Perhaps the ultimate in comfort food, there’s something very special about a roast dinner, isn’t there? It’s the ultimate meal for sharing with the family, and many of us will have memories of sitting around a table with loved ones tucking into a Sunday roast. Maybe that’s why it’s such a great meal for Mother’s Day! But getting it all right can be a little tricky. That’s why we’ve got some experts to share their top tips for making sure your roast dinner is the best it can possibly be!
ROAST BEEF
Paul Berry, owner of the The Swan and Spelt in Bampton, has been dishing up meals and hospitality in the village for 15 years so knows a thing or two about making a great roast dinner. Here are his top tips for cooking a banging bit of beef!
- If you’re opting for a beef roast dinner, make sure you choose a good piece of meat with a bit of fat, which will add flavour. Rib, sirloin or topside of beef are good cuts for a roast dinner. It should be dark in colour as this means it has matured.
- Seal the meat in a frying or roasting pan for a few minutes first as this helps keep all the juices in.
- Depending on whether you like your beef rare, medium or well done, will depend on how long you cook it for. Cook in a hot over for 30 minutes at 220°C/Gas Mark 7and then lower the temperature to 190°C/Gas Mark 5 for the remaining cooking time. If you want your beef rare, cook it for 11 minutes per lb/450g, 14 minutes for medium and 16 for well done.
- You should baste the meat in its own juices to keep it lovely and moist and to prevent it from burning. You should do this every 15 to 20 minutes.
- The most important thing you can do is to let the meat rest once it’s cooked. This allows it to finish cooking and the juices to redistribute through the meat.
ROAST PORK
Paul Berry knows a thing or two about making a great roast pork. Here are his tips:
To get the best crackling, you should pat the skin dry with a paper towel, then evenly sprinkle sea salt over it and leave for 30 minutes in the fridge. The salt will draw out any moisture in the skin. Pat again with a paper towel to ensure it’s fully dry and then add salt, pepper and your chosen herbs to season.
When roasting the pork, make incisions in the meat and pop in slivers of garlic, rosemary and bay. You should also roast the joint in the same tin as your veggies, using them as a bed for the meat. Cook the pork at 230°C/Gas Mark 8 and after 15 minutes, turn the heat down to 180°C /Gas Mark 4 and continue to cook for 1 hour 30 minutes.
ROAST CHICKEN
Done right, a roast chicken can be a truly lovely thing.
To keep it succulent take it out of the fridge an hour before you intend to start cooking it to bring it up to room temperature. (This can apply to any meat you are roasting).
Resting your bird for at least 15 minutes after you take it out of the oven is also key to making sure the meat stays juicy – and it will also make it easier to carve.
Don’t get too concerned with basting while it’s cooking. Although it can give good results, every time you open the oven you lose some heat which you don’t want to do.
Development chef from Maple from Canada, Olivier Briault, has the following advice: “Pour water into the bottom of the roasting tin about 2cm deep. Cover with foil and roast for 1hr at 180˚C/Gas Mark 4. Take the foil off, rub the chicken with a mix of maple syrup and melted butter and continue to roast for 30 minutes or until the skin is golden. Pour the juices into a jug and use in gravy.
“Another good way to add some flavour to a roast chicken is to mix some maple syrup, olive oil, whole grain mustard, salt and pepper in a bowl, then rub the chicken with this mix before cooking. You can also put some thyme into the chicken with a lemon cut in half.”
ROAST LAMB
Chef, sustainability advocate and 44 Foods Partner James Strawbridge from Dorset shares his hints and tips for cooking perfectly succulent rosemary and garlic infused lamb.
Low and slow is the order of the day when it comes to perfecting a leg of lamb. If you want soft, succulent meat, longer really is better, as it not only gives your meat time to tenderise in the oven, but it also gives it longer to take on the flavours of your chosen marinade.
To make sure your lamb is cooked to perfection without slicing into it, grab yourself a meat thermometer. For medium rare (blush pink inside), the internal temperature straight out of the oven should be 55-60°C, for medium with a hint of pink, it should be 60-66°C and for well done, 67-71°C, though for the optimum juiciness, I’d always recommend enjoying your lamb pink!