-Rib or Ribeye
   -Tenderloin
   -New York (top loin) strip

Excellent results can be had for less money, however.  Several of our grass fed beef roasts have great versatility, suitable for dry roasting (with care), pot-roasting, and grilling.  These cuts are:

-Cross rib roast (from the chuck)
-Tri-tip roast
-Eye of round roast
-Top round roast (in summer, we usually sell these in their steak form of London Broils)
-Top blade roast

I think these are among the best of our grass fed beef roasts to purchase.  These cuts are very lean, and lack the connective tissue typical of rump roasts and chuck roasts that require long, slow, moist cooking (pot-roasting or braising).  They are relatively inexpensive, and you can use them in a variety of ways:

• Pot roasting (see below)
• Dry-roasting (recipes and instruction below)
• Marinate and dry-roast (recipes below)
• Dry roast and slice thin for sandwich meat
• Cut into smaller chunks for stews and casseroles (recipes)
• Cut into smaller chunks, marinade and use as kabob meat (recipes)
• Slice into steaks, marinade and grill (see London broil and round steak recipes)
• Slice into steaks, marinade or pound, and braise (see London broil and round steak recipes)

Dry roasting

These roasts are excellent dry-roasted, but because they are lean and less tender than ribeye and tenderloin roasts, and contain much less fat than similar cuts from grain-finished beef, these grass fed beef roasts are less forgiving of overcooking.  They must be served medium rare and sliced very thin.  Use the following directions for best results with our grass fed beef:
1.  Preheat oven to the desired temp (see below).
2.  Rinse roast and pat dry.
3.  Cover with seasoning.  Avoid using salt (we always salt our meat at table).  This prevents drawing out juices to the salty surface.

THEN EITHER
4.  Sear in a hot pan (just beginning to smoke) with olive oil on all sides until brown in an oven proof pan (we use a cast iron skillet)

OR 
4.  Place roast on rack or on lightly greased oven pan in oven.
5.  Insert meat thermometer into the thickest part of the roast so the tip is in the middle of the thickest part
6.  Roast for 20 minutes at 500°F; turn down oven to 300°F.

THEN
7.  Roast until meat thermometer registers 144°F (approximately 1 1/2 hours for a 4 inch thick roast; approximately an 45 minutes to hour for a 2 inch thick roast).  On thicker roasts with cooking times over 1.5 hours, reducing your oven heat after 1.5 hours to 200-225 is probably a good idea; this prevents overdrying the outer surface of the roast.
8.  Remove from oven, tent loosely with aluminum foil.9.  Allow internal temperature to reduce to 145°F, approximately 20 minutes.
10.  Slice into 1/8 inch thick slices with a very sharp carving knife, using a rimmed cutting board to capture juices.
11.  Place slices on a platter.
12.  Pour juices from cutting board over slices if you wish, or cover with a sauce.

An additional tip for dry roasting that we often do is to use the same pan for searing as for roasting.  We often use a heavy dutch oven or cast iron fry pan.  This works very well if you would like to make sauce or gravy from the drippings; the seared rub and olive oil make an excellent base for this.

Dry roasting with rub or marinade
1.  The day before you plan to cook the roast, prepare roast with marinade or rub.  Let marinate overnight.
2.  Remove meat from marinade; place on rack and allow excess marinade to drain from meat.
3.  Follow steps 4 through 12 above.
 

Pot roasting

These roasts can also be cooked using moist heat.  You can use any of the recipes on the pot roast page or use a few of the moist cooking recipes included on this page.
 

RECIPES

Roast with garlic crust (added 2/04)
Garlic roast (added 2/04)
Mushroom stuffed eye of round (added 2/04)
Roast beef with garlic and thyme butter (added 2/04)
Roast and nutmeg (added 2/04)
Crusty Rosemary Roast (added 6/04)
 

Roast with garlic crust 
The savory crust formed on this roast is a special treat suitable for company, but easy enough for a family meal.
3 lbs. roast
2 Tb olive oil
3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed (not minced or pressed)
1 c bread crumbs
1/4 c chopped fresh parsley
1/2 ts salt
1/2 ts black pepper
Rinse roast and pat dry.  Place on roasting rack. The garlic cloves should be just slightly crushed.  Saute garlic in oil for about 2 minutes, pressing the garlic to force the juices into the oil.  Mix in bread crumbs, parsley, salt, and black pepper. Press mixture onto roast, coating well.  Roast following the instructions for dry roasting given above.

