I’m visiting a friend who doesn’t cook and has no recipe books, and I need to make roast beef with gravy. Would someone suggest a simple rub for the roast beef? Also, since I don’t have a meat thermometer, how long per pound should I cook it for and at what temperature? Lastly, how do I make a simple gravy? I think it should be as simple as skimming the fat off of the beef juices, adding some beef stock, red wine, salt and pepper and thickening it with a flour and butter mixture. My goal isn’t to make anything too elaborate; my friends will be impressed enough that their oven is being used for something other than storing baked goods. Thanks.
If you are a total roast neophyte, I suggest getting a McCormick Bag N’ Season for roast. Throw some onions, taters and carrots in the bag and bake per instructions. Works pretty good and I pretty much like their seasoning blend.
Oh, and I like an Arm Roast. A Chuck Roast is good enough, but sometimes they are not as tender. Try to find a roast with some marbling. A 7 Bone Roast is OK, but it has like 7 bones in it.
Take the drippings out of the bag, skim the fat, and mix up a couple of tablespoons of flour in a cup of water. Bring the juices to a low boil in a sauce pan and stir in the flour/water. Stir til thick.
That’s the easy way out, you can do that and get by. Maybe somebody will chime in with the full blown from scratch version.
I really like a loin roast. That is the cut used for NY Steak (aka Kansas City Strip). It’s tender, has great flavor, and is easy to cook. If it’s a small roast I’d start it out at 425 degrees and then turn down to 350. Check it after aboy 15 min per-lb. Best way to judge doneness is with instant read thermometer: about 135 for medium rare. For larger roast I’d just cook at a constant temp of 350. It will be in long enough to develop a crust.
Good meat doesn’t need much more than salt and pepper and a little olive oil, but some mashed garlic and rosemary or thyme would be very nice. You hit the gravy technique on the money.
Please feel free to ignore this suggestion, as it isn’t exactly what you asked for, but in your particular situation, my suggestion would be to get a nice piece of brisket and casserole it (I think that might be called a pot roast in some parts of the world); Get a large ovenproof dish with a lid that fits properly, slice some onion, carrots and celery (or whatever other vegetables you like, but definitely including onions) - put these in a layer in the bottom of the pot, place the meat on top and pour over some red wine and stock (just use a cube dissolved in boiling water).
Put the lid on and place it in a hot oven for, say, three-quarters of an hour, then turn the oven down to about 150C (300F), then just leave it in there for four hours or more - within reason, the longer it’s cooked, the more tender it will be;
About twenty minutes before serving, take the meat out, put it on a plate, spoon half a cup of the juices over it and cover it tightly with foil - it does not need to go back in the oven - it will stay plenty warm enough.
In a saucepan, melt a large knob of butter, add a few tablespoons of flour and stir it about for a while as it bubbles - then strain the juice/liquor from the roasting pot into the pan, stir it well (a ballon whisk is good for this) and return to the heat to thicken it up as gravy.
You could scrub some large potatoes and put them in the oven halfway through cooking and you’ll have some nice baked spuds to go with it.
Not a proper ‘roast’, of course and you can’t really have it rare in the middle this way, but the upside is that it’s incredibly difficult to get it wrong.
Heat the oven for a while before you use it - if it’s been out of use for a while, it may smell when first used and you don’t want these smells to permeate the food.
Nearly forgot to mention - the liquid that you add to the pot should come about halfway up the piece of meat.
The best way to gauge doneness is to buy a meat thermometer. You can find one for $6 or $8 in the kitchen gadget aisle.
If that’s not an option, about 30 minutes per pound, at 325º for rare, up to an hour per pound for well done, depending on how big the hunk of meat is, what the real temp is, etc etc etc. You’ll have to keep an eye on it & poke frequently.
The most simple roast & gravy recipe I can think of is put a bayleaf under the roast, rub it with cracked black pepper, wash & quarter a few small potatoes & cook. When roast is almost done, take it out & let it sit will you’re making the gravy. In a saucepan, dump 1 can beef broth & a heaping spoonful (teaspoon out of the flatware drawer type spoon) of cornstarch. whisk together (with a fork if they don’t have a whisk), add pan drippings if available, turn on burner to medium, and simmer while stirring constantly, until thick. To get the right consistancy, you might need to add more cornstarch (mix with a little COLD water first) or a little water, depending on your idea of a heaping spoonful.
