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Roast Beef

Roast Beef

My mom knows a lot about cooking beef. She knows all of the cuts and what to do with them. This must have something to do with growing up at a time where people went to their local butchers for meat instead of a supermarket. We typically use a rump roast when making roast beef. You can also use a round roast or a sirloin tip with these instructions. This slow roasting method at low heat is good for tougher cuts of beef; the lower heat prevents any gristle from getting too tough. This method should not be used with choice or prime grades of beef, or the more tender cuts, as slow cooking more delicate cuts will make them mushy.

Roast beef made this way is easy, relatively inexpensive, and you get great leftovers for roast beef sandwiches.

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Roast Beef Recipe

Ingredients

  • 3 to 3 1/2 lbs of Boneless Rump Roast (pick a end cut with a lot of fat marbling)
  • Olive oil
  • 8 slivers of garlic
  • Salt and pepper

You will need a meat thermometer

For the gravy:

  • Red wine, water, and or beef stock
  • corn starch

Method

1 Start with the roast at room temperature (remove from refrigerator 1 hour before cooking - keep it wrapped). Preheat the oven to 375°F.

2 With a sharp knife make 8 small incisions around the roast. Place a sliver of garlic into each incision. Take a tablespoon or so of olive oil and spread all around the roast. Sprinkle around the roast with salt and pepper. Place the roast directly on an oven rack, fatty side up, with a drip pan on a rack beneath the roasting rack. This arrangement creates convection in the oven so that you do not need to turn the roast. The roast is placed fat side up so that as the fat melts it will bathe the entire roast in its juices.

3 Brown the roast at 375°F for half an hour. Lower the heat to 225°F. The roast should take somewhere from 2 to 3 hours additionally to cook. When the roast just starts to drip its juices and it is brown on the outside, check the temperature with a meat thermometer. Pull the roast from the oven when the inside temperature of the roast is 135° to 140°F. Let the roast rest for at least 15 minutes, tented in aluminum foil to keep warm, before carving to serve.

Serves 4-6.

To make the gravy:
Remove the dripping pan from the oven and place on the stove top at medium heat. Note that if you are pulling the roast out early, for rare or a medium rare level of doneness, you may not have a lot of drippings. Hopefully you will have some. If not, you may want to leave the roast in a little longer at even lower heat, 175°F, to ease some more drippings out of it. Add some water, red wine, or beef stock to the drippings to deglaze (loosen the drippings from the pan). Dissolve a tablespoon of cornstarch in a little water and add to the drip pan. Stir quickly while the gravy thickens to avoid lumping. You can add a little butter if there is not a lot of fat in the drippings. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mom adds some fresh thyme too if she has some. (See also How to Make Gravy.)

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59 Comments

I was delighted with the results of this recipe, and I'm making it again tonight! The garlic flavour is smashing.

Posted by: Lisa Pons on August 25, 2004 3:04 AM

Oh Elise,

I want to thank you for sharing such a super duper recipe with all of us. I made this for my ahem boyfriend last weekend and it went down a treat. I was so happy to see him enjoying a meal I made without ballsing it up.

Thanks again you're a true heroine.

Sarah

Posted by: Sarah Kindhart on January 26, 2005 7:07 PM

Elise, I loved the dish me and my ...partner enjoyed the feast which was perfect for days later..so tender so much flavor the beef was melting in ours mouths thank you for making me perfect.

Posted by: Paul Sime on January 31, 2005 3:33 PM

Hi Paul. Amen to to mom's roast beef. I love simple recipes that make me look like I actually know what I'm doing. :-)

Posted by: Elise on January 31, 2005 11:35 PM

I made the roast for mothers day and my family went nuts. They said that it tasted like it was from a restaurant. Thank you so much.

Posted by: lynne on May 23, 2005 10:44 AM

I just tried this recipe this evening and it was amazing!! The roast beef was tender and juicy, with just enough flavor.We are acually looking forward to leftovers! Thank you very much I have been looking for a good roast beef recipe for a while.

Posted by: jenn on November 1, 2005 6:39 PM

I would also like to know about cooking the roast with potatoes and carrots? It would be appreciated

Posted by: Brenda Hay on December 9, 2005 7:31 AM

Hmm, I'm not sure where I went wrong on this one. It turned out okay, but something tells me it could have been better. I'm wondering if my oven runs hot or something. I used a 3.8 lb roast, and after 2 hours it was definitely not rare inside, but hardly any drippings. When I did the initial browning at 375 degrees, it seemed to brown it an awful lot, also. I think I need to get something to measure the temperature of my oven, and figure out how hot it's actually running.

