Tips for roast beef?

Scam

Scam

Scam

Soldato
Joined
20 Oct 2002
Posts
19,035
Location
London
So i've been out and bought everything i need to do a nice beef roast for tomorrow. Although i'm quite a competent cook i've never done any roasts before, so i'm after any hints or tips!

I've got a nice 1.1kg Aberdeen Angus Topside joint. First question; like steak (which i'm quite good at cooking), i guess i need to make sure this is at room temperature before i cook it? So it'll need to be out for a couple of hours at least before i start? (Maybe all morning?) Also, with beef like this, do you seal it in a hot pan before you roast it? Then, the ultimate question is i guess, how long to cook it for and at what temperature? I'm after a nice medium-rare look. Pink to red in the middle, like it should be! :confused:

My girlfriend will be on hand to supervise but i am supposed to be cooking it for her :p I'm also doing the works (King Edward roast potatoes, honey/sesame seed parsnips, swede and carrot mash, sprouts) so i'm looking foward to it as i never get roast beef at home :cool:

Any pointers from the top chefs on these forums?
icon14.gif
 
yes your correct in leaving it out, i normally take the joint out the night before to make sure its room temp. I then lightly season and seal off in pan. I generally roast the joint ontop of onions and do it for aroound 25mins per 500g and 20-25 mins on top of that so you be looking at around 1hr 20 or so. i find gas mark 4 the best
 
Thanks. Gas Mark 4 is 180deg right? :)

Anyone got any interesting ideas for sprouts (tis the season!). I've heard sautéing them in bacon and chestnuts is nice :)

Any other secrets to success for a roast?
 
I dont do anything fancy to beef when i cook it really, I've got a sort of big non stick roasting pan which has a glass lid on it (I dont know the proper name)

What i usualy do is put abit of oil in the bottom of the pan and leave it heat up on the stove then brown/seal the beef abit all over nicely then just put the glass lid on and leave it cook slowly in the oven for 1 and half to maybe 2 hours, I dont really cook to times I just cook until its cooked if that makes sense I have had some disaster as i've forgotten about it but 9 times out of 10 it comes out really nice and falls apart.

The last lot I got was silverside from tesco and it was £10 for a big lump so I cut it in 3 and put 2 parts in the freezer so will cook some more soon :D
 
yep leave the beef out until room temperature. Then get a pan or the roasting tin on the hob. Heat up some oil and seal the meat. Get pan hot hot hot and it shouldn't take more than 2 mins to seal all of it.
I like beef simple so rock salt and pepper. And a couple of halved onions and whole garlic gloves in the roasting tin.
Cook at 190degressfor 15 minutes per lb for rare, plus 15 minutes extra for medium-rare or 30 minutes extra for well-done.

For the potatoes peel and chop to required size and then boil. Until soft the sides should start falling apart. So they look over cooked. Drain with a slotted spoon as there very delicate. If you can without breaking slightly rough the sides up. Place in hot olive oil and roll around till totally covered in olive oil. Again add a few whole garlic cloves and halved onions. Roast for 1hour.

For sprouts simply boil for a few minutes. Until aldente(can never spell that). Drain. In a pan heat some butter add finely sliced smoke bacon and chestnuts. Fry until golden. Toss the Brussels through.

if you have carrots. Julian them and boil. Once cooked drain put back in the pan. Add a knob of butter and a teaspoon of honey and mix through.
 
Last edited:
Its easy. The golden rule in our house is....

When its brown its done
When its black, its buggered.
If you can't smell burning, we're having salad:D
 
Do you ever use duck or goose fat for your spuds acidhell, Mum's started doing this recently and I swear they're the best roast spuds she's ever cooked!
 
As above goose fat is the best. But only do it for x-mas or special occasions. The rest of the time it's olive oil. Cheaper and easier.
 
why not stick the potatoes in with the meat?

I have always done this to create fantastic roast potatoes.
 
Remember to let the meat "rest" for 10-15 minutes after you take it out of the oven before carving. Set it to the side somewhere with tin foil around it to keep it warm.
 
Bar said:
why not stick the potatoes in with the meat?

I have always done this to create fantastic roast potatoes.
Click to expand...

When I roast a lamb joint I sometimes put it directly on the oven shelf with the roast potatoes in tray beneath. They roast in the lamb fat/juices. Extremely tasty.
 
AcidHell2 said:
As above goose fat is the best. But only do it for x-mas or special occasions. The rest of the time it's olive oil. Cheaper and easier.
Click to expand...
We've got some goose fat in. Yum.

Cheers for the pointers. I'm sure we'll be fine i guess it's just the timing i need to worry about. So i'm looking at about an hour for my bit of beef (1.1kg / 2.4lbs) :confused:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom