top rump roast beef

Here’s the thing: this was supposed to be about fore rib of beef. The Flintstones style piece of meat with the rack of bones around the side. It was to be my birthday treat, a deluxe cut I’d never cooked myself. But could I find it in any supermarkets? Nope. So I dejectedly chose a top rump roast joint instead. And what do you know despite my disappointment this turned out lovely. So here’s my top rump roast beef recipe.

top rump roast beef

It’s a boneless cut so even though they can be on the large side the cooking time is relatively fast. If you like your meat juicy then a quick cook benefits this beef joint, giving the outside a tasty crust and the inside blushing and tender. Here’s some cooking times you can play around with, but for best results use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature. It’s the only way to be absolutely sure as each piece of meat is different, with thick parts and thin parts. Don’t cut into the meat to check, as the juices you have fought so hard to preserve will leak and dry it out.

Top rump roast beef cooking times

Based on a 1kg joint of beef:

Preheat the oven to 220°C. Once the oven’s warmed up (about 20 minutes) put the meat in and roast for 20 minutes.

Turn the oven down to 170°C and continue to roast for:

Rare – 30 mins (temperature when probed 48 – 55°C)

Medium – 40 mins (60 – 65°C)

Well done – 60 mins (70 – 75°C)

Based on a 2kg joint of beef:

Preheat the oven to 220°C. Once the oven’s warmed up (about 20 minutes) put the meat in and roast for 20 minutes.

Turn the oven down to 170°C and continue to roast for:

Rare – 45 mins (48 – 55°C)

Medium – 60 mins (60 – 65°C)

Well done – 80 mins (70 – 75°C)

Adjust according to your joint. If you want a 1kg joint at medium rare, test the beef between 50 minutes and 1 hour into cooking. The temperature will be your key guide all the time.

cooking times top rump roast beef one pager

If you don’t have one, meat thermometers are really cheap. Here’s one that’s only £2 at the time of writing.

roast top rump beef

One of the key steps is to allow the meat to rest after cooking. Leaving to one side for at least 30 minutes allows the meat to relax and juice to return to the centre of the beef. You’ll be left with very tender and very tasty meat. Don’t worry about it getting cold, covering it well and serving with gravy will sort it out.

Your flavourings are up to you. Something robust and strong works well with beef; my seasonings will form a tasty crust as it cooks. The secret weapon here is oyster sauce. It’s a magic ingredient for imbuing your dinners with big, savoury flavours. Give it a try!

And what should you serve with it? Roast potatoes and your favourite vegetables. Looking for a good sauce? Try this beef dripping sauce.

top rump roast beef recipe

top rump roast beef

Gary @ BigSpud
Enjoy a classic British Sunday lunch with a joint of beef that's economical but packed with flavour: top rump roast beef.
5 from 2 votes
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Course Main Dish
Cuisine English
Servings 8 people

Ingredients
  

  • 2 carrots halved
  • 1 onion halved
  • 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
  • 1 tablespoon English mustard
  • 1 tablespoon oyster sauce

For the gravy

  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • 500 ml beef stock

Instructions
 

  • Get the joint out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before cooking. Preheat the oven to 220C.
  • Combine the rosemary, mustard and oyster sauce with a little oil to turn into a paste. Baste liberally all over the beef and season with salt and pepper.
  • Lay the carrots and onions in a baking tray and use these as a trivet for the beef. Lay the beef on top of the vegetables and cook according to the guide above.
  • When the beef is ready, remove to a platter, cover with foil and a tea towel and ensure you rest it for at least half an hour.
  • If you're making the gravy, put the baking tray over a hob and mix in the flour. When you've made a thick paste gradually add the beef stock and bubble and thicken until the gravy is as you like it. You may need to add seasoning. Serve with your favourite roast dinner trimmings.

Video

Notes

Using a meat thermometer is the key to perfect roast meat. Leftover roast beef is great in a sandwich sliced thinly, or chopped with grated potatoes for a beef hash.

31 comments

  • Looks delicious! Hope you had a great birthday.

