M: doing top round london broil with this method - do i need to make any major adjustments?
Bottom Round Roast Beef with Zip-Style Sauce from America's Test Kitchen
SERVINGS: Serves 8
INGREDIENTS • 1 (4-pound) boneless beef bottom round roast, trimmed • Kosher salt and pepper • 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary • 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter • 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce • 2 cloves garlic, minced • 2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary • 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
PREPARATION STEPS
Pat roast dry with paper towels and sprinkle with 2 teaspoons salt. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 250 degrees. Set wire rack in rimmed baking sheet. Combine rosemary, thyme, 2 teaspoons pepper, and 1 teaspoon salt in bowl.
Pat roast dry with paper towels. Brush roast all over with oil and sprinkle with herb mixture; place fat side up on prepared wire rack. Transfer to oven and cook until meat registers 120 degrees, 1 3/4 hours to 2 1/4 hours. Turn off oven and leave roast in oven, without opening door, until meat registers 135 degrees (for medium), 20 to 30 minutes longer. Transfer roast to carving board, tent with aluminum foil, and let rest for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring butter, Worcestershire, garlic, rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper to bare simmer in small saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly. Remove from heat, cover, and keep warm.
Slice roast thin against grain and serve with sauce.
NOTE This economical cut of roast beef had a bad reputation in the test kitchen. We wanted to give it another chance.
NUTRITION Calories: 4724 calories
SOURCE URL https://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/8764-bottom-round-roast-beef-with-zip-style-sauce
G: TL;DR:
Top round ≈ bottom round in lean-ness and toughness, so you
don’t need major changes.
Just pull it earlier, check
shape/thickness, and watch dryness. Everything
else stays the same.
Top round is:
These differences only affect timing and dryness, not the fundamental method.
Nothing huge, just these three:
The recipe says 1¾–2¼ hours to reach 120°F.
Top round will hit 120°F 10–20 minutes faster,
especially if thinner.
→ Start checking internal temp at 1 hr 20 min.
Don’t rely on the original window.
When you turn the oven off and let it coast to 135°F:
→ Expect 15–25 min rather than 20–30.
Still don’t open the oven.
Because top round has almost no fat cap:
Then it cooks more like a thick steak than a roast.
If your piece is under ~2.5 inches thick, apply this tweak:
This prevents the outer layer from overcooking before the center rises.
With these tweaks, top round performs beautifully with this exact
technique.
The biggest failure mode is simply overshooting 120°F
or 135°F—everything else is safe.
If you want, I can give you timing cues based on the exact weight and thickness of your specific piece.
M: I'm not at my place. The only thing I've got is one of those pans with a set of slots in it that fits over a normal pan. Is that better than just sticking it straight on a pan? And if not, what other options do I have if I don't have access to all of my usual equipment?
G: Here’s the clean, practical version so you can execute with whatever you have on hand:
Yes — the slotted pan that sits over another pan is better
than putting the roast directly on a solid pan.
It behaves close enough to a wire rack for this method.
If that isn’t workable, you’ve got several improvisation options.
The goal of the wire rack is:
A slotted pan over another pan gives you:
It’s basically a poor man’s broiler pan — which is exactly what this roast method wants.
→ Use it. It is absolutely the better choice.
Here are your other functional substitutes, ranked:
Lay down:
Then set the roast on top.
This lifts the meat and keeps airflow, and it adds flavor (bonus).
Make 3–4 thick coils or snakes out of aluminum foil, place them on the sheet pan, and set the roast on top.
If you can’t make coils, make long tight foil logs and criss-cross
them.
It still elevates the roast enough to prevent steaming.
Only if:
Avoid coated or flimsy racks.
This is the least ideal because:
If forced, then:
But try to avoid this option.
Use the slotted top-pan over a regular pan.
It’s the closest substitute for a wire rack and was basically invented
for situations like this.
You don’t need anything else.
If you want, tell me how thick your top round is and I’ll give you a dialed-in timing estimate so you don’t overshoot the temperature.
M: I'm making this but don't have cayenne pepper. I've got paprika. No, not exactly expecting it to taste the same, but will it damage things? And if so, what else might I have that could be substituted? I didn't get the cayenne because we're at Thanksgiving, and generally anything we get here that isn't used gets brought back, especially the spices, and we got enough cayenne at home.
