A simple recipe for Bottom Round Roast with Mushrooms, a delicious yet affordable roast for a family dinner. Excellent served with a good Merlot!
We paired the bottom round roast with a Merlot from L’Ecole No. 41. This is our share for the annual Wine Pairing Weekend observance of MerlotMe Month, hosted this year by Culinary Cam. Disclosure: the featured wine was provided as a complimentary sample by the winery.
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Recipe inspiration
October brings cooler weather, perfect for a roast. It’s also a month we focus on Merlot!
We are once again joining the Wine Pairing Weekend bloggers in observing “MerlotMe” month. As you can see in our collection of over 25 Merlot food pairing ideas, Merlot can pair with a wide range of foods.
But beef and Merlot is certainly a classic pairing. In addition, mushrooms are one of those foods that helps enhance a food pairing with Merlot. So it was a perfect time to make our Bottom Round Roast with Mushrooms!
We are roast beef fans here — and apparently you are, too. Our top round roast beef and spoon roast with horseradish cream are two of the most popular recipes here on Cooking Chat!
We’re going to get into some details about the recipe, then circle back to today’s featured wine pairing.
What is bottom round roast?
A bottom round roast is a cut of beef that comes from the bottom part of the round primal, located in the hind leg of the cow. This is a lean cut with with a somewhat tougher texture with some connective tissue content.
A bottom round roast can be a pretty affordable cut of beef due to those factors. So learning how to cook it is a great way to put a hearty meal on the table for your family while staying on budget!
Bottom round roast can be braised, making it a good cut for pot roast. But with our bottom round roast recipe, we show it can be used as the basis for a delicious, affordable roast!
At times, rump roast and bottom round roast seem to be used interchangeably on the web. But from what I gather they are similar cuts but from slightly different parts of the animal.
What makes this recipe work
Our bottom round roast recipe gets cooked to a juicy medium rare. You don’t want to overcook this cut.
Slicing this bottom round roast thinly helps mitigate the tendency of the cut to be a bit chewier than some.
The bottom round roast also benefit from being served along with a sauce. I think mushrooms are a great match for beef, and they also enhance our pairing with Merlot.
We used a two pound bottom round roast from Walden Local Meat, which provides home delivery of local grass-fed beef and other meats. We covered more about the benefits of grass-fed beef here.
Recipe tips and overview
Here’s an overview of our bottom round roast recipe; head on down to the recipe card for more details.
Take the beef out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes prior to cooking, to bring closer to room temperature. Of course, if you are starting with a frozen roast, you need to plan to thaw the beef first.
Make the dry spice rub by combining 1 tablespoon garlic, 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon dried thyme in a bowl.
Place the beef on a work surface, and sprinkle the spice blend evenly over the beef. Rub it into the meat, and let it sit with the rub for about 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees, convection setting.
Place the beef onto a roasting rack, in a roasting pan.
Put the beef into the 450 degree oven.
Make the mushroom sauce as the beef roasts. You can wait until you lower the roasting temperature to start the sauce. See recipe card for details on the mushrooms.
Roast the beef at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Then drop the temperature to 325 degrees. Check a two pound roast at about 35 minutes at the lower temperature (50 minutes total time). You are looking for an internal temperature of 125 to 130 degrees for medium rare roast beef. Ours came out a nice medium rare after 40 minutes at 350 (55 minutes total cooking time).
For a larger roast, calculate target roasting time at the 325 degrees based on 17 to 20 minutes per pound. i.e. that is in addition to the initial 15 minutes of roasting at 450 degrees.
Let the meat rest for ten minutes after it is within your target temperature range. Slice thinly to serve.
What to serve with this roast
We served this bottom round roast with the mushroom sauce, along with some rice pilaf and haricots vert from our local CSA farm share. And of course, the Merlot! More on that soon.
For more serving ideas, check out our What To Serve with Roast Beef collection of over 40 grate side dish recipes.
Wine pairing
Our featured pairing with the bottom round roast is the 2020 L’Ecole No. 41 Columbia Valley Merlot ($27, 14.5% ABV).
This Merlot has a dusky nose, with notes of boysenberry. On the palate, bright cherry fruit with notes of vanilla and a bit of spice. Nice finish. As suspected, this L’Ecole Merlot is a very good pairing for the Bottom Round Roast with Mushrooms!
The winemaker notes that 2020 was a long, warm growing season. That year did briefly see wildfire smoke in the Columbia Valley, but fortunately is was late in the growing season and didn’t impact the Merlot grapes for this wine.
The wine is barrel aged for 18 months in small oak barrels, 15% new.
About the winery
L’Ecole No. 41 is a third-generation family-owned, artisan winery located in the historic Frenchtown School depicted on the winery’s label. Founded in 1983 Megan and Marty Clubb, this family-owned winery is known for producing exceptional Bordeaux-style wines. They are recognized as one of the top producers of Merlot in Washington state, and have been regular participants in the MerlotMe activities.
