inches.  It is a good idea to be wearing a cut resistant glove on the hand holding the roast.

Recipe ideas for Certified Angus Beef eye of round
Success with rotisserie cooking starts with proper set up.  Get the beef on as straight as possible and then tightly secure it with the tines at each end.

What is scoring meat and what does it do?
Scoring the meat opens it up to expose more surface area to your seasonings and I like the textured edges it gives once you slice the meat.  Of course you are SUPPOSED to do it BEFORE seasoning the meat.  I was putting on the slather when Alexis asked, "Didn't you want to score it first?"

Cooking a Certified Angus Beef eye of round on a SABER Elite infrared grill rotisserie
Prepped and on the grill.  This time I am using the stock rotisserie on a SABER Elite infrared grill [a sponsor] but you can buy universal rotisserie kits that fit most grills these days. If you have a kamado grill, Kamado Joe has the Jotiisserie that fits many 18.5" sized kamado grills.


Recipe ideas for beef eye of round from Certified Angus Beef
As the rotisserie spins, the garlic paste will turn into a golden brown crust.  The juices will cling to the meat, basting it as it spins. 

Using a Thermapen to temp check the eye of round
When temp checking the roast, you want your thermometer probe to go deep into the roast (the surface will  be hotter) but avoid touching too close to the rotisserie rod as it is hot and may throw off your temperature reading.

I like using butcher paper for storing this roast.  Wrapping it in plastic wrap can make the crust slimy overnight.  Not wrapping it at all can dry the crust out in the refrigerator.  The butcher paper is a good compromise between the two.  Since you aren't cooking it, wax paper or parchment paper should world here too.

Recipe ideas for thin sliced Certified Angus Beef eye of round
Thin sliced and ready to roll!  My favorite easy thing to do with this is to simply serve it on an onion roll with horseradish spread.  

Skillet potatoes on the grill featuring a Lodge cast iron skillet
Don't you hate when you go to get a leftover item out of the refrigerator only to discover it has been eaten?  I was counting on using leftover potatoes for my wrap so I ended up cooking some fresh ones.  I did these in tallow and butter for about 40 minutes at 425°f.


recipe for rotisserie garlic roast beef wraps
The "playlist" for this wrap was thin sliced roast beef, bacon, potatoes, roasted garlic-mayo, red chile relish, avocado, colby pepper jack cheese, and sliced gouda.


Trevor was eating this right away but if I was making this for a lunch, I would skip the mayo due to lack of refrigeration. Plus it makes the wrap gooey if it sits too long.

Now that's a pile of beef! 

How to roll a wrap or burrito
To roll the wrap, position it with the short side facing you.  Use your fingers to fold the sides in and then use your thumbs to bring the front edge up and over the fillings.  Then neatly "tuck and roll" everything forward and then when it is seam side down, press down to lightly flatten it so it will hold its shape.


Garlic Roast Beef Wraps for lunch
This will keep your kids fueled up and ready for the challenges of school.

For other back to school recipes and ideas, you should check out the Certified Angus Beef Kitchen group out.  It's not the corporate fan page, it is home chefs like us sharing their recipes, tips, and just general discussions about food.