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A friend extraordinaire, wants to improve her beef roasting skills and who doesn’t need to hone those, anyway? You know, a “Sunday” roast, rather than a hulking mass of prime rib. Oh, don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing quite like a perfectly cooked medium-rare prime rib, but it’s nice to know how to roast a more reasonable (both price and size) type of roast. You know…a good Sunday-dinner-with-the-family-type of roast. That’s what we’re doing here. There are different types of beef for dry or oven roasting. We’re going to do two different types, a sirloin cap roast (they run about 1-2.5 lbs) and a rump tip roast (they run about 3 pounds). Either of these is a good size for 2-4 people and you’ll probably have some leftovers. So, we’re roasting up some hunks of meat. We love good rare to medium-rare roasts. Now, if you’re the type of person that prefers meat well-done, well, then I’m not certain we can really, truly be friends. At least not close friends. Oh, I’ll accept you around our table, but we’ll never be sharing a roast for dinner. You’ll be having chicken or pasta and that’s okay. We love chicken and pasta, too, but this post is all about red meat!
We’re going to go with the low-and-slow method here. I read about it over at seriouseats.com; they were cooking prime rib. It makes perfect sense, but we’re not cooking prime rib. However, I think we can use their technique for different types of beef for roasts and make it easy enough so you can go with timing, rather than needing to use a thermometer. We’ll see…
First, the meat. You want a reasonably tender piece of meat, but you don’t have to spring for tenderloin, rib eye roast or more expensive cuts. Sirloin is a nice option. Top sirloin will work, tri-tip will work well, too. I chose a nice Sirloin Cap Roast and then, a Rump Tip Roast.Whichever hunk of meat you opt for, it should have some nice marbling…that’s those little veins of fat that run through the meat. You want those. They melt during roasting and keep the meat moist as it cooks. This is very important.I “dry aged” the sirloin cap roast, in the fridge, for 4 days. I put the coarse salt on the meat, put it on a rack, so as to allow the air to circulate around the meat and just let it be. It will have more flavor and be more tender if you have time to do that. I could write a post just on dry-aging, but I want this to be about the slow-roasting process. You can find out more info about “dry aging” beef here.
Whatever cut you choose, the hunk of beef needs to be at room temperature before you season and roast it. I usually rub the meat right after it came from the fridge and then let it stand. You’re going to want to take the meat out of the fridge at least 2 hours before you want to roast the meat. Make certain the oven is preheated to 275°F. For more rare, I usually roast the meat for 13 minutes per pound, so for the sirloin cap roast (which weighs in at 2.25 lbs), I went with 30 minutes. For the Rump Tip Roast, we wanted to try for a more medium-rare, so went with 14 minutes per pound (the rump was 2.9 pounds) or 40 minutes. After the allotted time is up, turn the oven off for 1 hour, not opening the door for any reason; no peeking! We’re also cooking these to an internal temperature of 120°F – 125°F. Not peeking will require self-restraint on your part…mmmm…it does smell good in the kitchen.
Just before serving, we browned it under the broiler for about 3 minutes. This is just to crisp up the top. Because the meat already rested earlier, and wasn’t in the oven long enough to really cook anymore, you can slice the meat immediately, and serve it immediately.After broiling, remove the meat from pan and you may slice the roast immediately…look no meat juice is running around the board. That’s because the meat had already rested. Remember? It was perfectly pink, moist and delicious.
Slow-Roasted Sirloin Cap Sunday Roast
- 2-3 pounds sirloin tip, cap, tri-tip, rump tip or other tender-type roast
- Rub:
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic granules
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon ground dried porcini mushrooms
Remove the meat from the refrigerator at least 2 hours before you want to roast it. Allow is to come to room temperature. About 2 hours before serving, move the oven grate to the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 275°F.
Combine the dry rub ingredients, making into a spreadable paste; rub into the hunk of (now room temperature) meat. Set on a grate, in a heavy skillet; I use cast iron. Slide the pan into the oven. Set the timer for 13 minutes per pound; in this case, I went with 30 minutes for a 2.25 pound roast.
When the timer rings, turn the oven OFF and leave the roast in the oven. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN!!! Reset the timer for 60 minutes. After the 60 minute “rest”, remove the pan from the oven, cover loosely with foil and let stand in a warm place (the microwave works pretty well). You can roast the meat up to 2 hours ahead of time.
