I discovered "garlic sauce" at IKEA, so I tried making roast beef! What was the result?

The writer thought it was surprising that "garlic sauce" is sold at the Nordic large furniture store IKEA. In fact, this sauce seems to be used in the popular menu item "filet roast beef" at the in-store restaurant. I decided to check the taste.<

Homemade Roast Beef + "Garlic Sauce" sold at IKEA

A surprising discovery for the author is IKEA's "Garlic Sauce." I decided to try it with roast beef, so I bought it.

Roast beef is also a classic camping meal. Since it seems like it will expand the variety of dishes, I thought I'd try making it from raw meat and pairing it with the sauce.

Searing the surface of the beef round steak in a frying pan

The ingredient is beef round steak. After searching for recipes online, it seems you just need to rub salt and pepper all over it and sear it in a frying pan. The key is temperature management to achieve a rare doneness. If you cook the meat while it is still cold, the outer and inner doneness will be too different, leading to failure, so I left the meat out at room temperature for nearly two hours after taking it out of the refrigerator.

First, the cooking involves searing just the surface. Once a sear forms over medium heat, flip the meat and sear the entire surface. Just to be safe, I heated each side for about 4 minutes on low heat before removing it from the frying pan.

By the way, proteins begin to coagulate around 50°C, so if you let it cook slowly at this stage, the meat is said to tighten and become tough.

Using aluminum foil and a hot frying pan for heat-retaining cooking finishes

The grilled beef thigh is wrapped in aluminum foil to trap the heat and finish it off. When you touch the meat in this state, it feels quite hot, and it certainly seems possible to achieve heat-retaining cooking just by wrapping it.

Place the wrapped beef thigh onto the pan used for cooking, cover it, and slowly heat it while keeping it warm. It’s simply left to sit until it cools down, but I turned it over halfway to prevent heat unevenness. Since I'm using a "cast iron frying pan," it exhibited its high heat retention. Indeed, cast iron pans are useful for meat dishes.

The state after leaving it for about 20 minutes is shown in the image above. When pressed, it has a plump feel, and it’s clear that the inside is still quite rare. If cut while hot, the juices will flow out, and the flavor will escape, so I decided to let it cool down properly before cutting.

When I cut into it, I could see that it was adequately heated. It would have been nice to have a bit more pink remaining, but surprisingly, it heated through quickly. For a first attempt, it turned out well. With more experience, I may come to understand the right choices for meat size, searing, and adjusting the warming time.

Enjoying IKEA's garlic sauce and roast beef, how does it taste?

Since I wanted to taste it first, I decided not to pour the sauce directly on the roast beef but to pour it into a separate dish. The sauce has a fairly thin texture, giving the impression of being designed for roast beef, but it seems like it could be used with various meat dishes.

I plated it, sprinkled some pepper, and added the side of potatoes and horseradish to complete the dish. How does the taste of roast beef combined with the sauce fare?

The sauce emphasizes acidity while having a sweetness, with the aroma of garlic and onions. Surprisingly, when paired with roast beef, the garlic flavor is mild, creating a strong impression of sweet and sour that matched exquisitely. When I tried pairing it with a typical steak sauce and roast beef, it felt a bit off, proving that the design of the garlic sauce is indeed impressive.

As for reflections on the roast beef, perhaps because I used thawed foreign beef round, the umami of the meat seemed to dissipate with the drips, leading to a bland taste when bitten into. I feel this unsatisfying aspect might be alleviated by slicing it thinly, but I think it's difficult to cut with a knife. In the case of homemade, meat dishes tend to require a lot of chewing, so using fresh domestic meat that is not frozen seems to be the key to success.

The joy of accidentally finding it at IKEA and the enjoyable time spent gaining knowledge about roast beef.

I tried making roast beef using IKEA's garlic sauce, and as a result, I acquired new knowledge and had a meaningful time. This sauce, intended for use with roast beef, seems to be a product unique to IKEA, so I also feel a joy in having stumbled upon something niche by chance.

Just like "garlic sauce" from a "large furniture store," the unexpected combination was interesting, so I would like to look for and try interesting products next time as well.

Interview and text by Kazuma Tanaka

Search IKEA garlic sauce on Amazon