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Sunday 20 June 2021

Father's Day - How About A Roast Beef Dinner


Here in the UK, and many other countries, today is Father's Day, so I send my good wishes to Father's everywhere and wish you an enjoyable day.

With Covid restrictions still in place it may not be possible to get-together as in previous years, but for those of you who can, how about a Roast Beef Dinner!

I don't think there is a better known British meal than Roast Beef. I think you could perhaps call it the national dish of Great Britain and loved by almost everyone. But is there a good or better way to cook the perfect roast beef. It is actually very easy as you can see with these handy tips below.


1. Choosing the Beef:
The best joints for roast beef are either a Rib of Beef, a Sirloin or a Fillet. Rib works well as usually it will be cooked on the bone as keeping the bone in makes for a tastier piece of beef when cooked but both Sirloin and Fillet are also very good.

The beef should be:
Dark in colour - meaning it has been hung well and is mature.
A thick covering of fat which adds flavour and prevents the joint from drying out during cooking. This layer can be removed, if required, before serving so no need to worry too much about excess fat.

Marbling: Marbling is small slivers of fat running through the flesh which again adds flavour and prevents drying out during cooking.

2. How Much to Buy:
5½ lb/2.5kg bone in will feed 6
3 lb/1.5kg boned will feed 6

Don't worry about buying too much as cold roast beef can be added to a plate of cold cuts with a salad.

3. Cooking Temperature:
There are varying opinions about what the perfect temperature to cook a roast beef but you may find that starting the beef in a very hot oven 425F/220C/Gas 7 for the first 30 mins then lower the temperature to 375F/190C/Gas 5 for the remaining cooking time then ... how long to cook beef depends on your preference for how 'pink' or not you like to eat beef.

Calculate:
Rare - 11 mins per lb/450g
Medium - 14 mins per lb/450g
Well done - 16 mins per lb/450g

These times are based on a normal convection oven, you may want to adjust for a fan oven according to the manufacturers instructions. Another way to work out the cooking time is to use a meat thermometer pushed into the thickest part of the beef.

60°C/140°F - rare
70°C/160°F- medium
80°C/175°F - well done

4. How to Cook:
The beef should be at room temperature. Stand the beef joint in a roasting tin then cook to the temperature and time as above.

5. Rest, Rest, Rest:
An important part of cooking any meat is once it is removed from the oven the meat must rest. Wrap the meat loosely in aluminium foil and put to one side.

The fibres in meat tighten up during cooking and resting allows the fibres to relax, release some of the meat juices (great for the gravy) and results in a soft tender piece of meat. 20 minutes should be long enough but up to an hour won't do any harm. The joint is then ready to carve.
Tips taken from original article here

We bring a variety of recipe ideas and articles to this blog, and not all may be suitable for you. If you may have any food allergies, or underlying health issues these must always be taken into account. If you are a diabetic and not sure how certain foods may affect your blood sugars, test is best, i.e. use your meter.

All the best Jan

40 comments:

Tom said...

...we are having a picnic.

DVArtist said...

Very good post. We don't eat beef roast here. Mainly because I can't prepare it right. Plus we don't eat much red meat. Right now in our stores, due to tourist season, meat of any kind is very expensive here.

Lori Miller said...

That roast beast looks delicious--but I'd rather have it in winter!

J.P. Alexander said...

Gracias por la receta se ve genial para la ocasión. Te mando un beso

Martha said...

I'm doing a brunch buffet and having all the kids over tomorrow. Roast beef will have to wait for another time. Have a nice Father's Day weekend. :)

Conniecrafter said...

We just had this a few days ago, we are cooking out for Father's day!

peppylady (Dora) said...

Looks so good.
Coffee is on and stay safe

Angie's Recipes said...

My favourite meal!

Christine said...

Roast beef is a Wonderful choice Happy Father’s Day to all the dads.

Margaret D said...

Father's Day there, had no idea...September it is here.

RO said...

I totally adore roast beef meals, and often look for different ways to prepare it. These days it's super expensive though. Hope you're doing well! Hugs, RO

Elephant's Child said...

A very happy Fathers' Day to Eddie and to all other fathers.

aussie aNNie said...

