When I was young, my family lived in a small farming town in Ontario, Canada. There was a large Mennonite community in that area, and it was very common to see horse-drawn buggies out and about on the road! Mennonites are known for their delicious home-cooked food, and a lot of recipes from this cookbook quickly became family favourites for us. The roast beef recipe from this cookbook can easily be adapted to make an IDDSI Level 5 dish.
You will need:
- 1.5kg blade steak
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup
- 1 packet of french onion soup
- pepper
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius. Spread the meat out in an oven-safe pot. Sprinkle vinegar on top of the meat. Pour the mushroom soup over the meat, and then sprinkle the onion soup on top. Grind some pepper over it.
Put foil over the dish, sealing tightly around the edges. Press lid firmly on top of foil.
Roast in the oven at 180 degrees for 1 hour, then reduce heat to 160 degrees and roast for 2 more hours.
Lift the meat out of the gravy and place in another dish. Use a spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the roasting pot, and stir to make the gravy. You can add small amounts of boiling water to thin the gravy if necessary. Shred the meat with forks, and then add the gravy.
The meat will already be very tender. To bring it to IDDSI Level 5, take the required portion of meat and use a stick blender to further shred it to the desired consistency. You may need to add some boiling water to keep it moist enough.
Once blended, this dish is best eaten hot, as the gravy will harden/congeal as it cools. Reheating the meat will soften it again.
Fork pressure test
Fork drip test
Spoon tilt test