One can procure a fine joint of beef from any good local craft butchers. They usually come tied up in string, so as to keep the meat from falling apart during cooking, help retain some of the juices and promote even cooking.
To cook the perfect roast, make sure your meat has been out of the fridge for 30minutes and your oven is pre-heated to 240c.
All you need is to do is scatter whatever seasonal root vegetables (carrots, parsnips, celery) you can find, a bulb of garlic (skin kept on but broken into cloves) & a few fresh sprigs of rosemary & thyme, onto the base of your roasting tray.
Then spread some olive oil and pepper on your meat. I used to rub salt into my meat until I heard that the salt draws the juices during cooking, no point in that at all! Best to salt just before the end of cooking.
Place you meat directly on top of the veggies and into the hot oven it goes but then turn down the temperature to 200c. and leave to roast, turning after 20 minutes and overall cooking time is less than an hour.
I have an electronic thermometer which I highly recommend you get to ensure your meat is cooked perfectly to your liking every time.
To achieve a beautiful medium-rare, the internal temperature should be between 55-60c. and it takes approximately 40minutes.
Once your meat is cooked, remove the strings, cover it in tinfoil and leave it for 20minutes, allowing your joint to breathe, yet keep the meat warm.
Timing is everything with roast dinners, so your potatoes should be steaming 10 minutes before you remove your meat from the oven & any additional veg should be timed appropriately.
More juice will have secreted after 20minutes, add it to a pot with some of the garlic & herbs from the roasting tin, add butter and a glass of red wine and allow it to reduce to a syrup consistency.
Simple yet succulent, how devine yet easy-to-do-dinners should be.
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