Garlic Mint Shoulder Roast

Recipes posted a year ago:

• Grandpa Don’s Bugachi (Teriyaki Beef Skewers)

With me working lots of long hours the past six months, we seem to have had a bit of a pattern emerge with our weekends – Sunday has become “roast day.”  It turns out to be the one day where we seem to have enough time to get a large cut of meat fully thawed (starting the night before) and cooked on the grill or in the oven.  This past Sunday was no exception…

With spring finally “officially” here, and with a mix of weather that certainly shows promise of an end to the gray and gloom, we also see the trees, flowers, and herbs showing signs of new life.  Among those herbs is mint – whose flavor is traditionally paired with lamb this time of year.  Rather than lamb, I decided to give mint a twist and try it with one of the elk shoulder roasts we had in the freezer from this past fall.

Gather Up:

• 3 to 4 lb boneless shoulder roast, grass-fed beef or elk
• 8 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp coarse black pepper
• 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt (I used black Hawaiian)

Preheat the oven or grill to 350 degrees (indirect heat for the grill).  Make sure your roast is fully thawed, and let sit on the counter (covered) for about 30 minutes prior to starting to get it closer to room temperature (this helps both with cooking time and with keeping the whole roast closer in “doneness” throughout).  In a small food processor or blender, combine all of the ingredients (except the roast of coarse!).  Pulse until everything is minced fine, but not reduced to a paste.

Using a sharp knife, make shallow slits all over the surface of the roast – about 1/2″ deep and 1-1/2″ long.  Rub the mint garlic mixture all over the roast, working it into the slits and all over the exterior.  Insert a meat thermometer or probe so that it will read the center, thickest part of the meat.

Place the roast in the oven or directly on the grill and cook until the thermometer reads 140 degrees (for medium rare).  This was about 1 hour and 20 minutes for me.

Remove the roast from the heat and tent loosely with foil.  Let it rest about ten minutes for the juices to settle, then slice across for serving.  Be sure to save any of the garlic and mint that end up on the cutting board and spread them back over the slices.