This easy method turns an economical cut of beef into super tender, flavorful Deli Style Roast Beef. Skip the deli and make your own lunch meat at home!
I’ve been a regular at the grocery store deli counter for most of my adult life. It’s so convenient to have sliced deli meat on hand when you have a lot of people to feed every day and lunches to pack for work. Since my husband requests deli roast beef be added to the grocery list every week, I decided it was time to try and create my own deli roast beef at home.
Friends, the result is nothing short of amazing! This recipe has opened my eyes to inexpensive cuts of beef and what can be done with them.
There is technique involved in properly cooking an inexpensive beef roast. I go through that process in detail in my recipe for Tender Eye of Round Roast Beef with Gravy. This is the same base recipe but instead of slicing and serving it with gravy for dinner, it is chilled and thinly sliced to create the most delicious roast beef sandwiches we’ve ever had.
This recipe yields a Deli Style Roast Beef that is far lower in sodium than the store bought variety. You can reduce the sodium even more by adjusting the amount of salt used. Just one of the many benefits to making your own deli meat at home!
Ingredient Notes
The Best Cut for Deli Style Roast Beef
My favorite cut and the one tested for this recipe is the eye of round roast. It is a lean, flavorful, and relatively inexpensive cut of beef. It requires a special roasting technique to cook it to tender perfection. But fear not! It is incredibly easy and foolproof if you follow the directions. My local Costco regularly carries a two-pack of prime eye of round roasts at a great price. This cut should be easy to find at most grocery store chains.
Although I haven’t tested it for myself, I believe this recipe would also work well with a top or bottom round roast. One of my recipe testers used a top sirloin roast with a fabulous result leading me to believe that a sirloin tip roast would also be a good choice.
Roast Beef Seasoning Mix
A mixture of dry spices creates a flavorful crust as the roast cooks. I’m betting most, if not all of these spices are likely stocked in your pantry. Kosher salt has more oomph than table salt and I highly recommend using it in dry rubs like this one. Granulated garlic has a grainy texture and I prefer it over garlic powder for this spice mix but either can be used. In addition you’ll need freshly ground black pepper, rosemary, thyme, onion powder, and paprika.
How to Make Deli Style Roast Beef
The most important aspect to ensuring a perfectly pink and tender result is to watch the roast closely towards the end of the cooking time. Check the temperature as directed in the recipe card below with an instant read thermometer. Do not allow it to roast beyond 135 F. for the best result.
- Remove your roast from the refrigerator and allow it to rest on the counter for 1 hour to take the chill off. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 500 degrees. Pat your roast with paper towels to dry the surface coat all sides of the roast with olive oil. Sprinkle all sides with the dry rub mixture. Place your roast on a wire rack on a foil lined baking sheet with the fat cap side facing up.
- Transfer to the preheated oven and roast for 15 minutes or until nicely browned. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F and continue to roast for another 40 to 50 minutes or until the internal temperature reads 130 to no more than 135 degrees F. (medium rare). Begin checking the temperature after 35 minutes by inserting an instant read thermometer through the center of the roast from the side.
- Allow the roast to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Even better, allow it to rest for 20 to 30 minutes then wrap it with foil and refrigerate it for several hours or overnight.
- Slice it across the grain as thinly as possible. Whether you are using a meat slicer or sharp knife, it will be easier to get nice, deli style thin slices if the roast is chilled.
How to Store Cooked Roast Beef
Wrap the cooled, sliced roast beef in heavy duty foil and place the foil packet in a plastic storage bag. Label it with the date and refrigerate it immediately. It can also be stored in shallow, airtight deli meat container.
This Deli Style Roast Beef should be refrigerated and used within 3 to 4 days for the best quality and food safety concerns.
For longer storage, I recommend portioning it out and sealing it with a vacuum sealer. Vacuum sealed deli meat stored in the refrigerator will stay fresh for up to 10 days. Pop it in the freezer and store it for up to 2 to 3 months. Safely thaw frozen cooked meat completely in the refrigerator before serving. No vacuum sealer? Wrap the deli meat securely in wax paper and then a layer of heavy duty foil before freezing.
Serving Suggestions
- Pile it on your favorite bread or sandwich rolls with a variety of toppings for super tasty roast beef sandwiches for lunch or an easy dinner.
- Add it to your next charcuterie tray, even if it’s just a casual Netflix and chill snacking session!
- Smear slices with a little softened cream cheese and roll it around blanched asparagus for tasty Roast Beef Rollups.
- Use it to make delicious Italian Roast Beef Sliders.
Deli Style Roast Beef
Video
Ingredients
- 2 ½ to 3 ½ pound eye of round roast, (top or bottom round or top sirloin or sirloin tip also work well)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or enough to generously coat all sides
Roast Beef Seasoning Mix
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon dried crushed rosemary
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ¾ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- ¾ teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder
- ¾ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
Instructions
- Remove your roast from the refrigerator and allow it to rest on the counter for 45 minutes to 1 hour to take the chill off.
- Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 500 degrees F.
- Combine all the Roast Beef Seasoning Mix ingredients in a small bowl.
- Pat your roast with paper towels to dry the surface and then drizzle with olive oil and use your hands to rub the olive oil, coating all sides of the roast.
- Sprinkle all sides, including the ends, with the seasoning mix. Place your roast on a rack in a roasting pan with the fat cap side facing up.
- Transfer to the preheated oven and roast for 15 minutes until nicely browned. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees F and continue to roast for another 40 to 50 minutes or until internal temperature reads 130 and no more than 135 degrees F. (medium rare). Begin checking temperature after 35 minutes by inserting an instant read thermometer through the center of the roast from the side. Watch it closely because the temperature can rise quickly towards the end of the cooking time. I don’t recommend cooking this roast beyond 135 degrees for the most tender, delicious result.
- Remove from the oven and allow it to rest for 20 to 30 minutes before slicing. Alternately, after the resting time, wrap the roast in foil and refrigerate it for several hours or overnight before slicing. It will be easier to slice thinly when chilled.
- Use a meat slicer or a sharp knife to slice the roast against the grain as thinly as possible.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
WOW! Followed recipe exactly and it came out great. I used a 3# top round (definitely will try a leaner cut, but this was affordable and I didn’t want to experiment on $30 , meats so costly now!) anyway it was such a great recipe. Definitely reccomend! My big problem is waiting for it to cool over night! Oh, and I added some everything bagel on top, made for a pretty presentation.
If you have a good deli slicer, the whole roast lasts longer than slices, so you can vacuum seal the whole roast then open and slice a few days worth at a time.
Great tip! Thanks, Aaron. 🙂
This recipe was amazing. Made it according to recipe and it turned out perfect. Tender and delicious! Will be a regular on my recipe greats.
The best roast beef I’ve ever made! I’m 60 years old and have been cooking since I was 11.
This is wonderful to hear. Thanks, Barry!
This turned out really good. My eye of round was a little small- (only used one of the roasts from the costco 2pack and the other made jerky)- so the temperature was at 135 at 35 minutes. Slightly overdone to my liking but the seasoning was outstanding. I’ll be making this again for sure but will put the thermometer in the meat from the start. Thank you!
Love those 2-packs from Costco! Glad to hear it worked out for you. Thanks, Pam. 🙂
Absolutely great recipe! Had to adjust my cooking time because our meat was smaller and thick cut like a steak but it came out great! Thanks!
Yum! Using eye of round, I followed the recipe itself to the letter, but cooked it on a wire rack in a preheated, enameled cast iron dutch oven without a lid. After refrigerating the finished roast overnight, I sliced it paper thin using a cheap ( $26, clearance priced) electric meat slicer. The resulting lunch meat looks great, smells wonderful, and tastes DEEE-licious!!!
Fantastic! I’m so glad it worked out so well for you. I appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment. 🙂
Great flavor, came out way too rare. I cooked mine much longer. Overall it worked out.
Great recipe. So easy to do! Life changing.
made this wonderful roast today however it is too rare for me…what do i do???????????
i want med rare & took it out of the oven @ 128 degrees according to my digital therm.,
wrapped in heavy duty foil for 20 min & it was still very rare. can i re-cook it? is so, please
suggest to me what you recommend. one end is tapered & cooked enough so i will cut off
the thinner end before i re-cook it. thank you Valerie.
I’m so sorry you had this issue. You can definitely salvage an undercooked roast. If you caught it quickly, I’d recommend just popping it back in the oven until the temp reads 135 degrees F. If it’s been longer, I’d recommend slicing the meat, placing the slices into a baking dish with a little broth, cover it with foil and bake it for just a few minutes. Here is more info on this for you – https://food52.com/blog/14657-kitchen-rescue-how-to-fix-overcooked-or-undercooked-meat
I made this yesterday, followed the recipe as written, Valerie, it is absolutely perfect, pink inside, seasonings are amazing, I will be making this over and over, a keeper recipe. Thank You !!!
Yay! So happy you loved it, Angelika. We love this roast beef so much. I hope you’ll give the Tender Eye of Round Roast with Gravy a try. It’s very similar to this recipe but makes an incredibly delicious but affordable dinner.
Could I do this in a slow cooker with the same results? My oven has trouble reaching high temps like 400 and above. Thank you.
I’m afraid you won’t get a similar result in a slow cooker. You need that initial high temp to sear the exterior and then the lower temp to gently roast the meat just until medium-rare.
You could probably sear in a cast iron skillet for 2-3 minutes per side, then cook in the oven on the lower temp.