Help With Christmas Dinner Beef

[Herbsman.]

Just pop a cap in his... oh, that kind of beef.

 

[cliche guevara]

That is fucking huge. Boneless joint right?

The roasting time sounds about right, but it's always a bit tricky to tell tbh - I would suspect given the size you need to allow a little more. Would probably either whack the oven up for the first 15/20 and sear a little as well. Perhaps add a few sticks of celery and carrots underneath the joint, as otherwise that's a lot of shallots.

Don't forget to take the beef out of the fridge well before cooking to reach room temperature.

It is big
Yeah it's boneless.
Celery and carrots sound like a good idea. Are they gonna be edible after, or are they just there for flavour? Searing it - Do I just roll it around in a frying pan for a minute or two? Shall I do this with the flour/mustard powder/black pepper in the pan, or add that afterwards?

Sorry for all the questions but I really want to get this right, beef is important to me

 

[Ms T]

It is big
Yeah it's boneless.
Celery and carrots sound like a good idea. Are they gonna be edible after, or are they just there for flavour? Searing it - Do I just roll it around in a frying pan for a minute or two? Shall I do this with the flour/mustard powder/black pepper in the pan, or add that afterwards?

Sorry for all the questions but I really want to get this right, beef is important to me

You need to give it 3 or 4 minutes per side, so it gets nice and browned. You might want to forgo the initial sizzle at high temperature in the oven if you do this. The most important thing is not to overcook it.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

i do our beef in the slow cooker.

takes a long time (I out ours in the night before) but it tastes luvverly and most of the juices are preserved so you can also do a kicking gravy

That is an ace way to do beef, but only cheap joints, a bit of a waste on a posh one.

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

Last time I made roast beef, it seemed to be cooked, well, I tested it, sliced into it a bit, and it seemed done.

But when we started trying to carve it, it wasn't just rare in the middle, it was really horribly rare. But kind of done round the edges.

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

But anyway, saw a clip of Nigella earlier, she recommended leaving the joint out of the fridge so it's room temperature and not cold when it goes in.

What someone else said about putting flour in to make gravy and stirring really quickly. Wouldn't recommend that myself, tbh.

Cornflour, and mix it with some cold water first. Yeah, carrots and celery in the roasting tin, just for flavour, they won't be edible. Gravy = meat juices in the pan, skim off fat, add some cornflour (pre-mixed with cold water) to thicken. Also, the water, instead of just adding regular boiled water out of a kettle, add some of the other water that you've cooked veggies in, if you've cooked carrots or broccoli or water, instead of just draining the water into the sink down the plughole, reserve the cooked veggie water and use that to make your gravy.

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

And probably the cheapest cut is is possible to get. I recently bought a whole brisket to make pastrami and it cost me less than a tenner, less tha a £1/lb

Ooh, is that easy to make then? *goes off to Google*

I love pastrami, but it's strangely hard to get hold of in the other place I live.

ETA post-Google: OMG! You make your own pastrami? How do you smoke it?

 

[pogofish]

Brisket has all but vanished from butchers up here - Which is a shame as it was a really useful cut. Sometimes M&S has it sliced at a truly stupid price but the last time I got some from a butcher here, it was not good.


Personally preferred it in a piece though, not rolled.

 

[Mrs Miggins]

I'm afraid the Butcher might have to be Asda

If the butcher is going to be Asda, get a big free-range chicken instead. Stuff some lemons and rosemary up it's bum, cover with foil and cook it at gas mark 6 for 20 mins per pound plus 20 if it needs it. Take off the foil for the last 20 mins. Dead easy - almost impossible to fuck up.

I've never had a decent piece of red meat from a supermarket because they don't sell decent meat - every time I've tried supermarket beef or lamb, it's been tough.

ETA - sorry - I see you have bought it already

 

[torquemad]

Rib-eye is the way to go for roast beef. It has a lovely marbling of fat which flavours the meat and also keeps it moist Gas mark 9 for twenty mins then 15 mins per lb for rare plus fifteen for med plus another fifteen mins for well done. Also, don't forget to factor in at least a half hour resting time before you carve.

For gravy, use the roasting tin, take out some of the fat - but leave some in. Put tin on gas, stir in a tablespoon of flour/ bisto. When flour is cooked through add some beef stock and stir until thickened.

Alternatively, whack a few glasses of red wine plus some stock into pan, boil and reduce by half.

Forgot to mention, re carving problem referred to above, you can get boned and rolled rib-eye.