Homemade Sliced Grass Fed Roast Beef

It should be no surprise that I'm a fan of red meat. And contrary to popular belief, eating saturated fat does not necessarily raise cholesterol nor does it make you fat (or give you a Fat Face.) Deli sliced roast beef is a great option since it is portable and delicious. However, if it comes from traditional grain-fed beef, you might be concerned about the omega-6/omega-3 imbalance (too much o-6 = inflammation). Even if you're not, roast beef is overly priced compared to how easy it is to make your own. Here are the steps.

Step 1: Get a roast. Preferably grass-fed although if you're simply looking to save money, any roast will do. You'll need to look for "eye of round roast" although you could theoretically also use bottom round or top round roast as well. 

Here is a roast a little over 2 pounds and my hand for size comparison. Shoutout to SICFIT.com! 

Step 2: Get your spices and olive oil. Selection is up to you although I like to keep it simple with pepper, garlic powder, cumin, and sea salt. The next time I do this, I'll probably ditch the cumin for even more simplicity. Coat the roast in olive oil first (all sides) and then the rest of spices. Amounts are totally up to you, especially in how you like the taste. I like my roast beef a little peppery and more salty, so I added more sea salt. Either way, it's hard to mess up this part, but just coat the whole thing, even the bottom. 

Step 3: Put the roast on a drip pan or elevated on a wire rack in a tray. Put the whole thing in an oven preheated to 500 degrees. Yes, hot! Keep it in there for about 20 minutes, then drop the heat to 300 degrees for 20-30 min. depending on the size of the roast. This one was in for 30 min. but I'd probably change it to 25 min. after seeing the result and some parts cooked more well done than others.

Step 4: Pull the roast out after a total of 40-50 min. and tent loosely with foil for 10 min.

Final roast ready to be cut. 

Step 5: Cut! I am lucky to have a simple slicer from the parentals, but a sharp knife will also do. Be sure to cut ACROSS the grain (or, Against the Grain) so that the roast beef is easy to eat. 

Portion that was cooked well done (reason why I'd keep it in the oven at 300 degrees for 25 min., not 30 min.)

Final product! Deliciousness, even for the first time making it. Refrigerate and use within the next week or two. This is great to bring on a road trip or pack for lunch as it doesn't require heating up. 2.2 pound roast yielded just over 1.5 pounds of roast beef, not bad! I paid $15 for the grass fed roast in Wegman's, so per pound uncooked was $7.50/lb and final roast beef is $10/lb. Although this is a little higher or on par with regular roast beef, I have the satisfaction of knowing it is grass-fed and only has ingredients that I want on it. If you go conventional meat, it could save you even more. 

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