Easter Roast Questions

[shsesc]

I am having Easter dinner at my mother in law's home. I am assigned the task of picking the roast. We have at least 15 but up to 19 people showing up and 2 but possibly 4 would want it well done, by well done I mean ruined by my standards.

Before I got the new head count I was considering a whole tenderloin because I could cut off the head and make it as a Chateaubriand well done for the 2 people I thought would want it. But I was just told that there could be 2 more well done requests and up to 19 people total instead of the 15 I originally thought. Can a whole PSMO tenderloin feed that many once properly trimmed of excess fat, silver skin, and chain meat?

Also my MIL will be cooking this one I'm just going to buy the roast and trim it up and give her the recipe. She cooks very basic, but decent food. She can follow a recipe, but she doesn't want anything that she would consider fancy. I was thinking the Cooks Illustrated 2009 Classic Roast Beef Tenderloin recipe would be ideal because it's simple and has a video that I can show her. I think she may even think that the herb shallot compound butter is too fancy, but I'll deal with that when we get to it.

She definitely doesn't want to run out or not have enough to feed everyone.

How many people can a whole tenderloin feed if prepared as above? Keep in mind that I will be using the head to feed the at least 2 people who want their roast well done.

What other roast can I suggest to feed that many?

Is there an easy way to judge how many people a whole tenderloin will feed per pound before trimming?

What recipe or method do you recommend for either the tenderloin roast or another roast that would feed more people?

[shsesc]

So how should I have her cook this thing since It won't fit in a skillet?

[fourunder]

You need to decide if you want to roast low and slow @ a temperature of/between, 200-250*.....or at a higher temperature of/between, 325-450*. The roasting temperature has a direct impact on the cooking vessel used. Low temperature roasting, you can use a cookie sheet or sheet pan, with wire rack or not. Higher temperature roasting, requires higher sides on the pan to catch the splatter.

In general, you could use the roasting pan you normally use for your turkey...or you could use the lasagna pan....rack or no rack.

Also, you need to decide if you are roasting one whole roast, or if you are separating it into two separate roasts.

[shsesc]

Probably two roasts, after trimming it's only 7lbs. We got an update on the count it's only 13 people so we should be good at about 8oz per guest precooked weight. I'm going to tie it and season with salt and pepper and it sounds like I'm going to be in charge of the roast now and that means I'm taking the blame if it's not good and sharing the praise if it is.

She wants to cook it at 325* so how long are we talking ballpark for medium and also for well done? I don't need exact times but an estimate would be great so I can time the meal.
Chowhounds don't fail me now!

Thanks again to all who replied.

[shsesc]

Cooked at 325* convection roast setting on her oven for about an hour it was a little past medium (145* when pulled). This was because the 13lb ham hadn't finished and she kept it in the oven past the time when the probe said it was 135*. Still, everyone raved about it and it was a good meal. We had leftovers. The smaller piece cooked about a half hour longer and was dead on at 160* for the well done orders.

[awm922]

I agree with the standing rib roast. If your MIL doesn't want to deal with cutting the roast off the bone or the weight of a large bone-in roast, you can get a boneless rib-eye roast. Just have it tied if it isn't already. Following basic cooking rules, you should have plenty of well-done meat at the ends and med/rare towards the center. Generally, 15 min per lb in a 350 degree oven until the center reaches 135 to 140 than let it rest for 15 to 20 min. You should use 8 oz per person as a guideline as you will end up with 6 oz per person cooked. IMHO I would get at least a 14 to 15 lb roast. That will cook down to 12 to 13 lbs and give you plenty for leftovers.

I usually use butter, minced garlic, shallots, salt, and pepper to season the roast. If you don't want to use butter, use olive oil.

[hillsbilly]

I say standing rib roast too for exactly the same reasons. It can take well done cooking a little better I think. Don't trim it to death, leave some fat on the outside to self baste.

And for groups, I always get a little more than I need. Having no seconds available at a gathering is no good.

[shsesc]

I thought of that too, but we have lots of picky eaters who don't like fatty meat. Is there a loin roast?

[John E.]

If you have picky eaters that cannot even look at a slice of medium rare prime rib and eat the meat and not the fat without commenting/complaining/gasping then what I would do is buy a smaller tenderloin and cook it medium well for them and cook the larger one properly for the rest of the guests. You would be sure to have enough to go around that way without the comments about the beef fat. (I don't eat the fat that comes with a good slice of prime rib either, but I understand its function and the cut of meat. I too have people in my extended family that react that way. That's why the last prime rib I cooked for them was Christmas 2001. They didn't appreciate the creme brule either, "pudding, we're having pudding for dessert on Christmas?"

[shsesc]

Yes, they're that picky and yes they would dissect it on their plate and make faces, probably a few would complain. See my other thread I started a while back to see what my (now) wife eats... http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/644008 We got married since the thread was started.

