Topside or Blade

These are the cuts to use when a less extravagant roast is required, such as for a buffet. The whole topside weighs 8-10kg, the blade 6-8kg. Allow about 230g per person if this is the only meat being served, and ask the butcher to prepare the amount you wish to roast [up to a maximum of 4kg for roasting in a domestic oven]. Take the meat out of the fridge 1 hour before cooking, and preheat the oven to 120°C, placing a roasting tin with a rack inside the oven while it heats. For additional flavour, make small incisions all over the prepared joint and insert thin slivers of garlic and fresh thyme leaves, then rub the meat with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Seal all surfaces of the beef in clarified butter or olive oil over fairly brisk heat then transfer to the oven, allowing about 1 hour’s roasting time and 15 minutes resting time per kg. It is advisable to roast these leaner cuts of beef in a moist atmosphere: add some red or white wine, stock or water to the roasting tin and baste from time to time, adding more liquid as it evaporates. If using a meat thermometer, make sure it is placed in the centre of the meat and cook until the internal temperature reaches 42°C for rare and 46°C for medium-rare.