Rare Roast Beef

The ideal of roast beef is thinly sliced for sandwiches, medium-rare, succulent and served with horse radish, but the standard technique for roasting beef (at 350F) doesn’t generate these results. Sous vide cooking followed by searing will do this, but that’s expensive. The ‘trick’ is to roast long and low after an initial sear, which makes even cheap cuts of beef come out evenly pink (not raw) and delicate.

For this technique, the details matter. Unfortunately, you really require a decent meat thermometer (we use a probe type rather than an instant-read), and an accurate oven temperature, either using a separate thermometer or a calibrated oven, is very important.

The better quality the meat, the better the result. You want a 2 lb or larger roast; look for plenty of marbling and a decent layer of genuine fat (the cheap layer of basting fat typically strapped on by British supermarkets usually tastes nasty). Rib is ideal, although you can use a cheaper joint provided you pick a good one - chuck, blade, topside, rump, sirloin, etc, are all good.

First, leave the joint to come to room temperature, which will take at least 2 hours; you can marinade it if you like, but definitely season generously with salt and pepper. Turn on the oven to 225F/110C and leave for at least 20 minutes after it has reached temperature, to allow the oven surrounds to equilibrate.

Once the oven is up to temperature, sear the outside of the joint in a pan on the top of the range, which will take 5 - 10 minutes.

Put the joint on a rack in a shallow tray (these are all significant factors), and insert the thermometer probe. Set the thermometer for 120F/50C for medium-rare (you don’t want it any higher).

A small (2 lb) joint may take only 90 minutes; a larger joint can easily take 4-8 hours. Once the meat has reached the internal temperature, take out of the oven, place on a carving board and cover with a metal bowl (not foil) and cover with a towel. Leave in the probe, as the temperature will continue to rise. Rest the joint for at least 30 minutes, up to one hour. You ideally want the finishing temperature to be 130F/55C, and certainly no more than 135F/57C.

Pour out any fat from the roasting tray and make a light gravy by deglazing the pan with a small amount of stock/red wine.