Perfect Roast Beef with Au Jus

A great roast beef is welcome at the table anytime, so I was particularly pleased to find a recipe that not only takes all of the guesswork out of the preparation, but also kicks up the flavor exponentially.  I've actually been using this recipe from The Complete Meat Cookbook (the one indispensable cookbook for carnivores) for a number of years yet I never got around to including it here.  Recently someone asked me for a great way to prepare roast beef and I told them to check my website, only to be told that it wasn't there.  Well it is now, and it rocks!

Remove the roast from fridge, and allow an hour to come up to room temperature before roasting. 

Crush the herbs, S&P, garlic and oil into a paste in a mortar and pestle.  Preheat the oven to 450º.  Brush the vinegar all over the roast.  Lay it fat side up in a shallow roasting pan.  Coat the top, ends and sides of the roast with the herb paste.

Place the roast in the middle of the oven and roast for 15 minutes.  Turn the heat down to 350º and continue to roast for an additional 35-45 minutes.  Start checking the internal temperature in the thickest part of the roast with a digital thermometer after about 30 minutes.  Remove the roast from the oven when the temperature reaches:

• 115º - 120º for rare meat
• 125º - 130º for medium-rare, or
• 130º - 140º for medium

Tent the roast loosely with foil and let it rest 15 - 25 minutes so the meat juices and internal temperature can stabilize.  The internal temperature will rise an additional 10º or so while resting.

During this resting time place the roasting pan over two stove burners set to high heat.  Add the wine to the pan drippings and cook, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen all the fond.  Add the stock and allow all to cook over high heat until reduced by half.  Whisk in the thyme and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Carve, and serve with the au jus!

Notes:

Everybody's first choice for roast beef is, of course, a standing rib roast - prime rib - (this is where rib eye steaks originate.)  They are, however, very, very expensive.  An excellent second choice is a boneless top loin roast (the top loin is where the New York Strip steak comes from.)  A boneless roast is also easier to work with when carving.  This is also a pricey roast, just not quite as much as the standing rib roast.

If I had to pay that much for roast we'd only be eating roast beef on special occasions, but I've discovered that a boneless rump roast is quite good, and much more reasonably priced.