French Roast Beef – Cold Cut Style
Turn a simple French Roast Beef into healthy and deliciously nutritious cold cuts by simply chilling it and then slicing it super thinly.
In my past life, I would always buy tons of cold cuts every week. Not only would I use them in the kids’ sandwiches all the time, but they’d also be my “munchy” of choice when I came back from work at night and needed a little “pick-me-up” while I was waiting for dinner to be ready. Some nights, that would take quite a while, so a few slices of lunch-meat would usually do a good job at keeping my tummy happy and a tad more patient.
Little did I know back then that these things were FAR from being healthy or good for me. Sure, they happen to be a source of protein, but they are also loaded with all kinds of chemicals and preservatives and contain TONS and TONS of salt.
Thank goodness I know much better now! For instance, I like to take a simple French Roast Beef and turn it into healthy and deliciously nutritious cold cuts by simply chilling it and then slicing it super thinly. I’m telling you, once you’ve had a taste of this, you’ll never go for those super salty and unhealthy store-bought cold cuts ever again!
If you do bread, of course this cold roast beef makes UNBELIEVABLE sandwiches! It’s got so much flavor to it that you don’t need to add much at all. A little bit of Dijon mustard and maybe a handful of baby greens for a bit of color and texture and you’re in for a serious treat.
Honestly, I don’t do much bread myself (I actually borrowed that one from my kids for the pictures!) so sandwiches aren’t really my weapon of choice to use up this beautiful beef.
What do I like to do with it, then?
First and foremost, just like I did back in the days, I love having it around just to munch on… During my mindless trips to the fridge or cupboards, when I’m just looking for that little something to graze on, you can be certain that this cold roast beef will be the first thing that I’ll reach for, if I have some available, of course!
Another way that I LOVE to have it is alongside pan fried eggs in the morning, instead of bacon or sausages… talk about a healthy boost in protein! After a good workout, it’s absolutely ideal!
Sometimes, I’ll just dump a bunch of slices over a fresh garden salad and just as easily turn said salad into a complete meal. Or, have a whole big pile of cold slices of beef with a side of salad or sliced cucumbers and tomatoes, a handful of olives, a sliced avocado… it just makes for an instant, nutritious meal!
Frankly, this is just the kind of thing that I’d love to have in my refrigerator at all times. I guess it helps that I be a huge fan of cold meat. If you are too, then you definitely want to be whipping this up!
First, you need to get your hands on a beautiful French Roast. Mine was just a little bit under 4 pounds, which I think is a good size. Of course, you could go bigger or smaller, if you wanted to, but then you may have to adjust the amount of spices you’ll be using if you do that.
The spices, you will want to mix in a small container and then rub all over the roast.
Make sure you get some of the spices on ALL surfaces, including the ends!
Next, cove your roast tightly with several layers of plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator until the next day.
It would be a good idea to place your roast in a rimmed plate or baking dish to collect any eventual leakage. It really shouldn’t be leaking all that much, but you better play it safe, I guess. No one likes to have meat juices dripping all over their fridge.
Eeeeesh, not a very pleasant subject, is it? Movin’ on…
The following day, remove your roast from the fridge and take off the plastic wrap from around it.
Preheat your oven to 325°F and heat a few tablespoons of healthy cooking fat or oil in a heavy skillet set over high heat.
When your pan is nice and hot, sear the roast on all sides until a nice golden crust forms, about 1 minute per side. Again, don’t forget the ends!
Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake the roast uncovered for about 12 minutes per pound or until a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the roast reads 130°F to 160°F, depending on desired doneness.
You’re looking at 130°F for rare, 145°F for medium-rare, 160°F for medium.
Honestly, though, for this particular project, I wouldn’t recommend that you went to medium, and even medium-rare might be pushing it.
Cold meat tends to be tad drier, so you want your roast to retain as much moisture as possible. If you cooked it too much, it would lose a lot of that precious moisture. So really, your best option here would be to stick with rare.
At least that’s my humble opinion.
When your roast has reached the desired temperature, take it out of the oven and return it to the rimmed plate or baking dish that you used previously — make sure you clean it first!
Promptly place your cooked roast in the refrigerator just like that, uncovered — you want it to breathe freely for the time being.
After about an hour, go back and cover it with plastic film and let it cool completely overnight.
On the third day, transfer your chilled roast to a cutting board, remove the twine, carve it as thinly as you possibly can and serve as desired.
And try not to eat the whole thing just by munching on it…
French Roast Beef - Cold Cut Style
Ingredients
- 1 French Roast (or top round or top sirloin roast), about 1.75kg | 3.85lb
- 1 tbsp salt, I use Himalayan salt
- 1 tbsp ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
- 1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 tsp garlic powder
Instructions
- Mix all the spices in a small container and then rub this spice mix all over the roast.
- Cover the roast tightly with several layers of plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator until the next day. It would be a good idea to place your roast in a rimmed plate or baking dish to collect any eventual leakage.
- The next day, remove your roast from the fridge and take off the plastic wrap from around it.
- Preheat your oven to 325°F.
- Heat a few tablespoons of healthy cooking fat or oil in a heavy skillet set over high heat. When the pan is nice and hot, sear the roast on all sides until a nice golden crust forms, about 1 minute per side. Don't forget the ends!
- Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake the roast uncovered for about 12 minutes per pound or until a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the roast reads 130°F to 160°F, depending on desired doneness - 130°F for rare, 145°F for medium-rare, 160°F for medium
- When the roast has reached the desired temperature, take it out of the oven, return it to the rimmed plate or baking dish that you used before (make sure you clean it first) and promptly place your cooked roast in the refrigerator. After about an hour, cover your roast with plastic film and let it cool completely overnight.
- Transfer the chilled roast to a cutting board, remove the twine, carve as thinly as you possibly can and serve as desired.
Nutrition
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27 Comments on “French Roast Beef – Cold Cut Style”
Hello! I love this idea and recipe. I too don’t eat bread, and this would be perfect to have ‘just sitting in the fridge’ ready to munch on. (along side my hard boiled eggs 😉 ) I do have a question.. What is a French roast? I live up in Canada.. and maybe I’m missing something, but I do not know what a French roast is. Love your recipes!
Sorry about that Avril, French Roast is the way we call a Top Round Roast in my part of the world. I’ve added the mention in the recipe. Thanks for pointing that out! And thanks for the kind words, too! I greatly appreciate them! 🙂
Have you cookbook and enjoy your blog. Your recipes are delicious and simple.
I live in the states and have the same question. Which cut of beef is a french roast?
Thank you.
Thanks Muriel, that’s very kind of you to say, and thanks for buying my cookbook, too! You totally rock!
To answer your question, a French Roast is what we call a Top Round Roast around here. Real sorry about the confusion… I added the alternate name in the recipe.
just reading your recipe. been looking for this forever (I’m 70!) just reading it, I knew this was it. thank u 4 sharing. I know I’ll love it. only freak out. I had no idea what a French roast was and was sure my butcher didn’t know either. thaxs for xtra info
Sorry about that, Roberta, I guess this designation would be a local thing; perhaps I should change it in the recipe. You can use either top round or top sirloin roast, they would both work perfectly well for this recipe.
What if you don’t have a thermometer to insert please
Hi. Can you advise how long this can stay in the fridge please?
Thanks!
I wonder what is your serving size for the French roast sliced sandwich thin and cold.
Also, where did all the sodium sprout from. Most 6 oz steaks broiled, I’m told, figure to be about 80 grams of sodium.
Although your roast sounds yummy, the sodium is far to high. I am a Heart Failure patient. Thank you
I’ve just made this for the third time. It’s delicious! Your instructions are perfect. Success is guaranteed. Proteins
browned at high temperatures will release from the pan.
Don’t try to rip it away from the pan. Thank you Sonia😃‼️
I made this for a Christmas BBQ and served on top of a cold roast vegetable salad. It was superb!
How long will the cold cuts last wrapped in the fridge?
I used to keep mine for several days, like 4 or 5, maybe? They never lasted much longer than that, any way…
Ok, this is kind of a dumb and embarrassing question but, when you say “transfer skillet to oven” do you mean to actually keep the roast in the skillet without transferring to a baking dish?
Absolutely. No need to dirty another dish, just shove that skillet straight into the oven!
Sorry if this is a dumb question but do you put it in the fridge when it’s still hot from the oven?
Yes!
This was perfect and easy! Used it as part of an after yoga buffet, served along side of a huge salad and freshly backed bread. Nice that it was all ready a head of time, just needed to set the food out and let the group dig in. Everyone was swooning over the flavor! Thanks for sharing, Namaste & Thank you
This is maybe the 4th time I am making this recipe which should speak volumes about how delicious it is! Thank you so much for sharing. I was looking for a recipe like this and tried many, but this one is the best 😋
Fantastic recipe!!! Totally perfect!
Having looked at several recipes to cook my 4lb rolled topside joint I chose this one but was worried that the cooking temperature was much lower and cooking time less than the others. In the end I wimped out and cooked at GM4 for 45 minutes (instead of GM 3). The result was delicious, very tasty, tender, and a little pink. Next time I will try following the recipe exactly as I personally prefer really rare. But the GM4 went down well with a range of age groups
After about an hour, cover your roast with plastic film and let it cool completely overnight. Would this be in the fridge or on the counter?
Thanks!
Sheila
In the fridge!
Thank you for this detailed recipe. The tub and wrapping ensure it flavours the whole roast. It’s a perfect one for Christmas lunch for a crowd. My daughter did it last year and I recently did a 3kg one which was very popular. I took it to 69drgrees C which was medium but still pleased those who like it med-rare. Sliced thinly on sandwiches is great too.
So just to confirm, take it out the oven and straight in the fridge?
Yes, that is correct.
Absolutely delicious! I made this for myself (& family) and we loved it. It had flavor throughout all pieces of the meat. Now they refuse to get roast beef at the store.
My husband brought home a piece of beef labeled “French something or other”, and I came across this recipe when trying to figure out how to cook it. So easy and so delicious! I cut some fatter slices and served them hot with gravy made from the drippings in the pan used to sear the meat. The rest we used thinly sliced as in your recipe. Now, I am no longer scared to cook beef – it works out beautifully every time!