Posted by: Sheeijan on December 11, 2005 6:42 PM

Your recipe says: "Start with the roast at room temperature (remove from refrigerator a couple of hours before cooking)." That doesn't sound very safe to me.

Posted by: Linda on December 19, 2005 8:33 AM

Hi Linda, We pull the roast out of the refrigerator 1-2 hours before cooking, keeping it in its wrapper. The cooking of the roast kills any microbes that would have shown up in the meantime.

Posted by: Elise on December 19, 2005 8:49 AM

Thank you so much. Was looking for the perfect rost Beef recepie for this xmas for this was the very first time I do this dish. thank you again!
I just wish i could send you some of my rost beef so you could taste it and give us a grade!
Thanks again!
Sincerely yours,
Ana C

Posted by: Ana Claudia on December 22, 2005 11:07 PM

I absolutely love your recipe collection and look forward to my Google homepage to see today's new recipe.

I was so excited to see an easy recipe for roast beef. I attempted the recipe this past weekend. I injected the roast beef with garlic butter marinade and followed the instructions for cooking. After about 2 1/2 hours the roast was at 140. But when I cut into the meat it was very pink, is this what I should have expected? My husband said to get a less pink appearance I should have let it go to at least 150 or 155. Will the longer cooking time cause the meat to dry out? The roast had a great taste, but very little drippings. Thank you again.

Posted by: Stacey S on January 3, 2006 8:11 AM

i think this recipe is wonderful i want to cook it for my mum but i dont know how to do flavourings (im only 10 years old) it sounds so good yum yum

Posted by: wilson on January 5, 2006 1:48 AM

What if you have a convection oven? The recipe states to put directly on the rack to produce convection, so I'm assuming this recipe calls for a standard oven. Please help, I want to make sure the temps are right for I have a convection oven.

Posted by: Chris on January 11, 2006 9:03 AM

Hi Stacey, was your roast pinker than what was pictured? If you want it less pink, your husband is right. Let the temp get to 150 or 155. The reason the roast had few dripping is most likely because it is a lean cut of beef. There isn't enough fat to produce a lot of drippings.

Hi Chris - I don't usually cook with the convection setting of my oven. This recipe calls for a standard oven, or the standard setting on a dual oven. When I do cook with convection, I lower the temperature by 25 degrees and shorten the cooking time. If I were you I would do the same. Lower the temp a bit and check your meat thermometer earlier.

Posted by: Elise on January 11, 2006 9:13 AM

Used your recipe and my roast turned out perfect almost like my grandmas home cooking. Only I rubbed in some fresh garlic paste all around and put in about 10 slits around the roast as I am a lover of fresh garlic.

So thank you and keep up the good work

Posted by: Jasper on January 18, 2006 11:41 PM

Tried cooking a roast for the first time with your recipe. It came out great and I am enjoying it as I write this. Thank you from a 24yr old guy learning how to cook.

Posted by: Ken on February 21, 2006 12:38 AM

The recipe really works. A not-so-good cut of roast comes out tasty, moist and reasonably tender.

Posted by: Robert on March 1, 2006 3:34 PM

Great recipe. I've never cooked a roast at a low temperature before but let me tell you, I will do it again! The roast was cooked perfectly and it was soo tender!!

Posted by: Stacey L. on November 2, 2006 6:38 AM

My boyfriend and I throw a big party every year on the day we switch on his massive Christmas lights display(the Lighting Ceremony, as we call it). I do the party cooking, and had decided that in addition to smoking a salmon and a nice curried chicken spread, I wanted to make a roast beef too. After searching, I found your page and your recipe sounds perfect for what I want. Imagine my surprise when I realized I already had your page bookmarked--I made the moroccan preserved lemons according to your recipe, specifically to have as an additional condiment for the salmon at the Ligthing! I guess I should just start making your page my first stop for everything!

Posted by: Cortney on November 3, 2006 7:48 AM

I made this for dinner today and my 4 year old ate 4 slices! Dad liked it too. I thought it was wonderfully easy and tasted fantastic. I will definitely make this again.

Posted by: Jodi C on December 17, 2006 4:39 PM

Hi, i'm going to try out your recipe this weekend. I'm wondering if it is o.k. to use a striploin cut? I already bought the meat before I saw your recipe. Thank you.

Posted by: sweeney on December 19, 2006 8:54 PM

I wonder about a different cut of meat as well. I usually use an eye o round because Rump roast never seemed as good. But i've never cooked mine this way either.

