It’s in the bag!

Like most families, we have stuff buried deep into the depths of our freezer. I try hard to get through what we have and free up room, but there’s always something on special at the supermarket that needs to go into the freezer for a future meal. At the start of January, our freezer was so chocka full that Daniel imposed a meat buying ban. That ban lasted two months and while I thought I’d struggle, I found I actually coped OK.  

Last week I dug a little deeper into the back of our chest freezer and found a bolar roast. Hmmm… an interesting cut of meat. I haven’t really had a lot of experience cooking a bolar roast before but I’m willing to take on the challenge. It’s a cut of meat that usually takes a little longer to cook as can be tough as a boot if not slow-cooked. The reason is that the juices escape leaving the meat rather dry and yes, extremely tough. Unfortunately, time wasn’t on my side (yet again!) so decided to roast it in an oven bag to speed up the process. To my surprise, the meat came out moist, tender and flavoursome. The family (including our two German workawayers) gave me rave reviews. Plus, we didn’t have any leftovers!

Bolar Roast in a Bag

A roast is a great way to bring the family together. This recipe uses a traditionally tough cut of meat and turns it into a tender and moist bolar roast dinner for all to enjoy. The mustard adds a wonderful flavour without the harsh mustard flavour so don't be scared to make this.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Servings 4 serves

Ingredients

 

• 1 oven bag
• 1 bolar roast, 1.3kg
• 1 tablespoon french mustard
• 2 teaspoons rosemary, dried or fresh
• 1 tablespoon beef stock powder
• 5 cloves garlic, crushed
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped

Instructions

 

• Mix together the mustard, rosemary, beef stock powder and crushed garlic together. Rub all over the top and sides of the roast.
• Place roast into an oven bag along with the remaining chopped onion and garlic. Secure the open end with a wire or plastic oven-safe tie and pierce oven bag near tied end 4-6 times to let steam escape.
• Bake 200 degrees celsius (180 degrees fan forced) for 65 minutes for medium, or until the internal temperature of the roast is 65-70 degrees on a meat thermometer.
• Remove from oven and let rest for at least 10 minutes.
• Serve sliced against the grain in a dish with it's juices.

Notes

• We are a garlic loving household. If you want to add a clove or two less, that's up to you. The added chopped garlic and onions make a wonderful gravy together with the juices from the roast.
• If you want your roast cooked differently from a medium, use a meat thermometer and check the internal temperature to ensure you get it just right. Insert the probe into the thickest part of the meat (avoiding bone) and wait 30 seconds for it to register accurately. If the beef roast is within 5-10 degrees of your aim, check again every 5 minutes. Medium rare at 60-65 degrees celsius, medium at 65-70 degrees, medium well at 70 degrees, and well done at 75 degrees. For this cut of meat I recommend cooking it medium.
• Serve with roast veggies such as potato, kumara (sweet potato), carrots, onion, zucchini, and capsicum.
• No need to make separate gravy or thicken the pan juices as they are naturally fantastic without anything further required.