Roasts that can be oven roasted are

Top Round, Back Rump Roast, Eye Round Roast, Sirloin Tip Roast, Tri Tip Roast, Rib Roast, Fillet Mignon and Bnls Sirloin Roast.

Roast that should be pot roasted are Bnls Chuck Roast, Bone in Chuck Roast, Beef Brisket, bottom Round Roast and Shoulder Roast.

Cooking Times

            Oven Roasts     Rare 15-18 Min/lb @325 ºF

                                    Medium  18-22 Min/lb @325 ºF

                                    Well  22-26 Min/lb @325 ºF

            Pot Roasts       30-40 Min/lb @325 ºF Covered in Oven

                                    90 Min/lb in Slow Cooker

Do I want a pot roast or an oven roast?  Do you prefer your roasts sliced thin with a crisp crust or do you prefer a roast that falls apart when you touch it with your fork?  Solid lean muscle roast like round roasts can be oven roasted and can be sliced thin when cooked as an oven roast.  Chuck cuts that have several muscles and more fat to them can be pot roasted and should become fork tender, have a tendency to shred and have the most flavor as a pot roast.  Pot roasting and oven roasting are basically methods of cooking.  To pot roast is to slow cook your roast with liquid in the pan which is covered tightly.  This can be achieved in a covered pan on top of the stove or in the oven in a covered pan, or in an oven bag which will also work very well for this as does slow cookers.  If the roast is cooked slow enough this method can tenderize the tougher cuts of meat to the point that they will fall apart and because these cuts usually have more fat they have more flavor as a pot roast than the leaner roasts do.  But even better cuts (cuts that can also be oven roasted) can be pot roasted.  Round roast like top round or back rump roast are lean roast that can also be cooked as an oven roast but they can also be pot roasted but will not shred or be as flavorful as a chuck roast would be.  The advantage to cooking one of these roast is that they appeal to people looking for less fat and if marinated can still have flavor and be juicy.  All the well known holiday roasts are meant to be oven roast, like Prime Rib, Fillet Mignon, boneless New York strip roast and boneless Top Sirloin Roast.

Oven roasts are roasted open in an oven without any liquid being added.  Oven roasts can be seasoned with black pepper, your favorite rub or a coarse salt.  For a nice crisp outer crust you can preheat your oven to 500 ºF, when the oven reaches full temp place the roast in an open pan in the oven for fifteen minutes, after fifteen minutes turn the oven down to 325 ºF and finished cooking the roast.  When calculating the total time needed for your roast included this first fifteen minutes in your total cooking time.  If you’re the type of cook who feels the need to constantly check your roast as it cooks you will have to increase the time that the roast will need to cook.  You are much better off leaving the oven door closed to keep the meat cooking evenly

                             Boneless roast 3/4lb to 1 lb /person

                             Bone in roast 1lb to 1¼lb /person

 Adjustments    Big eaters + ¼lb/person

                            Holidays + ¼lb/person

                            Light eaters – ¼lb/person

                           Children – ¼ lb/person

The appropriate serving size of a roast depends on several factors.  When I’m helping a customer decide on how big of a roast to purchase I always start with a basic rule of thumb.  A bone in roast requires 1lb of meat per person while a boneless roast requires 3/4lb per person.  This is only the beginning of the decision process.  To really find out what the customer needs requires more information.  Does the number of people eating include children?  Is their main course being served?  These two factors will diminish the size of the roast needed.  Information that would increase the size of the roast is usually volunteered by most customers.  Statements like, “the meal is a special occasion” or “the people eating really like their meat” or “I want to make sure they have enough to eat” are classic examples of this.

After gathering the necessary information, begin with the basic rule of ¾lb per person for a boneless roast and 1lb per person bone in.  If you need to lessen the size of the roast deduct ¼ lb for each child or light eater, or if there is another main course, go to a serving size of ½lb per person.  If it’s determined that a larger roast is needed I would increase the serving size to 1lb boneless per person or 1¼ lb bone in per person.  The nice thing about beef roasts is that they make great leftovers if you do over size it a little.

When sizing bone in Prime Rib Roast the sizing is a little different.  Rather than sizing it by the pound, it is sized by the rib.  One rib will serve two people a slice ¾ of an inch each.  To make it easier to carve I recommend that our customers allow us to cut it off of the bone and tie it back on.  This way the roast can be cooked with the bone for flavor and appearance but when it is finished cooking, they can cut the strings holding the bones on and the roast can be sliced boneless.  This makes the carving easier and those people that like to pick on the bones still can.