Simple & Delicious Christmas Roast Beef Guide with ChefsTemp

Imagine this: the lights are twinkling, the table is set with your best china, and everyone is gathered around, hungry and excited for dinner. At the centre of this festive tableau stands an elegant roast beef Christmas dinner; turkey often steals the spotlight at holidays; however, those looking for rich flavours with an air of elegance usually opt for this dish as their centrepiece.

Let’s face it–roasting an expensive cut of meat can be intimidating. No one wants their Christmas Day meal to end in grey-tinged disappointment or raw, chewy residue. To create an unforgettable roast beef recipe with ChefsTemp’s precision, this guide helps craft an extraordinary Christmas roast beef recipe, ensuring it comes out perfect every time.

Part 1. Christmas Roast Beef Recipe

Preparing an exquisite Christmas roast beef doesn’t require culinary prowess – all it needs are high-quality ingredients and an approach that showcases its beauty. Our favourites are standing rib roast (prime rib), though for less indulgent celebrations, tenderloin is another elegant option for Christmas roasts. Tenderloin requires less butter when marinating, while still looking delicious on Christmas Day!

Ingredients

Gather these essentials for an elegant Christmas dinner featuring roast beef.

The base:

• 3carrots, roughly chopped;
• 2 large onions, thickly sliced.

The beef:

• A 4-6 lb Standing Rib Roast (Bone-in) or Beef Tenderloin.

The rub:

• 4 tablespoons unsalted, softened butter;
• 3minced garlic cloves;
• 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped;
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped;
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt;
• 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper.

Prep Method

• Bring to Room Temperature: The beef must be brought to room temperature at least 2 hours before cooking to achieve even cooking from edge to centre.
• Preheat: To sear it evenly, set your oven to 450°F (230 °C) and gradually lower the heat until done.
• Make Herb Butter: Combine softened butter with minced garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper until a paste forms.
• Rub Down Your Roast: Using paper towels, pat the meat dry, then liberally massage an herb butter all over its surface.
• Roast: Add onions and carrots to the roasting pan as a rack (and a flavour enhancer for the gravy later), then place the beef on top, bone side down.

For optimal results, bake at 450°F for 20 minutes to brown the crust. In contrast, to ensure optimal slow-cooking results, reduce the oven temperature to 325°F (165 °C) and continue cooking until your internal thermometer indicates it’s time to pull your pie from the oven (see the temperature guide below!).

Part 2. Ideal Temperatures for Christmas Roast Beef

One of the most stressful aspects of making a roast beef Christmas dinner menu is knowing when it is done. Simply relying on cooking times alone will leave you guessing; each oven varies, as do each roast’s shape and thickness – only the internal temperature can provide a definitive measurement.

Remind yourself that the internal temperature will rise 5-10 degrees while resting (carryover cooking), so pull the meat from the oven before it reaches your target temp.

Here is your guide for making a perfect beef roast for Christmas:

Rare (Cool Red Centre):

• Pull at 115°F-120°F;
• Final Temperature125°F;
• Texture: Soft, succulent, and intensely red in colour.

Medium-Rare (Warm red Centre) – Highly Recommended:

• Pull at 125°F-130°F;
• Final Temperature should reach 135°F.
• Texture: Firm but yielding, juicy, and bright pink/red. This is the sweet spot for most beef lovers.

Medium (Warm pink Centre):

• Pull between 135°F – 140°F;
• Final Temp 160°F+;
• Texture: Firmer with a solid band of pink in the centre.

Well-Done (Little to no Pink):

• Pull at 150°F+;
• Final Temp: 160°F+;
• Texture: Substantial, drier, and brown throughout (Proceed with caution for expensive cuts!).

Tip: click here to learn more about Tenderloin beef steak if interested.

Part 3. Christmas Day Roast Beef with ChefsTemp

Step 1 – Season and Dry the Roast

Large roasts require time for salting to penetrate. Salting beef a day ahead can help the seasoning move toward its centre and boost moisture retention, while leaving it uncovered in the refrigerator helps dry its surface for superior browning.

Set your roast on a rack over a rimmed tray, patting it dry, and season liberally with kosher salt, black pepper, and your preferred herbs (Rosemary or Thyme are popular choices). Refrigerate for 12-24 hours, turning once or twice. This “dry brining” step works similarly to turkey: its surface browns more quickly at high heat, so a crust forms before the centre overcooks.

Step 2 – Why Time Alone Is Insufficient

Time-per-pound charts should only serve as a general guideline; oven temperatures vary, and starting temperature, marbling, and roast shape all influence how quickly the centre heats. Cutting into your roast to check on its progress would waste precious juices; simply looking at its colour alone cannot give an accurate representation.

