Cooking up some roast beef for dinner may seem like a complicated task, but in reality, it is quite simple. With the concoction of some herbs and a good piece of meat, you can prepare a delicious and flavorful dinner for a family get-together!
Beef is the simplest yet the most sought-after meat out there for weekends, especially during the winters. And if you want to know whats the best way to cook beef, it’s none other than roasting beef in the best roasters in the category. However, if you’re roasting beef in an oven against its traditional uncovered cooking, here are some essential things you ought to remember.
Select the Meat
The process of selecting the meat can be quite tricky and time-consuming. But that is the only part of the entire process that is a little stressful. If you are making roast beef, you can go for almost any type of cut beef. Anything from a rib-eye, rump, sirloin to chuck, all of it tastes pretty great.
First, you’d always pick a large and tender cut of beef just to avoid getting served tough chunks of beef you’d dislike. Second, make sure to check that the beef is slightly darker in color with a thick fatty layer and good marbling throughout. Such a piece would stay juicy from the inside and attain a crisp layer from the outside after roasting. Let’s now get to the recipe of roast beef in an oven.
Here’s what you will need
- Any roast beef (like rib roast, top sirloin roast, round roast, tri-tip, or tenderloin) of around 4lb.
- ¼ tbsp extra virgin olive oil (for better taste and gloss)
- 3 minced garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp finely chopped rosemary
- 1 tbsp finely chopped thyme leaves
- 2 tsp kosher salt (goes very well with beef)
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
The Process to Roast Beef in an Oven
After completing the most challenging part of choosing the type of roast for your beef, the rest of the process is easy.
To start with, preheat the oven at around 450 degrees Celsius. Preheating the oven reduces cooking time and ensures even cooking.
If you have refrigerated the beef, take it out around 30-35 minutes before the cooking process to come to room temperature. This is a crucial step as the cooking time will increase otherwise. To shorten the cooking time further, you should let the beef sit for around 1-2 hours at room temperature.
Now, depending upon your main recipe, prepare the marination for the beef. The simplest marination comprises a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil, some black ground pepper, beef specialist kosher salt, minced garlic cloves, and any finely chopped herb.
Here, you can pick rosemary and thyme as both of these will deliver a superb aroma to the beef and your main dish. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and leave aside this marination for 15-20 minutes for the various flavors to come out and blend.
Place the beef on the large container and evenly rub the above marination all over the roast beef. And let it sit for another 15-20 minutes. Post this, insert the roast beef into your best roasters in the category, and roast for 15 minutes.
Then, reduce the temperature to 325-340 degrees Celsius and roast for another 1 hour 45 minutes or roast for a complete 2-hours on medium heat.
Remove the roast beef from the oven and let it cool a bit for around 15-20 minutes at room temperature. Note that the beef will continue cooking itself during this resting period of 15-20 minutes.
Should I cover the roast?
The question asked by a lot of people is whether they need to cover the roast while cooking it. A simple answer to it is: here; we are roasting the beef, which does not require you to cover the roast with a lid.
How to serve oven-roasted beef?
Serving oven-roasted beef is as crucial as its preparation. Instead of trying too much, cut the beef into small chunks or consumable slices. Serve cold, stuffed between sandwich slices, or toss in your favorite spicy gravy to serve hot. You can even enjoy the roast beef as it is with a glass of wine.
How do you know the roast is done?
Since you’re roasting beef in an oven, you can’t rely solely on the standard cooking time to know when the roasting is done or not. Nor can you keep peeking into the oven to have a look through. It will affect the cooking time and the dish as well.
To know whether the roasting is done or not, it’s always better to check the temperature of the beef before pulling it out from the oven.
The roasting thumb rule says that you can take the beef out of the oven when its temperature is 10 degrees below the desired temperature. The beef will continue to cook itself from the heat present inside it during its resting period.
Wait before you start carving the roast
Now that you have cooked the roast perfectly, what is the next step? It’s carving! Once your roast is done, you must wait for a good 15 to 30 minutes before you begin to carve it. The time span will give the meat a chance to rest.
During this, the flavorful juices will get the time to redistribute within the roast, to give you one big, sumptuous and delectable meal. Cutting it up right out of the oven is no sin either, but if you wait for a while, the time and effort will totally pay off!
So it would always be better if you remove the beef roast from the oven once it is done, cover it with a tin foil, and let it rest for 15 to 30 minutes before digging into it. While your beef rests, there are plenty of other things that you can do, such as prepare the gravy, set the dining table, or even whip up some pudding for dessert!
Try searing it
You could also choose to sear your beef if you like it that way. Searing can help give your beef a golden-brown or a plain brown color on the outside. According to some, it enhances the flavor of the meat and makes it more appetizing, in addition to giving it the divine brown color.
So, to begin with the searing process, take a pan and a big tablespoon of cooking oil. It would always be better if you picked an oil with a high smoke point. For that, you could go with any generic vegetable cooking oil or canola. Oil is not advisable for the searing process since it needs a lower temperature to burn.
If you want to sear your beef, you would want to go with an iron skillet. So once your beef is seasoned, add it into the steaming skillet with a good amount of cooking oil. Do not keep turning the meat around initially as it will stick on the pan.
Instead, let it simply rest for a while on each side. Once the meat is brown on one side, you can flip it up on the other side without it sticking to the pan. You can rest once all the sides have turned brown.
Or you could always truss it
Another option for you when you make roast beef is to truss it. Trussing a roast helps to give it a smoother and more definitive shape. This even leads to better cooking of the roast. It also helps in softening the beef, which makes it easier to slice it.
If you do not wish to truss it, you can even ask the butcher to do it for you! Or else, a butcher’s string is easily available in many grocery stores. Get yourself one of those and truss the beef while cooking it.
What can you do with the Leftover Beef?
Have some leftover beef from the previous night? No stress. There is so much that can be done with it! The versatility of leftover meat, especially beef, is one of life’s greatest pleasures! You can use it in a breakfast hash, as french dip sliders for lunch, or you can simply have it cold, straight out of the fridge!
We assure you that your leftover beef will never go in the dustbin if you have the innovation and creativity to do something with it.
Conclusion
Oven-roasted beef is your best way to enjoy the weekends at home without a lot of work. The above recipe will surely help you satisfy your meat cravings. If you have any more queries regarding the topic, leave a comment. Stay tuned for more such updates!