Today we had the immense pleasure of enjoying that most British of pastimes with friends – a classic Sunday Rib Roast followed by a bracing walk in the park as the fingers of the trees reached up to a pomegranate red winter sunset.
The beef was Orkney Island Gold, a premium scotch grass fed beef which is hung, bone in, for a minimum of 10 days and can be traced from the farm of it’s birth to the nearby island abattoir. This name is a Protected Designation of origin, a status the islanders were wise to adopt when they stopped supplying supermarkets and targeted quality butchers direct in 1995.
The joint had plenty of fat and marbling, the texture of the meat had real grain, and a bite was enough to encourage the sort of primal salivation that reminds you why we are born carnivores.
It was washed down with a bottle of La Reserve de Leoville Barton 2004, the second wine of this classic leading left bank 2nd Growth St Julien Cru. The Cab Sauvignon aromas of rounded dark fruits lead well onto a palate of solid tannins and well integrated oak for a smooth and voluptuous finish that provides a perfect match for a decent slab of beef.
All of this underlines the only secret to a really good roast. It’s not the goose fat for the potatoes, the resting time for the meat, the preparation of a good gravy or the jugggling act of keeping everything warm, though these are all part of the puzzle. The secret instead lies with a cook with the savvy to choose the best ingredients and the skill to ensure that they are cooked simply.
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