Roast Beef

Borrowed from Jon Borreson's Nosh Blog

..buy a much bigger piece of beef than you need. Bigger joints cook better, give you more juice for stock and allow you tasty sandwiches for days to come. And one last 'oh, by the way', cooking a good roast dinner is all about...timing.

Menu

# Roast top rump of beef,
# Roast potatoes,
# Yorkshire pudding,
# Roast parsnips,
# Baked carrots with butter and garlic,
# Minted peas,
# Red wine and onion gravy,
# Horseradish sauce.
# Apple cake with cream.
# Finca Flinchman, Malbec 2003.

Ingredients

# Beef: Big lump of top rump, mustard, black pepper, string.
# Potatoes: Potatoes, vegetable oil, salt.
# Yorkshire pudding: Flour, eggs, milk, baking powder, vegetable oil, salt.
# Parsnips: Parsnips, oil.
# Carrots: Carrots, butter, garlic.
# Peas: Peas, mint sauce.
# Gravy: Onions, olive oil, red wine, beef stock, some thickener, mustard, black pepper.
# Horseradish: Go and buy some in a jar, in Germany they have about 50 types.

Preparation

# Beef: I used to be a butcher so tying piece of top-rump into a shape for roasting is second nature and not something I am going to explain. It's something that is dead simple, but needs pictures to demonstrate. When the beef is rolled, smear with mustard and pepper and leave to get to room temperature (absolutely essential). When at room temperature, heat a frying pan to very hot and place the beef in. Sear for a little while, then turn, sear etc.... Make sure you get a nice browning all over. When the beef is seared, place into a hot over for about ten minutes, then turn the oven down to allow it to cook at a lower heat (the size of the joint dictates the length, I left mine in for about 1 1/2 hours). When it's cooked take it out of the oven and leave covered with foil for 15-20 minutes before carving. If you don't leave it for a few minutes, firstly you'll burn your hands and secondly it will be chewy.

# Potatoes: Cooking good roast potatoes is easy, but you need good potatoes. King Edwards or maris piper are best. I have German spuds and what variety they are I don't know. Here's my normal cooking method. Peel and chop into 1/2 (don't try to make them all the same size, the beauty is having some big, some small, all of different texture and succulence). Place in salty water. Boil for 5 mins and drain. Put the lid on the pan and give them a good shake. This breaks up the surface and allows them to crisp up more. Put in a tin, pour over some oil (you don't need too much) and place in the oven. Don't touch them for at least 1/2 an hour, then turn them and leave again. After about an hour drain off any excess oil and keep on cooking. Some recipes say roasties take 45 minutes, this is a lie and the poeple peddling this lie know it. Good roasties take over an hour and a half depending on the type of spuds. You can't really overcook them, so don't worry. Just don't play with them too much and they'll be fine.

# Yorkshire pudding: Put a big dollop of flour and a little baking powder in a jug (if you've got self raising flour, no baking powder is needed). Mix in a egg and stir to a paste. Stir in some milk and a pinch of salt, whisk to make a batter. Leave batter in fridge for 1 hour. When you come to cook them put some oil in your Yorkshire tin and place this in a good hot oven. Only when it's smokey hot should you pour in the batter, put back in the oven, close the door and leave. Do not open the door for at least 12 minutes. When they're done, they're brown and crispy on top.

# Parsnips: Peel, slice and cook with the potatoes, but don't put them in until the spuds have had at least 3/4 hour. They don't take as long.

# Carrots: This is an adaptation of how my friend Denise Maloney always cooked them. Peel, slice thinly, add a little butter and some freshly minced garlic. Wrap in foil and bake in the oven for 1/2 an hour.

# Peas: Stir in a bit of mint sauce when they're cooked.

# Gravy: Fry a very finely chopped onion in a little olive oil. When browned add a glass of red wine and reduce by about 1/2. Stir in a dollop of mustard and some black pepper. Add the juice from your beef and something to thicken and cook slowly for a while longer yet.

Jon.Borresen@gmail.com