Roast - when You Want It Extra Special

I promise, within 15 minutes of putting this into oven, everyone in your house (and possibly the neighbors), will be salivating, and wanting to know how long til dinner. You can use this exact recipe for Prime Rib, I do it every Christmas, howver I've given directions for a rump roast, as this recipe is a great way to take a cheaper cut of meat, and make it into something special. It was my son's most requested meal for special occassions, and frankly, he'd rather have the rump, than a prime rib. Hope you try it, and that your family loves it as much as mine!

• Ready In: 2 hrs 15 mins
• Serves: 6-7
• Yields: 1 rump roast

Ingredients

• 3 -5  lbs rump roast
• 2 -4  garlic cloves (peeled)
•  pepper
•  salt
•  granulated garlic
• 1  onion
• 1  celery rib

Directions

1. Let meat stand at room temp for about an hour (if possible).
2. From the fat side of the roast (rump’s usually have a layer of fat on one side - also known as the top side), cut a slit about halfway through the meat, and insert one clove garlic. Repeat for remaining cloves, spreading out over the roast. For a 2-3 pound roast use 2 cloves garlic, for 3-4 pounds use 3 cloves, etc.
3. Generously cover all sides of the roast with pepper, salt, and granulated garlic. By the way, when I say generous, I mean really really cover it, almost l like a crust of spice. Hint: fresh ground cracked pepper is best, but any black pepper will work. Peel onion and cut in half. Place onion and celery in bottom of a roasting pan (DO NOT add any liquid - pan and veggies should be dry). Cover with rack.
4. Place roast on rack, fat side up. Bake at 325 degrees for a half hour per pound. This will bring the meat to medium-rare to medium. If you want it more done, just 5 minutes per pound.
5. Move meat to a platter and let stand for at least 5 minutes before carving. You can cover it with foil to keep it warm, but that can result in the meat continuing to “cook” a bit, making it a tad more done. It’s important to let it stand, as this helps the juices redistribute.
6. Gravy.
7. Place roasting pan on top of stove and add about 2 cups water. Leave the onions and celery in while it heats. Stir a bit, the bits on the bottom of the pan will start to loosen up (this is called deglazing). You can add more water if you need more gravy, just do it a bit at a time, then taste after each addition, making sure it still has a good flavor. Also you’ll probably need to salt it a bit.
8. If you want thickened gravy, put one tablespoon cornstarch in a small glass and add about ¼ cup water and stir till mixed, then add to the roasting pan. Stir continuously until thickened over medium heat. You’ll notice after first adding cornstarch that the color will lighten - just stir, and continue heating, the gravy will return to a dark color once the cornstarch is fully heated. It takes about five minutes to thicken - most cooks say that any thickening agent (flour, corn starch etc) has not fully thickened until it reaches boiling. I don’t know that I always bring this to a boil, but probably close.