Peppercorn roast beef with onion gravy

Hosting a holiday hang at your place? Get ready to wow your family or friends with a show-stopping peppercorn roast beef and gravy (great with buttery mashed potatoes).

Credit: Mary Makes It Easy

• serves

  6

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  2:40 hours

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 1 top sirloin roast, approx. 1.8 kg (4 lb)
• 4 onions, thinly sliced
• 3 tsp (15 ml) olive oil
• Kosher salt
• ¼ cup (57 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1½ tbsp cracked black pepper
• 3 tsp finely chopped rosemary
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp + 1 tsp plain flour
• 1½ tbsp (30 ml) brandy, white wine, or red wine, optional
• 2½–3 cups (625–750 ml) low sodium beef stock
• Prepared horseradish

Instructions

1. Set the roast to come up to room temperature while you heat your oven to 250°C (500°F). Once it comes up to temperature, set a timer for 30 minutes, and wait until the time has elapses before adding food to the oven. This will help ensure that your oven will maintain the high heat needed to oven sear the roast.
2. Add the onions to a small roasting pan or 23 cm x 33 cm (9 inch x 13 inch) baking pan, toss with the oil, and season with salt and pepper. To give the onions a head start, place in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes or just until softened and lightly golden around the edges. Remove the onions from the oven, give them a stir, and set aside. Allow the oven to heat for an additional 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, mash together the butter, cracked pepper, rosemary, and garlic powder in a small bowl. Season the roast well with salt and evenly spread the butter over top. If using a leave-in digital probe thermometer which I highly recommend, insert it into the centre of the roast and set the temperature alarm for 57°C (135°F) for medium rare. Place the roast on top of the onions and return to the oven.
4. Set a timer for 20 minutes for a 1.35 kg (3 lb) to 1.8 kg (4 lb) roast. If your roast weighs more than 1.8 kg (4 lb), simply cook for 5 minutes per pound of meat, rounding up to the nearest minute. For example, a roast weighing 4.3 lbs will cook for 22 minutes (4.3 lbs x 5 = 21.5, rounded up to 22 minutes).
5. Without opening the oven door, turn the oven off and set a timer for 2 hours, keeping the oven door closed the whole time.
6. After 2 hours, remove the roast from the oven, transfer to a cutting board, tent with aluminum foil, and set aside while you prepare the gravy.
7. Place the roasting pan with the onions over medium heat and bring to a sizzle. Scatter over the flour, stir in, and cook for 2 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the brandy or wine, if using, then slowly begin whisking in 2½ cups of beef stock. Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened, adding more stock if needed to reach your desired gravy consistency.
8. Slice the roast, transfer the gravy to a gravy boat, and serve with horseradish.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.