Herbalicious Roast Beef
Growing up in an Italian American household, we always had a big family dinner every Sunday, which included antipasti (prosciutto, mozzarella, olives etc.),followed by a huge pot of pasta and gravy (tomato sauce), and a meat and potatoes kind of entrée. When you walk into Grandma Marullo’s house on a Sunday you are often hit with the pungent scent of roast beef cooking, as well as the enchanting scents of garlic and fresh rosemary. I wanted to recreate this meaty masterpiece by putting my own twist on it. Roasting it on very high heat for several hours makes the outside of the meat crispy and flavorful and the inside juicy and moist. But do not open the oven! If you peek, the texture of the meat could suffer!
Ingredients-
One 3-4 Pound Roast Beef
3 Large Cloves of Garlic
¾ Cup of Fresh Herbs (equal parts of Italian Parsley, Rosemary & Thyme
4 Tablespoons of Butter
Salt & Black Pepper
Steps-
Preheat the oven to 500F
Using a food processor or blender, blend the garlic, 3 Tablespoons of the butter and herbs all together until smooth.
Poke a few slits into the top of the roast beef to allow the flavors to penetrate the meat.
Sprinkle a decent amount of salt and pepper on the outside of the roast.
Rub about 1/2 of the butter mixture on the raw roast beef until it is fully coated.
Heat up a large skillet on medium high heat until it is very hot.
Sear the meat on all sides so that the roast has a nice brown crust all around it. This will lock in all the juices when it cooks in the oven.
Remove from the pan and place on an oven safe wire rack in a roasting pan. Cooking the meat on a wire rack will allow the meat to cook evenly and all the juices to collect underneath it.
Rub the remaining herb butter all over the roast beef.
Take the remaining 1 Tablespoon of butter and break it up into pieces and place them on top of the meat. The butter will melt all into the meat and make it flavorful and delicious!
Place the roast into the oven and shut the oven door right away.
Cook the meat 5 minutes/Pound. So about 15-20 minutes, and then shut the oven off…but do NOT open the oven. Patience and trust is key!
Let the roast beef sit in the oven until the oven is completely cool (2-3 hours)
Remove from the oven and enjoy! Best served with a starch like mashed potatoes and a green vegetable of your choice.
Tip: Save the drippings at the bottom of the pan and pour them into a small pot. Add some red wine, sautéed onions, a little Wondra Flour (a very fine flour that thickens gravy but won’t make it lumpy) and some salt and pepper and let it cook down and thicken…then you’ve got yourself a nice topping for your meat!