Just before you’re ready to serve, move an oven grate to the upper third of the oven. Preheat the broiler to HIGH, about 4-5 minutes. Place the pan under the broiler, so the meat is about 3-4 inches from the heat source. Broil for 3-4 minutes or until the “crust” crisps.
Remove from the oven, place the meat on a cutting board and slice immediately. Serve immediately with jus or gravy, and a dollop of horseradish, if you wish.
Slow-Roasted Sirloin Cap “Sunday” Roast Recipe©Marcia Lahens 2020. All rights reserved.
We enjoyed roasted potatoes with onions and bacon, steamed green beans, and mushroom-red wine gravy with shallots on the side. It was a good Sunday dinner Roast.
Rick said:
DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN!!!
My oven has a cooling fan when oven is turned off, this method of roasting does not work well in this style of oven.
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The Gourmet Goddess said:
Thank you. That’s good information. When I posted this recipe originally, I didn’t have a convection oven. If you’re able to, just don’t use the convection feature. Then, it will work fine. I’ll have to work on updating this information. Thanks, again.
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Peter E said:
Sounds great. I am going to give this a try but i bought a 10lb beef loin top sirloin cap boneless whole from costco. How would i alter the recipe for the bigger piece of meat?
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The Gourmet Goddess said:
I’m sorry I missed seeing your question. For a 10-pound beef top sirloin, I would do 14 minutes a pound, which works out to about 2 hours and 20 minutes (140 minutes) for medium-rare (about 120F). I hope this helps and I’m sorry I didn’t see this sooner.
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Bill said:
Hi, I’m using a smoker to do the cooking. Since it loses heat fairly quick, do I go ahead and put the roast in a pre-heated oven?
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The Gourmet Goddess said:
I’m making a pseudo educated guess, but yes. I would preheat the oven to 300F for at least 15 minutes, 30 would be better. I’ve indicated the slightly higher temperature, because you’re going to open the door to put the meat in and thus will lose heat. Place the meat in the oven and THEN, turn the heat off completely. That should work fine, I would think. Then, just continue with the recipe. Remember to bring the meat to room temperature before roasting, please. Let me know how it worked out, please.
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Bill said:
Hi! I’m attempting to do the cap roast on a smoker (swiping the wife’s cast iron skillet). The smoker won’t hold heat like an oven would during the resting phase. Would that be an issue?
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The Gourmet Goddess said:
Yes, Bill, I think it would matter. If you have an instant read thermometer, take the temp a little before you’re planning to move it to the oven. I’m a believer in under cooking, because that allows one to be able to “fix” the problem.
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Dr. M said:
Thank you for this!
My roast reached 125 about 20 minutes in to the hour rest. Should I take it out at that point?
Thanks!
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Laurie said:
Thank you for the recipe. Does the internal temperature of 120-125 get reached in the first part of cooking at 275 or after it sits for the hour with the door closed?
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The Gourmet Goddess said:
Laurie, I’m so sorry I didn’t answer sooner. Somehow I missed your question. Let’s say that the internal temperature should be at 120-125 at the end of the initial cooking time, but ovens do vary. The timing given works in my oven. If you want the internal temperature to be higher, then you’ll need to roast it longer. Broiling only “crisps” up the exterior, but doesn’t raise the internal temperature. Hope this clarifies things, and again, I’m sorry I missed your question.
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Terrie said:
Excellent result. I salted the beef and let it sit for two days. A little salty as I used kosher salt. Would make agin.
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The Gourmet Goddess said:
I’m glad you felt you enjoyed it enough to give it another shot! Next time, perhaps letting it sit for no more than 24 hours will resolve the saltiness issue. While salt is essential for the appreciation of flavors, in this case, there actually can be too much of a good thing.
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Wendy said:
I assume you mean that when the timer goes off, TURN OFF the oven but leave it closed for an additional 60 minutes while the roast rests?
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The Gourmet Goddess said:
Wendy, thanks for asking and pointing this out. I’m sorry my instructions weren’t clear. But, that is exactly what I meant. And NO peeking during that 60 minutes “rest”! So, I’ll edit the recipe and make that clearer. Thanks again.
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