How Do You Make a Beef Round Top Round Roast?

This top round roast recipe takes a lean cut of meat and makes it tender and juicy with a delicious savory gravy on top. It's the perfect holiday or celebration meal!

A top round roast is a cut from the inside of the hind legs of the cow.

The round is the muscles surrounding the back legs of the cow, which means it's a muscular area that doesn't have a lot of fat.

Top round is generally a budget friendly cut of beef, which is why it's considered the "cheaper version of prime rib."

But since it comes from a lean (or not fatty) part of the cow it can easily become dry and tough if not cooked correctly.

The upside is that a top round is full of flavor and packed with protein! But don't worry about ending up with a dry tough piece of meat.

Because I, Rebecca of Good Things Baking am here to walk you through creating a perfect top round roast, roasted to flavorful perfection for a celebration or holiday dinner.

Ingredients For A Top Round Roast

Top round roast — Between 2 1/2 and 4 pounds

Half head of celery

Large or small carrots

Yellow or white onion

Head of garlic

Olive oil

Salt — I like to use a mixture of finely ground and large flake kosher salt.

Black pepper — Coarse or fine ground

Stock or broth — Vegetable, beef, or chicken

Fresh rosemary, bay leaves, and/or oregano

Ingredients For The Gravy

Pan juices from the roast

Stock or broth — Vegetable, beef, or chicken

Raspberry or blackberry jam

All-purpose flour

Red wine — I used Pinot Noir, but any full-bodied red wine will work well.

How To Cook A Top Round Roast

Remove your beef from the refrigerator at least an hour before cooking it. This removes the chill and helps the proteins in the roast relax for a more tender meat.

Prepping Your Roast

While the meat is warming up, chop 3 large carrots, half a head of celery, and 1 onion into large chunks.

Cut the top off a head of garlic and break it up into cloves. Make sure to leave them in their papery skins.

Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Place the chunks of vegetables into the bottom of a roasting pan or Dutch oven.

Drizzle the vegetables with olive oil. Then, pour a cup of stock or broth over the veggies.

Mix 2-3 tablespoons of salt with 2 teaspoons of ground black pepper.

When the roast has reached room temperature, pat it dry with paper towels to remove any excess moisture.

Rub the roast with another tablespoon of olive oil.

Then, sprinkle and rub the entire surface of the beef with the salt and pepper mixture.

Add a few sprigs of fresh rosemary, bay leaves, and oregano around the roast.

Cooking Your Roast

Place in the oven and roast for 15 minutes at 450°F. This will sear the outside and make it crusty and flavorful.

Next, reduce the heat to 300°F.

Cook the roast at 300°F for another 50-60 minutes, or until the internal temperature measures between 131° and 135°. This will leave the roast between medium-rare and medium doneness, but don't be tempted to keep cooking it.

The leanness of this cut of meat means that cooking it to medium-well or well done will result in a dry roast that's difficult to eat and cut.

The cooking times will vary based on the size of your roast.

Start checking the temperature of the roast around 45 minutes, and watch it closely during the last bit of roasting as it will cook rather quickly at that stage.

Once it has reached your desired level of doneness, remove the roast from the oven.

Transfer it to a plate or pan and tent the top with foil. Let the roast rest for 15-20 minutes before slicing.

You'll use the remaining item to make your gravy.

Making The Gravy For Your Roast Beef Recipe

To make the gravy, remove and discard the sprigs of herbs that are in the pan.

Set the cooked carrots aside, then use a fork or masher to smash the remaining vegetables. There should be a lot of juice in the bottom of the pan from the broth used and from the roast.

If you did not cook the roast in a stove-top safe pan, pour everything from the roasting dish into a pot at this point.

If you did, you can place the pan that the roast was cooked in on a burner and heat the contents over medium heat until they are simmering.

In a separate bowl, whisk the flour and a cup of stock or broth until there are no lumps of flour left.

Whisk the jam into the simmering pan until it has dissolved. Then, add the red wine.

Continue whisking as you pour in the flour and broth mixture.

Next, bring it back to a simmer and continue to cook until the gravy has thickened.

Taste the gravy to see if it needs more seasoning. Salt and pepper accordingly.

Place a large sieve over a bowl and strain the gravy through it to remove the smashed vegetables. Pour in a gravy boat or small bowl and serve it with the roast.

How To Serve The Roast

To cut and serve the roast, place it on a cutting board after it has finished resting.

Using a very sharp, straight edged knife, slice the meat against the grain, as thin as you can.

You can tell the direction of the grain in meat by which way the muscle fibers are aligned.

You want to cut across the fibers, rather than along them. This helps break up the fibers in the meat, making it easier to chew.

After your roast is sliced, serve it immediately.

I recommend serving it with the cooked carrots and roasted potatoes with a glass of spiced mulled wine.

Leftover roast is delicious when eaten cold, and is perfect for sandwiches.

You can also gently reheat it in the microwave or oven, but be sure not to overcook it.

Do I Need To Let My Top Round Roast Beef Rest After Cooking?

You should always allow at least 15-20 minutes of rest time after your roast is finished cooking.

The proteins in the meat tighten during cooking, and a rest time allows them to relax and reabsorb some of the juices.

If you cut into a roast immediately after it's cooked, you'll lose a lot more of the natural juices of the meat and will have a drier, less tender slice of meat.

The resting time for this roast is a perfect chance to make the gravy, so you can put that extra 20 minutes to good use.

Top Roast Cooking Times

All of these times are for roasting at 300°F.

