Roast Beef Dinner
The ease of this roast beef dinner recipe makes me wonder why I don’t make it more often. Its secret is the combination of herbs and spices you sprinkle on the beef and the garlic you push into the meat. This roast beef comes out moist, tender and delicious.
When I was growing up, roast beef dinner was the meal each of my four siblings and I would pick for celebrating our birthdays because it was so flavorful and delicious. My mother cooked it to perfection; always medium rare.
My mother also cooked roast beef at least once a month for Sunday dinner. Do people still cook and enjoy a big Sunday dinner? I’d love to know.
My sister Robyn started up the Sunday dinner tradition again recently and all of her kids and their significant others really enjoy and look forward to it. I remember how much I loved my family’s Sunday dinner meal, especially when there was roast beef to look forward to!!
Which cut of roast beef is best?
I really like top round, bottom round and chuck roasts for my roast beef dinners. That said, if money isn’t an issue, tenderloin roast and sirloin tip roast are probably the best choices. Here is a great article explaining the different cuts of roast beef.
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Helpful Tips
- For a small roast (less than three pounds), take the beef out at least a half hour before starting the recipe. For a larger roast, take it out an hour before starting the recipe. The reason you do this is to gradually raise the surface temperature of the meat so once you start roasting the beef, it quickly reaches browning temperature and will form a crust.
- Choose grass-fed beef whenever you can. I enjoy the meat I buy from ButcherBox, a meat subscription company that delivers the products directly to your door monthly or bi-monthly. I really trust the quality of meat they sell.
- Experiment with herbs and spices to suit your taste, but I really enjoy the combination of seasonings I call for in this recipe.
- Use organic herbs as they are superior to conventional. Plus, a little goes a long way so they are cost effective.
- When you cook meat, the proteins set and push the juices to the middle of the meat. Allowing the roast to rest for 10 – 15 minutes after it’s finished allows the juices to redistribute throughout the meat.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Beef – grass-fed top round roast.
- Onion – Vidalia because I like the slightly sweet taste, but yellow onion will work just as well.
- Garlic – use as much as you like. I say the more the merrier.
- Basil – organic.
- Tarragon – organic.
- Rosemary – organic.
- Kosher salt – helps flavor the meat.
- Pepper – I only use a little because hubby isn’t fond of it, but use as much as you want.
How to Make a Roast Beef Dinner
Pre-step
Take your cut of beef out of the refrigerator before you start the recipe: 1/2 hour for less than 3 pounds and one hour for anything bigger.
Get a roasting pan.
Step one
Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
Step two
Cut a large onion in thick slices and get garlic cloves.
Step three
Unwrap the beef. The roast pictured weighs 2.75 pounds.
Step four
Place onion slices in the roasting pan and place the roast beef on top of them.
Step five
Cut as many slivers out of the cloves of garlic you’re going to use and take a small sharp knife and make slits all over the roast beef.
Step six
Stick the slivers of garlic into the slits.
“Peek a boo,” the garlic yells!
Step seven
Gather the ingredients to make your rub: dried rosemary, basil, tarragon, garlic powder, kosher salt and pepper.
Step eight
Place the rub ingredients in a small mixing bowl and whisk them to combine.
Pick the roast up in your hand and sprinkle some of the rub over the bottom of the roast. Replace the meat in the pan and sprinkle the rest of the rub over the roast beef. Use your hands to rub the herbs and spices evenly over the roast beef.
Step nine
Bake until the internal temperature reaches 130 – 135 degrees Fahrenheit. I use this digital thermometer to check the temperature.
Figure 20 minutes of cooking time per pound. My 2.75 pound roast took 1 hour.
Let the roast beef rest for 15 minutes before slicing into it.
Yeeee-HAW! Perfect! I love this roast beef dinner so much!
Time to plate it with a baked potato and an onion slice from the pan.
I hope you enjoyed this roast beef dinner recipe! Christopher and I enjoyed eating it!
Other popular meat recipes
And as always, may all your dishes be delish!
If you’ve tried this Roast Beef Dinner recipe, I’d love the know what you thought about it in the comments below. I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more of my delicious food and delightful cocktails!
Roast Beef Dinner
Ingredients
- 2.75 pounds top round roast beef (or as big as you want it)
- 1 onion (medium, 4 thick slices off of it)
- 2 cloves garlic (slivered)
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 F.
- In a roasting pan, place the four slices of onion on the bottom.1 onion
- With a small blade, cut small holes in various places in the roast and push slivered garlic into the holes.2.75 pounds top round roast beef, 2 cloves garlic
- Combine salt, pepper, rosemary, basil and tarragon in a small bowl, forming a rub.1 tablespoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, 1 teaspoon dried basil, 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
- Pick the roast in your had and sprinkle some of the rub on the bottom. Place roast on the onion slices and sprinkle rub on the top round roast. Use your hands to rub in on the meat.
- Give the roast a few shakes of garlic powder because you can never have enough garlic :).1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Place roasting pan on the rack in the middle of the oven. Cook for 20 – 30 minutes per pound.
- Check internal temperature with a thermometer, depending on how done you want it. Medium rare will be between 130 – 135 degrees.
- Take roast out of oven and let it rest 15 minutes before slicing into it.
- Place slices on plates and add some veggies and a potato.
- Serve
- Smile
- Enjoy
Equipment
See all my favorite tools and gift ideas at my Amazon Store page!Check out Elaine’s Amazon Store!Notes
- For a small roast (less than three pounds), take the beef out at least a half hour before starting the recipe. For a larger roast, take it out an hour before starting the recipe. The reason you do this is to gradually raise the surface temperature of the meat so once you start roasting the beef, it quickly reaches browning temperature and will form a crust.
- Choose grass-fed beef whenever you can. I enjoy the meat I buy from ButcherBox, a meat subscription company that delivers the products directly to your door monthly or bi-monthly. I really trust the quality of meat they sell.
- Experiment with herbs and spices to suit your taste, but I really enjoy the combination of seasonings I call for in this recipe.
- Use organic herbs as they are superior to conventional. Plus, a little goes a long way so they are cost effective.
- When you cook meat, the proteins set and push the juices to the middle of the meat. Allowing the roast to rest for 10 – 15 minutes after it’s finished allows the juices to redistribute throughout the meat.
Nutrition
Originially published in April of 2016.
