Roast Beef
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a very hot oven”. The 400°F in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the meat
Have the butcher remove the bones from the rib roast and roll the meat into a round shape.
Tie the meat securely with stout string, then remove the string before serving and insert one or two steel skewers.
Season the meat with coarse sea salt.
Roast
Place the meat on a grating in a dripping pan and put it in a very hot oven (400°F / 200°C).
Baste frequently.
If the meat is very fat, do not add water to the pan.
If the meat is not very fat, pour a small cup of boiling water into the pan after it has been in the oven for fifteen minutes.
Finish
Make a brown gravy.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Rib roast
- Provides the main body of meat, whose fat and connective tissue keep the roast moist and flavorful.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the outside of the meat and helps form a flavorful browned crust.
- Boiling water
- Added to the pan of lean meat to create steam and loosen browned drippings for the gravy.
The step that matters
Adding water to the pan. Water is added only when the meat is lean, because fat in the pan would spatter and burn. Adding water to a very fatty roast is unnecessary and can make the drippings thin, so check the fat content before deciding.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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