Don't forget to add an extra 30-40 minutes when calculating your cooking time to allow for the searing at 450°F and another 15-25 minutes of resting after the roast is cooked.

For a roast between:

— 2 1/2 to 4 pounds, calculate 30 minutes of cooking time per pound.

— 4 to 6 pounds, calculate 25 minutes of cooking time per pound.

— 6 to 10 pounds, calculate 20 minutes of cooking time per pound.

Keep in mind that all of these times are subjective, and are best to be used for planning purposes only.

Rely on your meat thermometer to read the internal temperature to determine the readiness of your roast.

Some variables that could affect the cooking time are the real temperature of your oven (they can run a few degrees hot or cold), the kind of pan you're cooking the roast in, and how often you open the oven door.

Internal Temperatures For A Top Roast

The temperatures listed here are for the different levels of doneness you can cook your roast to.

Because top round roast is such a lean cut of meat, I don't recommend cooking it past 135°F to avoid it getting tough and chewy.

However, you can cook it to the level that you like and are comfortable eating.

Rare — Very pink through the center and nearly to the edges. Cook to 125°F.

Medium-Rare — More brown around the edges, but the center will still be fairly pink. Cook to 135°F.

Medium — Mostly cooked through, with a pinkish center. Cook to 145°F.

Medium-Well — Hardly any pink in the very center of the roast. Cook to 150°F.

Well Done — The meat is cooked completely through, with no pink in the center at all. Cook to 160°F.

More Dinner Ideas To Try

Instant Pot Pork Loin
Air Fryer Turkey
Best Easy Meatloaf
One Sheet Rosemary Chicken Dinner

best roasts ever - far away shot of beef roast

Top Round Roast Recipe With Gravy

This top round roast recipe takes a lean cut of meat and makes it tender and juicy with a delicious, savory gravy on top. It's the perfect holiday or celebration meal!

Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 2 hrs

Total Time 2 hrs 20 mins

Course Dinner

Cuisine Entree

Roasting pan or Dutch oven
Food thermometer
Foil
Small pot
Whisk
Large sieve or strainer
Fork or masher

For the top round roast:

1 top round roast 2 1/2 - 4 pounds
1/2 head celery
3 large carrots or 5 small carrots
1 onion yellow or white
1 head garlic
2-3 tbsp salt
2 tsp black pepper coarse or fine ground
1 cup stock or broth vegetable, beef, or chicken
2 tbsp olive oil
Sprigs of fresh rosemary, bay leaves, and/or oregano to place around the roast

For the gravy:

Pan juices from the roast
1 cup stock or broth vegetable, beef, or chicken
2 tbsp raspberry or blackberry jam
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup red wine any full-bodied red wine like Pinot Noir

Servings: 6

Calories: 187 kcal

How to cook the top round roast:

Remove your beef from the refrigerator at least 1 hour before cooking. This removes the chill and helps the proteins in the roast relax to get a more tender meat.
While the meat is warming up, chop 3 large carrots (or 5 small carrots), half a head of celery, and 1 onion into large chunks.
Cut the top off a head of garlic and break it up into cloves. Make sure to leave them in their papery skins.
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Place the chunks of vegetables into the bottom of a roasting pan or Dutch oven. Drizzle them with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
Pour in 1 cup of stock over the veggies.
When the roast has reached room temperature, pat it dry with paper towels to remove any excess moisture.
Rub the roast with another tablespoon of olive oil.
Mix 2-3 tablespoons of salt with 2 teaspoons of ground black pepper in a separate bowl. Sprinkle and rub in the entire surface of the roast with the salt and pepper mixture.
Sprinkle a few sprigs of fresh rosemary, bay leaves, and oregano around the roast.
Place in the oven and roast for 15 minutes at 450°F (with the lid off). This will sear the outside and make it crusty and flavorful.
After the 15 minutes, reduce the heat to 300°F.
Cook the roast at 300°F for another 50-60 minutes (with the lid on), or until the internal temperature measures between 131° and 135°. This will leave the roast between medium-rare and medium doneness, but don't be tempted to keep cooking it. The leanness of this cut of meat means that cooking it to medium-well or well done will result in a dry roast that's difficult to eat and cut. The cooking times will vary based on the size of your roast.
Start checking the temperature of the roast around 45 minutes, and watch it closely during the last bit of roasting as it will cook rather quickly at that stage.
Once it has reached your desired level of doneness, remove the roast from the oven. Remove it to a plate or pan and tent the top with foil.
Let the roast rest for 15-20 minutes before slicing.

How to make the gravy:

Remove and discard the sprigs of herbs from your pan.
Set the cooked carrots aside.
Use a fork or masher to smash the remaining vegetables that are in the pan. There should also be quite a bit of juice in the bottom of the pan from the broth used and from the roast.
If you did not cook the roast in a stove-top safe pan, pour everything from the roasting dish into a separate pot.
If you did, you can place the pan that the roast was cooked in on a burner and heat the contents over medium heat until they are simmering.
In a separate bowl, whisk the flour and 1 cup of stock or broth until there are no lumps of flour left.
Whisk the jam into the simmering pan until it has dissolved.
Add the red wine.
Continue whisking as you pour in the flour and broth mixture. Then, bring it back to a simmer and continue to cook until the gravy has thickened.
Taste the gravy to see if it needs more seasoning. Salt and pepper accordingly.
Place a large sieve over a bowl and strain the gravy through it to remove the smashed vegetables.
Place it in a gravy boat or small bowl and serve it with the roast.

KEYWORD: top round roast recipe

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