A Staycation Rotisserie
Wed, May 27, 2009
Roast beef. Not just for winter anymore.
Canada is a nation of grillers. And no surprise here, beef continues to be #1 on the grill. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love my steak and I love my beef burgers (in fact we had burgers for dinner last night), but to me the ultimate in easy prep and taste is a roast of beef. Living without air conditioning, however, makes this a love/hate relationship come the warmer months. Leave the oven on for three hours? No way!
Last summer, after two years on the “honey-do” list, our rotisserie attachment was finally installed and it has changed summer forever. I can roast outside and not heat up the house. In fact, we even used the rotisserie to cook a roast at New Year’s, saving the oven for hors d’oeuvres – worked brilliantly. Guests loved the grilled flavour of the beef, and I enjoyed not scrubbing a roasting pan (and ruining my manicure) during clean up the day after.
For those of you staycationing this summer, hosting a Canada Day barbecue, or joining in the fun of Canada’s World’s Longest Barbecue, a roast on the ‘Q’ is as easy as, well a roast in the oven!
Here is a great video cooking lesson. If you are living without a rotisserie attachment (or still waiting for installation) a roast can be done easily on the grill using indirect heat.
Using our barbecue more like an outdoor oven with grilling capabilities really keeps our house cool during the warm summer months and lets us try new things, like a beef roast on the barbecue. Have you tried it? What do you think?
Written by Heather Travis. Heather Travis is a card-carrying carnivore and voracious vegetable lover, Heather left life in the city for life in the country and now boasts an extensive rubber boot collection. Heather Travis is the Public Relations Manager for the Beef Information Centre.
Tags: beef
I’ve been dreaming of building a backyard smoker for my “staycation”. I lived in the Midwest USA, where smoked beef brisket was king. I’m baffled why smoking a roast isn’t common in Canada, it’s so delicious.
As a seasoned grill gal and Alberta beef lover, I can’t resist cooking at least one or two roasts on the “barbie” over the summer months. For many years I used my rotisserie, but for ease of prepation I use indirect heat and a deluxe grill rack made by Barbecue Genius. I add a little smoke flavouring by placing some small wood chips from my woods of the world sawdust collection in a foil packet. I puncture the packet in a few places with a knife. I like using maple and the aroma makes my neighbours crazy! For a great side, try marinating thick slices of sweet onion in a marinade consisting of equal parts of balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, canola oil and freshly ground pepper. Skewer the onions in a few places before slicing to keep the onions in tact.
Just a little correction to the onions, you only need a dash of freshly ground pepper. I actually keep a small jar of the marinade on hand in the refrigerator during sweet onion season.
Yum! Adding the smoke flavour sounds delish!