Accurate thermometers are essential for understanding what’s happening inside an expensive Christmas roast, which is why professional kitchens rely on instant-read thermometers such as ChefsTemp Finaltouch X10 for quick spot checks, as well as continuous monitoring systems such as ProTemp 2 Plus or S1 for real-time tracking of their operations.

Step 3 – ProTemp 2 Plus Probe Placement

For the ProTemp 2 Plus to work effectively, the wireless probe must be placed at the thermal centre of your roast — where it heats most gradually. For cylindrical roasts, this typically means roughly the middle of the thickest section, without bones, and not touching any pan surface.

Hold the probe along the outside of a roast to estimate its depth, then insert from either end into its centre until its tip sits near that midpoint. Thanks to ProTemp 2 Plus’s 4.55 mm needle and multiple-sensor design, it allows simultaneous tracking of internal meat temperature and oven ambient temperatures around your roast, for a much clearer picture than with traditional dial gauges, timer gauges, or timers.

Use ChefsTemp to set an alarm for the pull temperature you desire – say, 130°F (54 °C) for medium rare after resting. Once set, step away from your oven while still getting instantaneous alerts on your phone or watch.

Step 4 – Two-Stage Oven Strategy or Smart Grill with S1

A Christmas roast should be both beautiful and delectable! A two-step cooking strategy ensures a deep, flavorful crust with a perfectly cooked interior texture, whether using an oven or a grill.

Unfortunately for them, though, life does sometimes get in the way. With that being said, here is some great content from my collection to get you through your day in style!

• Oven Directions:

Preheat to 450°F (232°F), then roast the beef for 20-30 minutes until its outside browns. Reduce the temperature to 300-325°F (149-163 °C). Briefly open the door to vent heat before closing again as necessary until your ProTemp 2 Plus alarm rings with its target pull point temperature alarms – but avoid frequent door-opening, which could increase cooking times further!

• Use S1 on any grill or smoker:

If you’re roasting or reverse searing on a charcoal grill, mount the ProTemp S1 instead of its original dome gauge (or on an appropriate port), pair it with a Breezo fan, and set your target pit temperature in the ChefsTemp app. Its platinum sensor S1 reads up to 1000°F, while the Breezo fan adjusts airflow to maintain an ideal cooking temp; the ProTemp 2 Plus probe tracks the roast itself.

Once your ProTemp 2 Plus alarm sounds, it’s time for verification. Enter Finaltouch X10: its 1-second, ±0.5 °F readings let you check multiple points near the centre before slowly pulling the probe tip through your roast until it reaches the lowest number – your accurate doneness indicator!

Part 4. Why ChefsTemp is an Ideal Christmas Upgrade

Christmas can be stressful enough; guests arriving, side dishes competing for oven space, and tight schedules all add up to anxiety-inducing concerns about whether everything has been finished yet. One surefire way to alleviate those tensions and enjoy your party more fully is to eliminate that question from your list of worries!

• Finaltouch X10 provides ultrafast one-second checkpoints on every dish, ranging from roast beef and turkey, ham and desserts, so that there’s never any guessing at doneness again!
• ProTemp 2 Plus makes internal temperature and ambient monitoring easy with its fully wireless app-connected experience, featuring unlimited-range Wi-Fi connectivity and Bluetooth alerts so that you can socialise with guests rather than camp out by the oven.
• ProTemp S1 plus Breezo fan upgrades your charcoal grill or smoker into an intelligent, semi-automatic cooker that delivers rock-steady pit temperatures and supports up to 4 wireless probes, perfect for Christmas roasts, prime rib, and low-and-slow holiday brisket.

Part 5. FAQ of Christmas Dinner with Roast Beef

​What cut of beef would make the ideal Christmas Dinner meal?
Without question, the “King of Roasts” would have to be Standing Rib Roast (Prime Rib), featuring outstanding marbling and flavour. For some easier, tenderer cuts with excellent marbling, Beef Tenderloin (Chateaubriand) makes a fantastic Christmas roast choice if lean meat is desired.

How can I keep roast beef juicy?

Follow two guidelines to achieve optimal results: Don’t overdo it, and allow it to rest. Use a thermometer to prevent overcooking; once out of the oven, tent the beef loosely with foil to allow its juices to redistribute within the muscle fibres rather than spilling onto your cutting board.

What are the ideal sides for roast beef at Christmas dinner?
Traditional pairings include Yorkshire puddings (great for sopping up gravy!), roasted potatoes with rosemary, honey-glazed carrots, and creamed spinach as accompaniments – plus horseradish sauce as an essential finishing touch!

Conclusion

Holiday hosting should be about joy, connection, and delicious food – not stress or burnt offerings. By selecting high-quality cuts of roast beef to season properly and trusting ChefsTemp’s precision to serve as the centrepiece for your Christmas roast beef guide success story, your holiday celebration can go off smoothly and worry-free.