The Perfect Top Round Roast

This post will show you how to make the perfect top round roast.

I’ve ruined so many cuts of beef over the years.  And my late husband Tony was the King of cutting meat as soon as it came off the grill, even though I would beg him to let the meat rest.

He’d slice into it, the juices would be all over the cutting board and he’d declare “it’s so juicy!”  No, the cutting board was juicy, but the meat would be dry.

How to cook the Perfect Top Round Roast

But the true secret to great beef?  Well, buying Certified Angus Beef ® brand helps.  Their standards in raising and processing beef is the best in the business, and I’ve had the pleasure of seeing it first hand.

The second?  A meat thermometer.  Seriously, cooking beef is not so much how you cook it, or how long you cook it – you have to cook it to temperature, taking into account that the beef still cooks after you take it off the grill or out of the oven. It’s called residual cooking.  Medium rare beef is 135 degrees – but if I were to cook my beef to 135 thinking “that’s the temp I want!” the residual cooking will bring it to 150 – which is closer to well done.

I bought a top round roast at Meijer grocery store – they sell the Certified Angus Beef ® brand.  Cut from the inside of the hind leg, top round roast is the cut that’s most commonly used for deli roast beef.   It’s also the same area that London broil is cut from. As far as cheap cuts of beef go, top round roast is relatively lean and flavorful since this muscle isn’t as heavily worked. 

I pulled my beef out when it hit 120 degrees.  And even though it only took 40 minutes to cook at 400 degrees, I let it rest 45 minutes before slicing.

Um, can we talk about my new favorite seasoning?!  OMG, this Dak’s Steakhouse Seasoning is by far my favorite of all the spices I have, and I like them all.  I am a sucker for mustard seeds, and this blend is full of them.  For that top round roast, I used 2 tablespoons of the Dak’s steakhouse mixed with a tablespoon of grape seed oil to make a paste.  I covered the beef, put it in a ziplock bag and let it marinate overnight.

I’ve you go to that link above, use my code Bizzy10 to get 10% off your order.  I think I went through the first bottle in less than two weeks. 😀

Um, hello gorgeous!  Doesn’t it look like the roast beef you’d get in the deli?  This was so lean, so tender and delicious.  And you get the pop of mustard seeds in every bite.  #swoon

On Saturday night I had that beef with sautéed mushrooms and green beans.  On Sunday night I had the idea of making a type of french dip sandwich. 

I remember watching a show on Food Network where they went to this restaurant in a food hall – somewhere I think in Pittsburgh, but I don’t remember.  Anywho, their signature sandwich was a roast pork sandwich with broccoli rabe, and while I am using beef and baby broccoli, it’s got the same flavor profile.

I couldn’t find broccoli rabe – which actually isn’t a member of the broccoli family – it’s more like turnips and are a slightly bitter green.

I chose baby broccoli.  It boiled in water for 4 minutes and immediately placed in an ice bath to keep that bright green color.

I sliced two ounces of the beef (2) used half a bun (3) added an ounce of lite Trader Joe’s mozzarella, and a hefty shmear of the broccoli pesto, and put it in my Simple Living Products air fryer at 400 degrees for 5 minutes.  

The result is that it warmed up the beef and pesto, melted the cheese and I get a slightly crunch, yet chewy bun.  So good!

Did you know that you can buy an au jus package from the Dollar Tree – just add water and cook for 2 minutes until thickened.  Perfect for dipping and only 10 calories. 

Simply air fried a baked potato cut into fries, and this was the perfect weekend dinner.  Cook once, eat for days!

That broccoli pesto would be delicious mixed in with cooked pasta.  I am going to try that this weekend.

Yum!  Let me know if you use my tips to make perfect top round roast! 

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Perfect Top Round Roast

Yield: 6 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 45 seconds

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes 45 seconds

Top Round Roast is often looked over, but cooked to medium rare, it makes amazing sandwiches.

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Ingredients

• One 3 pound top round roast
• 2 tablespoons Dak's steakhouse seasoning
• 1 tablespoon grape seed oil
• To make the sandwich:
• 1/2 pound baby broccoli
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon grape seed oil
• pinch of salt and pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• good rolls - such as Martin's potato rolls
• 1 ounce per person of Trader Joe's lite mozzarella

Instructions

1. Mix the Dak's steakhouse seasoning with the oil and rub all over the beef.  Marinate overnight if possible. 
2. Heat oven to 400.  Bake the roast until it reaches an internal temperature of 115-120.  I pulled mine at 120 for a perfect medium rare.  LET IT REST.  I let mine rest 45 minutes. 

For the sandwich: 

1. Bring a shallow pan of water to boil.  Boil the baby broccoli for 3-4 minutes, or until fork tender.  Immediately plunge into an ice bath to stop the cooking process and retain that bright color. 
2. Add that to a food processor with the water, oil, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and garlic and pulse until chopped.  I didn't puree it, I wanted a bit of chunks left.  I am sure that's how professional recipe writers would word it.
3. To build the sandwich - put cheese and pesto on both sides of the roll, add the beef and I put mine in my air fryer for 5 minutes at 400 degrees (not preheated).  The beef was warmed, the cheese melted, and the bun was crisp tender.   

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 564Total Fat: 27gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 208mgSodium: 1712mgCarbohydrates: 9gFiber: 2gSugar: 2gProtein: 73g

Did you make this recipe?

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Happy Wednesday friends.  Make it a great day, and don’t eat like an asshole.  Love, Biz

p.s.  check out my other beef recipes here!