Single hen

[Ygerna]

I am going to be doing a roast beef lunch on Sunday. I never roast beef. I dont know how to do it, and I am really worried that its going to be tough and inedible.

 

Any tips please? My family are coming up from Somerset and I want to cook thm something nice.

 

Thanks in advance

[chelsea]

I always do a piece of brisket for OH (I'm veggie), he's an ex butcher and reckons brisket is the tastiest cut of beef ever. Trouble with brisket is you need to cook it slow as it can be tough otherwise. I always cover my beef with tinfoil to stop it drying out.

 

Do your family like well cooked meat ?

 

I am sure other suggestions will follow

[Blackrocksrock]

My aunt taught me to do roast beef - you do need tinfoil to stop it drying out and I like it cooked for a good long time - we like really well cooked beef up here - unfortunately no bloody bits are enjoyed by any of us.

 

Put the meat in the middle of the tinfoil and sprinkle with a good pinch of salt - seal up with foil and put in roasting tin = roast for the afternoon and let go cold - easiest to slice then into thinner slices and can go further!! With home made gravy, yorkshires and roast potatoes and veg - nothing nicer.

[Chickvic]

Do you have a slow cooker? We buy brisket and put it in the slow cooker with some stock about 8am and leave it all day on low. It cooks beautifully and falls apart!

[Ygerna]

I do have a slow cooker, which is how I always do my beef, and yes, it is usually brisket or braising steak, but, I have a big bit of roasting beef and no idea how to roast it in a conventional oven

 

I can make Yorkshire puddins though; They are my ED favourites.

[Chickvic]

I do have a slow cooker, which is how I always do my beef, and yes, it is usually brisket or braising steak, but, I have a big bit of roasting beef and no idea how to roast it in a conventional oven

 

I'm exactly trhe same I'd be lost without the slow cooker!

[laurmurf]

my kids love brisket but I just don't get it.... shredded grey poached beef whenever I make it !

 

Give me a good roasting joint any day - preferably a forerib of beef on the bone! I'd cover the fat side with a mix of mustard powder and flour then roast it open in the oven a al Delia cooking times and eat! the outside is brown and the fat is crispy but the inside it blood red the way i like it!

 

Fantastic gravy from the pan too!

[..lay a little egg for me]

Well, I am going to go against the current and say I don't like slow roast beef at all...I like it fast roast and bloody! I usually use topside/top rump, rolled rib or surloin. What I do is this: turn the oven up to about 220 deg C. Wipe meat dry and put it in a roasting tin, put some k"Ooops, word censored!"s of dripping or lard on top. Put it in the oven for 15 mins then turn the oven down to 175 deg C (or in my case as I have a rayburn, lower it in the oven). Roast it for approx 15 mins per pound (450 g), basting frequently. At the end of the cooking time, plunge a carving fork deep into the centre of the joint, count to 5 and then take it out and touch it to your bottom lip...if it feels so hot you can only just bear to keep it there, the joint should be medium rare. If you like it more well cooked, the fork needs to be unbearably hot (put it back in for another 15 mins); if you like it rare, it should be hot but not unbearable (take it out 15 mins earlier and test it).

 

When the joint is cooked, move it to the carving plate and let it rest for 30 mins while you make your gravy in the roasting pan, put the yorkies in to cook and finish off roasting the potatoes.

 

I tend to write a list of the timings like this:

 

Serve lunch: 1pm

Veggies on: 12:45

Yorkies in: 12.30

Beef out: 12:30

Potatoes in: 12:00

Make batter: 11:45

Lower beef/temp: 11:30

Beef in: 11:15

Turn oven on: 11:00

 

That way I know everything will be ready on time!

 

Hope this helps.

[ClaireG]

my kids love brisket but I just don't get it.... shredded grey poached beef whenever I make it !

 

Give me a good roasting joint any day - preferably a forerib of beef on the bone! I'd cover the fat side with a mix of mustard powder and flour then roast it open in the oven a al Delia cooking times and eat! the outside is brown and the fat is crispy but the inside it blood red the way i like it!

 

Fantastic gravy from the pan too!

 

Thats how i usually cook mine to. Nothing better than a piece of bread dipped in the juices

[Ygerna]

Well, I am going to go against the current and say I don't like slow roast beef at all...I like it fast roast and bloody! I usually use topside/top rump, rolled rib or surloin. What I do is this: turn the oven up to about 220 deg C. Wipe meat dry and put it in a roasting tin, put some k"Ooops, word censored!"s of dripping or lard on top. Put it in the oven for 15 mins then turn the oven down to 175 deg C (or in my case as I have a rayburn, lower it in the oven). Roast it for approx 15 mins per pound (450 g), basting frequently. At the end of the cooking time, plunge a carving fork deep into the centre of the joint, count to 5 and then take it out and touch it to your bottom lip...if it feels so hot you can only just bear to keep it there, the joint should be medium rare. If you like it more well cooked, the fork needs to be unbearably hot (put it back in for another 15 mins); if you like it rare, it should be hot but not unbearable (take it out 15 mins earlier and test it).

