Strip Loin Roast With Yorkshire Pudding

This year I will be making a big shift from my usual Christmas dinner...I will be serving beef instead of lamb. For the time I lived in Miami  I used to entertain my entire family on my mother's side (THE COOKS!) on Christmas Eve.  It was a splendid evening..champagne, foie gras, smoked salmon and a nice leg of lamb for the main course.

This year it will only be a very small group for dinner that night and then the grandchildren for brunch on Christmas Day.  So, things have changed and so must I.  Besides, I saw this recipe from Williams Sonoma and decided to take the plunge.

A classic Sunday dinner in England, roast beef with Yorkshire pudding makes an impressive meal for a festive gathering. The pudding, which is prepared in the same pan that was used to roast the meat, is baked until puffy and golden brown.

I will be posting this year's full menu in a couple of days.  In the meantime, you can check out my traditional Christmas menu as well as the traditional Cuban Nochebuena


Serves 6 to 8.


Ingredients:

For the Yorkshire pudding:
2 cups milk
6 whole eggs
2 egg whites
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. kosher salt

1 boneless New York strip loin, about 4 1/2 lb., tied
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
6 to 8 fresh rosemary sprigs, each 3 to 4 inches long
1/4 to 1/2 cup vegetable oil
Horseradish

Directions:

To make the Yorkshire pudding batter, in a blender, combine the milk, whole eggs and egg whites and blend on high speed for 1 minute. Add the flour and salt and blend for 30 seconds, scraping down the sides of the blender as needed. Cover the batter with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.

Generously season the strip loin with salt and pepper. Carefully tuck the rosemary sprigs underneath the twine. Place the roast on a wire rack set over a roasting pan and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.

Preheat an oven to 450°F.

Transfer the pan to the oven and roast for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F and continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the meat registers 130°F for medium-rare, 50 minutes to 1 1/4 hours more, or until done to your liking. If you want rar3e meat, do not cook past 120F. Transfer the roast to a carving board, cover loosely with aluminum foil and let rest for about 20 minutes before carving.

Increase the oven temperature to 425ºF.

Remove the rack from the roasting pan. Add enough vegetable oil to the drippings in the pan to form a thin layer. Return the pan to the oven for 5 minutes to heat the oil. Carefully remove the pan from the oven and pour the pudding batter into the pan. Bake until the pudding has risen and is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Don’t open the oven door during baking as this will cause the pudding to deflate.

Just before the pudding is ready, carve the roast and arrange on a warmed platter. Serve the pudding immediately with the roast.  Serve the horseradish on the side.

Williams-Sonoma Kitchen.