Badass Beef Roast!

As if I needed to be reminded, once again the point is driven home by none other than the New Yorker. Barack Obama is a flag burning, Osama loving Muslim radical and his wife Michelle is a gun totin', Black Panther-lookin', bad ass bitch............Oh wait, that isn't where I was going with this post at all. Hmmm, must get back on track......beef...friends....dinner party.....okay, I think I've got it now.

Let me begin again. As if I needed to be reminded, once again this past Sunday, the point has been driven home. When you're having a gang of meat eating friends over, nothing is better or easier than throwing a big hunk of meat in the oven or on the grill, especially when you can slather on a pungent, intensely flavored, South American chimichurri sauce that that just nails it with a piece of beef. All so good and all so easy.

I saw this recipe for a bottom round beef roast in the April '07 issue of Gourmet and have had it in the to-do file for a loooong time. Finally, at the birthday bash for our friend Denise last week its moment had arrived. The deal with this is it called for a bottom-round beef rump. Not as fancy as tenderloin, but man it had great beefy flavor and texture and wasn't tough at all, especially when cooked to the recipe's specs. Plus, I got a 3-1/2 organic hunk from our local New season's market here in PDX for a mere $4.49 a pound. Everyone at the table loved it. The recipe also called for a scallion-caper sauce, but I've been wanting to make a chimichurri (right) for a long time, so I found a great recipe for it on epicurious and it was awesome. Again really easy, and had such complex flavors that went perfectly with the beef.

Again to recap....Barack and Michelle Obama: radical badasses; beef roast with chimichurri for my friends: radically badass!
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Roast Beef with Chimichurri Sauce
from Gourmet Magazine
makes 4 to 6 servings.

ingredients:
1 (3-pound) bottom-round beef rump roast
Chimichurri Sauce (recipe below)

Special equipment: an instant-read thermometer

method:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 500°F.

Pat roast dry and sprinkle all over with 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.

Roast, fat side up, in a roasting pan 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F. While beef roasts make chimichurri. Continue to roast until thermometer inserted into center of meat registers 120°F, 35 to 45 minutes more. Transfer roast to a cutting board and let stand, uncovered, 15 minutes. Thinly slice meat across the grain and serve with sauce.
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Chimichurri

From epicurious: "The bright flavors of fresh parsley and garlic make this vibrant sauce a favorite accompaniment to beef. It packs a punch, so start with just a drizzle."
makes about 3/4 cup.
ingredients
3 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon minced garlic (4 cloves)
1/2 California bay leaf, broken in half
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

method:
Stir together vinegar, water, garlic, bay leaf salt, red pepper flakes, and black pepper until salt is dissolved.

Whisk in oil until combined, then whisk in parsley. Let stand for 30 mintues at room temperature. Discard bay leaf and stir sauce before serving.

Cooks' note: Chimichurri can be made up to 1 hour ahead and kept, covered, at room temperature.