Rare roast beef

If you want to learn how to prepare a small rare roast beef (1 lb), you’re in the right place! I can promise you tender slices of meat that will melt in the mouth. The beef is first seared in a hot frying pan for maximum flavor before being stuffed with garlic and covered in (a lot of) butter. Don’t worry, the garlic won’t overpower the meat, but it does complement it beautifully. And who can resist that classic sauce combining melted butter and the meat’s cooking juice? It’s so indulgent!

this recipe

Then, you’ll only have to place your small roast in the oven and check the temperature regularly to get it to your perfect spot. I really wish I could just extend my arm to the screen, take one slice of roast, cover it in sauce, sprinkle some sea salt flakes on it and devour it. Alas, I’ll just have to make a small roast again!

NOT SO COMPLICATED AFTER ALL

For a long time I was too afraid of cooking my own roast so I would only eat roast beef while visiting my parents. Learning how to make my own roast beef, and a small one for that matter, since I’m only cooking for 2, seemed like a Dantean task. After all, a roast is a proper grown-up meal (says the 26 years old). Roast beef is a traditional dish that can be served as the pièce de résistance for the Sunday lunch in France, where the whole family gathers and the meal lasts for 2 hours minimum.

The cut can be expensive and I was so afraid of completely ruining it and ending up with overcooked tough meat. Growing up, I could always notice that my dad was getting tense while deciding if it was the right time or not to take his roast out of the oven. Stepping into the kitchen while my dad was pondering and getting stressed out was pretty much suicidal so roast beef remained shrouded in mystery. Until I actually asked for his recipe 2 weeks ago and realized how easy it actually is, especially if you have a digital thermometer at your disposal! Trust me, if I mastered the art of cooking rare roast beef, so can you!

Every time we visit my parents, my husband will ask for a roast with fries on the side. The truth is he doesn’t even need to ask, my dad always has a bag of potatoes and a prime rib or an eye round roast ready for him. My dad serves his roast with garlic-herb butter and a sauce similar to mine made with the meat’s cooking juice. He calls it his cholesterol sauce.

A DIGITAL THERMOMETER IS A MUST

I would highly encourage you to use a thermometer for this recipe! It takes away all the stress as you don’t have to guess anything. The thermometer will show you precisely when is your small roast ready. You’ll be so much more at ease! You don’t need any fancy equipment like an oven-going meat thermometer. I’ve been using a basic digital thermometer bought at my local supermarket with great results. It only takes 10 seconds to register the correct temperature!

Cuts of beef are cut at different angles according to different countries. You won’t find the same cuts of beef in the US or in France so the information about cooking times in the recipe is provided as a guide. What matters is the internal temperature of the meat, this will tell you how done your meat is. The cooking time will also vary according to the thickness of your roast. Mine was a small roast beef, about 3cm (1 ⅕ in) high and 6cm (2 ⅓ in) wide. If you have a bigger cut that weighs more than 450g (1 lb) you’ll need to adjust the cooking time and cook your roast longer to get to the internal temperature you are looking for.

ROAST BEEF DONENESS INTERNAL TEMPERATURES

As you can see from the photos, I prefer my meat more on the rare side, as a lot of French people do. I’m not a big meat eater, but it’s not because I don’t enjoy the taste or because I’m disgusted by the blood, I just usually find meat to be too dry (don’t get me started on chicken breasts). So making a rare roast beef is the way to go for me because the slices are super tender! But I understand that it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. Heck, there is no way I could have served this to any of my friends when I was living in Turkey or the Caribbean!

So as a reminder, the internal temperature at the center of your roast needs to reach;

• 50°C to 55°C (122°F to 131°F) for rare roast beef,
• 60°C (140°F) for medium-rare roast beef,
• 68°C (155°F) for a well done roast beef.

MILDER GARLIC FLAVOR

If you’re not a big fan of garlic, and you want its taste to become milder, don’t insert the garlic slices in the beef. Simply peel the garlic cloves, and press down the blades of a flat knife on the cloves to crush them. Then place the smashed garlic cloves around the roast and discard them after cooking.

Are you looking for other French dishes you could serve for lunch or dinner? Here are some of my favorites:

• Stuffed vegetables (Farcies)
• Pistou soup (Summer soup from Provence)
• Zucchini gratin (Tian)

Print