Roast Beef in Salt Crust

To prepare the roast beef in a salt crust, start by washing and drying the aromatic herbs 1. Proceed by finely chopping rosemary, bay leaf, and thyme 2. Then cut the excess fat from the beef 3. Depending on the chosen meat, you can tie it to give it a more compact shape or leave it as you bought it if the piece is already sufficiently compact.

Massage the meat with the chopped aromatic herbs, rubbing them slightly on the entire surface and ensuring they adhere well on all sides 4. Now take a baking tray with high edges, and wider than the cut of meat by about 1 inch (2 cm) per side: pour a layer of salt about 1 inch (2 cm) thick on the bottom 5. Now place the roast beef on the tray and cover it evenly with salt 6, creating a layer about 1 inch (2 cm) thick on each side, a sort of shell. It is essential to use coarse salt, as fine salt would be excessively absorbed by the meat during cooking.

Moisten the surface of the salt crust with water 7 so that it can harden more during cooking. Finally, bake in a preheated static oven at 390°F (200°C) for 25 minutes (we do not recommend using a fan-assisted oven as it would dry the meat too much and it would not be juicy in the end). Do not open the oven until cooking is finished to prevent the temperature from dropping and ensuring optimal cooking. After the time has elapsed, remove the tray from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes at room temperature. Then, using spoons or a knife if the crust has become very hard, gently scrape off the coarse salt 8. Gradually remove all the covering salt 9.

Then take the roast beef 10 and place it on a cutting board, removing the excess coarse salt if necessary. Then slice it delicately with a sharp knife or, if you prefer thinner slices, with a slicer 11: it should be pink inside. If you prefer meat not too rare, extend the cooking time by 5 minutes, depending on the weight of the meat you choose. Now your roast beef in a salt crust can be plated and enjoyed 12!