Anatomy Of A Roast Dinner
“First catch your joint”
The recipe is here. Thank you to Tesco for that… but I’ll pass on your supermarket meat recommendation, thanks. As usual my purchase was made at Brown’s Family Butcher’s. Mild surprise was created by my request for silverside rather than sirloin. I’d decided that the tastes on offer in this recipe would compensate for any lack of flavour in a cheaper cut. Was that thinking justified? Read a little further, please... #suspense
Plenty of photos follow with a bit of text to identify various stages of the online recipe.
Onions, sugar, vinegar and bay leaves.
Garlic for rubbing and rosemary for remembr… chopping!
Herbs from Mum’s garden. I was cooking this as part of her 90th birthday celebrations.
Meat given the treatment… meatment?!
Joining the onions. Into the pre-heated oven.
Ah. Not in the recipe - bringing a half decent wine along is never a bad idea. A Brunello di Montalcino would have been a step up but, hey, it’s only for Mum, after all!
Open wine and check cork for contamination. OK, OK… cook checks contents further with privileged first swig!
Some time later and the main element is done. Apart from resting, of course. Take the joint away from the onions and cover with foil and a towel.
Filthy goodness remains!
Add flour.
Heat until flour is toasty.
Stir in stock and cook until you have something so groovy that it merits the name gravy.
Sieve pan gravy.
Keep onions separate and warm.
Work out your own timings for roast vegetables. Roast them in beef fat like I did… if you think you’re hard enough!
Plan for as many more ‘sides’ as you want. (No – I chose not to make the mash from the recipe)
Uncover the beef. Pour any juices in with the gravy.
Carve. If you suck that string it’s not a crime.
Plate up. We helped ourselves from cooking pans and foil on the kitchen worktop. Service!
GRAVY!
Reflect on success of meal. Reflect on being warmer inside. Reflect on the decision to bring only one bottle of wine...
The observant among you will notice that I didn’t make Yorkshire pudding. I’m mildly ashamed but it was an executive decision helped by seconding from all assembled diners. The meat was less flavoursome and not so tender as that from a less economically priced part of the beast. But, as expected, all the other flavour profiles made up for that. Next time I’d cook silverside slower and lower than this particular recipe. But the supermarkets would miss out again… I would still be off to my local butcher as usual.