We would've thrown the poor thing out if we didn't have one of those digital thermometers to tell us that the inside was perfectly cooked, medium rare. The outside was charred in places and red in others, like it was raw (I still don't know what that was, but it wasn't raw). I instructed Todd to slice it up and put it on the serving platter, so our guests wouldn't see the horrible looking chunk of meat - and then what does he do but take it out to the table and slice it up in front of everyone! But the slices looked so nice and pink inside that everyone forgave the roast its disgusting exterior.

The sauce was awesome, too. I was skeptical about the burned fond at the bottom of the roasting pan making anything but a charcoal-tasting sauce, but when I smelled the pan it actually smelled rich and meaty, so I went ahead, with great results. Added butter, then 1/4 a finely diced onion, sauteed it until the onion started to brown, then added 1 cup of the red wine we were drinking, let that cook a bit, then added 1 cup chicken broth. Reduced that a bit, then whisked in 1/2-tablespoon-size chunks of butter (6 of them), one at a time, until it was a smooth sauce.