Herb Seasoned Tender Roast Beef

Hey, frenns! As the fall season approaches, nothing like comfort food to ease the cravings and keep you nice and full. There are many different ways to make a good tender roast beef, but I chose to do this one old school- roast beef in the oven. I did, however, add a roast beef recipe for an instant pot roast beef as well as crockpot roast beef. Either one is guaranteed to give you maximum satisfaction. 

Roast are not cheap- let’s just keep it real. So when you do make it you don’t want to have a recipe with maximum flavor as well as maximum satisfaction. As with most of my recipes, this one is easy. I will not say that it’s quick – because it is not. But the wait is well worth it.

What I remember the most about roast beef is that it was a special occasion meal. Having the roast beef was not something we enjoyed all of the time. There was nothing that the aroma of a roast cooking low and slow in the oven. My mother would often make it when guests were coming over. I remember when I wanted to make a roast on my own. I was out in my own apartment and I wanted to cook something special. My eyes almost fell out of my head trying to buy that piece of meat on my humble college student budget.

I want you to get this particular recipe just right. When you make it (and I know you will)- you can impress your company (or yourself). 

This recipe is surprisingly not complicated- but there are a few key steps to ensure you do not waste your money. 

1. Bringing the roast to room temperature: I do this with anything that I’m making but particularly roast. People waste a lot of time making a roast and destroying it at the beginning, not bringing it to room temperature first. The idealogy behind this is that you do not want to spend cooking time “heating” the meat up (thus destroying the flavor); you want it already to temperature to start cooking it. 
2. Tenderizing the meat: I do not use any seasoning to tenderize my meat. You can see my fancy tenderizer but that’s not a necessity. You can use a fork. I like to tenderize the meat to add air pockets so the steam flows freely but ALSO create a space for the seasonings to get through. You want a roast that is tender AND flavorful. 

1. Vegetable Broth (NOT beef broth): When I first started making roast on my own, I wanted to add to the seasoning, so I would add beef broth that seemed to make sense. However, beef broth sometimes clashes with the natural herbs of the already seasoned beef. Also, I didn’t particularly appreciate using chicken broth. No matter what broth I used, it had a ‘saltiness’ that threw off my flavors. So one day out of sheer ‘I wonder if this works,’ I used vegetable broth. Winner Winner Chicken…err beef dinner! 
2. Saute the vegetables: This is an optional part of the process, but I’ve found that roast with saute vegetables tastes better. You want your vegetables seasoned with the flavor of the roast. 

I have included three different recipes for you frenns! Cause I luh y’all. Having made all 3, I must admit that the original is best (shout out to ol’ school), but a slow cooker or instant pot can make a well-seasoned herb roast beef.  

Please note: the cooking time depends heavily on the size of your roast. In the traditional recipe, I had a 3-4lb roast which took less time. If you have a larger roast increase the cooking time by 30 minutes being sure to check at the 2-hour mark for fork tenderness.

When making this roast beef recipe in the instant pot or making this roast beef recipe in the slow cooker- adjustments do have to be made. The ingredients are the same but the process is different. Be sure to make modifications accordingly.

Instant Pot Herb Roast Beef

A recipe for roast beef made in the instant pot

Slow Cooker Herb Roast Beef

A recipe for herb seasoned roast beef using the slow cooker.

Traditional Herb Seasoned Roast Beef

Print Recipe

A traditional recipe for flavorful herb seasoned roast beef.

Prep Time:1 hour hr

Cook Time:3 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Resting Time:1 hour hr

Equipment

• Dutch Oven

Ingredients

• 3-4 tbsp herb roasted seasonings
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4-5 lb chuck roast
• 3-4 sprigs fresh tyme
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped onions
• 1/4 cup sliced onions
• 1/2 cup chopped carrots
• 1 pack onion soup mix
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1/4 tsp garlic paste or 1 crushed clove of garlic

Instructions

• Take roast out of the refrigerator and bring to room temperature. This should take 30 min to 1 hour
• Preheat Oven to 425
• Using a meat tenderizer or fork puncture the roast. Then season heavily with herb seasoning (or preferred seasonings). Be sure to "massage" the seasonings into the roast.
• Flip the roast on the other side and repeat the same process of tenderizing and seasoning.
• Set roast aside.
• Preheat oven to 425.
• Chop onions, celery, carrots- set aside.
• Add the olive oil to bottom of dutch oven. Placing on the stovetop over medium heat. Once the oil is heated, add the roast making sure to sear (NOT COOK) it until it's brown. This proceses should take 3-4 min each side. Set the roast aside out of the dutch oven.
• Add the chopped vegetables to the dutch oven being sure to scrape the bits left from searing the roast. Add the one pack of onion soup mix. The vegetables should be soft not burned.
• Add the roast back into the dutch oven then add the vegetable broth making sure to cover the roast and evenly distribute the broth over the meat and the vegetables. Add the sprigs of thyme. Please note: Thyme is a subtle spice so you can add more sprigs to your liking but the point is for the spice to be subtle (not powerful).
• Cover the dutch oven with the top and place into the oven.
• The time that you cook depends on the size but I would start at 2 1/2 hours for a 4-5lb roast. Any larger add 30 min but check at the 2 hour mark.
• Once done (it should be fork tender) allow the meat to rest.
• Enjoy!

Notes

Course: Holiday Meal, Main Course

Cuisine: comfort food, Soul Food, Sunday Dinner

Keyword: roast

Servings: 4

Enjoy frenns! Make sure you tell me how much you loved it. 

Stay Peachy!