Posted by: Holly on December 22, 2006 9:48 AM

Hello - for thirty years I've made my Mother's roast beef recipe which called for a 3-5 lb rump, searing at 450 for 20 minutes, pouring over 1/2 cup of cider vinegar and cooking the roast at 350 for 20-30 minutes to the pound, covered. She also did the garlic slivers. My husband did not like the vinegar taste - although I really loved it. Your recipe works far better than my Mom's! Better gravy, no burnt vinegar taste, tender meat that's still juicy! I thought it would mess up the oven, didn't do a thing. Hardly left anything on the rack! Tomorrow I'm trying a pork shoulder the same way. Thank you, thank you and my husband thanks you too!

Jo

Posted by: Jo on February 2, 2007 8:19 AM

I just used your recipe this afternoon.... oh my... soooo yummy! It was easy, and turned out perfect. I put in 16 garlic slivers. I used your advice on turning the oven temp down in order to draw out more juices, since my rump roast was a lean one and I wanted to keep it medium rare, and it worked. While the roast was in for the first 1/2 hour at the higher temp, I boiled some whole potatoes (skin on) for 25 minutes and added some baby carrots to the salted water for the last 5-10 minutes... rubbed butter on the skins, sliced a criss-cross on the potatoes, dropped a pat of butter into each and placed them on the rack next to the roast, and put the carrots in the drip pan with some butter on them for some roasted potatoes and carrots. Good stuff. Thank you!!

Posted by: Joan on March 11, 2007 6:22 PM

This was the most tender roast I have made! My husband enjoyed it, and he's not usually a fan (he likes his meat rare). I had it in the oven for 2 1/2 hours during the low heat and next time I will probably only have it in for 2 hours...it was pink but a little more on the well side than we usually like. I am so glad I found this recipe! Thank you!!

Posted by: Kris on March 12, 2007 4:35 PM

Hi, interesting that your mom's roast is like my mom's was - I have been making roast beef in Mom's tradition for over 40 years. However, having just received a convection oven I tried it in there, on the roast cycle, and even though the temperature said different, the roast was overcooked, although fairly good. I'm going back to the old slow roast method and wondered if you or anyone had this problem with convection. Tks for your great site.

Posted by: Doreen Warren on September 17, 2007 1:25 PM

Hi Doreen - whenever you cook with the convection oven setting, you need to lower the temperature by at least 25°F from what the recipe calls for.

Posted by: Elise on September 17, 2007 3:33 PM

Thanks for the great recipe. So nicely written, too.
:-)

Posted by: Matt on September 22, 2007 2:54 AM

This is the BEST roast I have ever made! I have been making roasts all wrong my entire life.

Posted by: Lynda on October 12, 2007 7:59 PM

Awesome recipe, thank you!!!

Posted by: mike in ky on December 2, 2007 2:31 PM

I am planning on making this recipe for a party, and I wonder how many people this will serve? I have three hungry men and 4 women to feed.....do I need a bigger roast?
Thanks for the tips, it sounds like it is a great recipe, great reviews!

Note from Elise: Depends on how much people like to eat. Generally we plan on 1/3 to 1/2 pound per person.

Posted by: Laura on December 5, 2007 1:28 PM

Hi Elise, I have a 6 pound rump roast.....what do you think the cooking time will be for med. rare?

Hi Char, I would guess an hour longer (at the lower temp) than the instructions provided for a 3 pound roast. But note that there can be a lot of variation in the cooking time depending on the size and shape of your roast, the type of oven, etc. So, to make a roast properly you really do need to use a meat thermometer. ~Elise

Posted by: Char on December 16, 2007 7:08 PM

Elise, Thank you!! I'm looking forward to making this - this is almost exactly like my mom's recipe but with a longer cooking time. I'm hoping to get more drippings this way. The only other difference (which I plan to keep) is my mom's recipe calls for sticking a few sprigs of fresh basil (dried works too) in with the slivers of garlic prior to cooking. This makes for amazing drippings and gravy. Thank you so much! Michelle

Posted by: Michelle on December 25, 2007 8:12 AM

I've made quite a few Roast Beef and Yorkshire Puddings but this recipe for Roast Beef simply did not do it for me, nor my family, nor my guests and it was our Christmas Dinner. While I won't say it was bad, there are better recipes out there. Deciding whether to use garlic in this roast is up to you. We didn't care for it because it took away from the 'real taste' of the beef. We used a 2 lb roast, roasted at 375 degrees for half an hour, and then down to 225 degrees as stated in this recipe until it was done. This recipe states a 3 to 3 1/2 pound roast will take 2-3 hours. Our roast, at 2 lbs, took 2 hours 40 minutes after the initial 30 minutes and it was barely medium. The interior of the meat was still very rare and red. While I will say the meat was juicy, it was grisly and chewy. Then again, it could have been the cut.

