Roast Beef:
Ingredients:
2-3kg piece of beef for roasting – aitch bone, sirloin, corner cut topside,
Ask butcher to leave some fat on top,
Salt and pepper
Method:
Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Place in a baking dish, with a little bit of water on the bottom.
Roast in a moderate oven until done to taste.
Baste the joint every 30 minutes and add extra water if baking dish is going dry.
Scrape all the bits off the side of the dish and mix with the rest of the pan juices.
Allow 10 minutes per 500g for rare meat, 20 minutes per 500g for medium; allow a little longer for well done.
Remove cooked meat to carving dish, keep warm.
To make the gravy:
Spoon out most of the fat from the pan; you will need some of this fat for the Yorkshire puddings.
Place pan over moderately hot heat on top of the stove.
Leave about 1 tablespoon of fat, add 2 tablespoons of flour and cook until light brown.
Add 1 ½ cups water and stir with a whisk to make sure it does not go lumpy.
You could substitute 1 cup of water for 1 cup of red wine.
You might want to add 1 beef stock cube for extra flavour.
Alternatively, you can make up the gravy with pan juices, gravox and corn flour.
To 1 cup of water add two teaspoons of gravox and one teaspoon of cornflour.
Blend and add to the meat juices, together with any other that may have run from the joint while resting. Stir constantly over a low heat until it thickens.
To serve:
Slice the beef, thick or thin, depending on personal preference.
Serve with roast potatoes, gravy, Yorkshire puddings and a choice of vegetables.
