Sunday Roasts!

So I've just been having a conversation about British Sunday roasts with my wonderful, American, wife.

We've been out any enjoyed a carvery a few times, and every year we have a Thanksgiving meal featuring roast turkey and veg, but a British Sunday roast isn't ever something she's tried. My wife enjoys cooking but the British roast isn't something we've ever really considered doing, until now!

So while we were discussing the possibility of giving it a go sometime she had all sorts of questions about of there's an particular process to it, what veg, and she's never done anything like Yorkshire puddings before. I like to play about in the kitchen but I've never turned my hand to roast anything and the best I could do was try to remember how my mum used to do it when I was growing up.

I could go search for a hundred and one recipes online but better than that, there's Hexus. :)

So what I want to ask is this - the British Sunday roast, Hexites, how is it done?

Please share any tips, tricks, essentials or recommendations and I'll go over them with the wifey. :)

Cheers!

My advice for general Sunday roast cooking is grab some Delia Smith recipes, most are free online.
http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/i...-pudding-for-4
http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/i...roast-potatoes
http://www.deliaonline.com/how-to-co...-roast-chicken
http://www.deliaonline.com/how-to-co...-to-roast-beef
http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/t...sts/real-gravy

And get a thermometer where the probe goes in what you are cooking, I always use one when roasting or low and slow BBQ. Like this
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B018Q77AR4?psc=1
Meat thermometer guide https://thermapen.co.uk/temperature-guide.pdf

If your cooking chicken make sure you check that the giblets are not inside it, they will be in a small plastic big inside the main or neck cavity if present. Steamed veg is nice if you have a steamer handy, don't try and do too many types of veg to start with, try and keep the seasoning simple and don't try and swamp the meat with overly complicated flavours. Good gravy is important, but keep something like a knorr stock pot handy to add extra flavour if the gravy lacks flavour.

I found with beef and a temp probe that it is best to do it rare as the 30 minutes rest after keeps cooking it to medium - medium rare.

Timing, timing and timing! (And planning and preparation)

A Sunday roast is just a collection of individual components, the secret is getting all the components together at the right time. Start at the time you want to serve and work backwards to create a timetable of when each part should start cooking.

You can use a lot of pans, so be methodical, and for the first one do a lot of prep in advance.

The pace increases as the serving time approaches as the veg are the last to go in, but then the gravy needs to be reheated at the last minute.

Keep the first one Sunday roast simple, say chicken, roast potatos, peas and carrots. If you get giblets with the chicken, boil them up to make stock for the gravy.

A lot of the 'tradition' with a roast is the carving and presentation, so preheat all the serving dishes so the everything is hot when it comes together.

Is there not a Wetherspoons on the rock? :)
I cheat these days by buying ready prepared frozen goose fat potatoes and ready made yorkshire puds. The veggies will probably be frozen as well.
But I will try and get very good quality meat.
I usually slice up some onions and place under the meat. The juice soaked onions then go in to the gravy.
mmmm I fancy a Monday roast.

Wetherspoons have stopped doing Sunday roasts, too complicated for them!

Peter is quite right about timing, but within that, there's plenty of variation. For instance, what meat? Chicken? Beef? Lamb? etc.

I'd work out what's needed for EACH component, and schedule from there.

A couple of hints .... frozen peas are fine, provided you don't boil them to death. All you're doing is getting them hot, so drop 'em in hot water, bring to the boil, and give them about ONE minute. Optionally, a sprig of mint in the water. Or, once drained, a small knob of butter dropped into peas.

Second .... carrots, etc. You could boil until just soft, but uou could also do 'glazed' carrots (and/or other root veg).

Also, Yorkshires. There are two critical aspects. First, make up the batter and try to get plenty of air in it. Let it rest for a bit,

Second, the oil (or fat) in the Yorkshire tins needs to be HOT. And I mean smoking hot. You need that fat hot, then getting the tin out of oven, putting batter in oil, and tin back in oven as fast as you safely can.

Great stuff guys, thanks!

And no, no Wetherspoons on the Rock, just lots of pubs, some hotels, and then a few other restaurants that all do them. But nothing like home cooking! :)

Any of you make it over to Gibraltar for a visit drop me a message and you'll be welcome for dinner! (Make it around the last Thursday in Nov and you can join us for Thanksgiving - roast turkey, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie). :)

I love cooking a Sunday roast but as I live alone its a bit of a waste, I have gone and cooked one for my my mate and his family before.

Carrots can either be roasted with a honey glaze or cooked vichy style...

Never done one myself, but have witnessed it for pretty much most sundays of my life. None of it is complicated, it's just as above, all about timing it right and not overcooking your joint.

You can then get fancy by seasoning things, but roasting at the basic level seems relatively simple.

Roast beef and yorkshires. Happy man.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MaddAussie

I love cooking a Sunday roast but as I live alone its a bit of a waste

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After many years as a student I managed to get the single portion roast dinner pretty well worked out. Trick is to use stuffing in reverse - layer some stuffing around the outside of a single (greedy :P ) portion of meat to keep it moist leaving just the fat open to crisp up on top. Helps if it's something nice and fatty that will stay moist anyway like belly pork or loin from a decent pig, lamb perhaps. If you're as greedy in your portions as I am that will normally cook in about the same time as some roast potatoes. So after a bit of prep to get it all in the oven it doesn't even take that much time - nice to just leave a roast in the oven and do something else for an hour. :D

Managed to lazy lunch even more.
Ended up with just having roast beef sarnies and had leftovers for brunch.
Cooked beef with sous vide - an odd joint, M&S just called it a beef joint, a bit too lean and so needed extra salt, but was so meltingly tender.
Will buy a bigger joint next time.

Hello everyone.
I'm a Chinese and come here to learn more English and English Culture.
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