To tell you the truth, I don't like any fat that doesn't melt into the meat when cooked. I enjoy marbling, but not extraneous gristle and fat.
I may have to end up getting two tenderloins. My MIL plans to cook the main piece of meat to Medium, I'll have to explain to her that that's like pulling it at 125*-130*ish and not the 160* that her probe thermometer that came with her oven will recommend, especially if she browns it after roasting like the Cooks Illustrated recipe says.

Her usual roast is an eye of round and she wants to step it up for Easter. Frankly any cut would be an improvement over eye of round cooked to a dull pinkish gray in my opinion, but since I'm the family foodie she wants me to help her pick out a good roast. I just went to the warehouse store (BJ's) and forgot to look at the roast options while I was there, my wife hates shopping for food and always rushes me. It doesn't excite her like it does me. I'll have to go on Monday while she's working and can stare at the meat case for hours. :) I'll report back with my findings.

[John E.]

It's tough to even explain to people that if you cook a beef roast to 140° it's well-done, not rare. We were at my cousin's lake cabin a couple of years ago and she asked me when to take the tenderloin off the grill and when I told her, she would have none of it. Both tenderloins were gray all the way through. When I was asked why I had tears in my eyes I said it was the wind and pollen.

[shsesc]

I went to the store to see what was available and I ended up with a boneless sirloin strip. It's 13.38lbs and I think that will feed everyone. Only trouble is I've only handled steaks of this muscle. How should I roast it? Or, more aptly, how should I tell my MIL to roast this? Keep in mind the 2-4 requests for very well done and the rest being medium or at least on the medium side of medium rare. Very warm light red or dark pink however you look at it.

Should I trim it at all? Should I split it up for the well done one or just give them the end pieces? Low and slow or a higher heat method? Anyone have a recipe? Oh, and do I have to tie it?

Thanks to all for your help so far.

[John E.]

I'm no expert on roasting beef but I have found (as have you it seems) that America's Test Kitchen does a good job of spelling out how to roast a piece of meat like you bought. I googled it and came up with this recipe:

http://www.cookscountry.com/recipe.as...

If your roast is not the same thickness from end to end, I would consider tying it with butcher's string.

[shsesc]

My roast is actually not a top sirloin cut but a sirloin strip, or New York strip. it's even in thickness about a foot and a half long and as wide as a New York Strip steak's largest dimension.

[John E.]

That sounds like a nice piece of beef. I would tie it so that it is round from one end to the other and roast it like a prime rib.

[shsesc]

Fat capped side out I assume? What about temperature?

[fourunder]

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/5830...

the above thread has comments on how I roasted my Strip Loin Roast a couple of Christmas Holidays ago, using low temperature roasting.....and I recommend you do the same. What i suggest you do is separate your 13.38lb roast, into two separate pieces.....one for medium-rare temperature, and one to satisfy the others desire for more well done cooked meat. The smaller roast could be by weight or size, i.e. 3-4 pounds or inches thick. You can roast both at the same time. when you pull the larger roast from the oven to rest, you can check the temperature of the smaller roast and *cook-Up* the smaller roast as needed. At a higher temperature of 400-450, it should not take long at all.

[John E.]

Thanks, I was hoping somebody with more experience with this cut of meat chimed in. I'm not really experienlce enough (read that confident) to give out precise details on this topic. I'd rather take the advice this time.

[fourunder]

You were doing fine.......

[John E.]

Yea I'm still not real settled on the whole high temp vs low temp roasting...brown at the beginning vs at the end...

The only thing I know for sure about roasting an expensive cut of beef is to pull it out at 125°. Years ago before I was paying as much attention to cooking my dad roasted a prime rib to 140 which meant pushing 160 after resting. My two SILs were pleased.

[John E.]

I do have one additional thought...i would give the end pieces to those that want well done beef and if that's not enough I would slice it and microwave it.

[shsesc]

http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recip...

Just found this and it looks like they don't tie it and they trim off all fat. Roasts right in the skillet after browning, is that ideal?

[shsesc]

It just occured to me that it won't fit in a skillet even if I cut off part to make a small well done one out of it.

[John E.]

If it were me I would tie it to make it completely uniform and I would trim some fat if there seemed to be an excess of it.

[janniecooks]

a typical serving of meat is 6 to 8 ounces, so you could use that as your starting point. As to a roast that would serve more people, have you considered a standing rib roast? They're pretty easy to cook properly, many threads here on home cooking on low temp methods, high temp methods, etc. And they can be cooked so the outside/end pieces would be more well done than inside pieces. You can get standing rib roasts quite large. Might be a safer bet than a tenderloin, which can be easy to overcook. In fact, I'd say a standing rib roast is almost the easiest roast to cook.