food Cooking a Beef Spencer Roast

geeme

geeme

For whatever reason, I haven't ever purchased a beef spencer roast before. But I managed to pick one up at the grocery store today; actually two, as they were BOGO. Only I'm having a hard time finding good information on how to cook it - I'm finding all kinds of info on spencer steak, but not roast. While having the same name might be a clue, I've also found from experience that's not necessarily the case - that some grocers apply names almost on a whim. My grocer? I don't trust them from this perspective.

What I think I've figured out so far is that it comes from the chuck. Coming from the chuck usually means a slow, moist cooking environment. So have you cooked this particular cut of meat before, and been very satisfied with the results? If so, how did you cook it? Note I tend to like my steaks medium-rare, but of course, something like a brisket is going to be more well-done than that, in order to achieve tenderness. So please also provide info on that - would you liken this cut more to a brisket, or to a steak? I'll also give an example of a prime rib - it's technically also a roast, and I also prefer it in the medium-rare range, as it doesn't need the long cooking time to be tender. So what I'm going for is tender and moist - what does it take to achieve that for a spencer roast?
 
Ok - it's definitely a chuck. AJ's TScorp puree will be nice on it - nice and HOT!

And thanks again for your help!
 
It's in the oven, but battery died right after snapping pre-cook pic - it's charging now. In the pan/on the roast:

Chile-infused olive oil
Cognac
Garlic
Mix of AJ's TScorp puree, olive bruchetta and sundried tomatoes
Poured a bit of beef stock in the pot, too, and put onions all around

Bells will go in there later, as I don't like them overdone. All will go with noodles and something green. Pics later.
 
Well.... there's a little funny to go along with this. You know, we have to laugh hardest at ourselves sometimes, and I am definitely doing that now. Got into the fridge to get something out, and just stood and blinked for a minute, dumfounded. Apparently I just roasted the london broil intended for tomorrow instead of the spencer roast..... :rofl:
 
Since I told on myself already, here are pics:
Prep:
roast1.jpg

That looks like the beginning of tasty, right?

Here's the plate:
roast2.jpg


Of course, since that was the wrong cut of meat for the cooking method, the texture was, um.... er..... somewhat to be desired. Though honestly it wasn't as bad as it could have been - a bit chewey, but not ridiculously so. When I do cook the spencer roast, I will use the same ingredients - texture aside, the flavor was quite good!
 
I don't know whether to laugh or cry...
That is one of those classic kitchen blunders.
I'm glad it turned out anyway!

So now we can say, "you geemed that steak" and, "yes, I geemed my beer".

xoxoxo
 
Okay - ROUND 2 tonight..... sort of

I got home too late to cook the Spencer roast for dinner, but decided to go ahead and cook it so it would be ready for tomorrow night's dinner. For whatever reason, though, skipped out on all the veggies and "stuff", and just went hog-wild in my spice cabinet (it's kind of a bad habit, I know, but it usually mysteriously yields amazing results.) While I'm unable to list exactly went onto it, I can tell you I generally went for Mex style, which is my all-around go-to style for spicy deliciousnessessesses. And then I realized I have no beef stock in the house. Shrugged my shoulders, thought "WTH", and dumped in some cognac. Haven't done Mex-style seasonings with cognac before, but whatever. Slapped the lid on the pot, stuck it in the oven at 200F, and basically forgot about it until just a bit ago, when the aroma started calling my name.

Long story short? If you decide to crash my house for dinner tomorrow, you won't be getting any of it.... IT'S MINE! LOL - Mex-style seasonings (whatever I used.....) and cognac = WIN. How much of that roast have I "sampled" already? :whistle: I'm not telling....





Ok.... a short list of what I vaguely remember putting on it, somewhat.... sea salt, garlic powder, naga powder, ancho powder, mace, coriander, oregano, and a lot out of a jar of hand-mixed spices I labelled as "fajita" when I made it a few months ago. That tells me it likely has achiote, allspice and cumin, amongst other things - I can't tell you what else is in there, either, except it's BOOM SHAKA LAKA goodness!
 
Redux - This time doing the 2nd Spencer roast with the original plan of using the olive bruchetta and sun-dried tomatoes with cognac and stuff. Only I used more seasonings this time, too - tarragon, oregano, coriander, thyme......

Just tried a bite - YUM! I will use these seasonings/toppings again, but probably won't get another Spencer roast any day soon. I thought the cut of meat was too full of fat and other stuff to make it worth it. I would definitely use a chuck roast, though, or even a tenderloin (but of course, cook it differently.)
 
Agreed - SOME fat is guud. So much fat rendered that the roast is like less than half its original size? Not so good. And that slab o' whatever it is (like really tough fat?) that runs through the entire middle of the cut? Not swinging it for me. Like I said, something like a chuck is just a better cut, IMO. Still got da fat, but not so much waste - this roast will be gone after dinner tonight, and there's only 2 of us eating it.
 
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