Home » How to – Classic English Roast Beef Dinner

30 March 2021

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Beef Dinner English Lunch Winter

How to – Classic English Roast Beef Dinner

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WHAT'S SPECIAL!

Classic English roast dinner recipe with all the trimmings. Homemade from scratch!

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This Classic English Roast Beef Dinner is delicious and indulgent! The roast is an old age traditional meal usually eaten on Sunday as a late lunch/early dinner. The English have been eating it for years and you will find it being served at almost every pub every Sunday. The trimmings vary but always include the classics; roast potatoes, carrots, green veg, gravy and of course Yorkshire puddings! This recipe is long winded but easy to follow. Cooking a roast is no small task and takes incredible time management and patience.

Making a roast dinner does take planning to ensure everything is ready and on the table at the same time, but it is well worth the hard work and effort. This post will tell you how to achieve the best home cooked roast beef!

I loved roast dinners as a child and still do today. I remember helping my mum with them and her teaching me all about the planning and timing which is best done with a good old list and a lot of timers! Having a list when juggling multiple elements and ingredients is essential. It is easy to forget something or lose track of time without a list with time prompts and lots of timers going off!

I love mixing up my vegetables every time I make a roast depending on the season and the produce that’s available. At Christmas I love it with delicious red cabbage braised in red wine! I will definitely be uploading this recipe in the autumn. This Sunday I opted for roast beef top side with Honey Roasted Carrots and Parsnips, tenderstem broccoli, goose fat roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings and Homemade Gravy. I will be writing up some separate posts on the key components of a roast dinner.

Classic English Roast Beef

Cooking roast beef for a roast can be tricky. If it is a small cut the cook time is a lot less than 2 hours and the oven is at a lower temperature. You will also need the oven for the potatoes, carrots and Yorkshire pudding which all require different temperatures. Again this is why timing is so important! What we will be doing is leaving the beef to rest for 20-30 minutes freeing up the oven for the rest of the lovely ingredients.

I like my roast beef medium to medium rare. The best way to monitor this is by using a meat thermometer. This will provide you with the most accurate indication of whether your meat is cooked to your taste. For medium rare the internal temp should be at 130-135 F, for medium 140-145 F and well done at 160 F. I have given Fahrenheit as most meat thermometers read in Fahrenheit not Celsius, you can easily check online for the conversion. Cook time for this particular cut and size of beef is around 45-1 hour for medium rare, and about 1 hour 15 minutes for well done. I cook on low at 160 C for 1 hour before turning up the heat to 200 C for a final 15 minute blast.

If you are still unsure just invest in a meat thermometer, saves you the headache! This is a great entry model. If you have the budget, I highly recommend the popular Meater thermometer. It is a cult favourite amongst meat and steak fans worldwide!

A lot goes into a roast dinner and I know there are a lot of steps to follow but I hope this recipe helps you prepare and smash this delicious English Roast beef dinner!

I love roasts and will be posting lots more! If you have any questions please let me know in the comments below. If you want to see more recipes and plans like this let me know in the comments too!

What do i need?

• Your choice of meat! To follow this recipe you should buy a beef topside joint.
• The best potatoes for roasting are King Edward or Maris Piper. They produce the best results and always end up perfectly crisp outside and fluffy and soft on the inside.
• I love both types of broccoli but opted for some delicious purple tenderstem broccoli this Sunday. Check it out it’s in Lidl this week.
• For the Yorkshire puddings you will need just 3 simple ingredients; eggs, milk and plain flour.
• Goose fat is essential for making the best ever roast potatoes. You can find it at most large supermarkets especially around Christmas. I always keep a jar in the fridge!

Tips & Tricks

• I definitely recommend writing a list up every time you make a roast. First read the recipe card below and decide on your ingredients. Then write a list of your own, with the times every ingredient needs to be started. This will ensure nothing is forgotten and everything makes it to the table on time. Trust me this is a major key!
• Use timers! I love a good timer when cooking and can be heard shouting ‘hey siri set timer’, quite often! This helps keep your timings tight. Need multiple timers? Set alarms instead with labels for each dish.
• Invest in a meat thermometer. If you are unsure and new to cooking large pieces of meat then this is a great tool to ensure you get the desired cook on your meat.

Serving Suggestions –

I love my beef medium to medium rare but Sundays guest was a dreaded well done fan! Don’t worry I have put the timings and temperatures for medium and well done in the recipe card bellow. Don’t forget to check out my Honey Roasted Carrots and Parsnips and Homemade Gravy recipes to complete this recipe.

5 from 2 votes

The Full English Roast

This classic English meal is indulgent and jam packed with delicious ingredients!

