Roast beef might sound fancy and complicated to make, but it’s actually quite simple! There’s no single cut of beef that is necessary roast beef sandwich make roast beef. We usually use a top-round roast, but a bottom-round roast would work too. If you’re unsure, ask your butcher!

Since the meat is slow-roasted for a long amount of time, tougher, lean cuts of meat are ideal because they will still come out tender. Most top-round roasts will have light to medium marbling. Just be aware that if you choose a particularly lean cut of meat, it should be sliced relatively thin to avoid being too chewy. This is where you can really get creative.

We kept things simple in this recipe: just garlic, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Spices like cumin or coriander seeds would be delicious as well, do what feels right to you! You might be wondering why you have to change the temperature of the oven 15 minutes into cooking. I swear, there’s a good reason! Ideally, all roasted meats would be seared on all sides in a hot skillet to develop a golden, delicious crust. With something like a top-round roast, searing can be next to impossible. AKA, it’s WAY too big and heavy to move around in a skillet.