Table for two by the fire please! Alta and Lilli make their Sunday dinner special. |
A good roast beef is first browned, then cooked low and slow so it is tender, moist and just falls apart. Because you cook it slow, you can use a less expensive cut of beef. Look for a chuck roast, or a top sirlion roast, top round roast, or any roast that is under 4.00$ a pound. An expensive cut of beef, like rib eye roast, tenderloin roast, or prime rib should never be cooked low and slow, that would be a waste! They should be cooked rare!
Every year I buy a half a cow and store it in my freezer. I STRONGLY encourage this. First, you will save money. Generally speaking, will get all the cuts of beef (steaks, roasts, etc) for the price of ground beef. Second, you can get grass feed beef which is 10X HEALTHIER for you than corn fed cow. Third, you are supporting local farmers, and eating grass fed cows is better for the environment. Even though the farm I get my cow from isn't organic certified, these cows are pretty dang organic they are just eating the grass I am driving by every day on the way home. I even get to say to my kids, "look, there is dinner!"
Give yourself a minimum of 4 hours to cook a thawed out roast. If it is frozen, give yourself 6. I usually cook my thawed out roasts for 6 hours. Here is where many people say, "what about a crock pot?" I say that crock pots are fine, but not my first choice. Here is why, crock pots don't brown food. Even if you brown it before you put it in the crock pot, it won't continue to brown in the slow cooker. One of my biggest rules is COLOR IS FLAVOR!
How to Cook a Sunday Dinner Roast Beef:
Step 1:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place the roast fat side down in a heavy pot that has a lid. (I think a professional chef would say fat side up, but I like the meat to get brown, not the fat, plus the fat will melt and be in the braising liquid). Salt and pepper the heck out of it. Salt it like it is snowing, don't be shy. Place in the hot oven to brown for about 45-60 minutes.
Step : 2
Once the meat is nice and brown and there are dark drippings at the bottom, remove from the oven.
Best beef base ever! Costco baby! |
Now add to the pot;
A coarsely chopped onion
5-7 bay leaves
4-6 smashed garlic cloves
a big spoonful of beef base (pictured below)
Enough hot water to cover the meat half way.
Ready to go back in the oven |
Step 6:
Cover the pot with a lid and return to the oven. Reduce the heat. For a 3 hr cook time, reduce to 325 degrees. 4 hour cook time--300 degrees. 5-6 hour cook time-- 275 degrees. I have even cooked a roast for 12 + hours at 180 degrees. The time can pretty forgiving. The more it cooks, the more tender it becomes.
Just out of the oven |
Now you have all this lovely braising liquid to make gravy. You can watch my YouTube video to learn how to make easy gravy. Please like the video, these dislikes are cramping my style! How could you not like it? :)
5 comments:
I have done it this way and it is daaaang good! Two thumbs way up sis!
Just tried it tonight and I will never make my roasts any other way again! Grass-fed beef can be tricky, but this was really easy and waaaaay good! Thanks Natalie.
Hi, you don't know me but I am making your roast beef tonight and I have a question - do you brown the meat with the lid on or off? Thanks - great blog BTW
I just made this tonight. Best roast I've ever had!
I never comment on blogs but you must know that I've been making pot roast for years and yours blows them all out of the water. Absolute perfection. I'm sure you're too busy to blog these days but at least please don't ever delete this blog!
Post a Comment