Recipe: Beef Roast

Name: Beef Roast
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 1 beef roast weighing 2.6 lb (1.2 kg), rump, sirloin or chuck; 1 onion; 1 knob of butter; 1 tablespoon of grapeseed oil; 1 bay leaf; A little thyme; Salt and freshly ground pepper

By chef patrick Asfaux 4.9/5 (166 reviews) · 🍳 152 made it

Prep 10 min

Cook 30 min

Total 40 min

Servings 6 serv.

Beef roast is the quintessential Sunday dish of French cuisine, the one that brings family together around a beautiful piece of golden meat and fragrant gravy. Its success rests on two fundamental rules that rushed cooks too often ignore: never salt the meat before cooking to keep all the juices inside, and absolutely respect the resting time after the oven, that moment when the roast relaxes and concentrates its juices. Rump, sirloin or chuck: the choice of cut and especially the quality of the meat make all the difference between a tender and juicy beef roast and dry, disappointing meat. To succeed with a good beef roast, buy meat from a « meat » breed. I say this because for the past few years, they've been selling us dairy cow meat to make roasts with it. All my ancestors from the countryside must be turning over in their graves!

Ingredients for 6 servings

Adjust for

servings

1 beef roast weighing 2.6 lb (1.2 kg), rump, sirloin or chuck
1 onion
1 knob of butter
1 tablespoon of grapeseed oil
1 bay leaf
A little thyme
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Step-by-step directions

First, remove the lard strips and strings. If you see that the roast is in several pieces, tie it back together. Leave the meat out for half an hour at room temperature before preparation.

1 Over high heat, place a knob of butter and a tablespoon of grapeseed oil in a heavy pot that can also go in the oven, like a cast iron Dutch oven. Once everything is well colored, sear your beef roast on all sides. Important tip: definitely don't salt it, this will allow all the blood to stay inside.

2 Preheat your oven to 410°F (210°C) (gas mark 7+).

3 Add around your roast one peeled onion cut into quarters, a bay leaf and a little thyme for the gravy.

4 Place your roast in the oven at mid-height for 30 minutes, or 10 to 12 minutes per pound of meat depending on whether your roast is thick or long and thin. Make sure your onions don't burn by adding a tablespoon of water from time to time.

5 When the roast comes out of the oven, remove it from your pot, add a little fleur de sel and a turn of the pepper mill on top. Remove some of the fat from your pot, salt and pepper with the mill, and put the pot back on the heat.

6 Pour in a large glass of water, about 0.6 cup (150 ml), bring to a boil and with a spatula, scrape up the browned bits stuck to the bottom of your pot.

7 Turn off the heat, then place a plate or an inverted lid at the bottom of your cooking pot and set your beef roast on top, covered with aluminum foil. Let it rest for 20 minutes and release its own juices. You'll see your beef roast relax and, little by little, droplets of meat juices will blend into your gravy.

8 Place your roast on your cutting board and remove the plate from the bottom of the pot. Put the pot back on the heat and bring your gravy to a final boil, enriched with the juices released by the meat. Strain it, then slice your roast into thin pieces.

9 Pour a little of the hot gravy onto the bottom of your serving platter and arrange your thin slices of beef roast on it. Top with a little very hot gravy, as it's what brings the right temperature to enjoying your roast. Serve the remaining gravy in a gravy boat.

Accompany this beef roast with grandmother-style mashed potatoes, baked apples, French fries, sautéed potatoes, potato gratin, but also green vegetables and even more original combinations like a pan of Jerusalem artichokes and carrot rounds, a puree of bulb chervil and of course all sautéed mushrooms.

Chef Patrick's Comment

You can make exactly the same recipe with venison or horse meat, using the same cooking times.

This resting technique works for all red meats. Besides, when you apply these tips for the first time, you will be, I'm sure, pleasantly surprised by the result.