Perfect Roast Beef and Gravy

Follow these simple instructions for perfect roast beef with a delicious rich, gravy. Perfect for me means rare, but this should also suit everyone as the sides will be well done, the next slice medium and then through medium rare to the delicious rare juicy slices in the middle.

The basics of this (sizzle, slow cook then rest) comes from the British chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, who knows pretty much all there is to know about rearing and cooking meat to bring out the best in it. I´ve cooked this three times on my travels so far with Chilean and Argentinian beef and it went down very, very well.

Ingredients

• Piece of beef suitable for roasting. The best cuts for this would be a forerib or sirloin, for our Spanish speaking friends this would be lomo vetado or lomo liso. The more cube shaped the better rather than long and thin. Long and thin will cook quicker so adjust times.
• Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• 2 - 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 medium carrots
• 1 onion
• 2 sticks of celery
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 cloves garlic
  
• 2 - 3 glasses of red wine
• 1 pint beef stock (or retain the water from boiling your veg)
  

Instructions

• Bring beef out of fridge an hour or so beforehand to allow to come up to room temperature
  
• Preheat oven to at least 220C
• Combine olive oil, salt and pepper
  
• Trim the beef and then lovingly massage the oil, salt and pepper mixture all over the beef
• Cut the carrots and celery into pieces that are longer than the beef is wide
• Slice the onion crossways, no need to peel
• Place the onion, carrots, celery, garlic and bay leaves in the bottom of a roasting dish big enough for the beef. The idea is to create a bed for the beef to sit on. This will allow a more even cooking of the beef, and the veg will form the basis of the gravy
• Pop beef on top and then place into the very hot oven
  
• Cook on this high heat for 20 - 30 minutes when the beef should have developed a rich, dark, sizzling coating
• The beef now needs to be cooked at a much lower temperature, around 160C. Open the oven door and give it a good waft to cool it down quicker. Timings are as follows
• 10 mins per 500g - rare
• 12 mins per 500g - medium rare
• 15 mins per 500g - medium
  
• don´t even think about cooking it for any longer
• It will be difficult to tell by looking at the meat when it is ready, because the initial sizzle at the high temperature will have given it a golden crust. As all ovens are different and all bits of meat are different shape, the most accurate way to test is with a meat thermometer, inserted into the center of the thickest part of the joint
  
• 45C - very rare (magic number for the carnivores)
  
• 50C - rare
• 60C - medium
• 70C - obliterated
  
• You can also test by prodding with your finger, if it offers little resistance and the whole piece moves when you prod it then it is probably still very rare. If it feels quite solid then get it out. This takes a bit of experience to tell. You can also slide a knife into the beef and check the juices, and the temperature of the tip of knife on your lip. If blood oozes out then it probably needs some more, if nothing comes out then get it out of the oven fast.
• The final and one of the most important steps is to rest the meat. Place it on a plate or something that will catch any stray juices and cover completely in foil. Rest for at least 30 mins, but any longer won't hurt and give you longer to finish off the gravy etc. This long resting helps the juices and heat to more evenly distribute through the beef. So the result should be a more tender, consistent and juicier roast.

Gravy

• While all the roasting is going on, heat some stock. The best would be home made beef stock, the next best is good shop bought beef stock, followed by fresh vegetable stock (could be the water the veg were boiled in) or just water. You can pack plenty of flavour into the gravy without using stock cubes.
  
• Place the roasting tin minus the beef on the hob
• Stir in about a dessert spoon of plain flour into the oil and juices and stir for a few minutes
  
• Slowly start adding the red wine, stirring and scraping the bottom of the tray as you go
• Add the stock
• From this point on, how much you add, and how much you boil it to reduce it is all about personal taste
  
• Other extras that can be added to the gravy include Worcester sauce, tomato ketchup to sweeten it, mustard or balsamic vinegar
• After about 10 - 15 mins the gravy can be strained through a sieve into a pan, making sure to squeeze out all the juices. The carrots, onions and celery can be kept to serve with the beef
• Keep warm and serve in a gravy jug
  

To serve

• Carve the beef on a large wooden chopping board at the table so everyone can watch each perfectly cooked slice of beef fall off the joint, into a spreading pool of juices.
  

Ideas to accompany the beef

• Yorkshire puddings
• Roast potatoes
• Honey, orange and mustard glazed carrots
• Parmesan roast parsnips
• Stir fried savoy cabbage with onions, garlic and bacon
• Cauliflower and cheese