I was sorting through old recipe cards and ran onto one labeled Mom’s Signature Roast Beef. I have no idea who “Mom” was or whose “Mom” it was. But the rave review on the card caused me to pluck it from the stack for more consideration.
The recipe called for an overnight, beer-soy-garlic marinade, but other than that it was pretty straight forward. In recent years, I’ve cooked roasts and stews in the Crock Pot, but it might be good to see if “Mom’s” old-fashioned version was worth 5 to 6 hours of oven time. I know roast beef and vegetables sounds like a heavy meal for this time of the year, but the damp, dreary day called out for comfort food.
To begin with, I searched the Internet. Sure enough, I found the old recipe on line and it was identical to the one on my card. The dish was highly recommended on several food blogs, including Southern Living, so I decided to give it a try. I started with a small rump roast. I intended to use a chuck, but the rumps were on sale.
The marinade ingredients—beer, soy sauce, garlic, onions, lemon, and oil—were easy to assemble. One evening, I placed the mixture in a large Ziploc bag, inserted the browned and peppered beef roast, put it in the refrigerator and went to bed.
The next day, I placed the meat in a 300 degree oven for 2-1/2 hours, before adding the veggies and roasting another 2 hours. I strained the remaining liquid before adding the cornstarch/water mixture that blended well, producing an ample amount of smooth, brown gravy.
The roast had a rich, flavor that permeated the vegetables. The carrots maintained their color nicely and the Yukons held their shape without getting mushy. I thought the soy sauce might make the dish too salty, but it didn’t. (There was no other salt called for in the recipe.) Even so, in the future, I would probably cut back on the soy sauce, just because I’m an under-salter.
All in all, this is an easy, flavor-packed roast beef dinner. Kudos to “Mom”—whoever you are.
Mom’s Signature Beef Roast
Ingredients
- 1 (12-oz.) bottle dark beer (or cola drink)
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 8 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 lemon, thinly sliced
- 1 cup soy sauce
- 3 Tbs. vegetable oil, divided
- 1 (3- to 4-lb.) boneless chuck roast, trimmed
- 1 tsp. fresh coarsely ground pepper
- 8 carrots (about 1 1/2 lb.), diagonally sliced
- 7 Yukon gold potatoes (3 lb.), peeled and cut into eighths
- 2 large onions, cut into eighths
- 2 Tbs. cornstarch
Directions
1. Combine beer, next 4 ingredients, and 2 Tbsp. oil in a large zip-top plastic freezer bag. Add roast, turning to coat. Seal and chill at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours. Remove roast from marinade, reserving marinade. Sprinkle roast evenly with pepper.
2. Brown roast 4 minutes on each side in remaining 1 Tbsp. hot oil in a large heavy-duty roasting pan over medium-high heat. Add reserved marinade, stirring to loosen particles from bottom of pan. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat, and cover with heavy-duty aluminum foil.
3. Bake at 300° for 2 1/2 hours. Turn roast, and stir in carrots, potatoes, and onions. Bake 2 more hours or until roast and vegetables are tender. Transfer roast and vegetables to a serving platter. Skim fat from juices in roasting pan.
4. Whisk together cornstarch and 1/2 cup water in a small bowl until smooth. Whisk cornstarch mixture into juices in pan; cook over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until thickened, whisking to loosen particles.
5. Drizzle 1/2 cup gravy over roast. Serve remaining gravy with meat and vegetables. Serves 6-8.
