How to Make Chef John's Roast Beef and Pan Gravy for Beginners
Embark on a culinary journey with Chef John's Roast Beef and Pan Gravy tutorial, perfect for beginners. Join us in the kitchen as we simplify the art of roasting beef, sharing expert tips and techniques. Learn step-by-step how to achieve a perfectly succulent roast and craft a rich, flavorful pan gravy. Elevate your cooking skills and treat your taste buds to a delicious homemade roast beef feast with this accessible and delightful recipe!
Transcript
00:00 Hello, this is Chef John from FoodWishes.com with roast beef and pan gravy for beginners.
00:09 That's right, this easy no-fail method will turn even the cheapest toughest cuts of beef
00:14 into something beautifully succulent and tender.
00:18 It's also going to produce an amazing pan gravy.
00:20 But the best news is, you need no experience or skills to do it.
00:25 And to get started, we're going to need a nice big piece of beef.
00:28 And what I have here is about a 3 1/2 pound piece of top round, which is relatively lean
00:34 and kind of tough.
00:35 But the good news is it's cheap, which makes it perfect for beginners.
00:40 You know, just in case we mess it up, which is actually hard to do.
00:44 But anyway, to prep this beef, we're going to generously season both sides with a mixture
00:49 of kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, and granulated garlic.
00:54 And the general rule of thumb is a teaspoon of kosher salt per pound of meat, which is
00:59 why I'm using just over three teaspoons.
01:02 And then I tossed in a teaspoon of granulated garlic and a teaspoon of freshly ground black
01:06 pepper.
01:08 And that's going to make for an amazing dry brine, as we call it in the business, for
01:12 this beef.
01:13 And what we'll do after applying half of that mixture to each side is pick this meat up.
01:18 And we'll press the edges onto whatever fell onto the butcher paper so it has to use all
01:22 that up, or as much as we can get.
01:25 And then once that's set, we'll want to transfer this onto some kind of rack so we can get
01:30 some air circulation going underneath.
01:32 If you don't have a rack, you can just make your own by just twisting up some pieces of
01:36 aluminum foil.
01:38 And then besides the generous amount of seasoning, the other key to this technique is letting
01:42 this meat sit and air dry in the fridge for about 24 hours.
01:47 And if you happen to remember, try to pull this out halfway through and give it a flip.
01:52 And what's going to happen during that time, that seasoning is going to permeate the meat
01:56 and add a ton of flavor.
01:58 But it's also going to help tenderize the beef, and we'll end up with a much better
02:02 texture.
02:03 So please make sure you start this a full day ahead.
02:05 All right, just put a reminder in your phone.
02:09 And that's it.
02:10 After dry brining and dry aging for 24 hours, we'll go ahead and sear both sides on high
02:14 heat in a little bit of oil.
02:17 And ideally, we're doing this in a pan that can go in the oven, since that's going to
02:20 save a step.
02:22 Otherwise you'll have to do your searing in a frying pan, and then transfer it into a
02:25 baking dish.
02:27 But either way, we'll want to sear that very well, for a few minutes on both sides.
02:32 And once that's been done, I also like to pick it up and try to sear the edges a little
02:35 bit as well.
02:37 But that's optional, and no big deal if you don't do it.
02:41 And then once our meat is nicely seared, we'll turn off the heat, and we'll add some diced
02:46 onions to the pan, wherever there's space.
02:49 And no, we don't need the same amount of onions on either side, but I think we'll all feel
02:53 a little better if it's close.
02:56 And then on top of the onions, I'm going to add some maitake mushrooms, also known as
03:00 hen of the woods.
03:02 But if you can't find maitake, you could also use shiitake, or matsutake, or really, I think
03:08 any of the takis would work.
03:11 Or just simply some good old-fashioned sliced button mushrooms.
03:14 And then once those are in the pan, we'll go ahead and season the top with a little
03:17 bit of kosher salt, and then we will follow that with a fairly generous drizzling of melted
03:22 butter.
03:23 And not just on top of the mushrooms, I think we should probably brush them on the meat
03:27 as well.
03:28 And that's it, once that's been applied, this is ready to transfer into the center of a
03:33 475 degree oven for exactly 15 minutes, at which point we'll turn our heat down to 325,
03:40 and we will roast at that temperature for as long as it takes to get to the target temperature
03:44 after, which for medium-rare would mean pulling this at 125 internal temp.
03:50 Although that's not what I did, and I'm going to get to that in a few minutes.
03:54 But once our meat does come out, we will transfer that to a plate, and very loosely cover that
03:59 with foil.
04:00 And we will let it rest for at least 15 to 20 minutes, while we make an incredible pan
04:05 gravy.
04:06 And that starts by removing our roasted mushrooms to a bowl, so we can serve those alongside
04:11 our beef.
04:12 And no, we don't have to get every little last scrap.
04:15 And also, feel free to leave any pieces of onion in the pan.
04:19 And then next up, we will turn our heat to medium-high, and we will add some more butter
04:23 to our existing pan drippings, followed by a nice rounded tablespoon of flour.
04:28 And then we'll cook that, stirring for about 2 minutes over medium-high heat to form a
04:33 roux.
04:34 R-O-U-X.
04:35 And you're probably thinking, "I didn't know you could make a roux if there was liquid in
04:39 the pan."
04:40 Well, you can if you have enough fat.
04:42 And since there was already oil and beef fat in the pan, plus we added that extra butter,
04:46 we're going to be fine.
