Sirloin Tip Roast With Bacon on Top
This Succulent Slow-Cooked Beef is Simple, Tender and Delicious
Mar 14, 2009
While it wasn't unique for man to consume raw meat, he probably first had it cooked when animals were killed in natural fires, long before he learned how to control fire himself. Certainly he knew that cooked meat was not only tastier, but easier to eat and digest, and was a notable improvement over the rotting flesh scavenged from other predator's leftovers. Once he learned to control fire, to start a fire himself and contain it, it wasn't a giant leap forward to roast the meat as well.
So how do we know our predecessors ate meat in the first place? Nitrogen isotopes can tell us if we ate animals that consumed broad leaf plant material or grasses. Studies conducted on a hominid 3 million years old shows us that the individual ate large quantities of nitrogen enriched foods such as grasses, and since hominids cannot digest grasses and no evidence of grass chewing was found on the hominid's teeth, we can derive that the hominid did not eat the grasses himself, but rather ate the animals that ate the grasses.
Surely one of the animals eaten by pre-historic man was the auroch, which historians generally believe were the predecessors of today's beef cattle. It wasn't until 10.000 years ago that domestication occurred, which produced a smaller beast. Furthermore, cross-breeding and a gene pool that was severely limited produced varied species with specific characteristics.
For centuries, man's welfare has drawn heavily on animal meat, with his energy needs and protein supplied by the muscle and fatty tissues that meat provides. The availability of meat is taken for granted today, with little thought given to the extraordinary developments that have given us a quality and quantity of meat not available anywhere else across the globe.
While pre-historic man was limited in choice of meat, which included auroch, mastodon, and whatever else was available, today we choose beef and its many cuts, including rump roast, round roast, sirloin tip, eye of round, brisket, tenderloin, rib roast, and others. For this recipe a sirloin tip roast is recommended, but a round roast or rump roast will work equally well. This is a slow-roasting technique which makes the tougher cuts more tender, and it should not be used for more tender cuts as it will give them a mushy quality.
The layer of bacon on the top maintains the moistness of the sirloin tip. For accuracy, use a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the roast. This method and recipe will produce a flavorful and moist roast, satisfying anyone's inner caveman.
Sirloin Tip Roast With Bacon
Ingredients
- 2 ½ to 3 lb. Boned and tied sirloin tip roast
- 3 medium cloves garlic, slivered
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- ½ tablespoon dried thyme
- 6 slices bacon
Directions
- Cut slits into the roast and insert slivered garlic, placing garlic pieces evenly around entire roast
- Rub with 1 tablespoon of the mustard, coating it evenly. Sprinkle with thyme.
- Place the roast on roasting rack. Top the roast with the bacon, with the bacon ends covering the sides of the roast.
- Insert meat thermometer into thickest part of the roast. Roast at 325 degrees until meat thermometer reads 120°F to 125°F, (49°C to 52°C) for rare, 130°F to 140°F (55°C to 60°C) for medium rare, 145°F to 150°F (63°C to 66°C) for medium, and 155°F to 165°F (68°C to 74°C) for well done (Note: 120° is a pretty rare roast).
- Transfer meat to a serving board or platter. Remove the bacon and the strings tying up the roast.
- Pour the drippings into a small skillet. Whisk in the remaining 1 tablespoon of mustard and heat to boiling. Continue boiling until drippings are thickened and shiny.
- Spoon the sauce over the meat, slice, and serve immediately.
Serves 6
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