Roast Beef with Homemade Gravy

Sunday Roast with homemade gravy

Homemade gravy with a home-baked roast is the bomb. There’s  nothing like coming home from church Sunday noon and inhaling the aroma of slow-juicy-oven-roasted beef 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.

The roast

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. 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.

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 getting 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 start it on high until it is heated through. Then turn it down for that slow cook.

The gravy!

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 1-3 Tablespoons flour into a bowl. Mix in enough milk to make a thin paste. [The amount of flour and milk you use depends on the amount of broth you have.] 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.

Homemade gravy is so much healthier than stock or store-bought gravy. You control the amount of salt and flour you add to the broth. Gravy also helps some folks enjoy food more because it can give it more flavor. Just a tablespoon can add so much to a meal, especially for folks who need added nutrition.

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. The secret to good gravy is to make it yourself with broth and flavoring from your kitchen. Enjoy the delight of homemade gravy!

The recipe for homemade gravy

Roast Beef with Homemade Gravy

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 4 hours hrs

Total Time 4 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Course Main

Cuisine American

Ingredients

  

• 2-3 pound beef roast
• 1 whole onion sliced
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1-2 cups water
• 2-3 Tbsp flour
• 1/2 cup milk

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
• GRAVY: Separate broth from beef roast.
• Mix flour and milk together until you have a thin paste
• Bring beef broth to a boil
• Slowly pour the flour/milk paste into the boiling broth - stirring while you pour
• Turn burner down to simmer and allow gravy to thicken
• If gravy is too thin, make and add some more paste
• Season to taste

This is a repost from five years ago.