Roast beef is one of the most famous dishes of classic English cuisine, which is a large piece of beef that has been baked in the oven for a long time. Even the name Roast beef itself is translated from English as “roast beef”.
For roast beef, you need to choose the right meat. Thick or thin edges or sirloins work best for it. These pieces are located near the spine and contain 4-5 ribs, or the last three ribs, if a sirloin is chosen. Depending on the location, the meat has a different fiber and taste.
The farther from the neck the selected piece is, the softer and juicier it will be. However, this significantly reduces the thickness of the pieces.
To prepare roast beef according to the classic English recipe, you will need 4 kg of thin beef rim, 2 tbsp. l. English mustard with seeds, 1 full tbsp. l. coarse non-iodized salt and 1 tsp. ground black pepper. You can use a variety of herbs, such as thyme or basil, but be sure to chop them before use if they are dry, or very finely chop if they are fresh. Peppers, if used in peas, should also be crushed.
The meat must necessarily include ribs - this will give it additional juiciness. After cooking, they are carefully cut, but you need to cook with them. In addition, small fat layers are welcome in meat.
Before cooking, beef must be warmed to room temperature. In no case should you use meat that has been frozen, otherwise it will turn out to be dry and tougher than the recipe intended. Therefore, it is permissible to use only chilled beef.
A piece of meat must be thoroughly washed, removed from the fragments of bones, if any, and dried with a paper towel. Next, it should be coated with mustard on all sides and rolled in spices mixed with salt. For better adhesion of the spices, the meat can be patted slightly, hammering them into a piece a little.
Prepared meat must be placed on a baking sheet with the ribs down and sent to the oven heated to 240 ° C. At this temperature, beef must be kept for about 15 minutes, and then the heating must be reduced to 180 ° C.
Approximately every 20 minutes, the meat should be watered with melted fat. To prevent the meat juice from burning, it is recommended to pour a little water on the baking sheet.
Unlike other recipes for roasting meat, roast beef does not involve wrapping the beef in foil or dough. It is the natural penetration of heat into a piece of meat that gives it the taste of real roast beef.
On average, it takes 2 hours to fully cook a 4 kg piece of beef. After the dish is ready, it must be allowed to stand in the oven for some time, but not less than 20 minutes.
According to traditional recipes, Roast Beef should be served with horseradish sauce or a sauce made with leftover meat juices, wine and spices. When serving the dish, the sauce must be warm.
It should be noted that this dish does not become less delicious when cold. On the contrary, in England, the roast beef left over after dinner is usually wrapped in foil and chilled, and in the morning, cut into thick slices, served as an ingredient for sandwiches. They must be accompanied by fresh vegetables such as tomatoes.
