Think of a roast dinner and chances are your mind will picture a heavenly piece of roast beef, served with Yorkshire puddings and all the trimmings. A centrepiece of roast beef is truly hard to beat and works for nearly all occasions, whether you're trying to impress or just wanting some delicious comfort food.
This is the third edition of our Roast Club blog series, this time focussing on roast beef. We talk you through the different beef roasting joints, cooked exactly to your liking, and some delicious ways to use up leftovers (if you have any!).
As usual, we recommend you buy the best quality grass fed, high welfare beef you can afford. Even more so than other roasting meats, you'll be rewarded with a huge difference in flavour and texture.
Our grass fed beef comes from just down the road in Guildford - you can't get more local than that - and adheres to the highest animal welfare standards. All our beef is matured for a minimum of 28 days to ensure you have a great eating experience.
The different beef roasting joints
Beef Brisket - This is a the classic "pot roast" joint. It's best suited for low and slow cooking until it falls apart and melts in your mouth.
Topside of Beef - This is lean and flavoursome cut of meat, more tender than the alternative Silverside. It's also a bit kinder to the wallet than some other cuts of beef such as sirloin or fillet.
Sirloin of Beef - A classic cut of beef. Lightly marbled and deliciously tender. You'll find this cut a dream to carve and full of flavour. Perfect for a special celebration meal.
Fore Rib on the Bone - A showstopper of a roasting joint. The bone in allows to joint to "stand" when carving, which looks very impressive. This cut has a lot of marbled fat which keeps the meat moist as it cooks. The bone in adds extra flavour too.
As beef is more pricey than other roasting joints, we don't recommend going XL to purposely accommodate leftovers. Unless you really have a craving for a roast beef sandwich!
Top tips for cooking beef
- Let the beef come to room temperature before you cook it.
- Don't be tempted to trim the fat - it's what gives the flavour and will baste your meat whilst it cooks.
- For real flavour, we advise to go for a roasting joint with the bone in as the bone conducts heat and adds flavour. However it can make it tricky to carve, so just go with whatever suits you best.
- Season the roasting joint generously just before you put it into the hot oven.
- A blast of hot heat at the start of cooking will help to caramelise the outside of your beef. But you can also achieve this with a blast of heat at the end of cooking too.
- Beef can be cooked to different levels, depending on your preference. You can use the colour of the juices to gauge this. The juices should run red for rare, pink for medium and clear for well-done.
- Always leave the meat to rest before carving - anything from 30 minutes up to an hour is fine.
It's hard to give some hard, fast rules for cooking time when it comes to roast beef because a lot of it will come down to whether you have bone in or boneless joint, the type of joint you have and what end result you're going for.
However our go-to guy, Jamie Oliver, has a brilliant recipe for roast beef which will work for Topside or Rib of beef:
This is a solid recipe for Sirloin of Beef and includes a great method for gravy too:
BBC Good Food - Roast sirloin of Beef
And finally, River Cottage provides a fantastic recipe for a slowcooked Brisket roast:
River Cottage Slow cooked beef brisket
Ideas for leftover roast beef
A leftover roast beef sandwich is a fine thing and I will rarely miss the opportunity. I like mine in a baguette or ciabatta with hot horseradish and rocket for extra peppery flavour.
Leftover roast beef is also a great shortcut for all sorts of everyday dishes and it stands up really well to punchy flavours and spice.
Leftover cooked beef will last in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 days.
Photo credit: realfood.tesco.com
Not a fan of spice? Give these classics a go instead...
Leftover Roast Beef Hash PieHow to freeze leftover roast beef:
Slice it up or shred it with two forks, depending on your preference. Wrap it in freezer paper or a good quality freezer bag and don’t forget to label it!
You can leave it frozen for three to six months. When you want to use it, defrost the beef in the fridge for 24 hours. And once defrosted, don't refreeze it.