A perfectly cooked beef joint makes a wonderful centrepiece for a Sunday roast – but it has to be juicy and tender.
Husband and wife cooking duo Briana and Chamere of A Full Living blog, have shared their “easy recipe” to produce the “juiciest melt in the mouth roast beef with minimal effort”.
They claim that this recipe gives the “best results every time” for “deliciously flavourful and tender roast beef”.
To get the most out of the recipe, households will need a meat thermometer – it’s the “key to making sure your dishes come out perfectly every time”.
Cooking beef with this recipe takes just 10 minutes to prep, two hours to cook and 30 minutes for the meat to rest.
Ingredients
For the beef
1.4kg beef roasting joint
One and a half tablespoons sea salt
One and a half teaspoons black pepper
Half a teaspoon garlic powder
Half a teaspoon onion powder
Half a teaspoon dried thyme
Half a teaspoon smoked paprika
Two tablespoons olive oil
For braising and gravy
Four cups beef stock
Half a cup dry red wine (can be replaced with more beef stock)
Eight garlic cloves
Eight sprigs of fresh thyme (optional)
Two bay leaves
Two tablespoon unsalted butter
Two tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
One tablespoon Dijon mustard
One quarter cup double cream
Two tablespoons cornflour or four tablespoons plain flour
Method
Preheat the oven to 250F (120C). In a small bowl, combine most of the salt, and pepper. Then add in the garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, and dried thyme and season the roast really well on all sides. Reserve a bit of salt and pepper for later.
Heat a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and sear roast on all sides until brown. This will take roughly 10 minutes, then transfer meat to a plate.
To the pan used, add about half the beef broth and the red wine and scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
Add the beef roast back to the pan, then add in fresh thyme, garlic cloves and bay leaves. Put it in the oven uncovered and cook using a meat thermometer until the temperature reaches around 115 to 120F (46 to 49C) to enjoy the roast medium-rare.
Remove the roast from the pan, set it on a plate, and cover the roast with foil. Leave the thermometer inside to monitor the temperature.
Allow the roast to rest tented for at least 15 to 20 minutes, and allow the temperature to reach 125 to 130F (52 to 54C) depending on your preferences.
In the meantime, you can prepare the gravy. To do so, remove the bay leaves, garlic cloves, and thyme from the pan and discard. Add the remaining beef stock and allow the sauce to simmer over low heat.
Add in the butter and double cream, and then whisk in the Worcestershire sauce and Dijon mustard.
Sprinkle in up to half a teaspoon of cornflour slowly to thicken the sauce and leave to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Don’t allow the sauce to boil or you will curdle the cream.
Adjust seasonings before cutting the beef thin and serving with gravy and sides of choice.
You can store the beef in the fridge in an airtight container for up to four days but make sure to reheat gently.
