Prime POT Roast BEEF

THE RECIPE

I see lots of pieces of beef in the shops on special offer. Pieces like brisket or silverside or housekeepers cut, they look like fine pieces of beef, but people often make the mistake of roasting them as if they were Sirloin, rib or fillet of beef. These pieces take longer to cook so are best for a Pot Roast and when given long slow cooking can be very delicious, serve them with some root vegetables and potatoes and it makes for a very fine family meal. Pot Roast is a slow, moist heat cooking method which makes a succulent, flavoursome meal from the less expensive beef cuts.

INGREDIENTS:

1 kg joint of beef                    
2 tbsp Olive oil
3 Carrots, peeled and chopped
3 Parsnips, peeled and chopped
4 small white onions, peeled and halved
1 head of garlic
1 handful of thyme
500 ml stout, but you can use liquid of your choice i.e. stock, water or wine
Salt and black pepper


Serves 4

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 150°C/Gas Mark 2. Heat the olive oil in a heavy casserole dish on the hob and brown the meat on all sides. Add the vegetables, garlic, thyme and stout. Season with salt and black pepper and cover.

Place in the oven and cook for 1 hour 15 minutes for medium, 25 minutes per 500g plus 25 minutes. Cook for 30 minutes per 500g plus 30 minutes for well done. Remove the beef, cover with kitchen foil and allow to rest for 15-30 minutes before carving. If the vegetables are cooked to your satisfaction remove from the liquid and keep warm. Strain the liquid into a saucepan and then reduce by half to make a gravy/sauce.

TO SERVE:

Carve the beef into slices, place a couple of slices on each plate with the vegetables. Serve with potato and ladle some gravy over each dish. Enjoy......

Alternatively you can purée the root vegetables with a little milk and cream and serve with little balls of mashed potato as below. A little more work, but if you are entertaining and would like to impress, give it a try! There  is more than one way to serve a dish made with the same ingredients. I actually made the dish below with the left overs from the first Pot Roast dish.