Very plain and very simple, but if your friends are easy to impress, this should thrill them.
Good luck!
My preferred method:
Equal parts fresh-ground peppercorns and English mustard powder, with a little salt. Enough to rub generously all over the joint. Heat a large frying pan or skillet to very hot (that’s a technical term 
), place the joint on it, and cook for abotu thirty seconds on all sides, to start the cooking of the coating and to help it stick to the meat. Put in a hot oven and reduce the temp after a while (I’ve no idea of specific Farenheit settings, but DanBlather’s are probably along the lines I’d suggest).
For the gravy, follow your own idea, and add some fresh herbs - rosemary, sage and thyme work well.
Don’t forget the Yorkshire Puddings 
Thanks everyone. It’s going to be delicious.
For the rub, I like making a paste of chopped garlic, parsley and thyme with some oil and salt and pepper.
For gravy: Pour the pan juices into a gravy separator if you have one, or into a glass if you don’t. Pour 2-3 Tbsp of the fat back into the pan; throw out the rest of the fat but keep any non-fat liquid. Add 2-3 Tbsp of flour to the pan and stir over heat until it’s nice and brown. Add two cups beef stock, the pan drippings, and a splash of wine. Stir until it bubbles and thickens. Add salt and pepper to taste and strain into a container and you’re done.
Moved to CS.
-xash
General Questions Moderator
Crock Pot is your friend.
Just prepare, turn on, and do something else for 10-12 hours.
Pretty foolproof, and even cheap bad cuts of meat come out decent.
I dislike gravy, so will let those who have posted have the last word there.
:eek: I came here just to say that. Probably because that’s what I made for dinner tonight.
Yes, if you want to impress them (particularly, poor benighted otherwise puddingless Americans) make that to sop up the gravy. They will be amazed.
The thread is about roast beef - how on earth do you do that in a slow cooker?!
One detail I haven’t seen mentioned that I swear by is to sear the roast first.
Basically you get your heaviest skillet/saucepan NASA hot. I like cast iron if you have it. Salt and pepper the roast about 15 minutes ahead of time. Let it rest until it comes to room temperature. Grab a heafty pair of spring loaded tongs and rest it on that pan and let it sizzle for about 1-2 minutes per side. Using the tongs balance it on all the unusually shaped sides. With this you’l get a very tasty and attractive crust all over the meat. The salt helps encourage this and is why you need to salt it first and let it rest for a short while.
After that, all the roasting methods ae pretty much spot on.
Nitpick: a 7 bone roast has one bone in it which looks like the number 7.
I’m a big fan of the Heston Blumenthal method. First sear your roast using a skillet/grill/blowtorch, then put it in a 145F oven for 12 hours. Do this in the morning and you come home in the evening to a perfectly cooked, perfectly tender (because the connective tissue has had time to break down), fuss free roast.
It’s impossible to overcook since the oven is set to the desired temperature of the meat and it’s completely and utterly foolproof. Just make sure your oven is properly calibrated.
Just don’t put much liquid in it; the results will be rather similar to something very slowly roasted in the oven.
Jumps around excitedly
Me me me! I talked about that earlier!
It is really quite good, and I usually put in small potatoes on the bottom and rest the roast beef on top of them. It comes out perfect every time, the meat falls apart at the touch of a fork and all the flavor is still there. Just made it last Monday and had roast beef sandwiches on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Now, if you are one of those who doesn’t like a roast beef cooked all the way through, or you like the meat to moo - well, this probably wouldn’t be the best method.
Quite right. I never understand the concept that beef should be brown.
And here I am in the land of buffets and unlimited Prime Rib and I cannot understand the concept of beef that is not brown all the way through. Something about blood dripping from lips that makes me less hungry. I know I am in the minority, but if I want to eat something pink or bright red, the shrimp bar is to the left.
So back to the OP - crock pot is great for cheap cuts and if you like well done.