Roast beef looks great, father's day in Australia is SEptember but wishes go out to all fab dads. x

Fun60 said...

Roast beef with all the trimmings. Delicious.

Valerie-Jael said...

Wonderful meal! Have a great Sunday, Valerie

Natalia said...

Perfect dinner if you ask me!

Jo said...

Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding is my favourite meal.

Practical Parsimony said...

Do you know what "well hung meat" sounds like in the US? In reference to a roast, I have no idea what that means. Do you cook vegetables with the roast like we do in the US?--potatoes and carrots.

Martha said...

Such a tasty dinner!

eileeninmd said...

Happy Father's Day to you and all the men in your family!
The Roast Beef sounds yummy, it was my Father's favorite meal.
Have a great day and a happy new week!

handmade by amalia said...

We celebrate Father's Day in December but this looks too good to wait until then.
Amalia
xo

Miss Val's Creations said...

Roast beef was a classic comfort food in my home growing up.

Lori Miller said...

Re: hanging meat (no snickers): we call this aging meat in the US. It's aged to break down connective tissue, making for a more tender cut of meat.

For our offshore friends, if you Google "well hung," you'll get an eyeful!

Divers and Sundry said...

We used to have roast beef a lot on Sundays for lunch when I was growing up. We're having burgers today.

CJ Kennedy said...

I love roast beef, but he asked for Shrimp Scampi for Father's Day dinner.

♥ Łucja-Maria ♥ said...

Beef looks very appetizing. Great for a Sunday lunch.
Hugs and greetings.

carol l mckenna said...

Happy Father's Day ~ Xo

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I may be a vegetarian, but this takes me back to my days as a child when my grandmother made these roasts every so often. She knew how to cook them, too. Similar to your tips, she always let it rest before we ate. That's when she made the mashed potatoes and usually cooked carrots and green beans just long enough for the green beans to get hot. Happy Father's Day to Eddie.

R's Rue said...

You had me at roast beef. Yum.
www.rsrue.blogspot.com

Inger said...

When I worked as an au pair in the UK, I learnt how to make a Sunday dinner of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, with that wonderful vanilla sauce, forget what it was called now.

happyone said...

Sure sounds like a great dinner to me.

Ananka said...

Happy Father's Day :-D

Lowcarb team member said...

Many thanks to everyone who took time to comment on this post.
Both Eddie and I enjoyed a very nice Sunday, and Father's Day.

In answer to Practical Parsimony.
I think Lori Miller (see her comment a little above) has answered your reference to the meaning "well hung meat" sounds like in the US?

With regard to the cookery term, this 'Meat Hanging' article should answer your query
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meat_hanging

When we have Roast Beef, I do a selection of vegetables which depending on the season can vary between perhaps some Roast Potatoes, perhaps some Roast or mashed swede, maybe Brussels Sprouts, carrots, roast parsnips, broccoli. The choice is obviously a personal one taking account of any food allergies or underlying health issues.

Hope the above answers your questions but do not hesitate to ask more if it doesn't.

.............

In answer to Inger ..."Sunday dinner of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, with that wonderful vanilla sauce, forget what it was called now."

There are several white sauces that could be served with Roast Beef; horseradish, Bearnaise, bread to name a few. Again it is always a personal choice. I can recall my dear Mum would only ever have a gravy with her meat although my Dad enjoyed a little horseradish sauce.

Thanks again for your comment.

................

My good wishes to all readers, enjoy the rest of your Sunday.

All the best Jan

William Kendall said...

Roast beef is my favourite way to have meat.

This N That said...

That roast looks scrumptious..I remember when I was first married we would have a standing rib roast every Sunday..It was a long standing family thing..My grandparents' roasts were bloody red..but yummy..Haven't done that for many years..Have wonderful week..

mamasmercantile said...

That is exactly what I cooked for my hubby yesterday, as a treat as we don't eat a lot of red meat these days. I must admit it was delicous.

Sue said...

We actually spent Father's Day in Blackpool, in Wetherspoons, eating pizza - it was perfect!xx

Magic Love Crow said...

Yummy!!! Thank you!

Rose said...

This sounds soooo good.

Linda said...

I did not know to let it rest 20 minutes. I rarely cooked roast beef because I usually eat alone.