The quintessential Sunday dinner meat, roast beef is far easier to make than one might imagine. In fact, smaller cuts can be made for a weeknight dinner if you have about an hour to let the meat cook away in the oven while you catch up on the day’s email or help your kids with a little homework.
When it comes to roasting beef, the most challenging aspect can be not overcooking your meat. Medium is a nice temperature to serve it at, but feel free to cook it a little more or a little less, depending on your preferences.
Ingredients:
Vegetable oil
Salt
Fresh ground pepper
1.5 kg roast beef
Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.
Place a few glugs of oil in the bottom of an ovenproof dish (Dutch ovens work well for this) and warm it over medium-high heat.
While the oil is warming, cover all sides of the beef with a generous amount of salt and fresh ground pepper. Place the beef in the baking dish and sear all sides (tops and bottoms included) until golden brown and crispy. This will take about two minutes per side.
Once the beef is well-seared, cover it with a lid and place it in the oven. Cook it for about 45 minutes, at which point you can check for doneness. If it looks a little dry during the cooking process, add a little water to the pot and baste the beef.
Cooking Times:
For rare cook the beef 11 minutes per pound.
For medium, cook the beef 15 minutes per pound.
For well-done meat, cook the beef ten minutes longer than required for medium.
Tips:
• Always allow the meat to rest before cutting into it. Remove the beef from the pan and tent it with foil. Resting time should be about 10 minutes.
• To make this a one-pot meal, scatter quartered potatoes, carrots and onions around the beef before baking.
• To make gravy, remove the beef from the dish and place it back on a burner turned to medium heat. Remove a tablespoon or two of the drippings from the pot and whisk it with a little cornstarch. Return the mixture to the pot and incorporate it into the rest of the cooking juices. Cook until combined and thickened.
• Alternatively, grate a little horseradish and combine it with some sour cream, salt and pepper. Serve it alongside the cooked beef.
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