Slow, Dry-Roast Sirloin Tip (or Faster Option)

US Beef Cuts

By Cat, January 2015; updated Aug 2017 (Photo, right, from Wikimedia Commons)

My Dad used to do a slow, dry-roast with sirloin tip that was absolutely delicious. Done properly, it can be medium-rare to medium and be quite tender. Because it is a dry roast, it doesn’t have the same texture as a pot roast, but rather more like a good steak.

So when I saw a nice cut of sirloin tip roast on sale, I decided to give the method a try. I found three recipes to use as a guide: Paleo-Leap Sirloin Tip Roast (1); All Recipes (2); and Wiki How: 4 Ways to Cook Sirloin Tip Roast (2).

I also include a faster dry-roast option, which I tested Aug 24, 2017.

See also: 1. Beef, Venison, Buffalo, Yak Menu

Slow, Dry Roast Sirloin Tip

According to Wiki-How:

• A room temperature roast cooks much faster and much more evenly.
• It is important, though, that the roast does not sit out for much longer than an hour since bacteria can develop under those conditions.

The secret to a moist, tender roast using this method, is to sear it well to seal in its natural juices, and use a low-temperature (250°F) oven without added moisture.

Alternately, you can do a faster roast at a higher temperature.

Regarding the herbs: The original recipes use a combo of dried oregano and basil. However, I have a food sensitivity to this option, so I use oregano and thyme.

Ingredients & Equipment:

• 2.5 – 3 lb sirloin tip roast
• 1 – 2 tsp unrefined sea salt
• bacon fat, lard, or coconut oil, melted
• 2 Tbsp lard or coconut oil
• Garlic-herb rub:
• 3 garlic cloves, minced (or garlic powder equivalence, ⅛ tsp per standard size clove) OR  2 minced cloves and 1 clove for studding the roast
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tsp dried oregano or marjoram
• ½ tsp dried thyme OR 2 tsp dried basil
• 1 ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes OR 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, OR ¼ – ½ tsp cayenne (optional)
• Equipment:
• small bowl
• cast iron skillet (for searing), or sear in Dutch oven
• roasting pan or Dutch oven, with rack

Method:

1. The day before, rub the sea salt all over the surface of the roast, then re-wrap and refrigerate overnight.
2. Prep garlic-herb rub: Mince garlic and place in small bowl. Add herbs and spices.
3. Remove meat from refrigerator and remove the wrapping; allow to warm to room temperature, no more than 1 hour. Pat any droplets of moisture with cloth or paper towel, then rub all over with ½ Tbsp of melted bacon fat/lard, then rub on the garlic-herb mixture.
4. Preheat oven to 250°F, with rack in middle position.
5. Sear: Heat lard/coconut oil in cast iron pan and sear rubbed roast until browned, about 3 – 4 minutes; turn over and sear on other side.
6. Place roasting-rack in roasting pan or Dutch oven. Transfer seared meat to the rack, then place pan in preheated oven
7. Roast, option 1:  Roast about 90 minutes, or until the center reaches 130° – 135°F. Remove from oven and let rest about 10 minutes before serving.
8. Or roast, option 2: Roast about 80 minutes, or until the center reaches 115°F. Turn off the heat but leave roast in the warm oven for another 30 minutes for rare (internal temperature of 130°F) or about 40 minutes for medium (internal temperature of 140°F.

Faster Roast:

Prepare as above, with following changes:

• Preheat oven to 350°F
• Roast 45 – 60 minutes or until center reaches desired temperature, then remove from oven and let rest about 10 minutes before serving

Testing:

1/11/15: Used 2.3 lb roast; forgot to salt it night before so it had only about 9 hours with the salt. Made rub as written except used 2 garlic cloves for the rub, and the other clove, sliced to stud the roast. Into oven at 6:30 PM. Used roast option 1; reached 134°F at 7:50 PM so removed from oven to rest (I’d intended to pull it at 130°F but I missed that). Result: Nicely dark on surface, and mostly tender except for the hard tendons that traverse the roast – even my best knife couldn’t cut through them. The flavor was great! The salt had started to penetrate the meat, which in turn helped the flavors of the rub penetrate. The red pepper flakes are a nice touch.

8/24/17: Used 1.8 lb roast; did not have the time to salt the night before so  added the salt to the herb mix. Set roast on counter to warm at 5:20 PM. As before, made rub as written except used 1/4 tsp garlic powder (2-clove equivalent); did not stud with garlic. Seared 4 min each side, then transferred to roasting pan and into oven at 6:30 pM. Used roast option 1. OOPS, preheated to 350°F by mistake so will use the standard (faster) roast option at 350°F.  7:10 PM: only 110 degrees;120 at 7:20; 140 at 7:30 PM; removed from oven and set to rest for 10 minutes on counter. Result: Roast was more like medium rare than rare, but delicious none-the-less. The herb rub is wonderful, but I forgot to add the red pepper flakes. Served with steamed potato, braised broccoli with garlic scape, cooked beet, and a greens/onion/cucumber/tomato salad with feta cheese.

References

1. Paleo-Leap: paleoleap.com/sirloin-tip-roast
2. All Recipes: allrecipes.com/recipe/54839/herb-rubbed-sirloin-tip-roast
3. Wiki How: wikihow.com/Cook-Sirloin-Tip-Roast, “Oven Roasted” version