My family loves roast beef, and we have a preference for rare to medium-rare. But in hot weather, who wants to run the oven? Here’s an Instant Pot rare roast beef recipe that I’ve found to be reliable. After some initial preparation, it’s a fairly hands-off process. I love easy cooking.
Once in a while, I get a complete surprise in the kitchen. As I’ve accumulated experience, this happens less often, but it does happen, and so it was this week. Against all my expectations, I learned how to produce rare roast beef from the Instant Pot!
I’ve made pot roast in that Pot – very nice pot roast it is, too. The Instant Pot is a fantastic device for braising meats and tenderizing tough cuts. I was sure that was pretty much the limit for cooking meat – and I was dead wrong.
For me, it began with a chance encounter on the Internet. I read a post by Jill Selkowitz on her blog thisoldgal.com that stopped me cold. Her post on Foolproof Pressure Cooker Roast Beef caught my attention. When I found a nice sale on rolled sirloin tip roast at my grocery store, I bought a small one and experimented. The results amazed me: yes, you CAN make rare roast beef from the Instant Pot!
There are other versions of this roast on the Internet (some older, some newer). Bloggers use varying liquids in their recipes, sometimes different timings – but all the versions have some common features:
- you need only 1 cup of liquid in the pot (that’s the minimum required) EXCEPT if you have an 8-qt Instant Pot, you’ll need a minimum of 2 cups liquid
- a flavorful liquid boosts flavor in the roast
- if you sear the roast, do it very briefly
- set the pot to pressure cook for a short time – this will kill surface bacteria
- use the Keep Warm setting, which ranges between 133-167˚F or 56 -75 C – in other words, after the initial blast, cook low and slow
This recipe has already gone into my family’s permanent repertoire. Roast beef without heating up the kitchen! Edge-to-edge rare! Roast beef, start to finish, in about an hour. We’re happy with this process and the results, and I think you will be too.
Note added July 2020: my Instant Pot is a 6-quart model, which has a minimum liquid requirement of 1 cup. If you have an 8-quart model, you’ll need at least 2 cups of liquid, so adapt accordingly.
about the seasonings
Mix the seasonings for the rub, or use your favorite blend. I have used a garlic-pepper blend called “Back of the Yards” from the Spice House. McCormick makes a reasonably equivalent “Montreal Seasoning“. I’ve come to prefer a more herbal rub, so I like thyme and rosemary, and have shown what I use here. Amounts? I don’t usually measure, but I’d guess 1-2 teaspoons each of the thyme and the rosemary, 1 teaspoon each of the garlic powder and the salt, and maybe half a teaspoon of the black pepper. Taste as you go, and you’ll do fine.
about the liquid in the pot
This recipe requires a cup of liquid (2 cups if you have an 8qt Instant Pot) but you have choices here, too. Start with an appropriately sized measuring cup, and fill it with flavorful beef stock, or half red wine and half water, or half red wine and half beef stock, or part Shaoxing wine and part water, or even, in a pinch, canned beef broth. You decide, but whatever you choose, use only 8 ounces/240 ml (16 oz/480 ml for an 8-qt pot), and make it flavorful, because who wants bland? If you like, stir in a tablespoon of beef base or mushroom base for a flavor boost.
let the roast stand for a bit
Once the roast has reached your desired temperature, remove the roast from the Instant Pot, cover it with foil, and let stand 15-20 minutes before slicing. The roast will continue to cook while standing – this is carry-over cooking, and is quite normal. That’s one reason my suggested temperatures are so low. In addition, the moisture within the roast will be somewhat re-absorbed during standing time. If you cut into it right away, much of the internal moisture would leak right out, leaving you with a dry cut of cooked meat.
For the very thinnest slices, chill the roast overnight in the refrigerator. It’s very difficult to get neat thin slices from a hot roast.
The lovely thin slices shown in my photo came from a chilled roast. In fact, my local family-run supermarket has a wonderful policy: their deli staff is always ready to slice a cooked roast for their customers. Your grocery store may offer the same service. If you’re slicing the roast on your own, use a very sharp knife.
(NOTE: this was written in pre-Pandemic times. My grocery store doesn’t slice for me right now, and I don’t know whether they’ll resume that lovely service.)
don’t discard that liquid!