We’ve had a chance to enjoy a wide range of wines from L’Ecole over the years. Their Semillon is a go-to white wine for me, great value for a high quality wine. It goes well with our Ground Pork Stir Fry with Collard Greens – the recipe article has more info on that wine.
L’Ecole also makes some excellent Syrah. I paired one of them with our Irish Lamb Stew, with tasty results.
PrintRecipe card
Bottom Round Roast with Mushrooms and Merlot
Savor the exquisite pleasure of a flawlessly prepared bottom round roast adorned with mushrooms using our simple recipe—an appetizing and budget-friendly way to relish this economical beef cut! Excellent served with a good Merlot.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 55 mins
- Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins
- Yield: 7 servings 1x
- Category: main
- Method: roasting
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
For the roast beef
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 pounds bottom round roast beef
For the mushroom sauce
- 1 small onion or a shallot, chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 8 ounces sliced mushrooms
- ⅓ cup red wine
- 2 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees, convection setting if you have it. Take the bottom round roast out of the refrigerator if you haven’t done so yet. You want the roast to be close to room temperature when you start cooking.
- Make the dry rub: combine the garlic powder, salt and thyme in a bowl. Place the bottom round roast on a work surface. Sprinkle the rub over the beef, and use your hands to spread the rub evenly over the roast and rub it in. Set the beef aside to absorb the rub for about 15 minutes.
- Roast on high: place the beef on a roasting rack, placed in a roasting pan. Put the roast in the oven, and roast for 15 minutes at 450 degrees.
- Finish roasting on lower heat: drop the temperature to 325 degrees, and roast for about 17 to 20 minutes per pound. Check a two pound roast at 35 minutes – our two lb roast came out a nice medium rare after 40 minutes roasting at 325 (55 minutes total roasting time).
- Make the mushroom sauce as the beef roasts at the lower temperature. Heat one tablespoon olive oil on medium, then add the onions or shallot. Stir occasionally. When softened, add the mushrooms. Cook about 5 minutes until the mushrooms begin to sweat. Add the cooking wine, bring to simmer and drop to medium low. Simmer the mushrooms until the wine is reduced by about half, then finish the sauce by adding the butter. Stir, and when the butter is melted, reduce heat to low and keep warm while the roast finishes cooking.
- Let the roast rest for 10 to 15 minutes after it has reached the desired doneness.
- Serve the roast by thinly slicing the roast beef, and plate topped with a bit of the mushroom sauce. Enjoy!
Notes
- Our recipe is based on a small, 2 pound roast. Generally, roast beef recipes can scale up well by allowing for 17 to 20 minutes of low temperature roasting time per pound – that does not include the initial 15 minutes at 450.
- Double the quantity of the rub ingredients for a larger roast.
- The bottom round roast is a lean cut with more connective tissue than top round roast. Avoid overcooking this oven roast. Slicing it thinly helps you enjoy the beefy flavors without it getting too chewy.
- You could drop the salt in the rub to 2 teaspoons if you are trying to keep your sodium intake low.
More Merlot Pairings
Goldschmidt Merlot
I also has a chance to sample the 2022 Chelsea Goldschmidt Alexander Valley Merlot (appx. $25, 14.5% ABV).
We had a chance to enjoy it with two different meals – pork chops with carrot top chimichurri, and on the next night, Braised Chicken Thighs with Vegetables. Very good with both of those meals!
And be sure to check out our collection of over 25 Merlot Pairings that we have compiled over the years!
Wendy Klik
I always make my round roasts in a braise. I can’t wait to try your version David. It looks scrumptious.
Cooking Chat
I might try a braise next time to mix it up!
Camilla M Mann
I have never made a round roast. Now I might have to get one. Thanks for joining in the event this month.
Linda Whipple
Beef with Merlot, of course, but mushroom for the win! L’Ecole is such a high-quality producer. It was fun to be their ambassador for a year.
Cathie Schafer
I love both of these Merlots David! Your roast looks like absolute perfection and I really appreciate the very detailed cooking instructions. Many people are afraid of cooking large pieces of meat and your instructions seem fool proof. Your braised chicken looks fab too! Cheers.
Cooking Chat
Thanks Cathie! We try to break it down to make it easy to follow.
Amy Liu Dong
Love this recipe! I just did this on our dinner, it never failed me. It was so good!
Cooking Chat
That’s good to hear, Amy!
silvia
I think Merlot, mushrooms, and beef are a match made in heaven; all the flavors compliment each other. I appreciate that your rub is simple, with just enough spices to bring the natural flavor of the meat.
Cooking Chat
Thanks Silvia, it is a very good combination!
Jamie
Oh my, this looks delicious and a mouth-watering dish! The texture and color of the roasted meat are perfect making it so enticing and very tempting! Meat lovers here is the dish for us!
Cooking Chat
Thanks Jamie!
DK Park
This recipe is awesome! I got to try this one out and make some for myself to enjoy this holiday season, Thank you for this!
Cooking Chat
Thanks for the feedback!