CARVING ROAST BEEF
The Westside Sharpening & Cutlery Center in the Downtown District of Santa Monica, CA - convenient to all of West Los Angeles, Brentwood, Westwood, Culver City, and beach cities like Venice and Marina del Rey.
CARVING ROAST BEEF
Standing Rib Roast
Remove the short ribs from this roast and separate the backbone from the ribs by sawing through the ribs at the backbone. The backbone can be easily removed when the roast is cooked.
Beef roasts carve easier when cooked rare or medium. A meat thermometer will help take the guesswork out of cooking. Place the meat thermometer in the center of the thickest part of the roast (not touching bone or fat). When the meat thermometer registers the desired internal temperature remove the roast from the oven; 140° F. for rare roast beef; 160° F. for medium; and 170° F. for well done.
An oven temperature of 300° to 325° F. will reduce cooking losses and provide a tasty roast. High oven temperatures and over-cooked roasts reduce flavor of the meat and increase cooking losses.
Roasts will carve easier if they undergo a rest period of 10 to 15 minutes after they are removed from the oven.
Place the cooked roast on the platter with the small cut surface up and the rib side to your left. With the guard up, insert the fork firmly between the top two ribs. From the far outside edge slice across the grain toward the ribs. Make the slices 1/8" to 3/8" thick. Release each slice by cutting close along the rib with the knife tip.
After each cut, lift the slice on the blade of the knife to the side of the platter. Hot platters should be used unless the slices are to be served immediately.
Blade Pot Roast or 7-Bone Roast
This is probably the most difficult of all beef roasts to carve. The blade pot roast usually contains part of one rib, a portion of the blade bone and sometimes a section of the backbone. All of these bones make carving difficult.
Muscle fibers run in different directions which prevents simple cross-grain carving.
The long cooking process softens the tissues attached to the bones, therefore the bones can be slipped out easily before the roast is placed on the table.
Pot roasts cooked rare or medium can be carved without difficulty. Well done pot roasts are most difficult to carve.
Separate the muscles and carve each muscle separately because all fibers do not run in the same direction. Each muscle can be separated and carved across the grain. Two or three slices 1/4 to 3/8 of an inch thick depending on size are served to each person.
Porterhouse Steak
Hold the steak with the fork inserted at the left and cut close around the bone. Lift the bone to the side of the platter where it will not interfere with the carving.
Hold the tenderloin firmly with the fork and cut across full width of the steak, making wedge-shaped slices. (Wider at far side.) Each serving will include a portion of tenderloin and top loin.
Serve flank end last if additional servings are needed. A board, to fit the platter, protects cutting edge of the knife.
A suggested procedure for carving the porterhouse steak is serving each muscle separately. The bone is removed as shown in the diagram. The sirloin muscle (the large muscle) can be cut into slices or wedges. Slices can also be made from the smaller tenderloin muscle or filet.
Contact Laurence Segal
WESTSIDE SHARPENING & CUTLERY CENTER
1207 4th Street, #150
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 395-3075
[We're located at the SE Corner of Wilshire and 4th, with 2 hours of free parking across the street in the City Parking Complex.]
Email: info@westsidesharpening.com
Website: westsidesharpening.com
