Sirloin Top Roast With Bordelaise Sauce

Easy and economical - it is hard to beat a Sirloin Top Roast.

Sirloin top roasts get good marks from America's Test Kitchen for value and flavour. Sirloin tends to be a lean cut of meat but a top sirloin roast will come with a fat cap on it so it will exude some juices and stay moist while roasting. Don't confuse this with a sirloin 'tip' roast which does not have the fat cap and will be a bit drier and a bit less tender.

The only thing you don't want to do is overcook the roast. The more well done -the drier and less tender it will be to eat.

I took mine out of the fridge and seasoned it with salt and pepper about an hour before putting it in the oven. Allowing protein to come to room temperature before cooking with give you a juicier, more evenly cooked finished product.

The other thing is - most recipes use a minutes/per pound formula for roasting but the most accurate way to get the finished stage you want be it rare, medium or well done is to use an instant read thermometer. That is the easiest way to ensure you don't overcook your meat.

The meat will raise a few degrees after being taken out of the oven and while being tented. So you want to remove the roast about 5 degrees before your target finished temperature.

For Rare roast beef finished temperature should be 125 degrees F; medium-rare 135; medium 145; medium-well 155 and well-done 160.

You will want to pat any moisture off the roast before seasoning it. You want the outside to sear (not steam) so removing any moisture will help with that. It also helps the seasoning stick.

You then want to sear the outside of the roast to help seal the juices in. You can do this by frying it quickly on all sides in some oil but you can also just start it off in a hot oven and then reduce the temperature to finish cooking the inside slowly,

I put my roast on a rack because I was roasting it over a bed of red onions and mushrooms. You could sit the roast on top of the vegetables if you like. The point is not to have the roast sitting in a pool of liquid on the bottom of the pan because it will be steaming rather than roasting.

After that it is a matter of keeping on top of the cooking temperature. If you have an oven probe that will alert you when the internal temperature reaches your targe temperature you are all set!

While the meat is roasting, start your Bordelaise sauce. It will take around 30 minutes to reduce (or longer if you are making a larger batch). When the roast is done cooking you can add in the juices from the pan before you strain the sauce to maximize the flavour.

The next essential step it to tent the meat. That means allowing it to rest lightly covered with foil. This may be 5- 10 minutes. During this time the temperature will continue to rise a few more degrees and the juices will redistribute themselves throughout the roast, leaving every bite moist and juicy. The opposite of that are the juices running all over your platter as you carve the roast not a good look!

I served mine with Bordelaise Sauce - a rich, delicious wine based sauce that will very easily raise this roast to company status!

Wine Pairing with Sirloin Top Roast

If you do serve the roast with Bordelaise sauce, serve the same Bordeaux wine you used to make the sauce with if possible. Failing that try to use a similar wine (a different Bordeaux).

If serving with gravy or plain any dry red wine will go nicely. You can afford to pick a 'big' red wine ie a robust flavour with lots of tannins because the protein in the roast will bond with the tannins and soften them out. So that means - an oaked Cabernet Sauvignon, a Malbec, a Rioja or Sangiovese that might be too strong for pasta or pizza would be wonderful here.

On the white spectrum - again you could afford to look for a rich, oaked Chardonnay.