Planning Your Roast Dinner - Foolproof Beef by Claudine Boulstridge

Roast Rib of Beef with Gravy and Creamed Horseradish Sauce Roast Potatoes, Yorkshire Puddings and Broccoli

The secret of a good roast is planning, preparing in advance and timing. You can prepare your gravy, horseradish, vegetables, Yorkshire puddings and potatoes all in advance (even the day before).

Recipe Serves 8

The Plan:

10.30 Roast bones in the oven for stock

11.00 Put bones in water and simmer for 2 hours

11.30 Season and brown beef, then place in oven (3.5-4kg piece of beef which needs 2 hours)

11.40 Make Yorkshire pudding batter and leave to rest

12.00 Peel, boil and drain potatoes, leave to cool

12.30 Blanch and refresh broccoli

12.45 Make horseradish sauce

13.00 Strain stock, add wine and reduce till thick. Thicken with flour if necessary.

13.30 Remove meat from oven and leave to rest for ½ hour

13.30 Place potato tray in the oven to heat

13.35 Place potatoes in oven in hot fat and cook for 30 minutes

13.45 Place Yorkshire pudding tray in oven

13.50 Place batter in tray and place in oven and cook for 10-15 minutes

13.55 Re-boil broccoli for 30 sec - 1 minute

14.00 Carve meat and serve with the reduced stock plus juices from the meat, Yorkshires, potatoes, broccoli and horseradish sauce

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Roast Rib of Beef:

Beef is easy as long as you have three elements spot on: the choice of joint, cooking temperature and timing.

There are a number of different beef roasting joints and it can be difficult to choose which one is best. The classic roasting joint is a forerib or wing end of the sirloin, otherwise known as rib of beef. Try to buy beef that has been matured for a minimum of 21 days. If you want to serve 8 people, you'll need a piece weighing approximately 3-4 kg.

The larger the joint, the better it is for roasting. Leaving in the bone adds flavour, and bone is a good conductor of heat so the meat cooks evenly, and shouldn’t be hard to carve if your butcher prepares it properly (chined).

While the meat rests you can finish off or cook vegetables and potatoes, bake Yorkshire puddings and make the gravy so don’t worry if you only have one small oven!

Serves 8-10

4kg rib of beef
2 tbsp goose fat (or a dash of sunflower oil)
4 tbsp mustard powder
3 tbsp Maldon sea salt

Mix the mustard with a dash of water and rub the mixture all over the beef. For an extra flavoursome roast, sear the beef in a hot pan with the goose fat before roasting (if you don't sear it first then add an extra 10 minutes to the following cooking times).

Sprinkle the beef with the salt and place on a wire rack above a baking tray (that is lined with foil). It will have plenty of fat so don't add any extra.

Cook for 20 minutes at 220ºC to get some colour; after that turn the heat down to 170°C and cook it for 15 minutes per 450 g (1 lb) – this will give you medium rare beef. Add 15-30 minutes extra for well done beef (or see table below for calculations) So for our 4kg piece of beef we will cook it for 2 hours.

To see if the beef is cooked to your liking insert a thin skewer into the thickest part of the joint and press out some juices: red, pink or clear juices will indicate how much the beef has cooked. Also if the skewer comes out cold it will indicate raw meat, warm and the meat will be medium and if the skewer is hot your meat will be well done.

To be sure your meat is cooked you can also use a meat thermometer. Recommended temperatures for beef are: Rare 60ºC ; medium 70ºC ; well done 80ºC .

When it is cooked to your liking, remove it from the oven, transfer it to a board over a large roasting tray (to catch the juices) and allow it to stand in a warm place for half an hour (and up to an hour) loosely covered with foil. All the juices should seep back into the flesh to make it tender, tasty and also, as the meat relaxes it will be easier to carve. Some of the juices will escape during this resting time and these can be poured into the gravy.

To carve, remove the string and bones. Turn over and rest the meat on the only bones you can’t remove. Imagine it is a loaf of bread and cut thin slices, balancing it with a fork, especially when the piece of beef is starting to get thin.

Serve 1-2 slices per person along with Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, gravy, seasonal vegetables and creamed horseradish.

TIPS:

• Have your vegetables partly cooked (blanched and refreshed) and ready to plunge back in boiling water before serving while the beef is resting.
• If serving Yorkshire puddings, make the batter ahead of time and cook the puddings while the beef is resting.
• Boil potatoes (up to a day in advance) and leave to cool and drain in the colander. Add them to hot fat and cook while the meat is resting.
• If you want to cook a boneless joint ask for some bones and roast the beef on top of the bones.
• Make a mini-baking tray from foil, just bigger than the joint, and place in a roasting tray. It helps keep the juices from drying out.
• The important number to remember when roasting is: 20 minutes at a 220ºC, plus 15 minutes per 450g (1 lb) at 170ºC.
• If you have a large piece of meat ask your butcher for the weight as your scales might not register such a large weight.

Beef Joint Cooking Times:

	Minutes / Pounds Minutes / Kilos	Gas Mark °C °F
Rare	10/lb + 20 mins 25/kg + 20 mins	Gas 6 200°C 400°F	Rest for up to 30 minutes after cooking
Medium	15/lb + 20 mins 35/kg + 20 mins	Gas 6 200°C 400°F	Rest for up to 30 minutes after cooking
Well Done	20/lb + 20 mins 45/kg + 20 mins	Gas 6 200°C 400°F	Rest for up to 30 minutes after cooking

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Beef Gravy:

A layer of fat on the beef keeps the joint moist and succulent. However this means it is hard to make gravy from the juices at the end of the cooking time as there is so much fat that has melted into the pan. Although most recipes will tell you to add flour and wine to the roasting tin and scrape, this method will produce a very fatty and greasy gravy. (If you have time, you could place the juices in the freezer and the fat will come to the surface and can be scraped off. However you don’t end up with much liquid left once the fat has been removed and this process is a bit long to do while the meat is resting)

So for a delicious beef flavoured gravy and no last minute panic, make a beef stock. When you buy your meat ask your butcher for some extra bones, or buy ready made stock, and reduce until concentrated.

