by Pete Hanebutt, NDFB Public Policy Director
Around our house, not everyone loves turkey or ham as a traditional holiday meal which means we tend to enjoy beef or even sometimes duck for our family gatherings. This has led to some creativity in meal planning and preparation. One of the most unique recipes that has developed in our home is the “laminated beef roast.” I really don’t recall how this got started, but we probably wanted a roast and the store only had steaks. At any rate, a wonderful recipe has evolved.
Here’s what we do:
Depending on the number of people you will be feeding, buy ¾ inch thick New York strip steaks for each person, or halve that for smaller portions. Dust the sides of each steak with your preferred seasoning. We use onion soup mix, but I’m sure there are dozens of options depending on your families’ tastes. After the steaks are seasoned, stack them side by side, just as the original piece of meat would have been before the butcher cut it into steaks. Stick the now recombined roast together with non-colored wooden toothpicks.
Place the "roast" in your favorite Dutch oven or roasting pan with a few strips of bacon underneath and then place a strip of bacon over each of the seams between the steaks. I sprinkle the top with more onion soup mix, and add carrots, potatoes, or mushrooms around the edges as you desire.
I typically bake the whole thing at 325 degrees for about three hours but will check it at the two-hour mark just to be sure it isn’t drying out. If it is starting to dry out, I just add water as needed.
When it’s all done, I scoop out the meat, carrots and potatoes, and leave the mushrooms in with the pan drippings and whatever bacon is in the bottom of the pan as a base for making gravy.
The steaks getting “laminated” together: