Chicago-Style Italian Roast Beef

By mz0926

From Cook's Country

February/March 2008
Why this recipe works:
In Chicago, spicy Italian roast beef recipes usually start with an inexpensive rump roast, which is marinated overnight—most often in a blend of Italian spices, garlic, vinegar, and oil (or even bottled Italian dressing)—then oven-braised in beef broth. The roast is sliced thin and served with the spicy jus. We wanted to perfect our Chicago-Style Italian Roast Beef recipe so that we could get a memorable dinner—and leftovers—out of it. Our first change was swapping the rump roast—which tasters found too tough—for meaty and tender top sirloin roast. Elevating the roast on a rack kept it out of the jus and prevented the meat from softening too much. Instead of marinating the roast, which can cause the meat to become mushy, we rubbed the roast with a blend of dried oregano, basil, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes. To get the browned crust we wanted, we browned the beef in a skillet before rubbing it and added a little oil to the spices so they’d adhere to the seared exterior of the meat.

Ingredients

• Serves 6 to 8
• See related tip for more information about buying a top sirloin roast. If your roast is larger than 4 pounds, you may need to increase the cooking time slightly in step 4. Save leftover meat and jus for sandwiches (see related recipe).
• Ingredients4 teaspoons garlic powder
• 4 teaspoons dried basil
• 4 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon pepper
• 1 4-pound top sirloin roast, fat trimmed to 1/4 inch thick
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 2 cups low-sodium beef broth
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 teaspoons salt

Preparation

Step 1

Instructions
1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Combine garlic powder, basil, oregano, and pepper in small bowl.


2. Pat roast dry with paper towels. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown roast all over, about 10 minutes, then transfer to V-rack set inside roasting pan.


3. Add onion to fat in skillet and cook over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, flour, and 1 teaspoon spice mixture until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in broths and water, using wooden spoon to scrape up browned bits. Bring to boil, then pour into roasting pan.


4. Stir remaining oil, pepper flakes, and salt into remaining spice mixture. Rub mixture all over meat and roast until meat registers 125 degrees (for medium-rare), 75 to 90 minutes. Transfer roast to cutting board, tent with foil, and let rest 20 minutes.


5. Pour jus through fine-mesh strainer and keep warm. Slice roast crosswise against grain into ¼-inch-thick slices. Serve with jus.



Building Better Flavor


1. Brown the meat before roasting to create a flavorful crust on the exterior. Transfer the roast to a rack in a roasting pan and begin work on the jus.



2. The browned bits left behind in the pan are the base for the jus. Cook onion, garlic, and seasonings in the empty skillet, then add the broths and water to help loosen the browned bits



3. Pour the jus into the roasting pan below the elevated roast so it can catch flavorful drippings and cook down to the desired consistency while the meat cooks.



4. Apply a flavorful rub, mixed with oil to help it adhere, after browning to prevent the dried herbs from burning.