For Hairy Bikers roast beef, a topside joint is rubbed with pepper, mustard powder and thyme, then blasted in a very hot oven. Once rested, their Meat Feasts 1.5kg joint serves 6 to 8 after about 1½ hours, and I’d put each portion near 295 calories.
They rate rib as “the emperor of roasts”, yet topside “makes a lovely roast and is a lot cheaper than rib or sirloin”. Where the rib gets nothing but salt, the topside goes in under a crust of black pepper, mustard powder and dried thyme.
Everything after the first hot 15 minutes hangs on the weight, at 200°C and 15 minutes per 500g for medium rare. Then it rests under foil for 20 minutes, which is when I’d make the gravy in the same tin.
Hairy Bikers Roast Beef
Description
A tied piece of topside gets a peppery mustard coat and a short spell in a fierce oven. Then a steadier roast is timed to how pink you like it. While it rests under foil, the tin juices become a wine and stock gravy.
Ingredients
For the beef
For the gravy
Instructions
- Bring to room temperature: Take the beef out of the fridge 45 minutes to an hour before roasting. Then preheat the oven to its highest setting and note the weight of the joint.
- Rub the joint: Mix the ground peppercorns, mustard powder, thyme and the onion or garlic powder, if using. Press the mixture all over the beef until it is completely covered, then put it in a roasting tin.
- Blast: Then roast the beef in the very hot oven for 15 minutes.
- Roast to your liking: Reduce the oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6. Then roast for 12 minutes per 500g for rare, 15 for medium rare, 17 for medium or 20 for well done.
- Rest: Once it is done, lift the beef onto a platter or carving board, cover with foil and leave it to rest for 20 minutes.
- Start the gravy: Meanwhile, strain the tin contents into a jug and leave for a few minutes so the fat rises. Put the tin over a low heat, add 1 tbsp of the fat and sprinkle in the flour, scraping up the sticky bits.
- Finish the gravy: Then stir in the wine, then gradually add the stock and the separated pan juices until smooth. Pour it into a small pan over a low heat, add any resting juices, season, and stir in the redcurrant jelly if you like.
- Carve and serve: Once it has rested, carve the beef and serve with vegetables, Yorkshire pudding and the piping hot gravy.
FAQs
How do you roast a rib of beef?
Their Meat Feasts rib is a 2.5kg joint on the bone, seasoned only with salt and given 20 minutes on the highest setting. Then the oven drops to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4, allowing 13 minutes per 500g for rare, 16 for medium rare or 18 for medium.
Its gravy starts with shallots and thyme in 400ml of red wine, reduced by half, before the tin juices, stock and fruit jelly go in. And they serve it with Yorkshire pud, horseradish sauce and their semolina roast potatoes.
How long does a 2kg joint take?
Adding the first 15 minutes to the per-500g time, a 2kg topside comes to about 75 minutes for medium rare and 95 for well done. So that’s my working from their timings, before the 20-minute rest.
A 2.5kg rib works out at 100 minutes for medium rare, because its blast is 20 minutes and the per-500g figure is a little higher. And the topside needs 45 minutes to an hour out of the fridge first, and they want the rib out well before roasting too.
Is there a Hairy Dieters version?
Yes, in Hairy Dieters Make It Easy they swap to a 1.5 to 2kg silverside, saying it “works really well and doesn’t break the bank”. Then the rub drops the onion or garlic powder and some mustard, and the opening blast stretches to 20 minutes. And beef, gravy and Yorkshires together come to 324 calories a serving for six.
Their Yorkshires there use semi-skimmed milk and oil spray, baked at 230°C/Fan 210°C/Gas 8 once the beef is out. For the classic batter with full-fat milk, see their Yorkshire pudding recipe.
What about a pot roast?
A pot roast is a slower dish, and their pot-roast beef brisket spends around 4 to 5½ hours in red wine and stock. In One Pot Wonders there’s also a silverside or topside pot roast, which they call “the Sunday lunch we were both brought up on”.
That one sears a 1kg joint, then gives it 2 hours at 160°C/Fan 140°C/Gas 3 with shallots, carrots, celery and new potatoes. And in Meat Feasts they call pot-roasting “a good way of making a special meal from a cheap cut”.
What can you do with leftover roast beef?
In Make It Easy they plan for it, saying a 1.5 to 2kg joint leaves enough for their beef ragu or minchi another day. Or slice it thin for a Yorkshire pudding wrap, warmed through in what’s left of the gravy.
Cold roast beef with English mustard or horseradish makes a cracking sandwich, which is how I’d use the last of it. And the Food Standards Agency says leftovers go in the fridge within one to two hours, eaten within 48 hours or frozen.