Beef bones (about 3 lb) about 1.5 kg
2 onions, skin on and quartered
2 carrots, chopped into 4 pieces
10 whole peppercorns
2 bay leaves
Water, to cover
350ml red wine
½ tsp salt
2 tbsp flour

Roast the bones in a hot oven with the onions for 30 minutes (this is not essential if you are short on time but will give more flavour) Transfer the bones to the largest cooking pot you have, cover the meat with water (probably around about 4-5 pints /2.25-2.8 litres) and add the carrots, peppercorns and bay leaves.

Now simmer very gently for about 2 -3 hours. Skim off any scum on the surface, pass through a sieve and discard all the solids. Place the liquid back in the pot, add the red wine and salt and reduce until thick, syrupy and concentrated, about ½ an hour.

Taste and season to your liking with salt and pepper, and thicken it with the flour if it’s a little thin. To thicken, place the flour in a bowl and slowly add a tiny bit of the stock. Mix well till you have a thick paste then add a little more stock. Keep stirring until all the liquid has all been poured in. This way you should get no lumps!.

If you want to sweeten the mixture add a little redcurrant jelly and let it melt into the gravy. Leave the stock in the pan by your stove and reheat just before serving.

TIP:

• If you are not using the reduced stock/gravy in the next few days place in a tupperware container or tin foil and freeze until needed.

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Yorkshire Puddings:

It is often claimed that the purpose of Yorkshire puddings was to provide a cheap way to fill the diners - the Yorkshire pudding being much cheaper than the other constituents of the meal - thus stretching a lesser amount of the more expensive ingredients further. Therefore Yorkshire pudding was traditionally served first. These days it is served with the meat, with the gravy poured inside them……

They are not hard to make as long as your fat is smoking hot, you don’t fill the tin with too much batter and you serve them immediately.

Serves 8

220g plain flour
Salt and pepper
4 eggs
600 ml milk
4 tbsp goose fat, vegetable oil or dripping

Sift the flour, salt and pepper into a bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the eggs and beat, gradually working in the flour. Slowly add the milk, beating all the time until a thick paste without lumps has formed. Then add the rest of the milk, whisking. Leave to stand for 1-2 hours (or overnight).

Once your meat has come out of the oven place a 12 hole muffin tin, greased with the oil, on the top shelf of the oven (the oven should be at 220ºC and contain your potatoes too at this point).Heat the tin until the oil is smoking. Put the batter in a jug and pour it in the hot tin (half way up the tin) and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until golden and risen. Serve immediately.

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Fresh Creamed Horseradish Sauce:

Be warned – you will cry while preparing this sauce! Apparently it is a good cure for colds!

Serves 8

½ a horseradish root
130ml double cream (you can use Greek yoghurt or crème fraiche but traditionally cream is used)
A large pinch Maldon sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tsps white wine vinegar

Peel the horseradish root and then grate it finely on a Microplane until you have about 8 tablespoons (don’t lean over as you do it or your nose will start running!) Place in a bowl and add the cream, salt, pepper and white wine vinegar. Mix well, taste and adjust the seasoning – it may need more vinegar or salt. Serve with the beef, or store, until needed, in a jar in the fridge.

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Fluffy & Crunchy Roast Potatoes:

The best potato for roast potatoes is a floury one such as King Edward, Desirée, Romano or Rooster. The most important thing is for them to be well drained and no longer be steaming when they are placed in the very hot fat. For this reason it is good to prepare them well in advance!

Serves 8

12 medium potatoes (1.4 kg)
7 tbsp Goose fat
Maldon sea salt

Thinly peel the potatoes, then cut them in half (or into 3 if they are large, or left whole if they are small). Place them in a saucepan, cover them in boiling water from a kettle, and simmer for about 8-10 minutes. Check the edges are starting to get fluffy before draining them in a large colander. Shake them about in the colander - what you are trying to achieve here is to roughen up the cooked edges of the potatoes and to make them floury and fluffy – this is the secret of the crunchy edges. (if your colander is not big enough place them back in the pan and with a lid on shake well)

As soon as your meat is out of the oven turn up the heat to 220ºC and place a large roasting tin (large enough to fit all the potatoes without them being on top of each other) with the goose fat on the highest shelf of the oven. As soon as the fat is smoking (about 5-10 minutes) use tongs to quickly lower the potatoes into the hot fat. When they are all in, tilt the tray and baste each one so it's completely coated with fat. Now place them on the highest shelf of the oven and cook for 25-30 minutes, or until they are golden brown. (When you add the Yorkshire puddings -after about 15 minutes- turn them over and place them on middle shelf – this is only so that you have room for the Yorkshire puddings, if you are not cooking Yorkshires then they can stay on the top shelf). Sprinkle well with sea salt before serving.

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Broccoli:

Serves 8

3-4 heads of broccoli (about 300g each)

Cut off the hard long stalk and break the broccoli into small florets. Place in boiling water and cook for 1-2 minutes. Drain in a colander and rinse well in cold water. This is to stop the cooking and keep the broccoli green.
When ready to serve place back in boiling water for 30 seconds, drain and serve immediately.

by Claudine Boulstridge