Posted by: FCP on January 1, 2008 3:51 PM

I followed this recipe to make my first roast beef ever, and it was a total success! Our rump roast was an end piece that tapered pretty dramatically, so the thin end ended up being more done than the front, but there was only a 10-degree difference between the two ends, so nothing was "overdone." The entire roast was very tender and juicy, and my husband the carnivore loved it. Your recipes are great in that there are lots of useful tips. Many thanks!

Posted by: Patty on January 9, 2008 12:42 PM

Served this meal up tonight to my family, my son said it was his best roast beef ever, my daughter said we need to have it more often. This is the highest compliment coming from 2 teenagers that know everything (at least they think so). Great Recipe!

Posted by: Thomas on January 14, 2008 3:30 PM

Hey, great site! I'd love to do something like this someday. With this roast beef recipe why not try this next time... sliver with garlic (love it!), drench in a red wine (alcohol cuts marinade time to an 1/8th) then rub with Montreal Steak Spice, wrap in fresh Basil leafs and let sit out for a couple hours. After that remove the basil and then stuff them into the same holes as the garlic-(the basil should be limp at this time). Now wrap the roast in bacon and cook that baby! Yum, trying that tonight! Give me a holler if you'd like another teamate Elis - it'd be an honor!

Posted by: Tannis on January 29, 2008 10:11 AM

It's useful to sprinkle cut rosemary around the beef. It adds nice flavor.

Posted by: Denis on February 14, 2008 9:31 AM

Hey Elise!

I used your recipe for our Easter Sunday Roast today. It was fantastic! Had to make a few edits.

I'll be adding a blog post about it shortly.

Thanks for keeping a great blog and posting such great recipes!

Ruth

Posted by: Ruth E on March 23, 2008 1:31 PM

I made this tonight with a shoulder roast, I did not cook for the entire 2.5 hours on 225 degrees about 1.5 for a 2.5lb roast it turned out juicy, pink and very tender. My husband raved on its flavor. Will definetly be making this again.

Posted by: Kerry on April 28, 2008 5:22 PM

I made this for the first time yesterday. Turned about perfect. We had it with scalloped potatoes and mixed vegetables. I agree with a previous post that info on how to add potatoes and carrots would be helpful.

Posted by: JC on August 17, 2008 6:20 PM

This simple recipe provided fantastic results with a mediocre cut of meat. I had used a fairly lean rump roast with barely any marbling and a small layer of fat.Thanks from our family to yours for sharing.

Posted by: Rob on September 21, 2008 12:02 AM

You only nee to give it quick rumble in the frying pan to seal it. Place it straight onto the middle shelf of the oven with a foil covered baking tray underneath it to catch the drips.

Posted by: lynne paterson on October 5, 2008 2:29 AM

Hi Elise! Long time reader, first time commenter! I have made this roast recipe twice now and both times I have felt like a fabulous chef! I've bought the roast on sale, yet this method makes it taste super expensive! And I had to tell my blogger peeps about it, so I've linked to your website. I hope that's fine! Thanks!

Posted by: mom2werogers on December 22, 2008 7:21 AM

We had roast beef for Christmas dinner and I followed your instructions. It was delicious! Thanks so much and Happy New Year!

Posted by: Mrs. Happy Housewife on December 31, 2008 7:56 AM

I have tried this recipe and my roast turns out dry. Since I haven't a local butcher I usually get my meat at the local grocery store and the fat marbling in it is awful. I was told to cook the roast in a bag to seal in flavor. Will this work or are there any ideas you can offer to make my roast more tender?

You might try browning the roast first on the stovetop and then cooking it on low in a slow cooker. The trick to tenderness is "low and slow", especially with cuts with low fat content. Or you could lower the heat in your oven a notch. The other thing with this roast beef is to slice it very thin, against the grain. That will help break up the muscle fibers and make what you are eating more tender. ~Elise

Posted by: Learningasigo on January 8, 2009 12:36 AM

To Linda (the one worried about room temperature),

I doubt that any bacteria could survive after being cooked for that long. But if you want to be extra safe u can take out the roast an hour to half an hour before hand and leave it in it's wrapper in your sink with cold water running constantly over it. This will defrost your roast but no bacteria will start growing. It's called "speed defrosting" in the biz.

Posted by: Maxine on February 10, 2009 2:39 PM

Hi Elise,
I love your recipies. The food almost always turns out correct unless I've made a mistake.
I've moved into a new house last year and it has a convection oven. I wanted to cook a slow roast like my mother did and she did it for 24 hours because it didn't need any care and always came out perfect. I've discovered that this convection oven shortens cooking time and I can't predict when my roasts will be done. I'm serving guests in a couple days and I want it to be perfect. I have a 5 lb top round beef roast that I want to be cooked as slow as possible so that it is medium to well. Is it possible to predict when to take it out of the fridge, prep it, place it in the oven and take out of the oven at 6:30 pm for serving at 7:00 pm?

