Garlic Herb Beef Top Round Roast
Garlic Herb Beef Top Round Roast is the only way to prepare this normally tough cut of beef. This is the best method of turning an inexpensive piece of meat into a tender, juicy, medium rare delight!
A top round roast is one of those inexpensive cuts of meat.
It is lean and very flavorful, but it lacks fat and marbleizing throughout, essentially making it tougher and not as juicy as roasts made from more expensive cuts of beef.
Try our Bread Pudding for dessert!
Garlic Herb Beef Top Round Roast
How to Cook a Top Round Roast Beef
The secret is called the pre-salt method. The night before you plan to cook the roast (24 hours), rub the entire roast with about 1 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate.
I have forgotten to do this part the night before and do it early the morning of and let it sit it for a minimum of 4-6 hours before cooking, it still works.
One hour before cooking remove the roast from the refrigerator to take the chill off.
Just before cooking pat dry with paper towels.
Mix herbs, salt, pepper, and garlic together in a small bowl. Rub the roast with 1 tablespoon of oil, evenly sprinkle with the garlic herb mixture.
Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the roast and sear on all sides until browned, 3-4 minutes per side. Place the roast on a rack on a rimmed baking sheet or roasting pan.
Roast in a 250ºF preheated oven for 1 hour 20 minutes or until the internal temperature at the thickest part reads 115ºF. Turn the oven off, leaving the roast in (don’t open the door) and roast another 30-40 minutes or until it reaches 130ºF for medium-rare at the thickest part. (I usually pull it out at about 123ºF because it will continue to cook and we like it more on the rare side.) Roast until internal temperature reaches 140ºF for medium, pull out and let rest.
It’s a long cooking time but this method produces a tender, juicy piece of meat.
Please, I beg of you DO NOT cook past 140ºF! It will be too dry and not as tender. (on my knees here) You really might want to pull it out at 135ºF if you like it medium. As stated before, it will continue to cook while resting.
Remove the roast from the oven, transfer to a carving board or platter, cover with aluminum foil and allow to rest for 15 minutes.
Slice and serve!
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Top Round Roast Recipe
Garlic Herb Beef Top Round Roast Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 2.5-3 lb boneless top round roast
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes more or less as desired
- 5 cloves of garlic finely minced
Instructions
- The night before you plan to cook the roast, rub 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt evenly over the meat. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Or at least do this step 6 hours ahead of cooking.
- At least one hour before roasting, remove the roast from the refrigerator to take the chill off.
- Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
- Pat the roast dry with paper towels to remove excess moisture from the meat.
- Rub the roast all over with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- In a small bowl mix the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt, oregano, thyme, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and garlic.
- Evenly rub the garlic herb mixture on all sides the roast
- Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it just begins to simmer. Add the roast and sear on all sides until browned (including the sides and the ends), about 2 to 3 minutes per side.
- Transfer the roast to a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil (easy clean up).
- Roast the meat for 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until the meat reaches 115 degrees F on a meat thermometer. Turn the oven off, leaving the roast in the oven for another 30-40 minutes, or until the roast reaches an internal temperature of 130 degrees F for medium-rare (I remove it at about 123 degrees F it will continue to cook while resting) or 140 degrees F for medium. Do not cook the roast past medium it will be too dry!
- Remove the roast from the oven to a carving board and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes. Slice the meat as thinly as possible and serve.
I don’t see any mention of putting water in the bottom of the roasting pan, would it effect the cooking process if water was added to make gravy at the end? It sounds delicious and I can’t wait to make it tomorrow!
Hi, Tracy. You don’t put water in the bottom of the pan. It will steam the beef instead of slow roasting. I would suggest making a gravy by adding water to the pan after you remove the meat to rest.
Venison Roast is excellent using this recipe.
I used Herbes de Provence with this recipe, and it was marvelous! After 1hr 20 min at 225 F, though, the meat was already 125 F, so I tented it immediately. No worries. I I may have seared it too long.
Been in the mood for a great roast beef but haven’t had much luck cooking one. Tried this on a 2 lb. roast and it was PERFECT!! This will be a regular in our house from now on :-).
So glad to hear you were successful with this recipe, Ann! Thank you!
I cannot wait to try this recipe this week after all the great comments! One question, I’m allergic to Oregano, can I use Basil instead?
Don’t see why you couldn’t.