 

When the joint is cooked, move it to the carving plate and let it rest for 30 mins while you make your gravy in the roasting pan, put the yorkies in to cook and finish off roasting the potatoes.

 

I tend to write a list of the timings like this:

 

Serve lunch: 1pm

Veggies on: 12:45

Yorkies in: 12.30

Beef out: 12:30

Potatoes in: 12:00

Make batter: 11:45

Lower beef/temp: 11:30

Beef in: 11:15

Turn oven on: 11:00

 

That way I know everything will be ready on time!

 

Hope this helps.

 

Woo hoo! an idiots guide, perfect! Thank you

[..lay a little egg for me]

No problem.

 

Obviously your timings will depend on the size of your joint, but the fork method is useful as different shaped joints will take different times even if the same weight. Also your oven temp might not be accurate etc etc. Of course you could buy a meat thermometer...but why bother when you have lips ?

 

I let my beef rest in the warming oven. If you don't have one, cover the joint with foil and then throw all your tea towels etc over it to keep the heat in.

 

Oh and one last tip...use plenty of red wine in your gravy and it will all be !!!

[chickencam]

We always have red wine in the gravy and roast the joint with a few whole onions with the top and bottom cut off but skin left on to prect them. The smell is amzing and it gives lovely flavour to the gravy.

[Tessa the Duchess]

I find this thread v.interesting. I have never managed to cook roast beef successfully It always ends up grey and tough. I like it really rare and bloody, DH says he would rather eat his car than eat bloody meat As it is such an expensive buy I just don't bother anymore.

 

Tessa

[..lay a little egg for me]

Unfortunately, the best roast beef is obtained from a large joint which does not dry up so much in cooking, so you have to spend a bit more to get the best result! Mind you, I find that the free range beef from our local farm shop is no more expensive per kg than other good quality meats/fish. If it is good quality, well hung, meat you don't need to buy the most expensive cuts...topside will fast roast perfectly well. Also, it is essential to let the meat rest after cooking so the juices can spread from the middle through the whole joint.

 

I love to cook a big joint on a Sunday, and then we have after cold beef sandwiches for lunch and cold meat and re-heated gravy and fried left-over potatoes for dinner on Monday and then on Tuesday I make a Chinese style stir-fried beef concoction. Anything left after that gets minced and included in a cottage pie (supplemented with fresh mince). So I find it pretty economical actually.

[Chook n Boo Mum]

I always throw the "slightly soft, not really good enough on their own" veg from the bottom of the fridge in the roasting tray too, roughly chopped. They make for yummy gravy too!

 

Love the testing of meat temperature method. Will have to write that up on my notice board & use it next time we have beef.

 

Whenever my mum/nan/sis cook beef its grey & shoe leathery, but we prefer it red (or at least pink!) & juicy, even the children who have a tendency towards fussiness (DS especially!)

 

You've inspired me to get beef for the weekend now, thank you!

 

Sha x

 

Edited for dreadful typo!

Edited February 26, 2009 by Guest

[..lay a little egg for me]

Oh gosh, the responsibility, I hope everyone's beef turns out as yummy as it should !

[Chook n Boo Mum]

No pressure, but mine's in & doing.......... am about to do the "fork test"........

 

Sha x

[..lay a little egg for me]

Well? Well? Was it OK?

[Ygerna]

Well? Well? Was it OK?

 

Um, we are having it tomorrow now Long story but plans got changed. However, I will let you know tomorrow.

[Chook n Boo Mum]

No pressure, but mine's in & doing.......... am about to do the "fork test"........

 

Sha x

Well? Well? Was it OK?

 

It was yummy & the two little Spanish lads we had to stay over the weekend were so impressed they asked for seconds before we'd even sat down with ours!! Had they eaten their veggies I would have been even happier!!

 

Have printed it off & stuck by the cooker for future reference, thank you!

 

Sha x

[Ygerna]

It was delicious! Thank you

[..lay a little egg for me]

Phew! So glad my instructions worked out well for you both...

[Ygerna]

Phew! So glad my instructions worked out well for you both...

 

Me too, the joint I bought was massive;I cut it into three smaller joints (all easily big enough to feed a family of 4 ), two are in he freezer for another day