The Best Roast Beef

The British institution that is the Sunday Roast is a reminder that food can deliver so much more than calories. For centuries families and friends have gathered together for comfort and cheer over slices of roast beef, crisp roast potatoes and monumental Yorkshire puddings all liberally doused with gravy. It carries the weight of tradition and childhood memories. And in these non-gathering days it holds the power to transport us back to more congenial days with all our loved ones and think forward to better times ahead.

We use British roast rump steak for the roasts in our restaurants and in our Hawksmoor at Home Roast Boxes.

  1. An hour before cooking take the beef out of the fridge to bring it to room temperature.
  2. Remove packaging and pat dry with kitchen roll. Don’t remove any string around the joint until after it’s been cooked and rested. Snip it off when you’re ready to slice and serve.
  3. Pre-heat oven to 200°C (180°C fan). Guideline cooking times are included below and will depend on the size of the cut. Also, every oven is different and their temperature gauges are notoriously unreliable. These times are a guide, but we really recommend a meat thermometer (if you don’t have one consider getting one for your next roast session).
  4. Heat a heavy-gauge uncoated frying pan over a high heat until smoking. Use beef dripping for the best results, or you can use any oil/fat you have at home and add to the pan.
  5. Season the beef generously with Maldon sea salt and sear on all sides for 5 minutes or so until golden brown all the way round.
  6. For medium-rare cook in the pre-heated oven, turning a couple of times during cooking, for 25-30 minutes (it might be a few minutes more or less depending on how long you seared it for, how many times you open the oven door etc.).
    For medium cook for 30-35 minutes (again +/- a few minutes).
    If you have a meat thermometer: probe the thickest part of the beef 5 minutes or so before the guide cooking time is up. At the end of cooking, the internal temperature should be at the bottom end of the range, the core temperature will increase as the roast rests.
    Rare 42-45°C. Medium rare 45-50°C. Medium 50-55°
  7. Allow time for a good rest, covered loosely with foil for about 20 minutes.