(serves 6 people)
3 – 3 ½ lb top rump of beef (1 kg 350g to 1 kg 750 g), tightly rolled and tied
About 4 tablespoons beef dripping
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 pint stock (275 ml)
4 tomatoes, peeled and quartered
2 oz dark grilled mushrooms (50 g), sliced
1 rounded tablespoon flour, worked to a paste with a tablespoon of butter
freshly-milled black pepper
(more…)
(serves 4 people)
3 oz plain flour (75 g)
1 egg
3fl. oz milk (75 ml)
2 fl. oz water (50 ml)
Salt and freshly-milled pepper
2 tablespoons beef dripping (for the roasting-tin)
Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 7, 425″ F (220°C)
To make the batter, sift the flour into a bowl,
(more…)
Grating fresh horseradish is a tiresome job: the fumes cause tears and discomfort. It is possible, though, to buy preserved grated horseradish, which you can combine with cream to make your own sauce – or else stir in a little grated horseradish to some commercially bottled horseradish sauce to give it an extra kick.
Whether it is on its own or mixed with cream, horseradish is very strong so be warned.
(more…)
Dust the fat-surface with a mixture of flour and dry mustard, and sprinkle with freshly-milled pepper (but no salt, since this encourages the juices to escape). Add a knob of beef dripping to the tin, just to moisten the base, before placing the joint in it. Start by giving it 20 minutes at gas mark 9, 475°F (245°C), then lower the heat to gas mark 5, 375°F (190°C), and cook for 15 minutes per pound (for rare), plus 15 extra minutes (for medium-rare), (more…)
The cardinal rule here is to buy the right cut in the first place. It’s no wonder that letters pour in from people who are unsuccessful in roasting beef when you consider some of the so-called roasting joints on offer—all manner of things get tied up with string and labeled ‘roasting’. My advice is to buy an unequivocal, decent-sized piece of sirloin for a special occasion, and otherwise a double rib joint (which as it happens is next door, anatomically). Do buy, and cook, your joint on the bone. (more…)
Scotch beef, bred in the Highlands, grass-fed, mature and well hung, is the best in the world. And in the last couple of years I have . I had some very good Irish beef, but I cannot reconcile myself to the immature, barley-fed beef (which is widely sold in my neighborhood at any rate): an insipid imitation of what good beef should be, it seems to me. I even feel it would be better to have less meat—make a really good piece of beef a treat—so that we would not have to rear it (more…)
It is best to begin roasting with a very high oven setting (gas mark 9, 475F, 245°C) and then lower the heat to continue cooking. This initial blast of heat at the beginning, produces a more attractive joint with a tasty outside crust. In order to approximate some circulation of air in an enclosed oven, setting the joint on a roasting rack is often advised. It doesn’t make a great deal of difference though, unless you object to the very crusty,
(more…)
Strictly peaking, roasting means exposing a piece of meat to an open fire, turning it (usually on a spit) so the air circulates around it and each part comes near to the source of the heat and the whole is cooked evenly. True roasting in fact is more like grilling as we know it ; the nearest equivalent is the modern spit-roast, which is fitted to some domestic ovens or sold as a separate unit. Still, for most of us,
(more…)
