First attempt at roasting beef

susank

I had an aunt who made the best roast beef and she passed on the recipe to me.

Beef on base of foil - sprinkle with a little salt and wrap in foil - not too tight and sit in roasting tin - put into oven at 200degrees for first half hour and then turn down to 160 degrees - check after about 1 hour to see whats happening and depending on the size will need a good couple of hours in oven.
The gravy is slightly salty and only requires thickening with a little cornflour or whatever you use - no need for synthetic gravy granules in this one.

Enjoy

BrokeBrunette

Can I ask what you would all consider a good cut of beef for roasting would be? I honestly have no idea and I thought topside and silverside were roasting joints - obviously not, which explains why my beef is always tough too

Icemaiden

stressedoutmumof1 wrote:

It's from Sainsburys - it just says beef roasting joint

I got one of these from sainsburys the other day, how I cooked mine was cover with foil and put it on gas mark 7 for 20mins then turn it down to about 4/5 for the remainder of the time, about 2 hrs in total. Does depend on how you like yours and how big it was, mine was £10 ish and i cut it into two. It was yummy looking forward to the second half.

stefbate

I only evercook mybeef in the slow cooker, it melts in your mouth!! i always buy topside.

Debt_Free_Chick

BrokeBrunette wrote:

Can I ask what you would all consider a good cut of beef for roasting would be? I honestly have no idea and I thought topside and silverside were roasting joints - obviously not, which explains why my beef is always tough too

Rib or sirloin are the most tender.

You can buy rib on the bone or off. For a "spectacular" looking joint for a large group (say 6 or 8) you can buy the whole rib joint on the bone. The bones make an excellent stock and any leftovers not eaten cold will make cottage pie.

There's a great photo of a rib here. Don't be alarmed at the fat - it melts during roasting and will make great dripping or you can cook roast potatoes in it. It's the marbling of fat that creates tender beef - you want flecks of fat right through the meat. And this is sirloin - note the same marbled fat through the meat.

Topside can be roasted - but it needs a longer slow roast, as does silverside, but I think silverside needs plenty of liquid .... boiled beef, springs to mind. I've also had an excellent long, slow roasted brisket.

HTH

butterfly72

I've decided to do roast beef tomorrow. Trouble is I've never done it before and I'm a bit nervous as I haven't got a clue! Theres so many cuts and joints I'm not sure where to start really! I remember my mums beef being tough as old boots and I know its easy to overcook. Any tips?

thanks

Fruball

My best tip is to rest it for a long time - minimum of 20 minutes - I have been known to rest mine for up to an hour, under a layer of foil with a couple of clean tea towels over the top for insulation - It keeps hot for ages in a warm roasty kitchen near the cooker while you finish off the spuds and yorkies

Other than that just follow the instructions - most supermarket joints have the cooking times/instructions on them and then rest rest rest

Hope that helps

ps - If you want a bit of a crust, rub on some mustard with brown sugar half way thru cooking (i use the back of a spoon to rub it on)

*Sally*_2

I only buy Topside as it cooks much better than Silverside or Brisket. I put it in a baking tray and add a little bit of oil and then cover with foil.
I cook it on a lowish heat for at least 3 hours then uncover and brown off for about 20 mins.
Take the meat out and again cover with foil (resting time) and always tastes superb to me
Dont forget to use the juices from the meat for gravy, delicious.

butterfly72

Ok, so I need to rest the meat. How do I know its cooked and will it carry on cooking inside while its resting? Also, do you cook it with the string still on and why?

thanks!

Kazzajr

I agree with the resting although I never leave it as long as an hour.
I also put mines in the oven at a low temp (about 100C) for a couple of hours then turn it up higher when I am putting the potatoes in.

Good luck and it is a bit of trial and error before you get used to doing it the way you like it but it is worth it, there's nothing nicer than a Sunday roast mmm.