Servings 4 people

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 hours hrs

Total Time 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Equipment

• oven
• 2 Pyrex dishes
• 1 Saucepan
• Mixing jug
• Kitchen scale
• Mixing bowl
• Sharp knife
• Peeler
• Medium stock pot
• 12 Hole muffin tin
• garlic press
• Meat thermometer
• Hand mixer or whisk

Ingredients

Roast Beef

• 1 kg Beef topside
• 4 galic cloves minced
• 1 tbsp sea salt

Homemade Gravy

• 1.5 litres chicken stock
• 3 tbsp plain flour
• 2 tbsp goose fat
• 1 onion
• 1 scotch bonnet optional
• salt
• pepper
• 1 stock cube
• cornstarch slurry optional

Roast Potatoes

• potatoes
• 1 tbsp goose fat
• 1 tsp salt

Yorkshire Pudding – Makes 12

• 115 g plain flour
• 238 ml whole milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp mixed herbs
• ½ tsp salt
• pinch black pepper
• goose fat or lard for the tin

Tenderstem Brocoli

• 8 stems tenderstem brocoli
• ½ tsp salt

Instructions

Homemade Gravy

• Turn the stove to high and heat pot for 2 minutes before adding the goose fat and allowing to melt then add the flour. Keep stirring until the flour is browned and dry. It should be crumbly and relatively dry when ready. This will take about 10 minutes. Do turn down the heat while stirring to avoid burning.
• Once flour is cooked take off the heat and slowly add the cold stock while stirring. Add the washed whole chilli and the peeled whole onion and put back on the heat on low. Add a splash of browning if you want a nice dark gravy.
• Once the gravy starts to give off heat and simmer add stock cube and taste for salt and add to taste. Stir every 15 minutes for at least 2 hours.
• When the rest of the food is ready and the 2 hours is up, remove the onion and chilli and mince the chilli in a garlic press for extra heat (optional).
• The beef will be resting by now and you can pour the cooking juices into the gravy for extra flavour. Turn the heat up to high and allow to come to the boil and thicken to your taste. Add cornstarch slurry if desired thickness is not achieved.

Prep

• Wash and peel the potatoes and cut into same size pieces and put in a sauce pan with cold water and put on the stove for later. Wash the broccoli and put in cold water in a saucepan. Add the salt to both pans.
• If you are making the honey roasted carrots and parsnips wash cut and peel them now and go to my separate recipe to complete. You should put these in the oven for 30-45 minutes at 200 C.

Roast Potatoes

• Preheat the oven to 160 C. Parboil the potatoes until the water starts to boil, usually about 10-15 minutes. Then drain and set aside.
• Put goose fat into oven dish and throw the parboiled potatoes on top and toss in the fat.
• Put in the oven on the bottom shelf 30 minutes before the beef. Keep an eye on them and turn after 1 hour. Total cook time about 1hour 30minutes.

Roast Beef – Medium Cook

• Take the beef out of the oven 1 hour before cooking and cover in salt and the minced garlic.
• When oven is ready cook at 160 C for one hour. Take out and check internal temperature of the meat. You want 135 C for a medium cook. Turn oven up to 200 C and put beef back in the oven for another 20 minutes for medium and 30-40 minutes for well done.
• Take out of the oven and allow to rest for 20 minutes minimum. Start the Yorkshires.

Yorkshire Pudding

• Spoon a little goose fat into each tin and put in the oven which should still be at 200 C for 10 minutes and set a timer.
• Measure the flour out into a bowl. Crack the eggs beat and add the milk and beat to combine. Add the salt, pepper and mixed herbs mix and pour into the flour and mix on medium with a handheld mixer for about 2 minutes.
• Once 10 minutes is up remove tin from oven, closing the door back and quickly pour in the batter to halfway in each hole and put into the oven for 20 minutes.

Brocoli

• At the same time you put the Yorkshires in the oven, turn on the broccoli and boil for about 12 minutes or to your taste.
• Your Yorkshires should be done now and you can serve and enjoy!

Notes

You should read the entire recipe first before starting. Don’t forget to head to my Honey Roasted Carrots and Parsnips recipe to complete this recipe! Need help ask away in the comments.

For the cornstarch slurry – in a ramekin mix 1 tbsp cornstarch and 4 tbsp cold water. Simple!

Author: Daniel Devereux

Cost: £15-20

Course: Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine: English

Keyword: Roast, Winter

Did you make Classic English Roast Beef Dinner?

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @chilliandlife on Instagram and hashtag it #chilliandlife #CANDL.

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