Is there anything more comforting than a fork tender beef roast, full of flavor, smothered in gravy with a side of mashed potatoes? This roast recipe for Bottom Round Roast (with included recipe for an easy onion gravy made from the drippings) is a winner! Lean and economical bottom round roast (also known as rump roast) cooks up perfectly with this easy recipe.
A beef roast is a wonderful way to put dinner on the table. It conjurs up images of years past; A Sunday roast at the supper table with family all around. It's cozy, like a soft blanket. It's a midwest staple once the weather gets colder.
You might be intimidated by roasting a large cut of beef, but I'm here to tell you if you use the best recipe for each cut of beef it's a snap!
Take my recipe for Eye of Round Roast, for instance. The best way to cook an eye of round roast is on a high temperature and cooked to a medium-rare doneness. Sliced very thin, this tender and juicy roast is perfect for roast beef sandwiches.
However, my recipe for Dutch Oven Pot Roast, which uses a chuck roast, is best cooked low and slow until well done and fall apart tender. If you switched these cooking methods with each roast, you would get tough, chewy and unappetizing end product. So it's important to choose the right cooking method for each roast.
This easy roast beef recipe for Bottom Round Roast falls somewhere between the two of them. It can be oven roasted to medium-rare (intermal temperature of around 125-130 degrees F), but I find it a bit chewy at that degree of doneness.
I prefer to braise a bottom round roast at a low temperature to a medium/medium-well degree of doneness (internal temperature of around 150 -160 degrees F) and until it's fork tender, then serve it with gravy for best results.
What is Bottom Round Roast?
Round is the primal cut of beef that comes from the hind legs and the rump of the cow. Meat from this part of the cow tends to be farily lean and relatively inexpensive, making it a good value.
Bottom round roast, also known as a rump roast, is a large cut of meat, averaging around 3 to 5 pounds. It is cut from part of the animal’s upper leg’s outside muscle. It's often triangular in shape and is usually cut to leave a fat cap on one side of it. The fat cap is important, since the meat has so little marbling.
When shopping for a bottom round roast, you will want to look for a roast with about an inch fat cap on one side. (Usually it's on the bottom of the roast in the package.)
How to cook Bottom Round Roast
Bottom Round Roast in Oven
Bottom Round Roast in the Slow Cooker (CrockPot)
Bottom Round Roast in the Instant Pot (Pressure Cooker)
Substitutions and Variations
- Try other liquids in place of the beef broth such as chicken broth, a mixture of red wine and beef broth, beer, or even water.
- Try other herbs in place of the sage, rosemary and thyme such as marjoram, oregano, parsley, mint
- Add a bay leaf to the liquid in the roast before cooking
- You can substitute a top round roast in this recipe. The top round is very lean but tends to be more tender than the bottom round. Because it's more lean, take extra care to check it toward the end of cooking. I would not recommend top round that has been cut into steak. For that, I recommend this London Broil recipe.
Why this recipe works
- Braising this roast (fat cap up) on a lower heat oven helps the roast to retain moisture, and keeps it from drying out.
- The long cooking time on a lower oven temperature helps break down connective tissue fibers allowing it to become tender.
- Salt, Pepper, Garlic and herbs give this roast delicious flavor.
- Bottom Round Roast is a great value because it's lean, economical, and tasty
What to serve with a Bottom Round Roast
Tender Beef Bottom Round Roast recipe with Gravy
Ingredients
- 3-5 pound bottom round roast
- 2-3 teaspoons of Kosher salt (1/2 tsp. per pound of beef)
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder (OR dried granulated garlic)
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 1 large sweet onion, sliced
- 1 cup beef broth (OR beef broth concentrate dissolved in 1 cup hot water)
- 1/4 teaspoon dried sage
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 1 Tablespoon flour
- 1/2 cup cold water
- Pan drippings to taste
- salt and pepper, to taste, if needed
Instructions
- Pat roast dry with paper towels and set on a plate.
- Combine kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic powder in small bowl. Rub mixture all over the roast, coating it on all sides. Set roast aside and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- On stove top, over medium high heat, add olive oil to dutch oven (or heavy skillet). When oil begins to shimmer, swirl in butter until melted. Add in roast, fat cap side down and brown well turning to brown all sides.
- Remove roast to plate and set aside. Add onions to pan and cook for about 5 minutes to begin to soften. Add in beef broth and stir with spoon to scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Carefully add roast back into dutch oven, fat cap side up. (If not using a dutch oven, place roast in roasting pan and pour onion beef broth mixture over the roast.) Sprinkle roast with dried sage, thyme, and rosemary. Cover tightly with lid. (or aluminum foil if using roast pan).
- Braise in oven for about 45 minutes per pound. Toward last 15 minutes, check the roast with a fork to see if it pierces it easily in thick part. If not, cover back up and check every ten minutes. Once fork goes through meat easily, remove from oven and place roast on platter, tented loosely with aluminum foil to rest for 15 - 20 minutes to allow juices to redistribute before slicing against the grain. While roast rests, make the onion gravy.
- In large skillet, melt butter over medium high heat.
- Once melted, whisk in flour. Stir continuously for 1 minute.
- Take skillet off heat and whisk in cold water until paste forms.
