Learn how to make juicy, flavorful roast beef for sandwiches at home with these easy tips on seasoning, cooking, and slicing. Homemade deli-style roast beef is budget friendly and better tasting than store-bought. Once you try it, there will be no going back to the deli.
The prices of deli meat these day have been killing me! A good cut of deli roast beef is as expensive as a good steak. That is crazy!
I decided to start making my own deli-style roast beef at home and I am so glad I did. You want to talk about something that tastes good? This roast beef comes out so FLAVORFUL, FRESH, JUICY, and DELICIOUS! It makes the BEST sandwiches. I also like throw it on salads.
I make a big batch of roast beef at the beginning of the week, and my husband and I eat on it through-out the week. We LOVE it!
I will make a roast beef sandwich and use my homemade horseradish cream sauce.
I also like to use if for my Asparagus and Roast Beef Roll Ups. They make a tasty appetizer or snack. This homemade deli roast beef would be excellent for making them. I hope you love it too. Enjoy! Xoxo~Katie.
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Ingredient notes and substitutions
You will need the following ingredients to make homemade roast beef for sandwiches.
- top round roast- You will need a leaner cut of meat with dense fibers. Top round roast is ideal for both flavor and texture. However, any round roast will work beautifully. Top sirloin roast or the tri-tip are also delicious, but will be chewier.
- Coarse salt, coarse black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder- The star seasonings to make a "deli-style roast beef" are coarse salt such as Kosher salt and coarse black pepper. The keyword is to use COARSE! The onion powder and garlic powder are flavor enhancers but not necessary. You can omit them if you wish. You can also add your favorite pre-mixed steak seasonings or add in other dry herbs. If your premixed seasoning does not have coarse salt and coarse pepper, add them to your seasonings.
Steps
Follow these simple steps to make deli-style roast beef at home.
- Season your round roast generously with coarse salt, coarse pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Set out the beef at room temperature 60-90 minutes. This allows the seasonings to set in and the roast to cook more evenly.
- Insert a meat thermometer at the thickest point of your meat. Roast your beef at 300 degrees. Remove the meat once it hits 105 degrees internal temperature for rare or 115 degrees internal temperature for medium rare. (Anything above that and we can't be friends... sorry! Just kidding, sort of. (About 1 to 1 ½ hours cooking time.)
- Allow your beef roast to cool down 45 minutes to an hour. The meat's internal temperature will continue to rise 15 degrees more as it rests. At this point you can slice the meat. HOWEVER, if you have the time, I HIGHLY recommend wrapping the roast and refrigerating 4 or more hours or up to 24 hours. The colder the meat is, the better it is for slicing.
- Slice your meat as thinly as possible against the grain.
Watch how to make
Pro tip for achieving the perfect brown crust
If you have the extra time, I suggest air drying your roast in the refrigerator before cooking. Refrigerating the uncovered roasts allows moisture to evaporate from the outside for better browning. It does not dry the inside of the meat, just the exterior, so when cooked, the exterior develops a deeply browned crust while the inside remains juicy.
How to do it
- Pat the roast dry. Season it with salt and dry seasonings.
- Place it on a wire rack and set over a baking sheet (so that the air circulates underneath).
- Leave it uncovered in the fridge 8-24 hours.
- Bring to room temperature 60-90 minutes before roasting as usual.
How to achieve the perfect slice
Slicing your roast beef thin is ALMOST as important as how you cook your roast beef. While you may not be able to slice your beef as thin as the deli without a meat slicer, you can get pretty close with these tips:
- Completely cool your meat before slicing. Ideally, it is best to refrigerate several hours. I like to wrap my roast after resting, store it in an airtight container, and chill overnight before cutting. The colder the roast is, the firmer it is to cut. Chilling the beef also seals in most of the beef's juice, creating juicy, flavorful slices.
- If you do not have a meat slicer, use a very sharp knife. Surprisingly, I have found my serrated bread knife does an excellent job. It grips the meat exactly where I want to cut and is sharp enough to slice the meat effortlessly.
