Roast Beef

Let’s start with a traditional Sunday roast to cheer these winter days! A fillet of beef, a piece of sirloin or a rib caramelised on the outside and pink in the middle served with good gravy, Yorkshire pudding, fresh horseradish (grated into clotted cream!) and seasonal vegetables must surely be one of our best national dishes.

Rub the meat all over with olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Place in a robust roasting tin and place in a very hot (preheated!) oven 220C/Gas 7 for 20 minutes to seal the meat and give you that dark rich coating to the meat. Reduce the heat to 180C for remaining cooking time. This will depend on how well cooked you like your meat.
Here is a rough guide to cooking times,  but remember all cookers vary and you know yours best:
10 minutes per 500gm   Rare (very pink)
15 minutes per 500gm   Medium (just pink)
20 minutes per 500gm   Well done ( no pink) 

When you are satisfied the beef is cooked to your liking remove it from the oven, take it out of the roasting tin and leave it in a warm place to rest for at least 30 minutes before carving. All roast meat benefits hugely by being rested after cooking. Resting allows the juices  to settle evenly through the meat. It also gives you time to cook the Yorkshire pudding, finish off the vegetables and make the gravy.

To make the gravy first pour off excess fat from the roasting tin then deglaze it with a little stock or vegetable water and , if you like, a dash of red wine. Mix a couple of generous teaspoons of corn flour with a little water and stir into the gravy over the heat. Keep stirring till it thickens and clears, add salt and pepper to taste. If necessary strain it through a sieve into a gravy jug. 

Topside and silverside make very respectable roasting joints too provided that the meat is well hung and the cooking is slower and gentler. Give the meat a quicker hot blast as above then lower the heat to 195C and cook the meat for 20 minutes per 500gm. Slow roasting will  become braising if you add some vegetables and liquid and cover the pot

Old Fashioned Beef Stew and Dumplings

Cut 500gms of  braising beef eg. chuck steak or shin of beef, into large squares and dust with flour. Heat olive oil in a heavy frying pan and soften two large sliced onions, when just beginning to brown transfer to a casserole dish. Fry the meat quickly in batches giving the pan time to heat up between each batch. Place the meat in the casserole, add 500gms carrots cut into sticks, *a bouquet garni and salt and freshly ground black pepper. Sprinkle over a spoonful of flour    

Deglaze the frying pan with 750ml of stock or 300ml water and 450ml stout. Bring to the boil and pour over the meat making sure it is covered. Cover and cook for 2 hours in the preheated oven 170C/gas3 or until the meat is tender.

* traditionally bouquet garni  is made up of a bay leaf, and two or three sprigs of parsley and thyme.

To make the dumplings sift 100gms of self raising flour and mix with ½ teaspoon backing powder, ½ teaspoon salt, 50gms shredded suet and 2 tablespoons chopped parsley. Add enough water to make a sticky dough. On a floured board, roll the dough  into small balls. When the meat is nearly cooked put the dumplings on top of the stew and cook a further ½ hour until they are double the size and cooked right through. It helps to baste them a couple of times during cooking. Serve the stew with a crisp green salad.

This is the basic principle for all stews and ragouts. Ring the changes with your choice of vegetables, herbs and liquid. Red wine, garlic, bacon, tomatoes and  orange rind will take you to a French Daube. Kidney, mushrooms and oysters will bring you back to Britain with Steak and Kidney and Oyster Pie or Pudding. Juniper berries, peppercorns, Parma Ham and white wine will give you Italian Stracotto.

Talking of Italy, Tagliatelle Bolognese is another classic often lacking some traditional ingredients. In Italy minced prosciutto fat or panaccetta is added but a little minced streaky bacon will also give a satisfactory depth of flavour. To feed four people heat 50gms of butter in a heavy pan, add the panacetta, bacon or prosciutto fat with  finely chopped carrot, celery and onion and cook gently without browning for about 10 minutes. Next, stir in 200gms lean minced beef or 100gms beef and 100gms minced pork. Cook for a further 15 minutes. Pour in a glass of red wine letting it bubble for a minute or two to evaporate the alcohol. Next add a tin of tomatoes or a little beef stock and tomato puree to loosen the mixture. Stir then simmer for I ½ hours adding more stock if necessary. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve with 500gms tagliatelle boiled al dente, strained, rinsed and, reheated with a little olive oil. Serve with Parmesan cheese and salad.   

Comments

[Anita]

Love the recipies and little stories. Great blog. I was recommended to visit by Tom.
All the best,
Anita

[thebizofknowledge]

I stumbled across your blog while I was doing some online research. I completely forgot that other countries use metric measurements while here in the U.S. we're still thinking in terms of teasoons and tablespoons!

[philip]

Horseradish Sauce Recipe:
Ingredients: sour cream, grated onion, prepared horseradish, salt... view the recipe
http://www.horseradish-sauce-recipe.w8w.pl