Roast Beef with Horseradish Cream

By LaurenBoyle

Note: According to my gustatory guru, Julia Child, a boneless roast’s cooking time is determined by the meat’s width and height, not its length or weight. My roast was about 3 ½ inches high and 5 ½ inches wide. I roasted it at 425 degrees for 15 minutes and then reduced the heat to 350 degrees for an additional 70 minutes. It was perfect in its rosy rareness!

Tip: Take the meat out of the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature about 2 hours before you plan to roast it. You really must use a meat thermometer to guarantee the degree of doneness you prefer. My family likes it rare, rare, rare – so I roasted it until the internal temperature was 120 degrees. The roast will continue to cook as it rests on the countertop.

Ingredients

• For the Horseradish Cream (optional):
• 1-4 lb. boneless eye of round roast, tied at 1 1/2-2 inch intervals
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 2 Teaspoons dried rosemary
• 1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
• 2 Tablespoons Dijon-style mustard
• 6 Tablespoons horseradish (or to taste), strained through a mesh sieve, pressing with the back of a spoon to squeeze out as much of the liquid as possible

Details

Servings 8

Preparation

Step 1

1. Take the roast out of the refrigerator and it allow to come to room temperature for 2 hours.

2. Position the oven rack to the upper third level. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Spray a roasting rack and pan with a cooking spray such as Pam. Note: The roasting pan should be somewhat shallow and just large enough to accommodate the meat.

3. Rub the roast all over with olive oil and place on the prepared rack. Insert the meat thermometer so that it is centered in the middle of the roast.

4. Season the top of roast with the rosemary, salt and pepper.

5. Roast at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue roasting until the meat thermometer registers 120 degrees for rare. (Our 4 pound roast took a total of 1 hour and 25 minutes in the oven.)

6. Allow the roast to rest on the counter top for about 30 minutes.

7. Meanwhile, prepare the Horseradish Cream by whisking together all of the ingredients. Transfer to a serving bowl.

8. To carve the roast: Using a sharp knife, slice straight down from top to bottom. If you’re concerned the meat isn’t as tender as you might like, slice it a on the thinner side.

9. Serve with Horseradish Cream.