Roast Beef, this dish has its roots as far back into history as it is possible for ‘cooking’ to go. Roasting meats in this country has a very long and proud tradition; hunting, and then spit roasting the catch over an open fire can even be seen recorded in many hundreds of years of different sources; in paintings, songs, poems, manuscripts, and descriptions of the great feasts and banquets, etc. This particular dish is the pinnacle of all that knowledge, skill and cultural history.
The sight of a beautifully browned joint of beef is not just a welcome sight, but a heavenly one. This traditional roast harks back to the 1900′s Sunday Roast Dinner, eaten after Church, (with even humbler origins dating back to the 1800′s industrial revolution). A thick slice of Roast Beef, served with Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, vegetables and proper gravy, is one of the most comforting meals that most British people can imagine, especially when it is cooked with the knowledge passed on from generation to generation. And many visitors to Britain encounter this dish for the first time in a Pub, particularly one with an excellent carvery section, and want to re-create it back at home. So this then is the classic, and best, Roast Beef Recipe ever …
Cooking Tips And Advice
The French may have poured scorn on Britain’s favourite meal in the past, (out of jealousy) but it takes a considerable amount of domestic cooking skill, flair and experience to have all the elements, with their separate cooking and preparation methods and timings, ready together to serve at their best, especially to a large gathering.
Always buy your beef from a good butcher and make sure it has plenty of fat and marbling. When buying beef, allow about 225g per person. Use a deep, heavy-duty roasting tin with side handles, which will hold the heat around the meat and is easy to put in and out of the oven, as well as carry and store.
Do most of the preparation the evening before. Peel and chop all the vegetables and store them in pans of water. One trick is to choose a vegetable that doesn’t take hours to cook, such as asparagus, mangetout or green beans. Chopping also speeds things up. If you cut broccoli florets into small pieces, they cook more quickly. Vegetables grown above the ground are more tender and take less time to cook. Cook them in boiling salted water. If you are serving root vegetables, or anything grown below the ground, you should always start them off in cold water, and bring them slowly up to the boil.
When roasted let the beef rest for half an hour to redistribute the juices and relax, letting it become succulent and tender before slicing and serving.
Related Recipes: You might also like to do a Roast Chicken or Slow Roast Pork, as well. Left-over food from the weekend roast has traditionally formed the basis of meals served on other days of the week. For example, the leftover beef might have been used as sandwich fillings, or used in the filling for a shepherd’s pie, and vegetables might form the basis for bubble and squeak and broths etc.
Roast Beef Recipe
Recipe Ingredients:
For the beef
- 2.5kg of rib eye beef, (on the bone) or Beef Sirloin
- 2 tbsp English mustard
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 tbsp of water
- 2 tbsp of Plain Flour
- 1/2 tsp celery salt
- 1/2 tsp of sea salt
- 1/2 tsp of ground black pepper
- 1 Large Red Onion (peeled and quartered)
- 1 Medium Carrot, (peeled and chopped into chunks)
- 2 Celery Sticks, (cut into chunks)
- A Few Sprigs Of Thyme
- A Few Rosemary Sprigs
- 2 Bay Leaves
For the Yorkshire pudding
- 250g plain flour
- 3 large fresh eggs
- 300ml of milk
- pinch of salt
- vegetable oil or beef dripping melted
For the roast potatoes
- 12 medium sized Maris Piper or King Edward potatoes
- 4 tbsp duck fat or lard
- 6 garlic cloves
- 6 sprigs of fresh thyme
- sea salt to season
For the gravy
- pan-roasting juices
- 1 tbsp flour
- 300ml of red wine
- 500ml Beef Stock
- salt and pepper to season
For the seasonal vegetables
- pick two or three seasonal vegetables to steam or cook to accompany
Recipe Method:
First: Make up the Yorkshire Pudding batter mix before hand, allowing to rest in the fridge for at least an hour, and up to 12 hours.
Tip: After the beef has been cooked (and is resting for 30 minutes) the Yorkshire puddings and roast potatoes can go in to the oven together, each taking around 30 minutes to cook – (and if you wish also put on some seasonal vegetables like peas and carrots to cook / boil / steam). You can even add roast parsnips to the potatoes, by cooking them exactly the same way as the roast potatoes.
For The Roast Beef
Preheat the oven to 230C / Gas 8. Allow the beef to reach room temperature if taken from the fridge. Trim any excess fat from the beef, leaving a thin, even layer on.
