Beef on Weck
Beef on weck is a classic Buffalo sandwich. It’s thinly sliced roast beef served on a caraway and coarse salt coated roll. It’s salty, meaty, and very satisfying.
The “on weck” part comes from the name of the roll, Kummelweck. These rolls can be hard to find outside of the Buffalo region, but you can easily make them at home.
They are served with horseradish sauce and a side of warm beef jus for the most authentic experience.
Preparations
Classic Roast Beef
Ingredients:
- Large (about 2kg) beef roasting joint
- 1 tbsp mustard
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- 400 ml beef stock, made with 1 beef stock cube
- Splash of dark stout (optional)
Take the joint out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking to bring it up to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 220°C. Weigh the joint and calculate the cooking time. Allow 15 minutes per 500 g, plus 15 minutes for rare; 18 minutes per 500 g, plus 20 minutes for medium and 22–27 minutes per 500 g, plus 25 minutes for well done.
If your joint is wrapped in a net to hold its shape, remove and discard then tie at regular intervals with kitchen string. Put the joint in a roasting tin, fat-side up.
Smear the mustard over the fat and season with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper – the mustard helps to form a tasty crust on the beef, but the flavor will mellow during roasting. Roast for 30 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 180°C for the remaining calculated cooking time. Cover the joint with foil during roasting if the surface starts to brown too quickly.
Baste the joint every 30 minutes using the juices released from the meat in the bottom of the tin. To test the beef is ready, use a meat thermometer. Push into the centre of the thickest part of the meat: for rare beef, the meat thermometer should read 60°C, for medium, it should read 70°C and for well-done beef, it should read 80°C. If you don’t have a metal thermometer, a metal skewer works well. Insert into the centre of the meat and leave for 30 seconds. Pull it out and touch the tip against the inside of your wrist. If it is cold, the meat is not yet done. When it’s warm, the meat is rare, when fairly hot, it’s medium and when it’s very hot, the beef is well done.
When the roast is done, leave to rest covered in the foil for 20 minutes.
Beef Au Jus
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup beef fat drippings from a prime rib or other roast beef
- 1 ½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups beef broth
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
Instructions:
Spoon any excess fat out of the roasting tin when making the roast. Whisk flour into beef fat; cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens, about 3 minutes.
Pour beef broth into fat mixture; increase heat to high and bring mixture to a boil.
Boil mixture until it thickens slightly; season with salt and pepper to taste.
Kummelweck Rolls
Ingredients:
- 3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, divided
- 1 cup warm water (105 degrees F/41 degrees C)
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 2 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 1 large egg white
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon honey, or more to taste
Topping:
- 1 large egg white
- 2 teaspoons water
- ½ teaspoon caraway seeds, or to taste
- coarse sea salt to taste
Instructions:
Whisk 1/2 cup flour, 1 cup warm water, and yeast together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Let sit until foamy, 10 to 15 minutes.
Stir 2 tablespoons oil, 1 egg white, sugar, salt, and honey into yeast mixture; whisk until smooth. Gradually add flour to yeast mixture while mixer is running with the dough hook attached; knead until a soft, sticky dough forms, 3 to 4 minutes.
Drizzle remaining vegetable oil into the bowl and turn dough to coat. Cover the bowl and let dough rise until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.
Line a baking sheet with paper.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, flatten dough, and press into rectangle. Cut dough into 12 pieces and form pieces into rolls. Place rolls apart on prepared baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
Whisk 1 egg white and 2 teaspoons water together in a small bowl. Use kitchen shears to cut an X at the top of each roll. Brush rolls with egg white mixture and sprinkle with caraway seeds and salt.
Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes.
Horseradish Caraway Dressing
Ingredients:
- ½ cup avocado oil mayo
- 1 tablespoons white wine vinegar (or red wine)
- 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
- 3 teaspoons caraway seeds
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- sea salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions:
Add the caraway seeds to a small heavy dry skillet over medium heat, shaking skillet often, until fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Let cool.
Make the dressing. In a small bowl whisk together all the ingredients. Whisk together until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
Potatoe fries
Assemble the Beef on Weck Rolls
Thinly slice the roast beef.
Dip the roast beef into the jus and remove it quickly.
Cut the rolls in half and dip the top into the warm jus. Top the bottom of the rolls with roast beef. Spread the horseradish sauce on top of the roast beef and then top with the dipped roll.
Serve with extra jus and dig in immediately!
Bj's Live Kitchen 