- Slice the meat against the grain. What does this mean? Look for the lines that run the length of your beef. These are muscle fibers known as "grain." You will want to cut the opposite direction which is perpendicular. This gives you shorter, easier to chew slices. Your mouth will thank you for it!
- For the most flavor and freshness, slice the meat as you use the meat. There is a reason why the freshly sliced deli meat is better than the pre-sliced deli meat. If you are only going to eat a couple of slices, then slice only those slices of meat. Then wrap beef roast, and store in refrigerator until you are ready to slice for more.
What are the best cuts of meat for roast beef sandwiches?
Hot roast beef and roast beef for sandwiches are very different.
For hot roast beef, you would want rich fat marbling because it will cook low and slow. The melting fat helps baste the meat as it cooks. However, for cold sandwiches, you will want a lean cut of meat. Cold fat becomes hardened and unappealing; the connective tissues are also very hard to chew when cold, therefore a fatty cut of meat would not be ideal.
Round cuts of meat and sirloin cuts are lean with nice muscle tissue. This makes them ideal for flavor, slicing, and chewing.
I personally have tried different cuts based on what was on sale at the meat department. Both top and bottom round roasts were my favorite in flavor, but I felt the top round roast provided the best texture for chewing and slicing. There was not a huge difference, and for this reason, you really can buy whichever is on sale in the moment.
Cooking Tip
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Using a thermometer is a MUST! I can't stress how important it is to use a thermometer when cooking meat. Every cut of meat is made different and every oven cooks differently, therefore the only way to ensure perfectly cooked meat is to use a thermometer. If you do not own one, I highly recommend investing in one. It is a game changer. I use the Thermpro and love it. I use it in the oven and when grilling meats in our Green Egg.
Did your deli-style roast beef come out perfect? Please leave me a comment below if you make this and tell me what you thought about it. I would love to hear back, and so would my readers.
Also post a picture of your roast beef sandwich on Instagram or Facebook, and tag @aforkstale with #aforkstale hashtags! I will share with my followers! xoxo!
📖 Recipe
How to Make Roast Beef for Sandwiches
Equipment
- meat thermometer
Ingredients
- 3 pounds top round roast
- 2 teaspoons coarse salt
- 2 teaspoons coarse pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- Season your round roast generously with coarse salt, coarse pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Set out the beef at room temperature 60-90 minutes.3 pounds top round roast, 2 teaspoons coarse salt, 2 teaspoons coarse pepper, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon onion powder
- Insert a meat thermometer at the thickest point of your meat. Roast your beef in a shallow baking dish or baking sheet at 300 degrees. Remove the meat once it hits 105 degrees internal temperature for rare or 115 degrees internal temperature for medium rare.(About 1 to 1 ½ hours cooking time.)
- Allow your beef to cool down 45 minutes to an hour. The meat's internal temperature will continue to rise 15 degrees more as it rests. At this point you can slice the meat. HOWEVER, if you have the time, I HIGHLY recommend wrapping the roast and refrigerating 4 or more hours or up to 24 hours.
- Slice your meat as thinly as possible against the grain.
Mary Hanby says
I used your recipe but varied the internal temp on 2 separate eye round roast. You were spot on and cooking just a tad higher internally made a big difference. I did however use a cooking bag which may have made a bit of a difference in timing. But also used a probe which ive found is crucial in reaching desired temp.
Mahy says
I love this simple Roast Beef recipe! I have made it a few times, and every time is a success!
Amy says
This homemade deli-style roast beef is a game changer! The seasoning was spot-on, and your slicing tips made all the difference. I chilled mine overnight and the texture was perfect. Never going back to store-bought again!
Kristin says
Holy. Cow. This is good. I made it exactly as directed and served it on toasted sandwiches with Swiss. We LOVED it.
Beth says
I loved this so much! It's so much tastier than any deli meat I've ever purchased, it's more cost-effective, and it's so easy!
Al says
I will make this tomorrow. I hope it is as good as advertised. I can not afford to buy it in the deli. I will let you know how it goes.
Thank you for taking the time to give us this recipe.