OK, so here's how it went. I let the roast sit out for a while to moderate the temp from the fridge.
First step was making my rub. Into the spice blender went white peppercorns and black peppercorns. I pulsed it a few times and then added sea salt and garlic powder. A few more pulses and it was ready.
I liberally coated the entire roast with the rub. Next, I started on the herbs.
I thinly sliced the onions on the mandolin and sliced the garlic. The fresh rosemary and fresh thyme went on top, slipping the stems under the strings so it would stay in place. On top of that went the onions and garlic.
I then covered that with the New York cut fat and tied it all on with more string. Just to top it off, I applied a little more rub to the fat cap. I was a little tough to make the several of pieces stay on but extra pieces of string helped.
Using a boning knife, I made a slit to start the spit. I pushed the roast on, lined it up the the prongs and pushed it all the way on. I did the same with the other prong. Finally, I inserted the thermometer probe into the meat as far away from everything as I could.
Meanwhile. I had a load of hickory chips soaking. They went in a little foil package that went on an end burner.
The spit went on the grill.
I put a cookie sheet underneath as a drip pan for the fat. First I got the chips started with the left burner and then I lit the rear, IR rotisserie burner. The power switch went on and the roast started turning. Soon you could smell the hickory chips in the house. After a bit, I shut off the end burner and let the chips smolder away. I had “guesstimated” the time the roast would be on at 3 hours. The temp was set for 130 degrees. Personally, I prefer my meat rarer, but for the majority of the guests, medium was the way the liked it. Oh, what a sacrifice!
On to the next project. One of the guests is vegetarian, so I decided to stuff portabella mushrooms. I had two large caps for her, as well as a dozen “baby bellas” for everyone else. I chopped the stems, garlic and onion.
The onions and garlic went into the saute pan with a bit of olive oil and I cooked them until translucent. Next, The chopped mushroom stems went in, topped by a healthy dose of Herbes de Provence, some salt and some pepper. I sauteed everything until limp.
After the mixture cooled, I put it in a bowl, added some fresh grated breadcrumbs from a week-old loaf of French bread and a few ounces of shredded Parmesan. I mixed it all together, added some Gewurtztraminer to bind it and began to stuff the caps. Finally, I topped each cap with a little more parmesan and a shake of Hungarian half-sharp paprika. They went onto a tray lined with foil, ready for the grill after the meat came off.
In the meantime, I kept an eye on the thermometer. It hadn't changed from 42.9 degrees but I figured it would take some time to start going up. The smoke was over and the roast was starting to get a nice color.
I figured I better make sure all my ingredients were OK, so I poured myself a glass of the Curran 2007 Gewurtztraminer I had used for the 'shrooms. Nice crisp and dry, it tasted delicious.
During this time, guests arrived. I won't go into the details, but since it was a Sunday afternoon with the first Sunday baseball games of the season on, we had fresh-made guacamole, chips and salsa and a tray from the market of sliced apples with a caramel dipping sauce. Someone also made a delicious white bean dip which was used with bread chips and also a red pepper hummus.
Every once in a while I glanced at the remote thermometer. It was going up slowly. I felt I was on the correct time schedule for my timetable. Usually I like to pull a roast at 118 degrees but to satisfy the majority of people I aimed for 130 degrees.
4:30 PM and it should have been just about time. I checked the thermometer and it read 127.5 degrees. A few more degrees and I would pull it and let it rest. I sat down to watch it rise the last few degrees, resisting the urge to pull it now since I wanted to see how it was at exactly 130 degrees. When it started beeping, to my horror I saw the temp had jumped to 138 degrees. I will address any further comments about the thermometer back in the
“Quest to find a GOOD BBQ Thermometer “ thread. http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/tm.aspx?m=641994&high=bbq+thermometer I put the roast on a platter, covered it to let it rest and proceeded to reset the grill for the mushrooms. I shut off the rotisserie burner and lit both end burners to avoid direct heat under them. In went the tray and I was cooking again.
Looking at the roast, it had nice color on the outside. The fat cap had melted considerably, hopefully providing extra flavor along with the goodies layered underneath. I kept it on the spit until I thought it was cool enough to pull it out without losing all the juices. The meat at the ends of the bones had pulled back nicely.
Finally, it was time to prepare to eat. The Dodger and Mets fans were happy, the Yankee and Angels fans not so much. I pulled the mushrooms which were crisped nicely on the stuffing. I cut the strings off the roast, removed the fat cap, herbs and onions to reveal the nice surface underneath.
Since the butcher had removed the chine bones, cut and then retied the roast, carving would be easy. The first end cut revealed a nice pink interior.
Subsequent slices looked the same.
The meat had cooked evenly from end to end. I cut a platter's worth of slices, cut off a few bones and added them to the platter.
I put it to the table along with the mushrooms and everyone served themselves, buffet style (Or should I say baseball stadium style?).
One of the guests had brought a veggie side dish so that went on the plates too. Some were drinking beer and some sodas. I went back into the wine fridge and chose another Curran wine, this one a 2005 Sangiovese. With red meat, it's very nice. The wine-drinking guests felt it was an excellent match.
There were lots of compliments. The rub and the herbs had created a flavorful roast. Everyone especially liked the way the roast with the rub on it had crusted so nicely. Everyone also commented on how it was cooked perfectly for them. I bit my tongue and said thank you. I would have liked it more rare, but you need to please the guests, I guess.
The biggest compliment of all, to me, was from the vegetarian. She said the mushrooms were delicious. I had thought so too, since there were none left on any plates. But what knocked me out was when she told me everyone had said the roast was so good that she decided to try a taste. She had gotten a little piece with some of the crust on it and said it was delicious. High praise indeed from a vegetarian!
Originally, I had planned on a six pound roast. I wound up with 11 pounds. There were a few small packages of leftover meat a few couples took. I snagged a few bones as my treat for today. With 8 people and 1 vegetarian, we had consumed practically the entire roast. There wasn't enough meat for me to even keep at home. The dinner was a success. I sat down, poured another glass of Sangiovese and relaxed.