"Roast beef" ???

[PitRow]

Usually for my FIL for Christmas dinner we do a prime rib. This year we've had to put it off to this coming weekend and he asked for "a beef roast with gravy instead of prime rib."


First of all, isn't prime rib basically just a beef roast? Anyway, I'm not sure exactly what he means and I don't feel like asking since that will entail a half hour story about this or that that he had as a kid when the dinosaurs roamed freely.

So, when someone mentions roast beef what comes to mind for you? Sliced, pulled, something else entirely? I suppose it depends on how it's served, but what cut comes to mind? Like pulled would be chuck probably.

In my mind, I'm thinking somewhat thick sliced, like a ham steak or something, but not as thick as a prime rib would be cut. Maybe a tritip roast, or a round roast of some kind. Cook it at home sous-vide, then take it to his place and sear it under the broiler.

Your thoughts?

 

[bonz50]

i always think sliced for sandwiches first. however, a thicker slice, say 1/4-1/2" served with garlic mashed and gravy is a close second

 

[Smoke Dawg]

He may want a chuck roast or a rump roast. Maybe crock more of a pot roast. Think crock pot.

For me, Prime rib is the way to go and you can cook serve many ways. I was in OR for Christmas and Prime Rib was $4.97 / lb.

I brought too full Primal's home with me!

 

[bonz50]

4.97 for prime rib?? i would have bought a truck load of that, damn!!!

 

[Smoke Dawg]

4.97 for prime rib?? i would have bought a truck load of that, damn!!!

Limit one with a digital coupon. MSD and I each snagged one. Had to ask for the full primal but they reluctantly got them for us.

 

[Rhino99]

When I think roast with gravy it’s always chuck cooked in a crock pot with potatoes, carrots and onions and gravy made from the juice left over.

 

[Vision]

Roast beef can be from many cuts of beef which are usually roasted in the oven. I think top or bottom round. Google recipes for it.

 

[SmokeOCD]

Brown gravy out of a jar and piles of onions as a bed for the roast while it's cooking. That sounds pretty pre-historic. Simple seasonings, simple prep - but to be sure you may have to have that conversation.

 

[buckhorn_cortez]

A prime rib is a rib roast. You can have a butcher cut a boneless prime rib (there's an oxymoron). Roasts come from various places on a steer.

Roasts can come from the steer's chuck, or shoulder; the rib and loin areas; the round, or butt and back leg, and the brisket, or chest. The most tender roasts come from the part of the animal that move the least while the tougher cuts come from the areas that move the most.

Rib roasts and tenderloins are from areas that move the least while pot roasts and round roasts, and rump roasts come from areas that get more exercise.

Obviously, cooking a roast from an area of tougher meat takes longer and you generally treat it something like a brisket where the meat is thoroughly cooked to a higher temperature to make the meat more tender.

How about a compromise? Get a couple of tri-tips and if you can find larger cuts (I have found tri-tips as big as four pounds) you can treat it like a brisket, cooked low and slow to 200 F. If you foil the meat after it reaches 160 F, you will trap the juices which you can make into an au jous or gravy.

You will have an extremely tender finished product that will taste like a roast and give you enough juice to make gravy if you want to include mashed potatoes as part of the dinner.

 

[LYU370]

Top round , bottom round, rump roast roasted in the oven. Don't do eye of round, you'll be chewing for a week.

 

[chilidog]

Google Mississippi pot roast, cook it in the slow cooker or the instant pot…..

 

[Charny]

It sounds like he may be asking you to create something he grew up with. You'll need to tease out more specifics. Bonus: record him talking about his memories of eating roast beef, who prepared it, and how. I'll bet his family would appreciate that someday.

I like to sear the heck out of a salt and peppered chuck roast (usually cut into large chunks, for more surface area) and then braise it in a dutch oven. You can get more fancy with the spices, or not. A key question is how far to take it, and whether it is sliced or it is more fall apart with a fork.

