Roast Beef with Garlic and Herb Breadcrumb Crust

We hosted constantly over the holidays, and I loved it. There’s nothing that makes my heart soar like a noisy home with pots bubbling on the stove. One week I had four dinner parties in one week, and another I had dinner for 13 in the evening and then brunch for 8 just ten hours later. That might have been a bit much. But I love it. Our kids are at ages that make it very difficult to go anywhere, so this is really the only way to spend quality time with friends.  I also think I’m just becoming more relaxed about cooking for others – I used to get performance anxiety, now I just laugh when I overcook a turkey (which I did one night). I recently made a really simple seafood fettuccine alfredo for friends with a lobster I’d frozen from new year’s day, plus fresh clams and mussels from the market (it sounds fancy, but seriously only 3 ingredients – butter, cream and parmesan. Would you like the recipe? I share a lot of the preparation on my Instagram stories, if you’d like to follow along!).  Truly the most forgiving dinner, though, is a roast beef – unlike pork, seafood, or poultry with have a narrow temperature window between perfect and tough, there’s a wide stretch of safe doneness before it’s overcooked (which really takes the stress out of a meal). Plus, buy a beautiful cut of beef and it really does the work for you.

I’ve written a few times about my partnership with Sterling Silver Meats  – they offer high-quality cuts of premium beef that fall in the upper choice grading system, available at Safeway and Sobeys in Canada. I’ve shared recipes with two of my most favourite beef roasts – the rib roast and the tenderloin roast.

Today I have another roast recipe for you in collaboration with Sterling Silver, perfect for bringing friends around the table to cozy up a dark January evening. For this one I used a striploin roast, which is a great cut that is between my two favourites above – the rib roast is highly marbled and flavourful and the tenderloin is ultra buttery, and the striploin sits between the two. It’s flavourful and tender. Because it’s boneless, it cooks more quickly. A definite good choice for entertaining.

I gave the roast a thorough sear in a hot cast iron pan before coating it with crispy garlic breadcrumbs and finishing it in the oven. I added fresh rosemary and thyme to the crumbs, but the topping would still be delicious with just garlic. Simple sides are all you need with a roast that steals the show (steamed baby potatoes, a beet salad I made a day ahead, plus quick-sauteed green beens).

I like to make a special roast a centrepiece on the table by choosing a platter that’s quite a bit bigger and filling it up with pretty leaves and fruit. Grapes, pomegranate, stem-on mandarins, and red-veined greens like chard, radicchio or purple kale are my favourites. Just a few sprigs of rosemary or thyme, or a couple of lettuce leaves will make it look beautiful, though.

As I mentioned in a previous post, a probe (or continuous-read) thermometer really takes all the stress out of roasting (if you remember to turn it on – which I didn’t with the above-mentioned turkey). You’ll nail the internal temperature every time with an alarm that tells you when it gets there.

Don’t skip the resting time, that is absolutely essential to a juicy, tender roast. Cut too soon and the juices will run all over the plate instead of being redistributed through the meat.

Check out the Sterling Silver’s recipe collection and follow them on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for delicious holiday dinspiration! I mentioned in my first blog post with Sterling Silver, and I believe it’s worth mentioning again that I prioritize buying ethical animal products and this was my first line of questioning before I entered this partnership – high standards of animal welfare. Sterling Silver co-founded the North American Food Animal Well-being Commission and uses a third-party 24-hour video monitoring system to ensure their standards are being met. I was impressed with the dedication and accountability, so I feel it bears repeating. They have lots more about their company values and animal welfare (as well as cut selecting and cooking tips) in the FAQ section of their website.

Thank you so much, dear friends and readers, for supporting the thoughtfully-chosen collaborations that keep the Foodess kitchen running.

Last Updated on January 19, 2018 by Jennifer Pallian BSc, RD