Pepper Crusted Roast Beef

This pepper-crusted roast beef is coated in a flavorful garlic and pepper seasoning, then slow-roasted and finished with a reverse sear. It's tender and juicy and packed with flavor in every bite!

Jump to:

• Why this recipe works
• What cut of meat to use for roast beef
• Ingredients
• How to make the pepper crust
• Reverse seared eye of round roast
• Meat temperature guide
• What to serve with roast beef
• 📖 Recipe
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Why this recipe works

This eye-of-round roast beef recipe is perfect for a small Christmas dinner for 6 to 8 people. The pepper crust adds tons of flavor, and the reverse sear cooking method ensures it's perfectly cooked every time!

Serve it with a horseradish cream sauce and your favorite potatoes for a holiday meal on a budget.

What cut of meat to use for roast beef

For this roast beef recipe, I used an eye of round roast. This economical cut of meat comes from the hind quarter, or round, and is very lean yet flavorful. Like many lean cuts, it can be tough, so it's best to slow-cooked to medium rare and sliced thin against the grain.

You can use other similar lean cuts, such as a top sirloin roast or bottom round roast as well. I typically buy whichever is on sale at the time.

If you want to take it up a notch, this garlic and peppercorn crust is also amazing on other roasts like beef tenderloin or rib roast too! This reverse sear cooking method will work on these cuts as well.

Ingredients

• 4-5 pound eye of round roast
• 2-3 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 teaspoons Kosher salt

How to make the pepper crust

Roughly crush the peppercorns by placing them in a plastic bag and smashing them with a kitchen mallet or heavy skillet. Then combine with the other ingredients in a small bowl.

Rinse the meat and pat dry with paper towels. Lightly coat the meat with olive oil, then liberally apply the seasoning on all sides.

Reverse seared eye of round roast

This reverse seared roast beef recipe starts in a low-temperature oven and slowly cooks until about 15 degrees shy of the final cooked temperature. Then we will raise the oven temperature to high heat to brown the exterior of the meat to finish it off.

Preheat your oven to 275°F. Set the seasoned meat on a rack in a roasting pan and insert a meat thermometer (Affiliate Link) in the center of the roast. Cook the roast to 115°F, around 1½ hours, then remove the roast from the oven.

Set the oven temperature to 450°F. Once preheated, add the meat back to the oven and cook to 125°F. Remove the beef roast from the oven and tent with foil.

Let rest for 15 to 20 minutes before slicing to allow the juices to redistribute. The temp will continue to rise while the meat rests to reach a finished temperature of 130-135°F for medium rare.

Slice the meat against the grain in thin slices around ¼ on an inch thick and serve.

Meat temperature guide

For the best results, I recommend cooking the roast to medium rare. If you prefer your roast beef more well done, use the roast beef temperature guide below.

• Rare: 120-125°F
• Medium Rare: 130-135°F
• Medium: 140-145°F
• Medium Well: 150-155°F
• Well: 160-165°F

Remember, for the reverse sear method, you will remove the roast 15 to 20 degrees before the finished temp and then return it to a hot oven to sear. You then will remove it at 5 degrees below the finished temp and allow it to reach the final temp while resting.

What to serve with roast beef

This roast beef is pretty lean so I like to serve it with a horseradish cream sauce for some additional richness. For side dishes, you can't go wrong with potatoes. Herb roasted potatoes are a great option or rich and creamy scalloped potatoes are a great choice if you're serving the roast beef for Christmas dinner. Roasted Brussels sprouts with bacon are a great choice for a green vegetable on the side.

📖 Recipe

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