Ross Girls Cook!!!: Herbed Roast Beef

Herbed Roast Beef

From Cook's Country | December/January 2010

Why this recipe works:

A luxurious, crunchy bread-crumb crust is great for a tenderloin, but it fell apart when we tried to slice our Herbed Roast Beef thin. Instead of a crust, we developed an herb mustard spread and discovered a way to incorporate it directly into the roast. As the herb butter lay on the resting… read more

Serves 6 to 8

For even deeper seasoning, refrigerate the roast overnight after filling it with the herb mixture in step 2.

Ingredients

1/3 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons minced fresh thyme
1 shallot, minced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 (4-pound) top sirloin roast, fat trimmed to 1/4 inch thick
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon pepper

Instructions

1. PREP HERBS Combine parsley, thyme, and shallot in bowl. Transfer 2 tablespoons herb mixture to another bowl and stir in mustard and 1 tablespoon oil until combined. Add butter to remaining herb mixture and mash with fork until combined.

2. PREP BEEF Butterfly roast and rub inside and out with salt and pepper. Spread herb-mustard mixture over interior of meat and tie securely with kitchen twine at 1-inch intervals. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.

3. BROWN AND ROAST Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 275 degrees. Pat roast dry with paper towels. Heat remaining oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown roast all over, 8 to 12 minutes, then arrange on V-rack set inside roasting pan. Transfer to oven and roast until meat registers 125 degrees (for medium-rare), 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

4. BUTTER AND REST Transfer roast to carving board, spread with herb-butter mixture, tent with foil, and let rest 20 minutes. Remove kitchen twine. Slice roast crosswise against grain into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Serve.

Herbs Galore

Fresh parsley and thyme flavor both the interior and exterior of our roast.

1. Butterfly the roast by slicing horizontally through the middle of the meat. Leave about 1/2 inch of meat intact, then open it like a book.

2. After seasoning the meat, spread the herb-mustard mixture over the interior of the meat.

3. Fold the meat back to its original position, then tie securely at 1-inch intervals with kitchen twine.

4. For a second hit of herb flavor after the roast is cooked, spread it with herb butter.

Fast Sear, Slow Roast for Beef

To promote browning when roasting beef, you want the oven to be very hot. Unfortunately, even if you remove the roast when the center is pink, you'll find a thick, unsightly band of gray, overcooked meat at its edge; a low temperature does a better job of cooking the meat evenly. So we brown most beef roasts on the stovetop to build a flavorful crust, then roast them gently for a uniformly rosy, juicy interior.