This strip loin cooks relatively quickly, but the demi-glace cream (see Seasonal Variations) accompaniment takes a couple of days to make, so plan ahead if you’d like to serve them together. Call your butcher in advance to get a strip loin, also known as a New York strip. Butchers often cut it into steaks, so if you want an entire roast, it’s best to ask ahead.
This cut is a practical way to serve steak to a crowd without having to worry about perfectly cooking individual steaks. After a nice, long rest, the slices of rosy meat make for an impressive and beautiful presentation. Serve this at a special dinner party, or for a holiday meal in place of a more traditional crown roast or leg of lamb. It’s rich, deeply meaty, and a great place to show off beef sourced from a high-quality farm.
Ingredients
- 1 (3-pound) New York strip loin roast, cut lengthwise
- into two pieces, each about 3 by 4 inches, at room
- temperature
- 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons salt
- 1½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
- 1 bunch thyme
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Tie each roast (see photos) with kitchen twine. Season each roast with 2½ teaspoons of the salt and ¾ teaspoon of the pepper.
- Heat a black steel pan over high heat until very hot. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil and heat until the surface is rippling but not smoking. Add 1 roast and press down with tongs to achieve an even sear across the entire surface of the meat. Cook, turning the roast every 2 to 3 minutes, until all sides are deep chestnut brown. Set the meat on a plate and rinse and dry the pan. Repeat with the remaining oil and the remaining roast, then rinse and wipe the pan again.
- Return the pan to medium heat, return both roasts to the pan, and add the butter. As the butter melts, spoon it over the beef four or five times to baste it.
- Place the pan in the oven and set a timer for 15 minutes. Check the internal temperature: at this point, it should be very low, 80°F to 85°F. Continue to cook the beef until the internal temperature reaches 110°F to 112°F for medium-rare or 116°F to 118°F for medium, 10 to 20 minutes.
- Spread the thyme bunch in a shallow baking dish and place the roasts on the thyme. Loosely tent the roasts with aluminum foil and let rest for at least 25 minutes or up to 40 minutes before slicing.
- To serve with Demi-Glace Cream, Pan-Seared Wild Mushrooms with Parsley and Parmesan, and herb salad as shown (see photo), make the demi-glace 2 days in advance. On the day of serving, reduce the cream and add it to the demi-glace, then set aside. Sear and roast the beef.
- While the beef rests, cook the mushrooms. (Feel free to substitute different kinds of wild mushrooms if necessary, but do not use a cultivated variety like oyster mushrooms in place of wild ones.) Gently reheat the demi-glace cream over low heat until warm. Snip and untie the roasts, and then cut the meat into ¾-inch-thick slices. Ladle 3 tablespoons of demi-glace cream onto each plate and place a slice of meat, cut side up so the pink interior is exposed, on top. Arrange about ½ cup of mushrooms alongside the meat and garnish with the herb salad.
