Roast Beef with Gravy
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Recipe serves 8
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Preparation Time
25 min
- Cooking Time
120 min
Ingredients
- 1tbsp olive oil
- A 2kg piece of rib of beef (off the bone, with bones reserved)
- 1 Rich Beef Stock Pot, dissolved in 500ml boiling water
- 2tsps cornflour dissolved in 4tsps cold water
- Yorkshire puddings
- 200g plain flour
- 3 medium eggs, beaten
- 300ml semi-skimmed milk
- A little salt and pepper
Method
- Make the batter for the Yorkshire pudding at least an hour or so before you want to cook it. Sift the flour into a mixing bowl. Whisk in the beaten egg to form a lump-free paste. Gradually whisk in the milk, beating to make a smooth batter. Season with salt and pepper. To make sure it’s absolutely smooth, I like to pass it through a sieve.
- Pre-heat the oven to 190˚C, 180˚C fan oven, Gas Mark 5.
- Heat the olive oil in a large ovenproof frying pan. Add in the beef and fry until browned on all sides, for around 5 minutes.
- Remove the beef and add the reserved bones to the pan. Fry the bones until browned, again for around 5 minutes.
- Return the beef to the pan, resting it on the bones so they act as a trivet. Transfer the pan with the beef resting on the bones into the oven. If your frying pan is not ovenproof, simply fry the beef in your frying pan and transfer it to a roasting tin that has been pre-heated in the oven.
- Roast the beef for 1 hour 15 minutes; it should measure 45˚C when tested with a meat probe. This gives you medium-rare beef. If you prefer your beef medium take it to 60˚C, while 70˚C gives you well done beef.
- About half an hour before the beef is ready, place two four-cup greased Yorkshire pudding trays in the oven to pre-heat.
- Remove the beef from the oven, wrap in foil and set aside to rest.
- Once the beef has been taken out of the oven, pour the Yorkshire pudding batter into the pre-heated Yorkshire pudding trays and bake for 25–30 minutes, until risen and golden-brown.
- Test the beef with a meat probe after it has rested for 10–15 minutes; you want the probe to reach 48–50˚C, which will mean that the meat is medium-rare.
- Carry on resting the foil-wrapped beef until the Yorkshire puddings are ready.
- Meanwhile, make the gravy. I always make my gravy at the last minute as I like to use the roasting juices to give that extra flavour.
- Dissolve the Knorr Rich Beef Stock Pot in 500ml of boiling water, stirring until thoroughly dissolved.
- Strain the roasting juices from the frying pan into a bowl and reserve, skimming off most of the fat and keeping the beef bones in the pan.
- Heat the frying pan with the bones over a medium heat, add in the Knorr Stock, bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer.
- Add in the cornflour mixture, whisking in well to incorporate it thoroughly without any lumps. I prefer a light gravy, but if you like thick gravy simply add in more cornflour (mixed with a little cold water).
- Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Strain the gravy into the reserved roasting juices and mix well.
- Carve the roast beef into thick slices and place on a warmed serving platter. I don’t like to slice roast beef too thinly because I feel that then you lose heat, texture and flavour. Add the freshly baked Yorkshire puddings. There you have it – a classic roast beef meal.
