“Classic
Recipe for Roast beef: 1 large roast of beef. 1 small roast of beef. Take the
two roasts and put them in the over. When the little one burns, the big one is
done.” – Gracie Allen
This week
for our Royal themed blog posts we are focusing on one of the most popular
British meals, and that is the roast dinner. When we went to England, my
friend’s family took Nicole and I out to a restaurant that specialized in roast
dinner. How cool is that? You could pick what kind of roast you wanted and all
of the toppings and side dishes as well. I myself love roast dinners so I am
super excited for this post. So here we go.
There are
many types of roast dinners out there...roast beef, ham, chicken, pork, and
turkey are the ones that I can think of. All are very yummy, but our focus this
week is on the roast beef dinner (this one is my favourite). I have found a few
recipes online that have some very delicious sounding roast beef dinner
recipes, so we’ll refer to those as we go through this blog today.
First you
have to choose your cut of roast beef. Some people like prime rib which can be
expensive and some will go with a rump roast or top sirloin. To help you pick
what kind of roast you want I have a little guide below.
Dry
Roasting Cuts
These are the types of roasts
that you think of when you think about roast dinners. They cook for a few hours
in the oven and are juicy and flavourful when they are done. You can rub these
with your favourite spices and make a really nice gravy for these as well. These
are perfect for when you have some time on your hands. They may be a bit expensive,
so they are a nice treat to make for your dinner guests every once in awhile.
Regular Roasts:
Sirloin tip
Eye of round
Outside round
Inside round
Rump roast
Bottom sirloin tri-tip
Premium Roasts:
Top sirloin
Tenderloin
Wing
Prime rib or standing rib
Rib eye
Quick Cooking Roast Cuts
You can easily make these or weeknight
dinners or if you want to add them to another dish as well. They cook much
quicker and aren’t as time consuming to make and prepare.
Sirloin tip
Eye of round
Outside round
Inside round
Bottom sirloin tip
Now that you have your roast picked
out you can finding a roasting pan to place it on and then cover it in your
favourite spices. Some people will rub garlic on their roast beef, some just
put a little salt and pepper. Some people will use a roast beef rub that you
can purchase from the grocery store or some people like to use fresh/dried
herbs like rosemary or thyme. It is up to you and what you like. You can always
experiment and try things out. What we usually do is rub our prime rib roast
with salt, pepper, and a little bit of dark soy sauce. It’s always very flavorful
and it’s simple to do as well. There is no exact science to it, just rub on the
spices until it looks coated evenly.
Place in the oven bone side down and
cook at 350 degrees for 1 ½ hours or until it’s medium rare.
While your roast is in the oven, you
can make some potatoes to go with your dinner. I love to have garlic mashed potatoes
with my roast beef, but roasted potatoes or baked potatoes are good as well.
When I think of veggies and roast
dinner, I think of mixed veggies like peas, carrots, beans, and corn, but you
can also do things like steamed broccoli or green beans tossed with a bit of
butter. Mushrooms pair well with beef also so you can cook some with butter and
garlic and put it on the side. You can also start off with a salad, Caesar
salad is always good with roast beef.
Yorkshire puddings are a must when
you have a roast dinner. Here is an awesome recipe that I found...
No-Fuss Yorkshire Pudding by Eric
Akis
These are
no-fuss because you don’t have to preheat the pan. Use a good-quality,
non-stick muffin pan to make these Yorkshire puddings. If you use an old,
battered pan, they’ll stick. You can bake the puddings a few hours in advance,
cool them a bit, remove them from the pan, set them on a baking sheet and cover
them. When ready to serve, quickly reheat them in a 350 F oven about 5 minutes.
Preparation
time: 10 minutes
Cooking
time: 45 to 50 minutes
Makes: 12
puddings.
6 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup
water
salt and
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups
all-purpose flour
vegetable
oil spray
Set an oven
rack in the middle position. Preheat the oven to 450 F.
Place the
eggs in a bowl and beat until well blended. Whisk in the milk, water, salt,
pepper and nutmeg. Whisk in the flour until just combined.
Very
thoroughly grease a non-stick, 12-cup muffin pan with vegetable-oil spray. Pour
in the batter, filling each slot almost to the top. Bake for 10 minutes.
Reduce the
heat to 325°F (160°C) and bake 35 to 40 minutes more, or until the Yorkshire
puddings are puffed and golden and almost dry in the centre.
Set on a
baking rack and cool a few minutes. When the pan is cool enough to handle,
carefully remove the Yorkshire puddings.
Last
but not least, comes the gravy. I haven’t had the best of luck making gravy,
but here’s a pretty simple recipe that I may try one day.
Roast Beef Gravy
Sprinkle 4 Tbsp flour on to the drippings. Quickly stir with a wire whisk so that the flour gets incorporated into the drippings. Let the flour brown a bit if you want, before adding liquid in the next step. (You can also start with a slurry of flour and water if you want.)
Slowly add stock, water, milk, cream, or a combination to the pan, whisking vigorously to dissolve the flour into liquid. Allow the gravy to simmer and thicken, and continue to slowly add liquid until you have about 2 cups of gravy. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Always taste first before adding more salt! It may not need it.)
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_make_gravy/#ixzz4Kwn3n8nm
If you
prefer au jus here is a recipe for that...
Au Jus
3
cups water
4
teaspoons beef bouillon (or 4 cubes)
1
teaspoon soy sauce
1⁄4 teaspoon garlic powder
salt
and pepper
Directions:
Place
the water in a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil.
Reduce
heat to low; whisk in the beef bouillon.
Whisk
in the soy sauce, garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste.
If
you like a thicker Au Jus gravy, you can also whisk in a little flour to
thicken it.
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