Sunday Lunch: Perfect Homemade Svíčková (Czech Beef Sirloin in Creamy Vegetable Sauce)
·Freeze the bacon strips
Cut the bacon into strips about 1 cm thick, running the full length of the piece. Put the bacon strips in the freezer for two hours — they'll firm up and become much easier to work with.
Lard the meat with bacon
I happened to have bacon the same length as my meat, so I was able to thread it all the way through in one go. If your bacon strips are shorter, insert them from both ends instead. Use a sharp, narrow knife to make a hole through the meat, then push a strip of bacon into it.
Tie it up
Tie the meat firmly with kitchen string.
Roast in a pot
Get out a roasting pan or cast-iron pot you'll use for roasting the svíčková. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Heat the lard in the pan or pot. Season the meat with salt and pepper on all sides, then sear it. Meanwhile, peel the vegetables and dice them finely.
Sauté the vegetables
Remove the seared meat from the pan or roasting dish and set it aside. In its place, add the vegetables (but not the onion yet) and sauté until golden brown.
Add the onion
Keep an eye on the vegetables so they don't catch and burn. Once they look nicely golden, as in the photo, add the onion.
Sprinkle with sugar
Stir and let the onion turn golden too, watching that nothing in the pan catches. Once everything is a lovely golden color, sprinkle in the sugar and stir for about two minutes.
Add vinegar and mustard
Add the red wine vinegar and mustard. Let it boil down quickly, then return the meat to the roasting dish and pour in the stock. Add the whole spices (about 7 peppercorns and 7 allspice berries, a pinch of thyme, and a bay leaf if you like).
Roast, then wrap in foil
Cover with a lid and put it in the oven. Roast the meat for about two hours, turning it occasionally. The finished meat should be tender and juicy. Once done, wrap it in foil. Turn off the oven and put the foil-wrapped meat back inside while you finish the sauce.
Blend the sauce
Remove the whole spices from the sauce. Blend it smooth using a powerful blender or an immersion blender. Stir in the cream. If you like, you can thicken it further with a roux.
Tip:
Sometimes there's plenty of vegetables but not much liquid, and the sauce is already thick enough as it is. If you do use a roux to thicken it, let the sauce simmer for another 15 to 20 minutes.
Serving
Slice the meat thinly and serve with the sauce and homemade dumplings.