First rub the beef all over with the olive oil, then rub all over with the English mustard.
In a small bowl mix the plain flour with the celery salt, sea salt and black pepper. Coat the beef with the flour which will stick to the mustard if sprinkled over.
Into a heavy-based roasting tray, which has been lightly oiled, put the water, onion, carrot celery, bay and herbs. Drizzle over a little more oil and season with a little sea salt and pepper. Place the Beef on top of the vegetables, so it is off the bottom of the roasting tray.
Put the beef into the oven for 15 minutes then turn the oven temperature down to 190C / Gas 5.
Roasting times: Roast for half an hour per kilo for rare, adding another ten minutes per kilo for medium rare, add 20 minutes per kilo for medium, and add 30 minutes per kilo for well done.
When you have roasted the meat, and a skewer comes out hot, with clear juices, it can be removed from the oven to rest. Loosely cover with foil and rest the meat for a minimum of 30 minutes before carving, letting the juices that have bubbled up to the surface seep back into the meat. Also, as the meat relaxes, it becomes easier to carve.
For The Yorkshire Puddings
For the Yorkshire pudding batter, mix together the eggs and milk, then stirring constantly add the milk and the flour, until you have a runny batter that can coat the back of a spoon.
Leave this to rest, covered, in the refrigerator for at least an hour and up to 12 hours.
When the beef is almost finished, (or even now resting) prepare to cook the Yorkshire pudding mix which you made earlier. Place 1cm/½in of beef dripping in the bottom of each pudding mould, or if you are using a rectangular roasting tray, place 1cm/½in of beef dripping across the bottom. Heat the dripping in the oven (at 240C/460F/Gas8) for about ten minutes, until it is piping hot. It is essential it is very hot, so be careful with this part of the dish.
Remove the roasting tray from the oven, pour in the batter, and immediately return to the oven. Bake for 25 minutes, until golden brown and crispy, making sure not to open the oven door for the first 20 minutes.
For The Roast Potatoes
When the beef is almost finished cooking, prepare the potatoes (and parsnips if also doing roast parsnips) . Peel them and parboil them (7 or 8 minutes) until almost cooked but still firm. Drain and allow to dry. Shake them in the colander to break up the outsides and make fluffy.
Heat some duck fat or lard in a heavy roasting tray (or pan) over the hob or in the oven. When very hot toss in the potatoes and coat in the hot fat. Crush the garlic cloves with the heel of your hand and add to the try. Strip the leaves from the thyme and also add. Season with salt and pepper. When the potatoes have browned in the hot oil place the tray (or put them from the pan into an oven roasting tin) in the oven for 30 minutes, or until golden and crunchy.
For The Seasonal Vegetables
Choose any local, seasonal vegetables like boiled potatoes, swede, broccoli, asparagus, peas and carrots, and when the beef is cooking prepare them, chopping and cleaning them. (or do them the night before and store in pans of water ready). Place in a steamer or pan of salted water to boil etc and leave. When the beef is resting put on the vegetables to cook / steam / boil. Drain when cooked and serve.
You can even off-set the roast potatoes by offering boiled potatoes as well as a contrast – use the same type or if in season cook some small new potatoes in their skins.
For The Red Wine Gravy
While the potatoes and Yorkshire puddings are in the oven, make the gravy.
Discard the bay leaves and transfer the vegetables and herbs in the roasting tin to a saucepan. Pour off all put 2 tbsp of the oil/fat, (to dispose) leaving the roasting juices behind, and put the roasting tray over a medium heat on the cooker hob. Stir in the flour and cook, gently stirring and scraping the burnt on caramelised and roasted bits into the flour, and roasting juices.
Pour in the wine, bring to a simmer and continue to gently stir and scrape the bottom of the roasting tray. Now tip all of this into the saucepan with the vegetables, bring to a boil, mash down the vegetables and reduce the wine by half as it bubbles away. Pour in the beef stock, stir and reduce again by half until it is a light, gravy consistency. Season with salt and pepper, strain through a fine sieve, to remove all the lumps, into a jug or gravy boat. Press down on the vegetables to remove all the juice and gravy from them in the sieve.
To Serve Roast Beef With Red Wine Gravy
On warm plates serve the Yorkshire puddings and roast potatoes immediately with the thick slices of carved roast beef and seasonal vegetables. Pour over a generous amount of the red wine gravy.
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