Here's Our Best Beef Roast Recipe

Steps

1. 1Trim. About 24 hours before cooking, remove the rib bones and save them for the gravy or for another meal.
2. 2Trim off all the fat cap from the top. Go ahead and trim right down to the meat. Make sure to get the silverskin too, it can be chewy. Save any pieces that are more meat than fat for the gravy.
3. 3I leave most of the fat on the side where the bones were because it is hard to remove and it's not very thick. But the fat cap has got to go.
4. 4Aim to make it as round as possible. When you have bare meat, it is sort of tear-drop shaped. Press on the sides squishing it into a round tube. If necessary, tie it with string every inch or two to hold it round.
5. 5Dry brine. About 6 to 24 hours before cooking, sprinkle it with about 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt per pound of trimmed meat (1/4 teaspoon table salt). Put it in the fridge. This is a method called dry brining.
6. 61 hour before cooking. Make a spice paste with my recipe for Mrs. O'Leary's Cow Crust, a blend of herbs and spices mixed with water. Let it sit for at least 1 hour before applying it to the meat so the herbs can reconstitute and release their goodness. Pour most of the paste on top of the roast. Spread it around all visible surfaces working it into the meat. Turn the roast over and pour the rest on the bottom and work it around.
7. 7Prepare the gravy. The gravy is really a killer beef stock.
8. 8To prep the gravy, remove the root ends from the onions and cut the onions into quarters. Peel the carrots and chop into 1-inch pieces. Clean the celery and chop into 1-inch (25 mm) pieces.
9. 9There are three ways to make the gravy. (a) You can make it in advance indoors, (b) you can make it while cooking the roast on the grill, or (c) you can make it in advance indoors and still put it under the roast to catch smokey drippings.
10. 10You can make a fine gravy with just the meaty trimmings from the roast, but it will be better if you add some bones. If you removed the bones from a rib roast use them. If not, ask your butcher for some beef bones. Throw the bones on a grill in indirect heat at about 325°F (163°C), or in a smoker, or in the oven until they are brown on the outside. If you have a bandsaw, cut the bones in half lengthwise so more marrow is exposed or have your butcher do it. Get a big pot and put all the bones in it. Add the meaty trimmings with the fat attached. Add the veggies.
11. 11If you are cooking it indoors, turn the pot on low and let it simmer for about 3 hours, lid off. Occasionally skim off any foamy scum.
12. 12After about 3 hours strain out the bones and any other large solids and discard them. Then run the stock through a mesh strainer. Taste it and cook it down if it tastes too bland.
13. 13If you wish, you can put all the gravy ingredients into a pan and put it under the roast while it cooks in order to catch the smoky drippings.
14. 14Fire up. Set up your grill or smoker for 2-zone cooking and preheat the indirect zone to 225°F (107°C).
15. 15Clean the grates thoroughly before the gravy/drip pan goes on. Boil the gravy in a sauce pan and then pour it into the drip pan.
16. 16Cook. If you have a meat thermometer with a probe on a cable, insert it now so the tip is dead center in the thickest part of the meat.
17. 17If you made the gravy in advance, get it hot and pour it into the drip pan. If you haven't made it yet, follow the instructions above and put the ingredients in the drip pan. Use hot water or else it will take a long time to heat on the grill and slow everything down.
18. 18Smoke. If you want a smoke flavor in the background add just a little bit of hardwood or fruitwood to the hot part of the cooker, about 2 to 4 ounces (57 to 113 g) max right at the start of the cook.
19. 19Monitoring your meat. During the cook check the meat temp after 30 minutes and more frequently as things move along.
20. 20Searing. When the temp in the deepest part of the interior reaches 115°F (46°C), remove the probe, remove any string if you used it, and place the roast over the hottest part of the grill. Get the surface a deep dark brown by leaving it on the hot part for about 5 to 10 minutes.
21. 21If you are cooking indoors or on a pellet grill, you can sear under the broiler indoors.
22. 22Finishing the gravy. While the meat is searing, pour the liquid from the drip pan through a strainer and taste it. It should be rich. If it is wimpy, dump it into a frying pan, turn the heat to high, and reduce it.
23. 23Serving. There is no need to rest the roast. Serve your meat hot! Use a really sharp knife and cut servings about 1/2" (1.3 cm) thick.