It’s 10:50 am and I am currently day-dreaming about the sandwich I made for dinner last night. Let me start off by saying I think one of my favorite foods is a sandwich. Give me anything between two pieces of good bread, and I’m a happy girl. And a favorite of mine, which I don’t really even get that often, is a nice roast beef sandwich. You know, the one you order from a good deli. When they slice that super rare meat, pile it high, add mayo, cheddar, lettuce and tomato, all between a crusty club roll. Makes my heart happy.
There’s a second kind of roast beef sandwich, though. Like the one you’d get at Yankee Stadium. It’s the fresh roast beef that is so flavorful and salty you can eat the whole thing in one sitting (or for dessert…which I did last night). That the only thing you really need for the ride is the jus in which that perfectly cooked piece of meat created, and maybe a nice garlicky roll. Any condiment, or dare I say…cheese, will just get in the way.
The Magic
I started by slathering the meat with salt, fresh thyme, fresh rosemary, pepper, a lot of garlic, and olive oil. You want to make sure every inch of the meat is touched with the beautiful mixture you created. Which, that garlic, fresh herb, salty olive oil mixture would be great on anything – chicken, fish, even slathered on crusty bread (I would maybe just not use as much salt, but other than that, it’s super flavorful). Something about the combination of all those ingredients just makes my heart happy.
How Do I Know When It’s Done?
First you “sear” the meat by placing it in a 425 degree oven for about 15-2 0 minutes, until it starts to get browned and the garlic starts to get toasty. Then you lower the oven to 350 and let it cook for another hour and a half – to an hour and 45 minutes, depending on how you look your meat cooked.
We’re a medium-rare household. When I was making this last night, I actually thought I overcooked it…and wanted to cry. Normally, medium rare meat is about 135 degrees, although we have no problem eating it at 130 degrees. When I checked the thermometer, it read 145. I quickly panicked because I know that meat always cooks a little more as it rests. So the 10 minutes in anticipation was killing me. But I waited!! And please please PLEASE make sure you do, too! It’s such a crucial step before slicing, especially for a piece of meat like this. If you cut into it too fast all those beautiful juices run out, and you’re left with dry roast beef. Which…who wants that?!
To my surprise, as I held my breath as my boyfriend sliced into it, it was perfect. It actually ended up being a little more medium on one side, and medium rare on the other, but that’s ok! I also learned later that (for whatever reason) roast beef medium rare is actually 140 degrees. An important tip: take out any meat about 5-10 degrees before you think it’s done, so it will cook more as it rests, and you will get your desired temperature.
Let’s assemble!
Leaving the oven on after I took out the meat, and as it rested, I sliced open the rolls. Lightly buttered them, and sprinkled granulated garlic and dried oregano on all sides, and threw them in the oven for about 5 minutes, just enough to warm them through and slightly toast them.
Once the meat is rested and the rolls are ready, thinly slice the roast beef, using a sharp knife. Since the roast beef in general is not the most tender, you want to almost shave it to ensure when you’re eating your sandwich, you don’t get any tough-to-bite-into pieces. A melt in your mouth sandwich is the goal!
A key part about this whole thing, is the liquid gold that you’ll get in the bottom of the pan once you remove the meat. Do not even *think* about throwing this away! Spoon a little on each piece of bread right before you top it with the meat.
These sandwiches are great for a party too, because you can feed a lot of people with one or two pieces of meat, and you can cook it ahead of time. Lay out the already garlic buttered rolls, the sliced meat, and let people make their own! These don’t even necessarily have to be served hot, and the best part about it, they ‘re great cold for lunch the next day!!
Fresh Roast Beef Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 4 lb. bottom rib roast
- 2 large garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1 Tablespoon salt
- 1 Teaspoon cracked black pepper
- 1 Tablespoon fresh thyme chopped
- 1 Tablespoon fresh rosemary chopped
- 4 Tablespoons olive oil
- Brioche rolls
- Spreadable butter for the rolls
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon oregano
Instructions
- Let the beef come to room temperature for about an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 425.
- In a small bowl, combine the salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary and olive oil. Massage the mixture into the meat until it’s well distributed and every inch of the beef is seasoned.
- Place in a pyrex or shallow baking dish. Keep on countertop while the oven preheats. Once the oven comes to temperature, place the meat, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes or until it gets a nice sear all around. Reduce the heat to 350, and continue to cook for about an hour and a half – an hour and 45 minutes, depending on how you like your meat cooked. Half way through the cooking time, rotate the meat so it cooks evenly all around. When it comes to temperature, remove and let it rest for 10 minutes, but keep the oven on.
- **The final internal temperature should be 140 degrees for medium rare, and 150 degrees for medium. The meat will cook a little once it’s out of the oven and resting, so you may want to remove it a little earlier than normal, ie if the thermometer reads 135 when you’re trying to achieve a 140 temperature.**
- While the beef is resting, split open your rolls and butter them. Evenly distribute the garlic powder and oregano on all sides, and place them on a baking sheet in the pre-heated oven for about 5 minutes, until they warm through and get slightly toasty.
- When the meat is rested, thinly slice/shave using a sharp knife. Roast beef in general is not the most tender, so especially in a sandwich you want it to be super thin, so you don’t get any hard-to-eat pieces. Assemble the sandwich: using some of the jus from the roasting pan, spoon some onto the bun, and place the shaved meat on top. This sandwich is so good it doesn’t need any other condiments or anything to take away from the stellar and tasty meat!! Enjoy!!