04:48 And once we cook the raw edge off that starch for a couple minutes, we will stop and add
04:53 a splash of sherry vinegar, or any other vinegar you prefer, as well as a couple cups of some
04:59 nice store-bought, low-sodium beef bone broth.
05:03 And we'll go ahead and whisk all that together.
05:06 And because our roux was hot and our broth was cold, we're not going to get any lumps.
05:10 And if you think you see a lump, that's not a lump.
05:13 That's probably an onion.
05:14 Oh, and if we have any accumulated juices from the plate we're letting our meat rest on,
05:19 which we will, we'll go ahead and add those now.
05:22 And then besides giving that a whisk, all we really need to do is let that come to a
05:26 boil, at which point we'll simply let it cook and reduce until it's as thick as we want.
05:32 And while that's happening, we can go ahead and season this up with a little bit of freshly
05:35 ground black pepper, and maybe another pinch of salt, depending on how salty the broth
05:40 is, as well as some freshly picked thyme leaves, and if we want a few shakes of cayenne.
05:46 Oh, and even though I love the thyme, rosemary and tarragon would also work here.
05:51 So if you'd rather use those, go ahead.
05:53 I mean, you are after all the Larry Bird, of which herb?
05:58 And speaking of French liqueur, instead of using the sherry vinegar, you could also add
06:02 a splash of red wine.
06:04 But in any event, as I said, we'll simply let this cook and reduce, and if I have to
06:08 guess it will reduce by about half, before it probably gets to the point we want, which
06:13 is a gorgeous, slightly thickened sauce.
06:16 And of course, besides checking the texture, we'll also want to give it a taste, to see
06:20 if it needs any more seasoning.
06:23 And if it doesn't, and mine didn't, we'll simply turn off the heat, and our very simple,
06:28 but extremely delicious pan gravy is done.
06:31 And we will simply keep that warm until we need it.
06:34 And that's it, once our meat has rested for about 15 or 20 minutes, we'll go ahead and
06:38 slice it up.
06:39 And while I do, let me go over why this is cooked as much as it is.
06:42 Alright, for expensive roast beefs like prime rib or tenderloin, I like it medium rare.
06:48 But for tougher cuts like top round, I actually think the texture is better at medium.
06:53 Except like a beginner, I kind of messed up, and instead of pulling it at 130, it was closer
06:58 to 140.
07:00 So while this did still have a little bit of pinkness, it was really closer to medium
07:03 well.
07:04 But shockingly, as you'll see, things actually worked out.
07:09 And then as far as presentation goes, what I like to do is slice about half, and then
07:13 we'll place the uncut piece of meat right on our gravy.
07:16 And then we'll go ahead and lay that sliced meat right in front.
07:19 Oh, and I should mention, I removed half the sauce to a gravy boat, so that we have some
07:23 extra to pour over the top, and to serve alongside once we plate up.
07:29 And then of course we will add our roasted mushrooms as well, which I kept warm, but
07:33 they are great at room temp.
07:36 And that's it, we will finish up with a little more gravy on the top.
07:39 Plus one more scattering of freshly picked thyme leaves, as well as possibly maybe a
07:44 few more whole sprigs of thyme.
07:47 And that's it, what I'm calling roast beef and pan gravy for beginners, was ready to
07:51 enjoy.
07:52 And even though, like a beginner, I accidentally cooked this to medium well, instead of medium,
07:58 it was still very tender, and succulent, and very, very delicious.
08:03 So besides sharing what I think is a fantastic technique for roasting beef and making a pan
08:08 gravy, this was also a very interesting experiment for me, because I never would have intentionally
08:13 cooked this meat to medium well.
08:15 So to be able to test it and taste it, cooked to this doneness, was sort of a new experience
08:20 for me.
08:21 And I have to admit, I was pretty impressed.
08:24 In fact I went ahead and found this slice, and even though that piece was close to well
08:28 done, it was not dry or tough.
08:31 And I thought to myself, maybe I need to stop making fun of people that eat well done meat.
08:36 I'm just kidding, I'm not going to.
08:38 But the point is, this method really is amazing.
08:41 So I thoroughly enjoyed those bites I took in the pan, and then I proceeded to plate
08:45 some up, next to some green beans and mashed potato au gratin.
08:50 And of course I served that with a little more gravy.
08:54 And by the way, if you have not seen that potato video, you should probably watch that
08:57 as soon as this one ends.
08:59 Those really were incredible.
09:01 And besides the technique of dry brining, and letting this dry age in the fridge for
09:05 a day, and starting it out at really high heat, the other secret here is to serve it
09:10 with roasted mushrooms in this pan gravy.
09:13 Which would pretty much make the worst, driest piece of meat taste good.
09:17 So using this method, we have a lot of things going for us, which I think, and hope, gives
09:22 you beginners out there a lot of confidence, that even with no experience, and a super
09:27 lean, pretty tough cut of beef, you could serve up a world-class roast beef dinner,
09:32 with custom, homemade pan gravy.
09:34 Oh, and I'm aware we have some experts lurking, and sure, they've rolled their eyes a few
09:39 times, but you know what, I bet they're going to try this as well.
09:43 But whether you are an expert, with a lot of experience, or a total beginner, and this
09:48 is going to be your first roast beef, either way, I really do hope you give this a try
09:53 soon.
09:55 So please follow the links below for the ingredient amounts, a printable written recipe, and much
10:00 more info, as usual.
10:02 And as always, enjoy!
10:05 [music]
10:09 [music]
10:11 [music]
10:13 [music]
10:15 [music]
10:17 [music]
10:19 [music]
10:21 [music]
10:23 [BLANK_AUDIO]