Top round roast, often referred to as a “London Broil” is an extremely lean but delicious beef cut that really benefits from sous vide cooking. With sous vide, you’re able to do a low and slow cook to tenderize the meat while still keeping it medium-rare. There’s practically no other way to achieve these results!
Using sous vide to prepare your top round roast will take longer than traditional cooking methods, however, the results are worth it. You just can’t get meat this tender with any other method without overcooking!
So, how long are we talking? I recommend 8-12 hours. Some recipes have you cook this cut for as long as 24 hours, but I found that length to be unnecessary.
Sous vide is one of my favorite ways to prepare roasts of any kind – make sure to check out all of my sous vide roasts so you can plan your upcoming holidays, family dinners, picnics, or just a special Tuesday night!
Time and Temp for Sous Vide Top Round Roast
This roast will be cooked for a very long time: 8-12 hours. Anytime we’re cooking longer than 3 hours, we should be cooking above 130 degrees F for food safety, so none of the temps I’m listing here will be below that (even if I often sous vide beef at lower temps!).
However, I’m going to get very close to that temp: I recommend 132 degrees F for 8-12 hours for top round roast.
| Result | Temperature | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Medium-Rare | 132 degrees F | 8-12 hours |
| Medium | 137 degrees F | 8-12 hours |
| Medium-Well | 142 degrees F | 8-12 hours |
How to Sous Vide Top Round Roast
Although sous vide may seem like a “fussy” cooking method, this process is incredibly simple and hands off!
You’ll start by seasoning the top round roast well with your favorite seasoning blend or salt and pepper. Get into all the nooks and crannies and every side!
After seasoning, add to a vacuum seal bag and seal or use another air removal method if you don’t have a vacuum sealer.
Once your roast is seasoned and sealed, add it to a water bath preheated with an immersion circulator to your desired temp from the chart above and cook for 8-12 hours.
This is a long cook – I recommend securing the roast with sous vide magnets to prevent floating and covering with a lid or plastic wrap or foil to prevent evaporation.
After cooking in the sous vide bath, remove the roast from the bath and the bag and pat completely dry with paper towels. Sear in a smoking hot cast iron skillet with ghee on all sides, and that’s it!
I slice this roast into 1/2 inch thick slices and serve with Creamy Horseradish Sauce, but it would be delicious with Chimichurri, too. Some Crispy Roasted Potatoes or Sous Vide Mashed Potatoes on the side and you’re all set for an incredible meal!
You caan also view this recipe as a step-by-step web story here.
Get the Recipe:
Sous Vide Top Round Roast (London Broil)
Ingredients
- 2-3 lb top round roast, also called London Broil
- favorite steak seasoning or salt and pepper
- 2 tbsp ghee
Instructions
- Preheat water bath using immersion circulator to 132 degrees F for a medium-rare roast. For other temperature options, see the chart above.
- Liberally season the roast with your favorite steak seasoning or kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
- Add the roast to a vacuum seal bag and seal or use another air removal method.
- Add to the preheated water bath and cook for 8-12 hours. I recommend securing with sous vide magnets to prevent the bag from floating and covering the container with a lid or plastic wrap or foil to prevent evaporation.
- Once done cooking in the sous vide bath, remove the bag from the bath and the roast from the bag. Pat the roast completely dry with paper towels or a clean dish towel.
- Preheat a cast iron skillet over high heat. Once smoking, add the ghee and sear the roast on all sides until well browned. Remove to a cutting board.
- Let rest for 5 minutes and slice into 1/2 inch thick slices. Serve with Creamy Horseradish Sauce.
Good basic recipe. I was afraid to cook just the time you recommend so I cooked 24 hours like many other websites recommend. I was wrong. It was a little dry. Next time I will stick to instructions!!
I made the recipe and loved it!!
I had a 3 pound London Broil Top Round and cooked it at 132 degrees for 12 hours and it came out perfect! Was medium rare and was sooo tender!! I used a Dijon sauce as the sauce but need to try the Horseradish sauce. I was concerned about the cooking time and temperature on such a big piece of meat, but it really was perfect! Thank you for the trusted guidance!!!
I’m so glad to hear this, Michael!!! These cook times can seem totally crazy, but they really do produce the most tender roasts! A Dijon sauce sounds delicious.