Beef on Weck and Thrift Finds

I am out of control. I went again. The shame is unbearable. But I scooped this cute little sterling dish for 1.95.


A 75 cent plate.


Three more relish trays. What am I going to do with all of these? For a 1.25 each, I couldn't pass them up.


A lemon juicer for a dollar.


Two cute little candlewick plates with a fruit motif.


This little glass bowl came with 4 matching plates all for 1.95.


I love this retro juice pitcher with apples. 1.50


Anyone ever hear of beef on wecks? I used to live in Upstate New York and these are found on menus everywhere. On the way to the thrift shop yesterday, the Blog Tech and I passed an old fashioned butcher shop. I had been there once to get my beef suet for the mincemeat I made for Christmas but he had never been to the shop. My great grandfather was a butcher and owned one of the first A&P's. My grandfather always told me stories about the butcher shop, so I have a very sentimental spot for butchers. We decided to stop in. This is really some butcher shop I will tell you. The owner still buys beef by the side. That was how I was able to get suet. A side of beef (picture the punching scene in Rocky) comes with the suet still attached. Most stores have their meat butchered elsewhere and shipped in. Then the suet is sold to companies that make suet feeders for birds. Anyway, we stood and watched as they butchered the meat right in from of us. I asked for a large sirloin tip roast, promising the Blog Tech his first 'beef on weck' sandwich. This baby weighed 7 lbs. and cost 2.89 per pound. That is a lot of meat for 20.00.


Now I must confess, I am a bit rusty in the roast department. I haven't made one in 30 years. But my grandfather learned how to cook from his butcher father. And I stood by his side as a small child soaking in his every move in the kitchen. So, just like Papa, I sprinkled the beef with freshly cracked pepper, salt, thyme and granulated garlic. He always used fresh garlic but for this roast, granulated works best.




I placed it on a rack in a pan. you don't want it to stew in it's own juices. Yep, that's where the saying comes from. I have stewed in my own juices way too many times to count.


I cooked this at 500 degrees for 25 minutes and then lowered the temp to 350 and cooked it for about another hour and a half. It should register about 140 on a meat thermometer to be medium.


Then I got out the beast. I used to throw huge parties and I always made all of my own food, so I invested in one of these. I am sure most of you don't have one of these laying around, so just use a very sharp knife and a lot of patience and you can do almost as good a job as the beast does.


I cut the roast in half so it would fit on the slicer.


And started slicing. Maybe it's just me but I love playing with the beast.


After a few minutes, I had this. Seven pounds of roast beef for less than 3.00 a pound. And no fillers or artificial flavors.


Kummelweck rolls are basically Kaiser rolls covered in caraway seeds and cracked salt.


They are a bit unusual in that they call for malt powder.


What a nice dough to work with.



Excuse my horrible looking pizza stone. But if it were neat looking, no one would be eating good pizza! The dough is rising as I type. The Blog Tech has a basketball game shortly so he had to get this up and running for me before he left. The finished product will be posted tomorrow. Yum anticipation!