Beef and Mushroom Roll -- The Stew Signal, Answered

The woodpile took an hour's restack this week — the back wall had bowed slightly and required correction, the kind of small November maintenance that catches problems before they become larger problems. The work was done on a clear cool afternoon, the temperature in the high thirties, the dog supervising from the open shed door. The pile is now squared up and stable for the rest of the season, the rounds in the front for easy access, the splits stacked tight at the back, the kindling in its small pile by the door. The discipline of a properly stacked woodpile is the discipline of being honest with future-you about what future-you will need, and a man who has lived alone for four years has had to learn the discipline whether he wanted to or not.

Made a beef stew Saturday — the standard cool-weather stew, beef chuck and root vegetables and red wine, three hours in the oven. I ate it for three nights running, the stew thickening as the days went by, the leftovers eaten on bread for lunch the third day. The dish is one of the most efficient single-pot suppers I make and it is one I never tire of. There is a point in mid-November when the body simply needs a beef stew, and I have learned to listen to the signal and to make the stew when the signal arrives.

The Friday vets coffee — Phil announced that he had been thinking about retiring from organizing the gathering after fifteen years of running it. He said his back was bothering him, the drive into Hinesburg from where he and his wife now lived (further out, since they had moved last year) was getting harder in the dark winter mornings, and he thought it might be time for someone else to take it on. The room got quiet. We had not seen this coming. After a moment Tom Albany, of all people — three months in the room and the newest person there — said: I will take it on. Phil looked at him. He said: are you sure. Tom said: I would be honored to. There was a brief silence in which we all considered the proposal. I said: that seems right to me. The other men nodded. The transition was made in about ninety seconds. Phil will continue through the end of the year. Tom takes over in January. The room reorganized itself around the new arrangement before any of us had finished our coffee.

I called Phil at home Sunday afternoon to tell him I appreciated what he had done with the gathering and that the new arrangement seemed sound and that I was glad Tom had stepped up. Phil was quiet on the line. He said: I needed to hear that. He said: I have been worrying about who would take it. We talked for twenty minutes about the various things Phil had been carrying that I had not entirely registered him carrying — the small administrative weights of running a gathering of seven men for fifteen years — and I told him what I should have told him long ago, which is that the work he had done was the kind of work that holds men together and that does not get acknowledged enough. He said: thank you, Walt. I said: thank you, Phil. We hung up. The transition is done. The room continues. The form of the room shifts slightly. The function holds.

The stew I made Saturday was the standard version — beef chuck, root vegetables, red wine — but I have been meaning to write down the roll variation I return to when I want the same flavors in a form I can slice and serve to others, which is what the vets coffee room might get someday when it is Tom’s turn to host. The beef and mushroom roll carries the same earthiness as a long-braised stew, the mushrooms doing the work of deepening the flavor the way a good Thursday morning gathering deepens over years, and it is the kind of dish you can set on the table and let people cut into themselves — fitting, given the week’s lesson about who steps up when it is time.

Beef and Mushroom Roll

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 2 lbs beef flank steak or top round, pounded to even thickness
• 8 oz cremini or button mushrooms, finely chopped
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• Kitchen twine for tying

Instructions

1. Prepare the filling. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the mushrooms have released their liquid and the pan is nearly dry, about 8–10 minutes. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, thyme, and rosemary. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
2. Season and fill the beef. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lay the beef flat on a cutting board and season both sides generously with salt and pepper. Spread the mushroom filling evenly over the surface, leaving a 1-inch border on all sides.
3. Roll and tie. Starting from one short end, roll the beef snugly around the filling. Tie the roll at 2-inch intervals with kitchen twine to hold its shape during cooking.
4. Sear the roll. Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a Dutch oven or oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the roll on all sides until well browned, about 3–4 minutes per side.
5. Build the braising liquid. Remove the roll briefly and add the tomato paste to the pot, stirring it into the drippings for 1 minute. Pour in the red wine and beef broth, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
6. Braise in the oven. Return the roll to the pot, cover tightly, and transfer to the preheated oven. Braise for 1 hour, turning the roll once halfway through, until the beef is tender and cooked through to an internal temperature of 160°F.
7. Rest and slice. Remove the roll from the oven and let it rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Remove the twine, slice into 1-inch rounds, and serve with the pan juices spooned over the top.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 310 | Protein: 34g | Fat: 15g | Carbs: 6g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 380mg