Beef Rost (Roast Beef)

Classic

Preparation Time

depending on weight of roast - 1 hour to 2 hours
The slightly simplistic formula for cooking time is 20-25 minutes per pound plus 20-30 minutes extra depending how you like your roast - pink or well done. Unfortunately, the weight is not the only determining factor. Depending on how well the meat was hung, cooking time varies as well. It takes a bit of experience to judge how long a roast will take. Err on the side of lower cooking time - nothing worse than an overdone roast.

Ingredients

per person:

Preparation

Preparation
Roast BeefHere is our roast - this time brisket. Our piece here weighs a good kilogram, so roasting time is 50 minutes if we still want it to be slightly red, one hour for well done but still juicy. Pre-heat your oven to 200 centigrade / 400 Fahrenheit / Gas Mark 6.
Roast BeefI'm cutting off about 40 grams or so for the gravy. If you have some beef stock around, this is not necessary.
Roast BeefPut some olive oil into a small saucepan. Heat it up and add the cut-off bits from your roast to it. Fry for 3 minutes ...
Roast Beef... then add a finely chopped half onion.
Roast BeefAdd a glass of white wine and half a glass of water and a chopped carrot.
Roast BeefI still feel like it's cheating, but half a beef stock cube won't hurt.
Roast BeefA couple of turns from the pepper mill and a bit of salt (careful here, the stock cube is quite salty in itself).
Roast BeefIt is essential to close the pores of our roast before we put it into the oven. Salt and pepper the roast. Put the roasting dish on the hob, turn it up to full heat, add some olive oil to the roasting dish and put the roast in when it's hot. Turn the roast so all sides will be nicely browned and sealed. Then put the roasting dish into the pre-heated oven. Set your kitchen timer to the roast's cooking time. (Here, for 1 kg brisket, we want 45 to 50 minutes).
After 10 minutes in the oven, turn the temperature down to 180 degrees centigrade / 350 Fahrenheit / Gas Mark 4.
Roast BeefWhilst the roast is in the oven, put a fork full of corn flour into a drinking glass. We will need that later to bind the gravy.
Roast BeefAdd a bit of cold water and stir with a fork.
Roast Beef5 minutes before the roast is done, pour the stock through a colander. Throw away the bits left in the colander - they have done their duty, and, if properly done, will actually not taste of much any more. Their taste has gone into the stock - and that's where we want it..
Roast BeefHere is our roast straight out of the oven - looks lovely!
Roast BeefPut it on a wooden board and cover it with aluminium foil and let it sit for 15 minutes. If you cut it up earlier, all the juices will just come out and you will end up with a dry roast.
Roast BeefPour the grease off the roasting dish. Be very careful here - we don't want to throw away the juices, only the grease. You can leave out this step if you have a gravy separator as shown below.
Roast BeefAdd the stock to the roasting dish ...
Roast Beef... and stir it whilst heating it up on your hob. You want all the nice brown bits to dissolve into the stock.
Roast BeefPour the stock into a gravy separator. Then pour it into a small saucepan leaveing behind the grease.
Roast BeefBoil up the gravy. When it's boiling, add the dissolved corn flour to thicken it. Please add it slowly as you don't want your gravy to bee too thick. Always bring to a boil after adding the corn flour to check.
Roast BeefFinally, we add a knob of butter to the gravy. If you have some creme fraiche or sour cream in the fridge, add two teaspoons to the gravy instead of the butter.
Roast BeefWhen the 15 minutes are up, cut the roast into thin slices. Serve and enjoy!

Best with ...

Roast Veg

Savoy Cabbage

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Rating 9.42/10 with 1095 individual rating(s) given. Minimum rating 2, maximum rating 10

Comments:

10very straight forward! good.
10This is a very helpful guide and so clear, thanks!!! :) now lets just hope i can do the same :S
10Thank you ,I cooked in a AGA for14years ,and all food was perpect,but never had meat cooked as good as AGA, in a new fan oven!!thank you. l Lilian walk 10 10 10
10Great step-by-step guide for a veggie like me who doesn't normally cook beef, many thanks.
10Thanks pal that really hekped beef ho!
10thank you, that was so clear even i can follow it and thats saying something trust me lol. Off to cook my brisket now many thanks.
9really good with the pics!
10hepful thank you
10very good and realistic as it looks in real life great. I put garlic in my roast beef. I put dried mustard on my spuds and am starting to cook the beef at 7 gas. and any old apples or pears or oranges in the fridge will put in the gravy. jsut to give flavor and use stuff up. Cannot beat an onion chopped fine reduced to a puree as a base for gravy which is what they do with indian curries a lot are almost pureed onion from weeping a long time in saucepan. Any old cranberry sauce that will get furred up if left use that too in gravy
10I have used this tutorial numerous times. Thanks to you the roast is now my speciality!
10great stuff, i needed it for 1kg so perfect, ta muchly, m
10thank you so much i am a converted person i went off beef as it was always dry and tough this method worked and meat was beautiful.
9Bisto does a great job. Why use corn flour. Recipe easy to follow and I will be trying it tonight.
10good clear instructions for begginers to learn thank you very much
10Very good. I liked the photos.
10Lovely. Put me in the mood to buy a roast, which i am going to do right now lol. I am lucky, butchers 4 doors away!
10i had the whole family around for dinner and thanks to this reciepe the meal was a treat. thanks!
2The Photos Make Me Feel Sick!
10just perfect!!!!!for what im looking for.tnx
10so simple. thank you!
10If you dont have a gravy separator, use a couple of ice cubes which will draw the fat and solidify it.
10Exactly what I was looking for! Thx.
10very helpful thx
6very good thank you
10good and useful easy for a man
10So easily and practically explained. Thanks for that
10Delicious, was going to pot-roast, but foundd your recipe on the net and followed it to the letter - Fantastic! Even better, I bought the prime Scottish brisket at half price, as it had reached it sell-by date!
10magnificent...it's taste is mouth-watering
10Brilliant never cooked brisket before and this was really useful. Good real food.
10Tried this instead of my usual gravy making, came out perfect, very tasty, will use again and even tell everyone about it ! Easy step by step instructions, took my laptop in the kitchen and followed them as I cooked !!!
10Extremely useful site. Easier to follow than Delia!
10easy to understand and easy to follow
10beautifully produced, photographed and explained. thankyou
10simply wow
10by god that looks great , no fancy faffing about , just a proper roast beef , what could better that :)))
8thank you for your help, used red wine instead, personal choice and no butter,=]
10Thanks a lot now I know how to make a roast.Your instructions are simple to follow...
10Very helpful. Wish all sites were as clear and straightforward. Terry
10Great instructions
9must try this tonight
9Thanks, very well explained and photo is just great
10Thanks. Good explanation. I knew that gravy separator would come in handy sometime!
10thanks gave much needed help. very well explained.
9just tried this receipe for valentine's dinner. my husband said the gravy was soooo good it should be bottled and sold !! although beef need much more time in the oven than i expected.
10Just about to try the recipy for the first time Site seems very helpfull and well laid out instructions
10excellent beef every time
10very good
10Crystal clear for amateurs like me!
8Good explanation of traditional cooking skills. I just think meat should NOT be pink, but properly cooked through, for hygiene's sake and, if you have used a gravy separator to remove the fat from your gravy, why on earth would you then add more fat back into it again (butter)! This doesn't make sense - plus you would ruin perfectly good gravy. Tip: use 'Bisto' gravy browning powder (UK) instead of cornflour, as then you get lovely tasting brown gravy, without having to cook out the floury aftertaste of cornflour. JBS.
10Excited I'm making this tomorrow, I love a good roast!!