My guide to making a British roast dinner

[penda]

The Roast

• A good cut of meat (I’m partial to prime rib, but a simple cut of roast beef can be fantastic)
• 1 yellow onion (sweet if you can get it)
• 5-6 sprigs of Thyme
• 1 table spoon of Coleman’s mustard powder
• 1 table spoon of flour
• ½ tea spoon of garlic powder
• Liberal amounts of pepper
• Worchestershire sauce

1) Massage the meat with Worchestershire sauce and put it in the fridge for 30-60 minutes.
2) Mix the flour, mustard powder, garlic powder, and pepper together in a bowl.
3) Cut the onion into 1/2" disks and pace them in the base of your roasting tin. The idea is for you to rest your meat on these onions.
4) Put the sprigs of Thyme on top of the onion (these will sit between the meat and the onion)
5) Heavily dust the meat with your mix that you just made. You want it covered. If you like pepper a lot, add to taste.
6) Put it in the oven pre-heated to 475 for 15 minutes to sear. Reduce to 375 and leave it for 15 minutes per pound (it’ll be bloody at this level). Add 15 minutes to get it to “medium/well” Alternatively you could just use a meat thermometer.
7) The gravy - When you pull the roast out let it relax for 15 minutes and then get all the drippings, black stuff on the bottom of the pan, the onions, etc, and put it in a saucepan. Add a cube of oxo (beef bullion) and a roux to the dripping along with a little water from the potatoes you were boiling (see below). Add salt/pepper to taste.

Yorkshire puddings

• 2/3 cup low fat milk
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 egg
• Beef drippings if you didn’t make gravy (or a little veggie oil)

Make this while the meat is relaxing.

1) Put a little oil into each cup of a muffin tin and put it in the oven at 425. You want the oil piping hot.
2) Mix the milk, flour and egg in a bowl. Beat it.
3) Pull the tin out and pour the mixture in, and put it straight back in the oven. You want that oil VERY hot when you pour it in and you don’t want to lose any heat.
4) Do NOT open the oven for the next 15 minutes. You’ll want to. Don’t.
5) Pull them out, pour gravy on them, and eat.

Crispy roast potatoes

• 4 russet potatoes
• a little veggie oil

1) Peel and halve the potatoes.
2) Boil the potatoes until they’re semi soft (you don’t want them falling apart, but they shouldn’t be hard either).
3) Drain the water and rough them up in the pot by shaking it.
4) Place them in a pan that has oil that has already been heated to 375. Roll them around the oil to make sure they’re entirely coated.
5) Put them in the oven and ignore them for about the next 30 minutes (they should be done around the same time as the meat).
6) Serve with the gravy.


Carrot and turnip mash

• Equal amounts (by size, not number) of carrots and turnips.
• Butter
• Salt
• Pepper

1) Slice the carrots and dice the turnips.
2) Boil for ages. Basically, the entire time you’re cooking, have these things at a low boil.
3) Drain and give them a minute or three to let some of the moisture evaporate otherwise they might end up soupy when you mash them.
4) Add a small knob of butter, some salt and pepper.
5) Mash the bejeezus out of them.
6) Eat.

Comments

[sayaka.livejournal.com]

I never knew what a "Yorkshire Pudding" was until just now.

[trilliumgrl.livejournal.com]

Okay, now I'm hungry and missing London. :P

[m00t.livejournal.com]

Two thumbs up from me. I love Yorkshire puddings SO MUCH.

[gina.livejournal.com]

Nom nom nom. I loved when we made parsnips.

[inevitability.livejournal.com]

I'll be making those shortly. > : )

[syrensix.livejournal.com]

The recipe for roast sounds great - i've never had the trick of a dry roast down, though both Chris and i prefer it to pot roast.

I only had yorkshire puddings once, and they were not at all good. How much oil do you put in the tins to get hot?

[inevitability.livejournal.com]

If you follow that recipe to the letter you should be just fine for the roast. :)

As for the yorkies... you want little muffin tins and about 1/4" of oil. Too much and they'll be really oily, too little and they'll burn/stick.

The key to yorkies is 1) dont open the oven and 2) creep around the house for the 15 minutes they're cooking or they'll collapse.

[asiln28.livejournal.com]

and you're cooking all of this for jeff & i & zane when?????

[inevitability.livejournal.com]

I try to do a big roast dinner once or twice a month. You all are always welcome. :)

[vegasholidays.livejournal.com]

Sounds very organised and concise - will give it a go this sunday (although mouth already watering)