Reverse-Sear method is the ONLY way to make Roast Beef for Christmas

By Saiba Haque

To my British readers, I’m sorry to say, the Americans gain a point for this one. I tried this for the reverse-sear method for making roast beef and I am NEVER going back. Thanking J. Kenji López-Alt as I take each bite of this for the next few days. Truly the best thing about it? The meat is actually, for real, between medium and medium rare when it’s done and rested. the low and slow makes it tender and moist. and believe it or not, most restaurants actually use this technique, you can thank me later for such valuable insider info. The only drawback, if i’m being perfectly candid, is that it takes a bit longer than your standard British Roast Beef Recipe. But rest assured, the results certainly won’t disappoint.

Reverse Searing is when you roast a steak in low temperature in the oven first, and then Sear it after on the stove. This ensures nice pink medium rare inside consistently throughout and ensures the meat doesn’t turn out dry.

The Beef

In America, The love using their beloved Prime Rib cut for this but since I’m in the UK, I’ll make this easy for the Brits, Right about now the stores will have a Beef Roasting Joint, Usually this would be Topside or Silverside, either can work, but I believe I used Topside.

The Basting:

If you really wanna be chill about this, why fuss? Just cover the beef in compound Rosemary and Garlic Butter really well, and it does the job for you!

Searing

Make sure the pan is as Hot as you can get it! I have unfortunately seared my meat for a bit long to get that beautiful crust after it came out of the oven. It didn’t make my beef bad at all! It was still tender and pink in the middle. So if you’re worried about slightly f*****g it up, this is your sign that even with minor mistakes it will still turn out better than the usual method of roasting beef. But if your pan is Cast Iron and TRULY hot, then searing should be quick on all sides.

Temp

If you don’t have a meat thermometer, please stop embarrassing yourself and GET ONE ALREADY. I know this is some tough love from me, but if you don’t invest in one, then your steaks will end up tougher than my love. That being said the internal temperature should read between 125’F- 130’F ( 51’C -54’C ). I took mine out of the oven at 125’F ( 51’C ) as I knew I needed more time on the stove for a proper colour on the sear after.

Ingredients

2.1 Kg Beef Roasting Joint

120g Softened Butter

Salt and Black Pepper to season

5-6 sprigs of Fresh Rosemary

4-5 knobs of Garlic

A MEAT THERMOMETER IS ESSENTIAL FOR THIS, RESULTS MAY VARY WITHOUT IT

Optional (for gravy):

1 large carrot,

Two medium White or Brown Onions

An extra 4-5 knobs of Garlic

2 Beef Stock cubes

Preheat the oven to anywhere between 100-130’C (yes, this is not a mistake, you read that right). Take the Beef Out of the fridge an 30-40 min before cooking, so let it come to room temperature. Season the Beef well with a lot of salt; if you think you have added enough, you’re probably wrong, unless you are a chef/ cook a lot. Peel garlic knobs, cut up carrots in batons and chop up the onions in chunks. lay them out together in the tray being used for the beef.

For the compound butter, roughly chop some garlic and finely chop some rosemary without the stems, keep at least two-three Rosemary Sprigs aside to put under the beef. Mix the prepped Rosemary and Garlic into some softened butter (not completely melted liquid!) along with black pepper and salt. Spread this evenly on all sides of the beef.

Place the beef on top of the chopped aromatic vegetables in the tray. Stick in the meat thermometer in the thickest part of the beef if it’s oven safe. Place the tray in the middle rack of the oven. This can stay in for approximately three hours, with smaller cuts taking less long to cook. But for best practice, it’s simply not done til the meat thermometer indicates an internal temperature between 125’F- 130’F ( 51’C -54’C ).

That’s when it comes out and there will be a pool of rendered fat and butter in the bottom of the tray. Half can be used to sear this beef alongside a bit of vegetable oil. the other half can be used to make the gravy. Sear the beef on a ripping hot pan on all sides as evenly as you can. put the beef aside, cover with foil and let it rest for about 30 minutes.

For the Gravy, I took the cooked vegetables and blended it with a beef stock cube and hot water until smooth. You can choose to not use all the carrots. I take the leftover rendered fat/butter mixture to make a roux with equal parts flour. I crumble in 1-2 beef stock cubes and add in the pureed veg with some more water. Red Wine can be added here as its set up to reduce. For those who don’t want wine, substitute with a splash of Balsamic Vinegar. some of the beef juices that may develop from resting can also be put in this Gravy.

Serve with other Roast Dinner Trimmings such as Goose Fat Roast Potatoes, Yorkshire Puddings, Cabbage/Cavolo Nero and top it all off with that Homemade Gravy.