Five Tips for Roasting Beef

Appears in

Published 1963

Only tender pieces of beef make good roasts.
A sirloin or rib roast, like all large pieces of meat, should stand for an hour or two at room temperature before roasting. So, if your beef has been stored in the refrigerator, be sure to take it out at least two hours before roasting.
Do not salt beef before putting it in the oven; the salt forms a crust which prevents meat from colouring uniformly. I like to prepare mine by rubbing it generously with fresh dripping or butter and then dusting it lightly with a mixture of dry mustard, freshly-ground black pepper and a little browned flour, before leaving it to absorb these flavours for an hour or two at room temperature.
Remember to heat the serving dish and, especially, the sauceboat.
Do not put sliced beef to warm in the oven; it will dry out and become grey in colour.