  • That does sound good. I’ll be cooking this next Sunday, as per your instructions. Wish me luck, will let you know how it turns out! ??

  • Hi I am going to cook this joint tomorrow for 4 on my 80th birthday,wish me luck,Meryl

  • Do you mean out of the fridge before cooking in the first instruction? Or out of the oven before carving?

  • Just cooked your beef resipe down to a te as you said I have to say the best bit of beef I’ve ever tasted and the oyster sauce makes it pop thank you very much as it was the first time I’ve cooked beef

  • Are the oven temperatures for fan assisted or normal gas ovens? Thanks for what looks like a good recipe.

  • Thoroughly recommend this recipe , tender , tasty beef! ( just remember to convert fan oven temperatures if you don’t have one )

  • I bought a piece of 2kg top rump joint for Easter, no idea on how to cook it, looked online with the top chefs to help me, no one was straight to the point as your recipe, it was easy and straight to the point. Thanks a lot, top marks.

    Andy

  • Tried this today, it was delicious. The beef was a bit dry on the ends – it was a 2.3kg joint and rather long and thin, but the middle was pink still fortunately. The potatoes were lush! Thanks for the recipe, next time I’ll try and get a rounder joint! The rub was amazing, I didn’t have any oyster so subbed with a bit of soy. ?

  • Hussein Hussein

    I’ve struggled at times to get roast beef exactly how I like it, I’ve managed either too rare or overdone and not that lovely pink colour in the middle, ozzing with flavor and ever so juicy. Followed this to the letter (minus oyster sauce as I didn’t have any). All I can say is OMG. It’s probably by far the best roast beef I’ve ever cooked. I had a 2.5kg top rump.
    Can’t thank you enough for sharing your recipe.

  • Do I cook the joint of beef at 220c for the full 60 minutes for a 1.956kg? I will let you know how it turns out, thank you for the recipe though, sounds delicious.

  • Followed recipe and used meat thermometer – the cooking time was 25 mins longer than stated for 2kg joint to achieve 54 deg C (47 – 54 deg = rare) and the meat continued to increase to 60 deg C during the 30 min resting period so the meat was nearer medium than rare. Next time I will take it out of oven at 47 deg. Loved the mustard/oyster sauce etc mixed to a paste. PS used fan assisted oven at temperatures stated

  • I cooked my rump roast today. Simple instructions with excellent result with a 1.5 kg piece. Could have given it 5 more minutes for medium rare. The oyster sauce sounded odd, and that’s the reason why I went for your recipe. It tastes great. Thank you.))

  • Can you use a lean meat without a fat cap for this recipe?

  • Jamie and Heston are great influences! Totally agree about the science of using the thermometer and I am looking forward to trying this approach for tomorrow’s Easter roast.

    Thanks Gary!

  • Big spud, thanks buddy. Just cooked this and as a useless cook this recipe has come out so good. My kids loved it, I loved it.

  • 5 stars
    Thankyou. I just did this for dinner tonight for my family. I had 1.5 kg top rump and it was perfectly cooked with your timings and temperatures. I’ve never managed to cook beef very well and always got it tough. But this was a cheaper roast with hardly any marbling and I read your tip on doing this cut quickly. I couldn’t believe how tender it was and I did it medium rare. It was just a blush pink in the middle. Every bit went! I was expecting a bit left over for a sandwich but no! Six people devoured it all!

  • 5 stars
    Great straightforward recipe, thank you, beef came out lovely – didn’t have any oyster sauce so substituted with ketjap manis from M&S. Lovely and pink in the middle, tasty crust on outside. And it was a cheap top rump of beef which when I’ve cooked previously has come out pretty tough, the speedy cooking worked well. Using the thermometer also helped, first time used this facility on my oven so thank you for the tip.

    • Glad the recipe worked out for you. Thermometer is the only way to go and a great way to make the most of this cheaper cut. You remind me, I haven’t used ketjap manis in years. I must get some in! Love it with pork chops myself.

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