- Return skillet to medium heat and add in pan drippings. Use as little or as much as you like. If gravy is too thin, add more water. Taste for seasonings and add salt and pepper as needed. Serve with bottom round roast.
Notes
Alternative Cooking Methods:
Slow Cooker- Season, let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes to and hour, and sear roast on all sides over medium-high heat in an olive oil and butter mixture in a heavy skillet. Add to the crock of the slow cooker and top with herbs. Onions are sauteed in the same pan used to sear the roast and then beef broth is added scraping up all the bits left on the bottom of the skillet from the roast. Everything is added to the crock of the slow cooker and covered with the lid to cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours, until fork tender. The roast is removed to a platter once done, and tented with foil for 15 minutes before being sliced against the grain. Gravy is made on the stove while the roast rests as directed above.
Pressure Cooker- Sear the roast on all sides using the saute function with the butter/oil mixture, remove roast and set aside. If needed, add more oil and saute the onions until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the roast back in and top with herbs. Add beef broth. Seal and cook on high pressure for 20-25 minutes PER POUND (total cook time will depend on the size of the roast). Allow for 10 minute natural pressure release, followed by a quick release before opening the lid. Remove roast to cutting board and tent loosely with aluminum foil. Make gravy on the stove top while roast is resting as directed above.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
506.52Fat (grams)
21.43 gSat. Fat (grams)
7.97 gCarbs (grams)
5.73 gFiber (grams)
0.68 gNet carbs
5.07 gSugar (grams)
2.78 gProtein (grams)
68.37 gSodium (milligrams)
1356.48 mgCholesterol (grams)
197.69 mgNutritional Information is an estimate it is provided as a courtesy.
How much water for gravy.....you wrote 1/ cup
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, thanks for catching that. I've added the missing number! 1/2 cup of cold water. :)
DeleteReceipe calls for garlic powder but instructions say onion powder
ReplyDeleteThanks. These are the days I wish I didn't have to wear all the hats; recipe creator, chef, photographer, author, editor...haha I've fixed it in the recipe card. It should've been garlic powder.
DeleteHi. I'm making your recipe right now. I'm curious if you ever add potatoes and carrots while it's cooking or at some point during the cooking. I'm so used to that way when I make a roast, but I'm open to new ways, so please let me know your thoughts. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi and thanks for your comment. I personally, do not add carrots and potatoes to this roast, but you certainly could add them. Hope this helps.
DeleteGreat recipe, used red wine as suggested to deglaze, added garlic cloves to cooking liquid (just habit for me😉). Family Loved the oniony gravy! Delicious with mashed potatoes!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your review! I'm so happy you enjoyed this recipe.
DeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting your recipe. I made this last night, May16,24', for my family. It was good. I added purple & yellow potatoes & carrots for the last 20min. It was delicious.
My only question would be in the gravy step 4. If the gravy is too thin, should you not add more water? I was confused about that part. Shouldn't you add a little more of the flour slurry? Might be my misinterpretation.
In any case, the recipe was delicious. Thank you!
Hello and thanks for your comment and question. I've never run into the problem of it being too thin, but you could add a cornstarch slurry at that point to thicken it up. I wouldn't advise flour at this point because it might give you a raw flour taste and not blend well. You would need to add the thin gravy back onto med to high heat, make a cornstarch slurry with a couple teaspoons of cornstarch and some water, then bring the thin gravy to a boil and add the slurry and stir to thicken. It shouldn't take long to happen if the gravy is hot enough. Hope this helps!
DeletePart of this recipe doesn’t make sense. It says you have to put it back in the Dutch oven when you put it in the oven?
ReplyDeleteHello and thanks for your question. In step 4 in the recipe card, it says to remove the roast from the Dutch oven while it's on the stove top after browning and set aside. Then in the Dutch oven while it's on the stove top, you are instructed to add onions and broth to the pan, then add the roast back to the Dutch oven on top of the onions and broth, sprinkle with herbs, cover and proceed to place in preheated oven. I hope this clarifies it for you.
DeleteIt says season the roast and sear, then it says to add herbs after. Especially with the crock pot option. I’m confused.
ReplyDeleteH sorry for any confusion. You need to season the roast with the salt, black pepper, and garlic powder as stated in step 2 of the recipe before searing. Then in both methods, you add the herbs later. This is so the herbs don't burn. Hope this helps.
DeleteI made this in my Instant Pot following the pressure cooker directions. It came out very good; the meat was tender and had a really good flavor from the onions and beef broth. I didn't make the gravy (to keep it low-carb) but I put the juice over it and make it even tastier.
ReplyDeleteHi Kristen! Thanks for your review and sharing your experience with this recipe. So glad you enjoyed it!
DeleteThis has been smelling amazing all afternoon!! First time trying a roast in the oven instead of slow cooker. My onions turned completely black. I'm guessing that's not normal. Going to try adding them anyway as they are still sweet, not bitter. I would like to know what they're supposed to look like by the time the roast is done
ReplyDeleteHi Hannah! Thanks so much for your comment and review. I've never had that issue where the onions turn black. They will normally just cook down during the cooking process and become very soft. Hope this helps and I hope you enjoyed your roast.
Delete