Grilled Sirloin Top Roast with Vegetables & Gravy

Did you know you can cook a beef roast on the grill? I didn't. Greg came up with this very simple method for grilled roast with vegetables. He also used the drippings from the roast to whip up a rich, satiny gravy to serve over the meat.

In my not-so-very humble opinion, this is the best way to enjoy a comforting "wintertime" roast during the summer without having to use your oven. Moreover, there's nothing to measure other than temperature and doneness of the meat. All you need is a few minutes to chop the veggies, sear the roast and wrap everything up, and then a few hours of unattended roasting time on the grill (and a few minutes to make the gravy if you want to), and you'll have a mouthwatering dinner with minimal effort and no residual oven heat competing with your AC in the kitchen. You can use any root vegetables you like if you're not crazy about one or more of the ones listed below.

Ingredients
1 sirloin top roast (or other roast)
Your favorite BBQ Dry Rub (we used Jim's Own Safari Rub)
Butter
1 or 2 Carrots, peeled & cut into chunks
1 Onion, cut into wedges or rings
1 or more turnips depending on size, peeled (or not) & cut into chunks (I used baby red turnips and didn't peel them)
Flour
Milk

Generously coat the roast with the seasoning rub on all sides -- pat it on, do NOT rub because rubbing will damage the meat fibers and increase the chances of drying out the meat. Place the roast on your grill directly over HIGH heat just to sear on both sides. Do not overcook -- all you want is a nice brown sear on each side without cooking the inside, and this takes only a few minutes per side.

While the roast is searing, cut a piece of aluminum foil that will be large enough to wrap the roast with the vegetables. When the roast is nicely seared on all sides, transfer to the foil (if grilling with gas, turn your grill down to Medium), add the vegetables and a couple of pats of butter, sprinkle with more of the BBQ rub, then wrap up.

Place the wrapped roast, seam side up, on your grill over indirect Medium heat -- if grilling with charcoal you may need to rearrange your coals to achieve. Roast for about 4 hrs or until done to your liking (the safe internal recipe for a beef roast is 140°F) and the vegetables are tender.

When the roast is done, remove from grill and pour the drippings from the foil package into a saucepan to make the gravy while the roast rests: Heat the drippings with a little bit of butter over medium heat until the butter melts. Gradually whisk in some flour, about the same amount as the butter & drippings in the pan, and cook until you have a light brown paste, whisking or stirring constantly (yes, you're making a roux so cook it to the color you prefer, anywhere from light to dark brown, keeping in mind that the darker the color the richer and deeper the flavor). Slowly whisk in some milk, just as much as you need to make a thick but pourable gravy, again whisking constantly. Keep cooking until the gravy will coat a spoon and it reaches the consistency you like. If you have any little pieces of "burnt ends" from the roast, go ahead and chop them up and add them to the gravy. You can also add butter-sauteed sliced mushrooms. Don't forget to taste for balance and season with salt/pepper or even a dash of the dry rub if desired.

To serve, slice the roast against the grain as you would a brisket. Arrange beef slices and cooked vegetables on a serving platter or individual plates, then pour gravy over the beef.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

PS:  During September, our friends at Jim's Own Sauce are giving away a FREE package of Jim's Safari Rub (which works really well in this recipe) with every online order of Jim's Own products over $25 exclusive of shipping & tax.