Thanks much for your help.
Rob.

My guideline for cooking with convection is to lower the temp by 25°F and reduce the cooking time by a quarter. The other thing you can do is get a leave-in meat thermometer like the one from Polder so you can keep tabs on the internal temperature of the roast. ~Elise

Posted by: Rob on March 11, 2009 10:47 AM

The good basics is what I wish I had more of...this was just what I was looking for. I used a sirloin tip roast, not a lot of drippings but w the gravy recipe, I had just enough for 2 delicious cups. Instead of using the oven rack to cook my meat, I placed it in an oversized roasting pan w a rack in it, kept it uncovered. Turned out very well. I cut my meat deli thin w my food slicer and I know my kids will really enjoy this. Plan to use any leftovers for another meal--in a panini sandwich. Thanks!

Posted by: michelle on April 1, 2009 11:31 AM

I loved the garlic flavor! It was a little bit on the dry side- I'm not sure why- but was still very good. Looking forward to trying it again perhaps with a different cut of beef. Thanks for the recipe!

Posted by: Stefanie on April 6, 2009 4:30 PM

I made this roast last week thursday. It was absolutely delicious. My husband and my kids said it was the best meal they ever had. I am making it again tonight only because last week we weren't able to have leftovers, when everyone had left the kitchen before we had a chance to clean it up, my chocolate lab couldnt resist the smell and ate the remaining 2 lbs of roast! I was so mad, I decided to try again tonight and make sure the leftovers were put right way.

Posted by: melissa on April 8, 2009 5:08 PM

I am not a new bride by any means. This was the very best recipe for cooking a bargain beef roast that I have come across. I followed your recipe to the letter and my rump roast was as juicy and tender(cut across the grain as you suggested) as a cut of very expensive beef roast. Thank you so much for this excellent recipe; it is now my new best way to save money on my husband's favorite dinner!

Posted by: amber on April 18, 2009 3:46 PM

Very simple and tasty. Thanks for the recipe.

Posted by: wes on April 22, 2009 3:22 PM

Elise,

I tried this recipe on Sunday and it was a major hit here, and the fact that my father-in-law is a chef makes it difficult to impress my hubby. Thank you so much, this will definitely be a regular dinner item here.

Thank you so much

Posted by: Dawn on May 19, 2009 10:10 AM

I don't quite understand what you mean when placing the meat directly on the oven rack. Are you saying put the meat on an oven rack and a drip pan on a rack underneath? Or are you supposed to use one the of the drip pan things? And how far from the top of the oven should I have the meat?

My mother places the roast directly on an oven rack in the oven, and puts a drip pan on a rack below it. This way you get much more heat circulating around the roast. Place the roast in the oven so that it is centered in the oven. This will give you the most even heat. ~Elise

Posted by: Melissa on September 28, 2009 7:50 AM

Awesome! I made it for some friends and they raved about it. The leftovers were great, even cold.

Posted by: Chet on October 25, 2009 10:10 AM

This is by far the best roast I have ever made. I will admit, I was very leary with cooking a rump roast. (All other efforts have been epic failures). I followed the directions exactly, and the end result was a perfectly tender, juicy, melt in your mouth roast! I couldn't believe such a lean piece of meat could turn out this great. I removed my roast from the oven when it reached an internal temperature of 140 degrees. It was evenly pink throughout, even the end pieces were fabulous! Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe. I'll be using this recipe for many years to come and will definitely pass it on to my children. It helps to be able to make a tasty meal out of a less expensive cut of beef, especially in these hard econimical times. Thanks again!

Posted by: Tana on November 3, 2009 1:00 PM

I bought a package containing two pot roasts for 1.79/lb. My hubby doesn't like pot roast, and we rarely eat beef anymore, so I was hoping to get a good oven roast recipe. I found this recipe, and decided to give it a shot. I prepared the smaller of the two roasts. I weighed it on a postage scale, and it was under three lbs. I prepared it as written. I inserted a meat thermometer when I put it in the oven so that it wouldn't overcook. I took it out when the thermometer read 145 degrees. It was by far the best roast beef I've ever tasted. I made it rare and put a couple of slices in the microwave for my hubby because he likes his meat medium to well done. He loved it, too. I'm going to make the other roast when my daughter comes for a visit later this month. I would give it five+ stars if you had a star system.

Posted by: Sue on November 13, 2009 9:22 AM

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