After the roast is cooked, there’s still a bunch of flavorful liquid in the Instant Pot. Some folks like to use this as a dip (French Dip sandwiches, anybody?) It will make a good gravy, and of course will form part of an excellent soup. Don’t throw it out, even if you don’t want gravy or juice with your roast beef! If you don’t know what else to do with it, strain it, save it, and chill it. When it’s fully cold, lift off any fat from the top, then freeze the stuff. Use this (thawed) for your next roast!
Instant Pot Rare Roast Beef
Ingredients
- 3-3½ lb boneless beef roast (rolled sirloin tip, rump, or eye of round) (about 1½ kg)
- 1 tbsp neutral oil (canola, grapeseed)
- 1 cup your choice of liquids (see the recipe notes)
- 2 cloves fresh garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp beef or mushroom base (optional, but a big flavor boost)
SEASONING RUB
- dried thyme
- dried rosemary
- granulated garlic, or garlic powder
- kosher salt
- ground black pepper
- OR use your favorite seasoning mix: Montreal Blend, Back of the Yards butcher rub, etc.
Instructions
- Mix the seasonings for the rub, or use your favorite blend. I have used a garlic-pepper blend called “Back of the Yards” from the Spice House. McCormick makes a reasonably equivalent “Montreal Seasoning“. I’ve come to prefer a more herbal rub, so I like thyme and rosemary, and have shown what I use here. Amounts? I don’t usually measure, but I’d guess 1-2 teaspoons each of the thyme and the rosemary, 1 teaspoon each of the garlic powder and the salt, and maybe half a teaspoon of the black pepper. Taste as you go, and you’ll do fine. Whatever you choose, rub the uncooked roast on all sides, including the ends. Set it aside for now.
- This recipe requires a cup of liquid (2 cups for an 8-qt Instant Pot) – but you have choices here, too. Choose flavorful beef stock, or half red wine and half water, or half red wine and half beef stock, or part Shaoxing wine and part water, or even, in a pinch, canned beef broth. Add a couple cloves of garlic and a bay leaf to your chosen liquid. If you like, stir in a tablespoon of beef base or mushroom base for a flavor boost.
- Set up the Instant Pot. With the inner steel pot in place, select Sauté (browning), and let it fully heat. Place the rubbed beef into the cooking pot, and let it sear just a bit on all sides. You want some color, but you won’t need to brown it fully. If there’s a fat cap on your roast, put that side down first, then let it sear 20-30 seconds. Turn, and sear about 10 seconds on each of the other sides. When you have finished searing all sides, remove the roast to a plate.
- Stop the pot. Pour your liquids and add-ins into the pot. Put the trivet (that came with the pot) in place, and position the roast on the trivet. If there’s a fat cap, make sure the fat side is up.
- Lock the lid in place and close the pressure valve. Set the pot using the Manual function to low pressure, 4 minutes. Don’t cancel the Keep Warm function – you want it to enter that state when pressure cooking has finished. When the unit beeps, wait about 45 minutes – see note below on adjusting this time for different sizes of roasts.
- After 45 minutes of standing/keep warm time, check for doneness. Open the lid to check the temperature of your roast with an instant-read meat thermometer. For a very rare roast, you’re looking for 115-120˚F; for medium-rare, 125-130˚F. If the roast is not up to the desired temperature, replace the lid and continue with the Keep Warm cycle. Once the roast has reached your desired temperature, remove the roast, cover it with foil, and let stand 15-20 minutes before slicing.
- The roast will continue to cook while standing – this is carry-over cooking, and is quite normal. That’s one reason my suggested temperatures are so low. In addition, the moisture within the roast will be somewhat re-absorbed during standing time. If you cut into it right away, much of the internal moisture would leak right out, leaving you with a dry cut of cooked meat.
- Slice and serve. For the very thinnest slices, chill the roast overnight in the refrigerator. It’s very difficult to get neat thin slices from a hot roast.
- Save the cooking liquid! You could use it as is for French Dip sandwiches, or make gravy with it. It would contribute to a fabulous soup. If you have no other plans, strain it and chill. When it's cold, lift off any fat from the top, then freeze the liquid. When you make your next IP roast beef, use this, thawed, as the start of your cooking liquid.