Garlic roast
This is a simple roast to prepare, taking only about 10 minutes to get into the oven.  Remove the garlic cloves before carving, mash, season with 1 tsp salt and serve as a spread.
3 lb roast 
1 bulb garlic 
2 Tb extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tb onion powder 
coarse ground black pepper 
1-2 ts fine dried herb mix
Rinse roast and pat dry.  Separate garlic into cloves and peel.  Using a sharp knife point make slits in the top of the meat. Tuck whole cloves of garlic into each slit. Drizzle meat with oil. Sprinkle roast with onion powder, pepper and dried herbs.  Roast following the directions given above.

Mushroom Stuffed Eye of Round Roast
The eye of round roast is easily butterflied into a flattened piece of meat, which then can be nicely rolled around a stuffing.  In this recipe, the eye of round is also marinated for added tenderness and flavor.
2 to 2 1/2 lb of eye of round roast 
1 c red wine 
1 Tb butter 
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1/2 c red onion minced 
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced 
1/4 c fresh parsley, chopped
2 Tb fresh oregano, finely chopped
2 slices French or sourdough bread torn into cubes 
To butterfly roast, make a lengthwise cut down the center to within ½ inch of the bottom (don’t cut completely through!).  Open roast and turn over.  Make two parallel cuts on the right and left lobes, again being careful to not cut all the way through.  Spread the roast out.  Place on a cutting board and cover with heavy duty plastic wrap.  Pound and flatten meat with a meat mallet.  Place roast in plastic bag with wine and refrigerate for 4-6 hours turning occasionally.  Saute garlic, onion and mushrooms in butter.  Remove from heat and mix in bread crumbs, mushrooms and herbs.  Remove roast from plastic bag and let drain for a few minutes.  Pat dry.  Discard marinade.  Spread stuffing mix on meat, roll up jelly-roll fashion and tie with string (cotton oven string!) at intervals to hold together.  Roast following dry roasting directions at top of page.

Roast beef with garlic and thyme butter
The addition of a butter coating helps seal in the juices of these lean roasts and adds a great flavor to the crust.
2 to 3 lb roast 
1 Tb butter, softened
1 ts finely grated lemon peel 
1 ts dried thyme 
1/2 ts salt 
1/2 ts coarse ground black pepper 
2 cloves garlic cut in half 
3 cloves garlic minced or pressed
Combine butter, lemon peel, thyme, pepper and minced garlic. Rub garlic halves over surface of beef roast. Spread butter mixture over roast, coating thoroughly on all sides except bottom.  Roast following directions given above.

Roast and nutmeg
The nutmeg is an unexpected flavor, complementing the beef while increasing the browning of the crust.
1 beef roast 
3 ts nutmeg
2 ts onion powder 
2 ts black pepper 
2 ts ground oregano 
2 ts basil 
4 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed.
1 c red wine
Rinse and pat roast dry.  Place in a baking dish.  Mix dry seasonings together.  Spread garlic on roast and then cover with seasonings, pressing into sides and allowing some to fall into the pan.  Pour wine around base.  Roast following the directions given above.  Make gravy from the pan juices and wine.

Crusty Rosemary Roast
The sweet rub creates a rich crust and acts as a tenderizer.  The roast is refrigerated overnight with the rub.
1 2-4 lb roast
½ c salt
½ c turbinado sugar (can use brown sugar in a pinch)
½ c fresh rosemary, chopped fine
1 Tb chili powder
The day before serving, mix rub ingredients.  Rinse roast and pat dry.  Press rub mixture into roast on all sides.  Approximately 2 hours before serving the next day, preheat oven to 500°F.  Place a heavy-bottomed roasting pan in the hot oven and allow to heat up for about 8 minutes.  Place meat in hot pan and roast for 10 minutes.  Turn meat and allow to sear another 10 minutes.  This hot searing sets the crust and holds in the juices.  Set meat thermometer with tip in center of roast.  Reduce oven heat to 225°F and roast for 35-45 minutes.  Remove from oven at 144°F.  Let roast rest for 20 minutes before slicing.