Rosie Makes Beef On Weck.

My kummelweck rolls (alternatively spelled kimmelweck) have been burning a hole in my non-existent bread box.

I made these babies Tuesday afternoon and I made a proper beef on weck Wednesday for dinner.

Check out the price of my flat iron steak. If you look, you'll always find deals. Instead of paying $5.99/pound for this, I got it reduced for $2.99/pound. Take that Sandra and Melissa! Flat iron steak has been a fairly new cut around these parts. It's actually part of the shoulder, so one would think it would be a tough cut. Mais non! The flat iron steak was developed by research teams at the University of Florida and the University of Nebraska. The beef cut is actually a top blade steak derived from the tender top blade roast. It is separated into two pieces by cutting horizontally through the center to remove the heavy connective tissue, thick gristle, and sinew plate.

I let my flat iron thaw out and come to room temperature. Only a sprinkling of freshly ground salt and pepper is needed.

Mr. Hawthorne squirted a little Extra Light Bertolli Olive Oil in a cast iron skillet. High heat. That's ELBOO to you Rache fans. Since I have an annoying acronym, can I have my own Food Network show?

High heat. First side down for about 2 minutes. This particular steak is a fairly thin piece of meat. Adjust timing according to thickness. Notice the right hand side of the meat. It's much thinner there so Mr. Hawthorne propped that part up the side of the pan.

Turn over and cook another 2 minutes. Then he did maybe another minute on each side to get the cross-hatching.

Notice the meat has shrunk a bit.

If your cross-hatching doesn't come out the way you want, you can always improvise.

Let the meat rest about 5 or so minutes before slicing. There are a number of reasons for letting the meat rest.

One reason is to let the heat even out. When you have a thick roast, the outside gets hit with the direct heat from the oven or skillet and the inside gets what is conducted from the outside. If you let the meat cook until the inside reaches the proper temperature, the outside will be overcooked. So letting the meat rest a bit allows it to continue cooking the inside. This is called carry-over cooking. Another reason to let the meat rest is so its juices will be reabsorbed. As meat proteins are heated during cooking, they coagulate and the juice is squeezed out of the cells and pushed towards the center of the meat, increasing the concentration of moisture in the middle of the steak. If you slice it immediately the juices will leak out. If you allow it to rest first, this process is partially reversed. The protein molecules relax and are able to reabsorb some of this moisture, thus making the meat juicier and more flavorful. For more information, see here.

Those are Mr. Hawthorne's heirloom tomato seedlings in the background. He planted them February 21 and every single seed germinated. He's very proud of his tomatoes.

While I was shooting pictures of the meat, Mr. Hawthorne made an au jus. Just pour a little water in the pan over medium heat and scrape up the goodie bits. A splash of Cabernet Sauvignon did not hurt.

Nose-hair searing horseradish, flat iron steak, au jus.

Mr. Hawthorne thinly sliced the steak.

I made a plain beef on weck on the left without the heat of the horseradish.

Wussie Boy.

Then I decided to toast and butter the top of mine.

To eat, dip the weck in the au jus. And enjoy.

Oh, but this was delightful.

Pile the weck high with meat. And add a good measure of horseradish.

Excellent sandwich.

Loved the caraway. The salt crystals are wonderful.

The thing about these little gems is that you'll probably never see them on a menu unless you're in the Buffalo area. But thanks to me, you can make them yourself now. And you're very welcome.