Cooking guide · Bar 7 Beef
"Roast beef" covers very different cuts, and they should not all be cooked the same way. Tender roasting cuts do well with dry oven heat; tougher cuts with more connective tissue need slow, moist cooking to become tender. Matching the method to the cut is the whole secret.
A note on timing: all cooking times here are estimates. The roast's shape, your oven and the starting temperature all change the timing — internal temperature, measured with a meat thermometer, determines doneness.
Eye of round, inside round, sirloin tip, prime rib. Cook with dry oven heat to medium-rare or medium, rest, and slice thin. Cooking these cuts well done makes them dry and tough.
Cross rib, chuck, blade, brisket. Cook low and slow with moisture — braising, pot roasting or slow cooking — until the connective tissue breaks down and the meat is fork-tender.
These three cuts come in our beef boxes. Each one behaves differently in the oven.
Lean, tender-when-sliced-thin roasting cut
Roast at 160°C (325°F) to an internal temperature of 57–63°C (135–145°F), then rest and slice very thinly against the grain. Overcooking dries this lean cut out, so watch the thermometer closely.
Approximate time: Roughly 25–30 minutes per 500 g (per lb) — estimate only; confirm with a thermometer.
Lean roasting cut, slightly more tender than eye of round
Roast at 160°C (325°F) to 57–63°C (135–145°F) internally. Rest well and slice thin across the grain. Also excellent for slow-roasting at a lower oven temperature if you have more time.
Approximate time: Roughly 25–30 minutes per 500 g (per lb) — estimate only; confirm with a thermometer.
Flavourful but tougher cut with more connective tissue
Best with slow, moist cooking: braise covered with liquid at 150–160°C (300–325°F) until fork-tender, or use a slow cooker. Dry-roasting this cut like a prime rib will leave it chewy.
Approximate time: Roughly 2½–3½ hours braising for a 1.5–2 kg roast — estimate only; confirm with a thermometer.
Health Canada recommends whole-cut beef roasts reach a minimum internal temperature of 63°C (145°F). Lower finishing temperatures for medium-rare roasts are a doneness preference, not a food-safety recommendation — serve beef cooked to the safe minimum to guests who are pregnant, elderly, very young or immunocompromised.
See Health Canada's safe internal cooking temperatures and our beef cooking temperatures guide for details.
Our beef boxes include a mix of roasts — order one and put this guide to work.
