So I went down to Gramen Farm, the same farm I spoke about in my last post, expecting to get a nice piece of tenderloin but instead got a loin tip. Which is a cut of beef that I hadn’t heard of until then. Now,one of my all time favorite types of meat is beef. I don’t eat it too often so, like I said I usually stick to what I like and know such as tenderloin, but I decided to stray from my typical buy and went ahead grabbed a bigger piece of meat to roast.
And I’m sure that the cut of meat could be subbed with other cuts if you don’t like or do not want to use loin tip such as tenderloin, rump roast, etc. But the cooking times and temperatures may slightly change depending on what cut of meat you choose if you choose a different cut of meat than the one I chose.
Because this cut of meat is a little fattier than tenderloin it really produces some excellent flavor but can sometimes be really chewy if it has a lot of marbling through the meat. So it’s touch and go with this cut, but if you can find a good cut then it will be incredibly flavorful and have a great texture. But moving on to the prosciutto. Something about cooking meat on meat just seems so right yet sounds so wrong.
The wonderful thing about using prosciutto and layering it on the top, is that as it cooks in the oven not only will the prosciutto crisp up and give it a nice crispy edge, but as the prosciutto cooks the fat on the prosciutto melts away and constantly bastes your roast the whole time. How amazing is that, basting your roast with prosciutto drippings consistently and evenly for an intense flavor boost. And you didn’t even have to do anything. Your welcome.
Just be sure to get a nice quality natural prosciutto that isn’t cured with anything gross. I usually go with Applegate Farms prosciutto and it has never disappointed. The ingredients are just pork salt and spice. That’s what I like to read.
The prosciutto also acquires this gorgeous slightly sweet taste when it gets crispy in the oven like this, and that taste is going to seep nicely into the meat as the aromatics such as the garlic, rosemary and sage perfume down into the meat and up into the prosciutto. Creating this wonderful convection of flavors that fuse together into one vessel, that vessel being the roast. In addition to all of this wonderful magic going on in the oven the prosciutto and aromatics enrobing the roast also manage to keep the roast incredibly moist and juicy on the inside.
Which is why the most important step in this is actually letting it rest for at least 15 minutes. Letting a freshly cooked piece of meat rest for a bit really helps let it retain its juiciness and tenderness. The reason why is because all of the moisture and juices that are in the meat when cooking will stay in there and sort of hold together due to the heat.
But because the roast is piping hot at the moment all of the juice is just barely being held in there and hasn’t had time to diffuse through the meat, so if you cut in to it right when you pull it out all of the juices pour out leaving you with an arid desert of dry meat. And nobody likes that. So by letting it sit you let those juices sort of re disperse through the meat and have a chance to settle into the meat itself.
On top of all of those intense flavors and beautiful aromatics the prosciutto crisping up caramelizing around the meat to creates a crunchy salty prosciutto shell encasing your beautiful roast. This is where the beauty of your oven comes in. Although time really can vary when using ovens because everyone most likely have pretty different ovens.
The temperatures will differ even though they all may be set to the same temperature. It has to do with all sorts of technical things and the cosmic alignment of planets so I’m not going to get into it. But Just be aware of the roast in the oven and keep an eye on it and check it every now and then.
Because it is very sad whenever you get a burnt roast. And sure, don’t cry over spilled milk, but definitely cry over a burnt roast.
- 3lb loin tip roast (could substitute with other cuts of meat such as tenderloin or a rump roast but the cooking time may change)
- 7-10 slices prosciutto (depends on the way your roast is shaped, enough to cover the entire top)
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 6-10 leaves sage
- ½ tablespoon walnut or avocado oil (or your favorite cooking oil)
- Salt and pepper to taste ( I recommend freshly and coarse ground black pepper)
- If your roast is refrigerated pull it out ahead of time and let it come to room temperature.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Start by pulling off all of the leaves on the sprigs or rosemary and throw the woody part away. (an easy trick is to hold the base of the sprig and grab the end and slide your finger down the opposite way the leaves are facing and that should take care of most of them)
- Finely mince garlic and rosemary leaves.
- Rub meat with oil thoroughly and then rub with garlic and herb mixture.
- Lay meat flat on its most stable side and place the sage leaves carefully all over the roast. (try to spread them out just a little)
- Carefully lay the prosciutto slices over the top of the roast covering the sage leaves but not moving them around. Layer the prosciutto so that each edge touches the prosciutto and continues along until the entire top of the roast is covered and draped with prosciutto.
- If your familiar with tying a roast I highly recommend tying it. There are certain meat tying techniques you could use but if you don't know any you can simply tie it by cutting individual strands of kitchen twine long enough to go all the way around the roast and wrap it around the roast and tie a not. Not too tight but enough to keep the roast nice and together. Repeat that in an even pattern along the roast and do one more all the way across the length of the roast. ( Be careful when tightening these to not squish or move the prosciutto to much. We want that to try and cover the entire top so you have prosciutto in each slice.
- Place meat in a baking dish or casserole dish without the top.
- Bake in the oven for 45-60 minutes or until your roast reaches an internal temperature of about 150-160 for medium rare and 170 for medium. (you may want to pull it out at 140 or 145 if you have a really hot oven as it will continue to cook slightly when you pull it out)
- Cover with foil and let the roast rest for at least 10 minutes (preferred is 15-20 minutes)
- Once roast has rested carve into slices and serve with whatever side you like. (I served mine with roasted asparagus and cauliflower)
We may even think of toxicity as a problem of modern times.
There 12 cups on the table turned upside down,
you can’t see what’s underneath the cup. A young journalist sets off to find Esta, but is unprepared for all she finds, and soon realises it’s a journey from which she may never return.