Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (63 page)

1. B
   reak the eggs into a bowl. Heat the ghee in a skillet over medium heat. Once it’s sizzling hot, gently pour in the eggs. As the eggs cook, season them with salt and pepper.
   
2. F
   ry the eggs to your desired doneness. I prefer firm whites and runny yolks, so I like to cook my eggs for
   1
   minute before flipping and cooking them for about
   2
   minutes more.
   
3. D
   ivide the reheated “rice” onto
   2
   plates, and if desired, top with a mound of warm caramelized onions. Place a hot burger patty atop each plate of rice, and spoon on some gravy. Top with a fried egg before serving.
   

When it comes to properly cooking meats, I have notoriously high standards. I want my steaks and roasts to be perfectly pink and medium-rare from stem to stern—a result that’s difficult to accomplish without a sous-vide cooker. (This, of course, explains my obsession with my temperature-regulated water oven.)

But sous vide isn’t the only game in town. Ryan Farr of San Francisco’s
4505
Meats—who once spent an entire day patiently teaching me how to butcher a steer—is an advocate of slow, low-temperature roasting. There’s no need to purchase any counter-hogging equipment; with an oven and an in-oven thermometer, anyone can transform any big cut of meat into juicy, perfectly cooked protein.

Don’t believe me? Check out how easy it is to make roast beef (or
beast
, if you prefer) using Ryan’s method.

Convinced? Good, ’cause I want you to try two of my favorite ways to make mayo. Roll up your sleeves!

1. L
   iberally season the roast with salt, and then refrigerate in a large uncovered bowl overnight.
   Take the roast out of the fridge
   1
   hour before you start cooking to bring it up to room temperature.
   
2. P
   reheat the oven to
   250
   °F with the rack in the middle position, and place a wire rack atop a foil-lined baking tray. Using paper towels, pat the roast dry. Rub the dukkah onto the surface of the roast, and season liberally with pepper.
   
3. P
   lace the roast on the wire rack, and put it in the oven. Stick an instant-read, in-oven thermometer probe into the thickest part of the meat, and slow-roast for approximately
   1
   ½ hours or until the internal temperature reaches
   130
   to
   132
   °F for medium-rare (or
   140
   °F for medium).
   
4. S
   et the oven to broil, and adjust the rack so that the meat is about
   4
   inches from the heating element. Broil for
   1
   minute, and then flip the roast over and broil the other side for
   1
   more minute.
   
5. T
   ransfer the roast to a plate, and tent with foil. Rest the meat for
   15
   minutes before slicing.
   

The beauty of this recipe is that you don’t have to waste precious hours of your life marinating these lamb chops before it’s time to cook. Just pick up a couple of racks of lamb on your way home from work, and in about an hour, you’ll have a platter of zesty chops ready for your hungry clan. The secret? By resting your grilled lamb in a pool of minty chimichurri, the meat’ll soak up all the finger-lickin’ flavors in no time at all.

1. S
   alt the chops on both sides and bring them up to room temperature on the counter while you’re making the chimichurri.
   
2. P
   ut all the chimichurri ingredients except the olive oil into a food processor or blender, and pulse until the contents are roughly chopped. Then, resume pulsing while adding the olive oil in a steady stream. Once a smooth chimichurri forms, pour it into a large, deep dish than can fit all of the lamb chops.
   
3. P
   at the chops dry with a paper towel and season with pepper. Brush with melted ghee.
   
4. S
   et a gas grill to medium-high or build a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill. (No grill? Use a cast-iron skillet over medium heat.) Cook the chops for
   2
   to
   3
   minutes on each side or until the lamb reaches your desired doneness. Place the chops directly into the chimichurri, and toss to coat well. Rest the chops for
   10
   minutes before serving.