The Toxic Avenger from YudasGoat & ChatGPT
INGREDIENTS • 1 oz Southern Comfort • 0.5 oz blue curaçao • 0.5 oz Midori , or green apple schnapps if no Midori • 0.75 oz lemon juice , or sour mix if real juice unavailable • Top with ginger ale, or lemon-lime soda (Sprite, 7UP, etc.)
• Cherry, on a sword = cartoon violence • Orange, slice burned slightly on edge = industrial fallout • Slim Jim, beef stick stirrer = grotesque weapon • cucumber skin, or Crushed mint, muddled then strained = swamp funk
• Grenadine • Bitters
PREPARATION STEPS
Shake SoCo, curaçao, Midori, and lemon with ice.
Strain into a highball glass over fresh ice. Top with soda.
Add Optional grenadine sink (bottom layer), or bitters float (top grime).
NOTE Lurid, punchy, and a little wrong—just like Toxie
G: Short
answer:
Paprika won’t hurt anything. It just won’t do anything.
If you want the function of cayenne (heat + brightness),
several common substitutes will work better.
Below are your practical options in descending order of quality for a mixed drink.
No.
But:
So it won’t ruin it, but it also won’t help it.
Cayenne provides:
Just a pinch changes the way the lemon and melon flavors pop.
Given this is Thanksgiving and you don’t want to bring more spices home, here are the most common equivalents that actually work in a drink:
Gives heat without mud.
Different flavor but provides bite and keeps the
drink bright.
Use just one small twist, then shake.
Only if you’ve got a clean vinegar-forward one (Tabasco, Crystal) and use:
→ 1–2 drops, max
Adds heat + acidity in a way that actually complements citrus cocktails.
Avoid thick or garlic-heavy sauces.
If you have chili powder, it will add warmth but risks earthy/muddy
flavors (cumin, oregano, etc.).
Use a dusting only.
Because your drink already includes ginger ale, adding a tiny bit of fresh minced ginger (then straining) gives “heat” without chili.
Since you’re at Thanksgiving and only need a mild heat accent:
Use red pepper flakes if available.
If not: one tiny crack of black pepper.
Either one preserves the vibe of cayenne without introducing bad flavors or gritty textures.
If you want, I can tell you the exact micro-doses so you don’t accidentally turn a bright green drink into a pepper soup.
M: I haven't got any shot glasses, but I have a measuring cup and spoons. How many of something I can reference, or how much of something I can reference with what I've got is one shot? Once I've calibrated, I can eyeball it, but I always have to recalibrate.
G: Here’s the cleanest
calibration using ONLY a measuring cup + measuring
spoons.
Once you do this once, you’ll be able to eyeball everything all
night.
This is the professional bar standard.
So:
Most cocktail recipes assume 1.5 oz unless otherwise stated.
So:
If you ever forget, that’s the most reliable mental bookmark.
Use this to mix your drink exactly:
Everything else is topped with soda so eyeball to taste.
If you want, I can also convert the whole Toxic Avenger recipe into a single “one spoon per line” version so you can mix by rhythm instead of math.
M: Two possibilities that have fallen in my lap. One of them is Kinder's All-Purpose Meat and Veggie Rub. The other is Blue Dragon Thai Mango Sweet Chili Sauce. Do either of those sound appropriate? In context.
G: Short
answer:
Kinder’s rub = NO (wrong flavor profile).
Blue Dragon Thai Mango Sweet Chili = YES, if used
microscopically.
Here’s why, and how to use each safely:
Not appropriate for this drink.
It usually contains:
That entire profile is barbecue/roast-friendly but
cocktail-hostile.
Even a pinch will make the drink muddy, savory, and weird.
Toxie might approve, but your guests won’t.
→ Verdict: Do not use.
You can use this — but only as a heat accent, not for flavor.
Sweet chili sauce has:
Adding even a quarter teaspoon will turn the drink into neon fruit syrup.
But if what you need is:
“A substitute for cayenne to give a hint of heat in a green neon
cocktail,”
then yes — this works only if used as a
micro-ingredient.
Option A — The easiest and safest
Option B — Actual measurement
Do NOT:
→ Verdict: Acceptable as a heat accent, if used with extreme restraint.
Use the Thai sweet chili sauce in micro-dose form if you need a cayenne substitute.
Kinder’s rub is a firm no.
If you want, I can give you exact drop-counts based on how thick the bottle’s opening is.