Roast Beast

My nephews have been asking their wives if they will try to duplicate Nana's Sunday roast beef dinner.  According to Papa, our roasts were the closest he ever had to Nana's, and our kids agree....so these girls have asked me for some tips on how to cook "The Roast."  Here is our best attempt at documenting  how to prepare what our family calls "Roast Beast" dinner.

Buy a good quality eye of round roast.  They're usually in the 2-4 pound range, and if I have a large group or if available roasts are small, I will often cook two of them together.  Put them in a nice roasting pan (copper bottom is best) and brown on Medium High heat on all sides, starting with the fat side (if there is one) down.  I will drizzle olive oil or a bit of butter in the pan first if the roasts don't have a layer of fat on them.  Turn the roast on each side until it is browned all over.

Once the roast is browned, throw in a few beef bouillon cubes--this will enhance the natural juices of the roast and make good, rich gravy.  I put in two cubes per roast.  You can add salt and pepper if you want.

Add about a cup of water to the pot and cover with a lid.  The cooking time depends on how big the roast is and the temperature of your oven.   Generally, you can cook the roast at 350 degrees, and allow about 40 minutes per pound at that temperature.  However, I like to drop the temperature to 300, or even 275 and extend the cooking time to an hour per pound.  This usually yields the most tender roast and richest gravy!

Take the Roast Beast out of the oven and let it sit for the last 10 minutes or so....it will continue to cook while it rests.  Then, remove the meat from the pan, and transfer to your cutting board.  Cover with foil to keep hot while you work on the gravy.  Move your roasting pan to the cook top, and turn the remaining broth/juice up to high to get it boiling good.  Don't remove any fat (eye of round roast is a lean cut and has little fat) or juices from the pan.

Here's where I'm likely to fail my nieces.  Because I don't really measure....I peek in the pot, see how many juices remain, and estimate my flour mixture based on what's in the pot.  You'll have to experiment until you get it the way you like it.    I use a shaker and add about 2 heaping tablespoons of Wondra (you can use flour if you don't buy Wondra), and then add enough  (1 to 1 1/4 cups?) COLD water to make a mixture that is about the thickness of ...oh...pancake batter?  A thin shake?  Shake it up good to make sure there are no lumps.

Your broth should be boiling now, and with a whisk, you should slowly drizzle the contents of your flour mixture into the broth, stirring constantly.  Don't add the entire thing.....if it bubbles and thickens quickly, you may not need all the flour mixture.  Just keep drizzling and whisking until you have the desired consistency of gravy.  Keep at a boil until well blended and bubbly, then reduce heat to low to keep it warm, stirring occasionally.

By now, hubby has the tender roast sliced and ready to serve with mashed potatoes and your yummy beef gravy.

You're probably wondering why I didn't bother to take pictures of the finished product?  Um....too busy eating it!

Enjoy!