For this day after Valentine’s Day, we’re not talking chocolate or sweets. Instead, let’s go straight for a big chunk of meat: using a chili and coffee rub to make sliced roast beef!
I was pretty intimidated the first time I tried a basic recipe for this dish. It didn’t help that it made way too much rub, which I tried to use up anyway, which meant the roast started smoldering like a log when it started cooking. Whoops.
Despite the hassles, my husband loved the end result, so I resolved to re-do the recipe and get it right. I think my husband’s feedback on each iteration was just a big hint to keep making these roasts.
He likes these served up as sliders. On a piece of aluminum foil, I use my dinner rolls, add a piece or two of meat, a dollop of coarse mustard, and a sprinkling of shredded cheese. I close the rolls and pour some melted butter on top, wrap the sliders in the foil, then bake until the cheese is melted. Perfection.
I think this roast beef has spoiled us. This recipe gives you the freshest meat possible, and if you catch eye of round roasts on sale, whoa is this a bargain!
Bready or Not: Chili and Coffee-Rubbed Sliced Roast Beef
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon dried onion
- 1 orange zested and juiced
- 2 Tablespoons fresh orange juice
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons coffee finely ground
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons chili powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 - 2 1/2 pound eye of round roast
Instructions
- Move your middle oven rack down a slot to be near the bottom and preheat oven to 475-degrees. Use a small roasting pan, or prepare a rimmed cookie sheet with aluminum foil and place a rack on top of it. Apply nonstick spray.
- Combine the first seven ingredients in a small bowl. If the rub is too thick, add a touch more orange juice or water. Spread the mixture all over the roast.
- Bake meat for 12 minutes, then turn it over and bake for another 12 minutes. It may start smoking because of the thick seasoning on the meat; if so, turn on the vent and keep an eye on things.
- Without opening the oven, reduce heat to 300-degrees. Roast for another 30 minutes, or until a thermometer registers 120-degrees in the center.
- Let the meat rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Don't remove the crusted seasonings.
- Wrap the roast in parchment paper and then encase in plastic wrap. Refrigerate it for 8 hours or overnight.
- Serve the meat by cutting it into thin slices. Serve in hot or cold sandwiches, wraps, on crackers, or eat straight out of hand.
- OM NOM NOM!
