not exactly moneysaving or old style but you lot talk about it...

scheming_gypsy

Reet...

As it stands next Sunday i'm cooking Sunday lunch for 4 people, me, friend and her husband and the girl of my dreams.

Never ever cooked a Sunday roast in my life and i need it to the the best ever. Fortunately we're all normal (no veggies) so it'll be a choice of beef, lamb of chicken.

I can cook so that's no problem but i want (need) everybody's tips for that perfect roast. I did ask my mum and she was as much use as a sunroof in a submarine with suggestions like, 'frozen roast potatoes are nice'.

tru

scheming_gypsy wrote:

Fortunately we're all normal (no veggies)

PMSL :rotfl:

My roasts are boring (according to hubby) so I'm not much help really. Except for - chop up some fresh rosemary and put it in with the potatoes to roast, tastes lovely.

competitionscafe

Use the best quality meat you can afford (ie: from a good butcher or farm shop, not from a supermarket if possible). A butcher won't necessarily cost more than a supermarket anyway. Beef should be well marbled with fat - keeps it moist and adds flavour, ask the butcher how long it has been hung for and if it is grass fed. Beef and lamb should still be a little pink in the middle (or a lot if you like your beef rare) pork and chicken should not be! Always rest a roast for 10 to 15 minutes before carving (cover with foil to keep warm).

Here is Simon Hopkinsons recipe from Roast Chicken and other stories:
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HOPKINSON'S PERFECT ROAST CHICKEN

Ingredients

• 110g / 4oz good butter, at room temperature
• 1.8kg / 4lb free-range chicken
• Salt and pepper
• 1 lemon
• Several sprigs of thyme or tarragon, or a mixture of the two
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed

Method

Preheat the oven to 450F /230C / Gas Mark 8

Smear the butter with your hands all over the bird. Put the chicken in a roasting tin that will accommodate it with room to spare. Season liberally with salt and pepper and squeeze over the juice of the lemon. Put the herbs and garlic inside the cavity, together with the squeezed-out lemon halves - this will add a fragrant lemony flavour to the finished dish.

Roast the chicken in the oven for 10-15 minutes. Baste, then turn the oven temperature down to 375F/190C/Gas Mark 5 and roast for a further 30-45 minutes with further occasional basting.

The bird should be golden brown all over with a crisp skin and have buttery, lemony juices of a nut-brown colour in the bottom of the tin. Turn the oven off, leaving the door ajar, and leave the chicken to rest for at least 15 minutes before carving. This enables the flesh to relax gently, retaining the juices in the meat.

I see no point in making a gravy in that old-fashioned English way with the roasting fat, flour and vegetable cooking water. With this roasting method, what you end up with in the tin is an amalgamation of butter, lemon juice and chicken juices.

If you wish to add extra flavour, you can scoop the garlic and herbs out of the chicken cavity, stir them into the gravy and heat through. Strain before serving.
---
Source: http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=1259&id=1719592005

Lamb is good this time of year too - cut slits in the outside with a knife and stuff them with a bit of anchovy and a bit of rosemary - sounds weird, but it won't taste 'fishy' - the anchovy melts into the meat and gives a nice salty flavour.

juno

For potaotes, boil them in salted water from cold for 10 mins.

Then toss them with a mixture of plain flour, salt and herbs (if you want) until they're nicely coated. Then cook them in the juices from youyr meat for about an hour turning them over occassionally.

pandas66

competitionscafe wrote:

Strain before serving.
---

Can be hard work you're right!

scheming_gypsy

cheers people, keep them coming

Bennifred

I would say chicken is easier to get right than beef or lamb - I would get an organic one, and the Simon Hopkinson recipe really works
What about a pudding? Summer Pudding is easy, delicious, and can be made entirely in advance - no faffing on the day! Shout if you need a recipe...

blue-kat

Delia Smith recipe for fast roast lemon thyme chicken is lovely, similari to recipe quoted above.
http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/r_0000001369.asp
get the best quality meat you can afford.
Can recommend steaming pots and parsnips before roasting them, easier than parboiling, and they don't get too soggy.
organic carrots taste much better too.

the finishing touches, e.g. a simply but nicely-laid table, gentle music, drinks etc can make a big difference.

hope your special lunch is a success !
-

apprentice_tycoon

Bennifred wrote:

I would say chicken is easier to get right than beef or lamb - I would get an organic one, and the Simon Hopkinson recipe really works
What about a pudding? Summer Pudding is easy, delicious, and can be made entirely in advance - no faffing on the day! Shout if you need a recipe...

To offer another opinion, there is only one 'correct' way to serve chicken, the chicken has to be cooked through for safety but not over cooked or it will be dry.

Beef or lamb on the other hand could be either underdone or cooked through and both are correct, a bluffer can pass either off as being 'just how you intended it to be'.

Bargainloverbec

My tip for roast potatoes is to boil them first until they start to go soft (meanwhile heating up the oil in your roasting tin.

Drain the potatoes, put them back in the saucepan, put the lid on and give them a good shake. THis has the effect of bashing all the edges, so when you put them into the oil and roast them they will go all golden and crispy on the outside and mushy on the inside.

I think this might have been a Delia tip originally - my mum always does this and they are delicious.

Good luck with your dinner!

Penny-Pincher!!

Hey scheming_gypsy

I love roasts there my fav.....yummy :rolleyes:

DH & DD love them too. If we have people round for sunday lunch, I normally cook loads of spuds (to bulk out meal & everyone loves roasts & mash )veg and try and stuff everyone silly..lol. I tend to do a large chicken or leg of lamb and slow cook either in the oven (especially the lamb). I normally serve with:

HM Roasties (easy-I would do 3/4 large each)
Mashed Potatoe (easy-again a good large spoonful each-medium spud each)
HM Yorkshires (quite easy-1/2 each-would do a trial run with these)
Sausage & Bacon (easy-1/2 fullsize sausage each)
2 Veg (carrots/cabbage/cauliflower/brocolli/carrot & swede etc-loads)
Crispy Parsnips (easy-2/3 each)
Stuffing (easy-1 packet made into balls)
Gravy

Pudding normally: HM rice pudding, sponge and custard etc.

Normally do a self service thing and pile plates high. Friends/family always happy and most goes-whatevers left, we have the next day or make bubble and squeak.

My advice would be to make sure you have enough as theres nothing worse than all food being eaten and people still looking hungry :eek: Everything above is very easy to do but the main thing to get correct is the meat your having.

We either have chicken or lamb and either I think is best to let cook slowly in its own juices without to much fuss. If its good meat, it wont need alot of flavouring etc.

I wish you luck in whatever you cook-it will be lovely! Think we're having roast chicken tomorrow :rolleyes: Im starving now

Penny-Pincher!!
xxx