Roast beef with mushrooms, gravy and a side of potatoes. |
Preheat oven to 450 F.
In a roasting pan:
beef roast - thawed
one onion, cut into chunks
one cup of beef stock (an OXO packet/cube in a cup of warm water)
A couple of different seasoning methods for the meat work here, here are two:
1) season liberally with "Montreal Steak Spice" (a great all-in-one seasoning)
or
2) garlic powder (or fresh garlic/minced) and salt and pepper
If you'd like an all-in-one meal you can add potatoes (peeled and cut in half), large chunks of carrots and/or celery. I like the potatoes this way, the carrots less so. Fresh mushrooms also turn out particularly well when done with the roast.
Cover the roasting pan and bake at 450 F for 15 minutes, then lower to 350 F. A meat thermometer is really the only proper way to get the meat cooked to a desired doneness (if you don't have one, go get one - now, before you ruin another piece of meat!). Monitor temperature, 170 F - well done, 160 F - medium, 145 F - medium rare, 140 F - rare.
Remove the roast from the pan, put it on a platter and cover with aluminum foil, let it sit 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the potatoes and carrots to a bowl (if you had added them). Remove the onion and discard. Put the roasting pan on a burner on high. Add a cup or two of water if not much juice is remaining and bring to a boil. Scrape the pan to remove some of dried juices and stir frequently. Mix a heaping tablespoon of cornstarch into a small amount of water (just enough to get it dissolved) and slowly stir in small amounts of this into the gravy juices. When the gravy is of a desired consistancy, remove from heat. Serve.