Roast Beef with Homemade Gravy
There’s nothing like coming home from church on Sunday noon and having the aroma of slow-juicy-oven-roasted beef fill your senses when you walk in the door. It says comfort, and it says home!
There is really no magic formula for doing an oven-roast, but there are a few things I do that I think help make it tender all the way through. Depending on the size of the roast, you’ll want to bake it longer. Just tweak this for the size of your roast.
You choose your seasonings and fix it the way you like it. I use onion, sea salt, and pepper. Add anything else you’d like to satisfy your taste buds.
For starters, I put the roast into a roaster or stoneware, add my seasonings and water (the more water you add, the more broth you will have). I added about a cup of water to this 2.5-pound roast and should have added a little more.
Put the roast into the oven at 400 and let it heat through for at least 15 minutes. For a larger roast, you might want to let it at that temperature for 20-25 minutes. Sometimes I put it into the oven when I turn the oven on, and allow it to get to 400 slowly. The reason I do this is because I like the idea of getting the center of that roast hot before I turn it down to a slow-roast for several hours.
Turn your oven down to 250-275 for three to four hours. I turned mine down at 9 AM and when we got home at 12:30 PM, the place smelled heavenly.
If you check your roast and it’s not gone done fast enough, you can always turn the oven up a little or leave it in longer while you’re fixing the rest of the meal.
You can follow this same idea in a slow cooker. I would still put it in on high for an hour so it gets heated through the center before putting it down to low.
Remove your liquid/broth and use it to make gravy.
Cut your roast the way you prefer, and it’s ready to go.
To make gravy, put your broth into a kettle and bring it to a boil. While you’re waiting on the broth to boil, put 1-2 Tablespoons flour into a bowl and mix in enough milk to make a thin paste. When the broth is boiling, add the flour/milk mixture slowly, stirring constantly. To thicken more, allow the gravy to simmer longer. OR you can add more milk/flour. Be sure to give it some time first so your gravy tastes like roast and not like flour.
Your roast can be done at a lower temperature for a longer period of time if you’d like. Set your temperature by the amount of time you need to get it done. The secret to a tender roast is to get it hot all the way through and then roast it slowly in a not-too-hot oven.
Roast Beef with Homemade Gravy
Ingredients
- 2-3 pound beef roast
- 1 whole onion sliced
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 1-2 cups water
Instructions
- Put roast into roaster or stoneware
- Season with Salt and Pepper
- Place sliced onion on top
- Pour water over all
- Cover with lid
- Put into 400-degree pre-heated oven for 15-20 minutes
- Turn oven down to 250-275 and continue to bake for 3-4 more hours until roast is tender
Gertrude, An alternate to the 400* is to fry/seare the roast in a hot pot on all sides on a stove top, then add the water and bring to a boil.
Then into the oven for the slow roasting.
I know there are many ways to do this. Thanks for sharing! The stoneware I use for my oven cannot be used on top of the stove. It would be one more dish to wash and one more step to take. I know other folks who do it your way, and I’m fine with that. Whatever is easiest for the cook is what I recommend. This is the way my mama did it and it’s what works best for me. 🙂