A Peppered Roast Supper with Red Wine Gravy

Before we get into today’s recipe, I want to say that I am very, very sorry about the finished photo – not my best work. Let me explain.

When I prepared this roast supper, I snapped a few very nice photos early on in the preparation stage. As dinner came together, with all the wonderful side dishes and the gravy, we hurried to get the table set.

Then we sat down to dinner, joined hands and said a blessing. Plates were passed, food shared as we chatted about this or that. The next thing I knew, I realized that I hadn’t snapped a photo of the roast BEFORE serving it. So the picture was snapped in haste, after we had served ourselves. Hubby had a good point – the roast was amazing. He wouldn’t mind at all if I could made it again. So the truth is, the photo of the finished roast is actually a picture at the end of the meal, not the beginning.

Now another truth – when I bought the Sirloin Roast, it wasn’t what had been planned at all. If you remember, I had made a brisket at the start of the Advent-Chanukah celebration. As it turned out the Feast of Saint Nicholas happened to correspond with the 8th Day of Chanukah. I thought why not celebrate the two days together. Honoring my Catholic Faith and the Church’s Jewish Roots once more with a great brisket supper.

That Saturday when Hubby and I were at the market, I could not find a brisket. At least not one that wasn’t “corned”. I will admit, this was the first time I had experienced the supply shortage that everyone’s been talking about. There were no – as in none at all – roasts of any kind in the meat case with the exception of a few Sirloin roasts. We bought the sirloin roast, and opted to go in a completely different direction for our Saint Nicholas Feast.

Part of an early New Year’s Resolution that I made way back around Thanksgiving was that I wanted to set aside one Sunday a month for a nice family supper. Good food and good conversation are the building blocks of warm memories. I knew our petite sirloin roast would be put to good use.

My plan was to celebrate our first Family Sunday Supper of the New Year beginning with National Sunday Supper Day in January, and carry it through the entire year. National Sunday Supper Day is the second Sunday in January every year. However; the second Sunday in February this year was also Super Bowl Sunday. Let’s face it, Super Bowl and Family Sunday Supper don’t exactly go together. That is not to say you can’t get together with family for Super Bowl, but Sunday Supper should not be spent in front of a TV rooting for your team. Oh but the follow Sunday was wide open – perfect. Then it was just a matter of coming up with a recipe fitting for our little roast. This is actually a combination of several recipes. And wow – it was amazing! Hope you enjoy.

Peppered Sirloin Roast with Red Wine Gravy
Beef Stock as needed
1/2 tablespoon snipped fresh Thyme
1/2 tablespoon snipped fresh Rosemary
1-1/2 teaspoons Coarse Black Peppercorns
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
5 Garlic Cloves
2 lb boneless Beef Top Sirloin Petite Roast
1/4 cup Butter
1/4 cup Flour
1/4 cup Red Wine
Salt to taste
Black Pepper to taste
Fresh Rosemary Sprigs for garnish

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Pour 1 cup of beef stock in a small rimmed baking pan. Spray a wire rack with nonstick cooking spray. Set rack in the baking pan, set aside.

Snip thyme and rosemary. Place in a small bowl. Combine with coarse black pepper and kosher salt, set aside. Peel garlic, slice thinly, set aside.

Cut several slits in roast on both sides; insert a garlic slice into each slit. Lightly oil roast with olive oil. Use your hands to rub salt mixture over roast.

Place roast on prepared rack, fat side up. Insert a meat thermometer into thickest portion of roast. Bake in hot oven for 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300-degrees (do not remove roast from oven or open door); bake an additional 40 minutes or until thermometer registers 140-degrees (medium-rare) or desired degree of doneness.

Place roast on a cutting board; tent and let stand 15 minutes.

Pour the drippings into a large measuring cup. Add enough beef stock to drippings to equal 2 cups; set aside.

In a medium saucepan melt 1/4 cup butter. Add the flour to create a roux; cook and stir over medium heat until bubbly. Gradually stir the 2 cups drippings mixture and red wine into the roux to create a gravy. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper. Transfer gravy to a bowl or gravy boat.

Slice roast across the grain, spread out on large plate or platter. Drizzle with red wine gravy, garnish with rosemary and enjoy.