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Top round roast beef in a tray with mushroom sauce.
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5 from 6 votes

Top Round Roast Beef with Red Wine Mushroom Sauce

This top round roast beef recipe is encrusted with garlic and herbs, and served with a silky red wine mushroom sauce! Recipe time does not include sauce making time, which is 50 minutes.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time2 hours 15 minutes
Resting Time15 minutes
Total Time2 hours 50 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: International
Diet: Kosher
Servings: 8 people
Calories: 766kcal
Author: Genevieve Morrison

Equipment

  • 1 sharp knife and cutting board
  • 1 large sauté pan
  • 1 spatula
  • 1 mixing spoon
  • 1 small bowl - or measuring cup
  • 1 food processor
  • 1 paper towel
  • 1 roasting pan or Dutch oven with rack
  • 1 meat thermometer
  • 1 tin foil
  • 1 kitchen scissors

Ingredients

For The Red Wine Mushroom Sauce

  • 2 cups red wine - Cabernet, Malbec, Syrah, Shiraz, or Pinot Noir
  • 1 cup beef broth - and ¼ for slurry
  • 2 shallots - thinly sliced
  • 16 oz. baby bella mushrooms - sliced in half
  • 4 garlic cloves - minced
  • 1 tsp. fresh thyme
  • ½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tbsp. flour
  • 4 oz. salted butter

For the Roast

  • 6 pound top round beef roast - see notes for different size cook times
  • garlic cloves - from ½ head of garlic
  • 5 large sprigs of rosemary
  • 4 oz. salted butter - very soft
  • 1 tsp. kosher salt
  • 1 tsp. freshly ground pepper

Instructions

For The Red Wine Mushroom Sauce

  • Add 2 oz. butter to a large sauté pan and brown 16. oz. mushrooms for 5-7 minutes on MEDIUM-HIGH heat, without moving them so they get a nice, deep brown side. Flip them, and sauté for another 3-5 minutes. Remove mushrooms into a bowl.
  • Add another 2 oz. butter (yes, another half-stick) to the pan with sliced shallots. Sauté for about 3 minutes. Add minced garlic and thyme. Sauté everything together for another 3-4 minutes until brown. Add 2 cups red wine, 1 cup beef broth and ½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce. Reduce on HIGH for 10 minutes
  • Combine 2 tbsp. flour with ¼ cup beef broth in a small bowl. Mix thoroughly, ensuring there are no lumps. Slowly add slurry to sauce while stirring to thicken. If you intend to mix sauce into roast drippings before serving (highly recommended!) don’t add salt. But if you want to reheat the sauce without mixing into drippings, add salt and pepper to taste. Add back mushrooms and refrigerate until roast is ready.

For the Roast

  • Remove a 6-pound top round roast from the fridge and allow it to come to room-temperature - about 20 minutes. Pat roast dry with paper towel. Liberally sprinkle with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. If you have a different size roast, see notes for cooking instructions.
  • Preheat oven to 450 F. (230 C.). In a food processor, combine peeled garlic cloves from ½ head of garlic and 5 large sprigs of rosemary with 4 oz. very soft butter. Process on a purée setting into a garlic-herb paste.
  • Cover the roast with garlic-herb paste. Place it in a roasting pan or Dutch oven uncovered, raised on a rack. Roast for 15 minutes at 450 F. (230 C.), then reduce temperature to 325 F. (190 C.). 
  • Continue to roast for 2 hours for RARE and 2.5 hours for MEDIUM, but be sure to check the temperature a half-hour before, as thickness of a roast can effect that cook time. It may be done a little early or a little later. A rare roast’s internal temperature will read 125 F. (52 C.) and a medium roast will read 145 F. (62 C.) when done, but remove your roast when it’s reached 115 F. (46 C.) for rare and 135 F. (57 C.) for medium, because it will continue to cook once removed and tented with foil. Once removed and tented, allow it to rest for 15 minutes before slicing.
  • While roast sits, either heat red wine mushroom sauce on LOW for 5-7 minutes in a saucepan, or reheat in the roast drippings (highly recommended! It becomes even more flavorful!) Use a turkey baster to remove as much fat as you can from the drippings, then add the sauce to the Dutch oven. Scrape all the tasty bits from the bottom and heat on LOW for just 5 minutes. The roasting pan/pot may still be hot enough that you won’t have to apply any more heat. 
  • Use kitchen scissors to remove truss strings (if it was tied) and slice the roast into 1 inch slices. Either pour the mushroom sauce on top, or serve separately. 

Notes

1. If you’re using a different size than a 6 pound roast, here are your instructions, however, you won’t remove the roast at these times! You’ll remove when the roast has reached 10-15 degrees LESS. The roast will continue to cook once removed from the oven, so if you remove it when it’s hit these temperatures, it will be overcooked. Simply check the internal temperature, using a meat thermometer, 1 half hour before you're supposed to remove it and gauge if it will require a little more or less time.
4 pound: Roast for 15 minutes at 450 F. (230 C.) Reduce temperature to 325 F. (190 C.) and roast for 1 hour and 45 minutes for RARE - internal temperature 125 F. (52 C.) or 2 hours 15 minutes for MEDIUM - internal temperature 145 F. (62 C.)
5 pound: Roast for 15 minutes at 450 F. (230 C.) Reduce temperature to 325 F. (190 C.) and roast for 2 hours for RARE  - internal temperature 125 F. (52 C.) or 2 hours 30 minutes for MEDIUM - internal temperature 145 F. (62 C.)
7 pound: Roast for 15 minutes at 450 F. (230 C.) Reduce temperature to 325 F. (190 C.) and roast for 2 hours 15 minutes for RARE - internal temperature 125 F. (52 C.) or 2 hours 40 minutes for MEDIUM - internal temperature 145 F. (62 C.)
8 pound: Roast for 15 minutes at 450 F. (230 C.) Reduce temperature to 325 F. (190 C.) and roast for 2 hours 20 minutes for RARE - internal temperature 125 F. (52 C.) or  2 hours 45 minutes for MEDIUM - internal temperature 145 F. (62 C.)
2. To choose the correct weight of roast, assume each guest will eat between ½ - ¾ pounds of beef. I used a 6 pounder and this generally will serve between 6-10 people. It ranges because it depends how many sides you intend to serve and the appetites of your guests. I served this for a dinner party of 6 with appetizers and 3 sides, and got 10 slices out of it. 2 folks had seconds, and I had 2 leftovers for myself.
3. If you’ve cooked your roast for the specified time, and it still hasn’t come to the correct internal temperature, do not raise the cook temperature to speed up cooking. You can overcook a roast VERY easily and quickly this way. Tell your guests to relax and let it take its time. 
4. The sauce will actually be tastier if made a full day ahead. The mushrooms absorb the flavors of the sauces and it takes on a more full dimension. 
See post for detailed instructions with photos of the process.
 
Nutrition information is an estimate.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice with sauce | Calories: 766kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 78g | Fat: 40g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 272mg | Sodium: 734mg | Potassium: 1551mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 742IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 98mg | Iron: 8mg