Roast Beef With Red Wine and Cocoa

A holiday roast doesn't have to be tenderloin or prime rib. Ask your butcher for a roast from the shoulder, sirloin or round, give it a red wine soak and a cocoa crust, and roast it low and slow.

Ingredients

For a 5-pound roast

• 1 beef sirloin, round or chuck roast (about 5 pounds)
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon cane sugar
• 1 to 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 to 1½ cups bold red wine
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• Unsweetened cocoa powder, for coating
• Vegetables to roast alongside, such as fennel, leek and red onion (optional)

Instructions

1. If the roast came tied, leave it that way. Stir together the salt, sugar and garlic and rub the mixture all over the meat.
2. Pour the wine into a zip-top bag or nonreactive container, add the roast and turn it to coat. Refrigerate for at least 1 to 3 hours; longer is fine. Cut any vegetables into pieces.
3. When you're ready to cook, heat the oven to 300°F and melt the butter in a deep cast-iron pan or Dutch oven. Spread cocoa powder on a plate.
4. Lift the roast out of the wine, saving the wine, and let it sit for a moment on a clean board. If it isn't tied, tie it with butcher's twine about every 2 inches.
5. Pour or brush the melted butter over the roast, then roll it in the cocoa until every side is coated. Set it in the pan and tuck the vegetables around it, if using.
6. Roast, uncovered, until the center reads 120 to 125°F for medium-rare, or 130 to 135°F for medium. These cuts are best kept in that range. Let the roast rest before slicing.
7. For the sauce, pour the reserved marinade into a small saucepan and bring it to a boil. Lower the heat to a steady simmer and cook until it has reduced and thickened a lot. Taste it; if it's too salty, add a splash of water or wine and reduce again.

Tips

• Good cuts to ask for: chuck eye roast, under blade roast (boneless short rib), top sirloin cap (also called coulotte or picanha), or top round roast with the cap on.
• Spoon the reduction over the sliced beef, spread it on the platter underneath, turn it into gravy, or use it to dress a salad of the roasted vegetables.

Adapted from Meredith Leigh.