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Classic Roast Beef with Gravy

Source of Recipe

From "Cook It In Cast Iron" by America's Test Kitchen


Recipe Introduction

"Reaching for a cast-iron skillet to cook a large roast may not be your first instinct, but this pan's unrivaled searing ability makes it great for browning meat and building flavorful gravy, the keys to great roast beef. Salting the meat for our roast beef and letting it sit overnight helped season the beef. To get a good crust and tender meat without overcooking, we first seared the roast on the stovetop in a hot skillet and then finished it in a low oven. The low roasting temperature (just 225 degrees) produced incredibly juicy meat and a uniformly rosy interior but left precious little liquid in the skillet. Without enough pan drippings to make gravy, we instead used the rendered fat and flavorful browned bits left behind from searing the meat on the stovetop as our gravy base and started making the sauce early in the cooking process, before finishing the roast in the oven. Setting the roast on top of a bed of sliced vegetables during its time in the oven eliminated the need for a V-rack and enhanced the flavor of the gravy. To get even more concentrated beef flavor without extra work, we turned to store-bought condensed beef consommé to deglaze the skillet after roasting. If desired, you can substitute top sirloin for the top round; look for an evenly shaped roast with a ¼-inch fat cap."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 1 (4- to 5-pound) boneless top round roast, trimmed and tied at 1-inch intervals
â—¦ Salt and pepper
â—¦ 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus extra as needed
â—¦ 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
â—¦ 1 onion, sliced into ½-inch-thick rounds
â—¦ 1 celery rib, cut into 2-inch pieces
â—¦ 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
â—¦ â…“ cup all-purpose flour
â—¦ 1 teaspoon tomato paste
â—¦ 2 (10.5-ounce) cans beef consommé
â—¦ 1 ½ cups water


Recipe

Sprinkle roast with 2 teaspoons salt, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 225 degrees. Pat roast dry with paper towels and sprinkle with 2 teaspoons pepper. Heat 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add oil and heat until just smoking. Brown roast on all sides, 8 to 12 minutes; transfer to plate.

Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat from skillet. (If necessary, add extra oil as needed to equal 2 tablespoons.) Add carrots, onion, celery, and butter and cook until vegetables are softened and lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in flour and tomato paste and cook until mixture begins to darken, about 2 minutes. Off heat, push vegetables to center of skillet. Place browned roast on top of vegetables, transfer skillet to oven, and roast until meat registers 120 to 125 degrees (for medium-rare), 1 ½ to 2 hours. Using potholders, remove skillet from oven. Transfer roast to carving board, tent loosely with aluminum foil, and let rest while making gravy.

Being careful of hot skillet handle, place skillet with vegetables over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are deep golden brown, about 5 minutes. Slowly whisk in consommé and water, scraping up any browned bits and smoothing out any lumps. Bring to simmer and cook until gravy is thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in any accumulated meat juices.

Strain gravy through fine-mesh strainer into serving bowl, pressing on vegetables to extract as much liquid as possible; discard solids. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove kitchen twine from roast and slice thin against grain. Serve with gravy.

Serves 8