Summer becomes Autumn with Baltimore Pit Beef and Apple Galette

September 22, 2013

Menu

Baltimore Pit Beef Sandwiches

Steamed Local Sweet Corn

Deli Cole Slaw

Boston Lager/Vella Cabernet Sauvignon

Apple Galette

Recipes

Baltimore Pit Beef from Cook's Country 

Apple Galette from Cook's Illustrated

---

You don't need to dig a hole in the back yard to make Baltimore Pit Beef,  just a gas or charcoal grill.  A relatively lean, and inexpensive, cut of beef, top sirloin, is cooked relatively quickly, taking just a few hours to prepare. I bought a roast labelled "Beef Loin Top Sirloin Roast Boneless" weighing 3.81 pounds.  I applied the dry rub on Saturday evening and the beef sat in the refrigerator for about 16 hours before cooking. On the grill it took only about 30 minutes to reach 100° and another 15 minutes or so to finish.  Even then it was more done than I had intended, probably medium rather than the target medium rare. Despite this the meat was tender and juicy with a lot of flavor provided by the rub. The sandwiches are garnished with tiger sauce, a combination of horseradish, mayonnaise, lemon juice, and garlic. Being cautious, when we made our sandwiches using thinly sliced beef, we smeared just one side of the buns with the sauce but we both agreed they would be better with more.

We had two summery side dishes to go along with the sandwich. We can still get fresh local sweet corn and so, while the getting is still good, we got some. We also bought cole slaw from the deli at the supermarket rather than making our own and having leftover cabbage.

We celebrated the arrival of Fall by visiting Gizdich Ranch to pick apples: red delicious, golden delicious, newtown pippin, and gala. For the first baked apple dessert of the season I made a great dessert, apple galette. Crispy, flaky, buttery, tender pastry is shingled with a thin layer of caramelized apples. There is no seasoning other than some butter and sugar so the flavor of the apples comes through cleanly. Diane called them apple cookies but I thought they were a little fancier than that.

Our Sunday dinner for this first day of Autumn was something of a transitional meal. The fresh flavors of summer -- grilled beef, fresh corn, and slaw -- combined with an Autumnal apple dessert. We're looking forward now to the heartier meals of the cooler part of the year: stews and soups and roasts and braises. No matter what the season, there is good food to be cooked and eaten and shared.