We are a household of carnivores, but our meat preferences are very different. Chicken is my favorite meat to cook and to eat: light, versatile and affordable, it makes up the central element in a variety of dishes I love. Whenever I think of chicken I think of mom’s chicken recipes, and I get all excited and happy. To me, mom knows best and is the best cook 🙂
Meanwhile, my husband is a diehard fan of red meat, who always chooses steak over breaded chicken. I wanted to cook something I knew he would enjoy, so I made roast beef to celebrate his first Father’s Day ever. This is one of my mom’s recipes – this is the way she usually cooks beef, pork and even mutton. I followed her recipe, but also changed it a little by adding mixed peppercorns and oregano.
I served this roast beef as we usually do in our family – we just love tomato salad and French fries with feta cheese and dill! Feel free to serve this dish differently, in accordance to your tastes and preferences.
Ingredients
3lb sirloin beef (I bought sirloin tip roast and the chunk I got weighed 3.39lb, to be precise)
3 slices bacon
3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced lengthwise
1 tbsp mixed peppercorns
1/2 tbsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp dry oregano
1 tbsp salt (use less if the bacon is very salty)
3 cups water + extra, if necessary
2 tsp unsalted butter (optional)
Preheat the oven to 325F.
Place the meat in a pan. Cut the bacon in small pieces. Use a sharp knife to make deep incisions in the meat and fill them with the sliced garlic and the pieces of bacon. Distribute the peppercorns, ground pepper, oregano and salt evenly on the meat. Add water to the pan. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and place it in the oven. Let the meat cook for one hour.
After one hour, take the pan out of the oven and check the temperature of the meat. For medium rare beef, the internal temperature must be 145F; for medium it must be 160F, for well done, 170F. Put the meat back in the oven to cook some more until the desired degree of doneness is achieved. Check on it every 20-30 minutes and add extra water to the pan if necessary.
We wanted the beef to be medium, yet it was still rare according to the thermometer, so I covered the meat and I put it back in the oven for another half hour. I checked again, added 1/2 extra cup of water, and returned the pan to the oven for another half hour.
The beef was done after two hours in total. I allowed the meat to “rest” and added butter on top while it was still hot.
I made a quick salad to accompany the meat using red and yellow tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper and fresh chopped parsley. Simple, easy and delicious!
I cut the meat into thin slices and served it with salad and French fries sprinkled with crumbled feta cheese and chopped dill.
I was expecting the beef to be a little bit pink in the middle, but it was not – probably because the cooking process continued even after I took the meat out of the oven and checked its temperature? No big reason for concern though: the beef turned out great, very moist and tender. One happy husband – and one happy cook 🙂
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