Other recipes are more about cooking the roast on a pan, maybe starting at 475 and then reducing. Completely different approaches.

Gravy might be the juice, with flour as a roux, maybe with pureed veggies (strained).

If you go in a different 'better' direction, with better cuts, then you may create a 'better' result but it may not be what he thinks of as beef roast.

 

[Demosthenes9]

Top round , bottom round, rump roast roasted in the oven. Don't do eye of round, you'll be chewing for a week.

^^^^^ Spot on.



Bottom round and top round roasts are what you'll find at most "roast beef" carving stations on a reasonably priced buffet or brunch. Prime Rib (ribeye roast) is a more expensive option.

If you've ever seen a big, huge hunk of meat at a carving station, sometimes with a big bone sticking out the top, that's a "steam ship round" which is the entire beef round. Top, bottom, eye of round and the sirloin tip. Basically, the entire rear leg minus the shank.

Saw it mentioned above, so will add a bit. A Rump Roast is cut off the end of the bottom round subprimal. There's one oer bottom round. Some places cheat and cut a 2nd roast and label it as Rump roast as well.


What to get really depends on how many you are serving. 2 to 4 ? Get a rump roast. More than that? Either a few rump roasts or a larger bottom round roast.


For cooking, I'd go low and slow. 250ish or less then blast it for some color. Slice across the grain as thin as you can.

 

[edmonds]

"a beef roast with gravy instead of prime rib."
Your thoughts?

Makes me think of either:
1) chuck pot roast with potatoes, carrots
2) medium rare rump roast

Since prime rib is usually medium rare, and he says "instead of prime rib," I would go with #1

 

[LloydQ]

Top round , bottom round, rump roast roasted in the oven. Don't do eye of round, you'll be chewing for a week.

Absolutely. Southern style roast is a well done rump. Salt and pepper, put an inch of water in the pan, and cook covered at 400° for 2 and 1/2 hours or so. Make gravy with the liquid.
Deelicious!

 

[MisterChrister]

Sear the largest chuck roast that will fit in the biggest cast iron Dutch oven you have or can get your hands on. If you have to break it into two chunks to fit, that’s OK. Sear nicely on all sides, using a high quality oil. Then add a decent amount of salt and pepper, a couple cups of beef stock, and a bunch of sliced onions. You can add a few carrots for the sweet flavor, but don’t go overboard. Put the lid on and pop it into the oven at 250 for 6-8 hours depending on size. When it’s done, use the liquids in the Dutch oven to make a nice gravy.

Roast your potatoes and carrots separately, and for much less time, or they’ll be mush.

We’ve been doing this approach for years, and it never fails to disappoint or wow the guests. It’s what my mother in law did for my wife’s family meals on their beef farm for decades. Puts a smile on everyone’s face, and joy in everyone’s bellies!

 

[gcs]

"Here", a roast beef was a bottom round roast, often surrounded with chunked potatoes and carrots in the roasting pan, and the juices were used to make a brown gravy.
Typically sliced thin, and covered with gravy and served with the roasted vegetables or mashed potatoes.

Too often the roast was over done and gray throughout, lol, thus the gravy!

 

[Big George's BBQ]

Sirloin Roast is good. I have cooked it on my Egg and sliced for sandwiches See no reason cant be sliced thicker. Would be good with gravy

 

[Maylar]

Makes me think of either:
1) chuck pot roast with potatoes, carrots
2) medium rare rump roast

Since prime rib is usually medium rare, and he says "instead of prime rib," I would go with #1

Those are my thoughts as well. I think Mom used her pressure cooker. Red potatoes stay firm better.

 

[bonz50]

Google Mississippi pot roast, cook it in the slow cooker or the instant pot…..

long story made short but... during covid the fam relocated to AL I got called back to the office in IL in July '21 so I had to get an apartment up there and travel back and forth a few weeks at a time. I used to make those MS potroasts at my apartment and it would feed me for a week, SOO good and so easy, especially in the winter months. if you havent tried it is worth checking out.