Can you talk me through your Christmas beef?

[FlamingoSocks]

I’m a good cook but really no good at beef. Tends to come out chewy and leathery. However I am determined NOT to do turkey this year, chicken is too small, we don’t eat pork and DH is weird about lamb as too many tubes apparently. We will be 9 for dinner and I will do a small turkey crown.

So if you do a delicious Christmas/roast beef please talk me through it? I need advice on cuts and method and any signposting to recipes very appreciated. Nigella’s is a forerib which seems a bit advanced for a beef beginner. Bought a silverside to practise with today but it seems to need long slow cooking in stock which I just don’t feel is very Christmassy?
Thanks

Fillet this would be my top choice.

You’ll need to spend a decent amount but when I’ve done roast beef for Christmas dinner I chose a 35 day dry aged Sirloin roast and it was spectacular and very simple to do. A meat thermometer is a must though.

I have done this for the past two Christmas's and it's been lovely both times. Nice and pink in the middle and even my yd who has arthritis in her jaw managed to eat it

www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/beef-recipes/roast-topside-of-beef/

Thanks @longtompot , interesting he uses topside when others here have said that’s for slow cooking really. Think I’ll give it a go though as have plenty of time to try all the recipes before Christmas.
@Pollywoddles and others sting roast rolled sirloin, can I clarify whether it has a bone in it not?

We do a beef rib every year, at least 2 or 3 bones. I would do the following:

Season with plenty of salt and pepper on the outside.

Sear all over on the hob.
Chop a carrot, onion, celery, some herbs if you wish, into the roasting tin
Then the meat goes on top, ot onto a rack on top. You want the mix of meat juices and roasted veggies for the gravy.
Then into a 160 fan oven.

For timing, we like quite pink meat. I would calculate 4-5 minutes per 100g, but check using a meat thermometer.

For a big joint, I'd pull it out when it gets to about 45 degrees, and rest it. It will rest for at least 30 minutes and go up to between 50 and 55 degrees. All the juices go into the gravy, along with the contents of the tray, some red wine and good beef stock. Lovely. Must see when the butcher starts doing Xmas orders.

Noone likes rare beef here. I put it in early Christmas morning in a covered roaster sitting on chunks of onion, carrot, celery and a splash of red wine. Grain mustard, bay leaf, thyme salt and pepper on the beef. 10 mins on full whack then turn the oven down to 120 for ages. Wrap the meat in tinfoil to rest as long as pos then squish the veg etc through a sieve for gravy mad with more wine, veg water and Bisto Best.

Rib of beef for Xmas, always. It tastes like "old fashioned" beef and you get all the lovely dripping too. You've had plenty of good advice above for roasting (I wouldn't casserole / braise it), but if you're cooking for a crowd I would say let it rest well under a tin foil tent topped with clean tea towels whilst you finish the rest and don't worry about it being screaming hot - as long as your gravy is hot you'll be fine.

Also, I know money isn't a consideration but Tesco normally do half price meat on the butchers counter in the run up to Xmas - we always ask for the vac packed rib joints that haven't been trimmed / put on display as they last longer and can be frozen (once you have the "display" one off the counter you get 1-2 day shelf life and "do not freeze" stamped across it).

Oh and anyone really squeamish about pinkness - thin slices swished in hot gravy.

@FlamingoSocks No bone

Those of you that do it low and slow, how do you time it with the rest of your cooking if you only have 1 oven?

Mine's 60cm wide and I put the grill shelf in to make 3 shelves. My roasting tins have been bought to fit two abreast or one long and two short so I can fit more in. Beef in one side and some roasted veg in the other. Next shelf is something like the cauli cheese, roasted Brussels etc.

When I had a smaller oven we just cooked the meat the night before and on Christmas Day it would be sliced and heated up in the gravy for serving.

It is a roast

Fillet is the wrong choice for roasting…you need rib for a proper tasting roast. If you’re buying fillet, make a beef wellington. Which I actually prefer at Christmas to turkey and stuffing :)

I do agree fillet isn't a classic roasting joint but in my opinion it is the nicest and I would cook it like a chateaubriand - brown the outside then roast for maybe 30 mins depending on size. Rest and slice. This, for me, makes a far nicer beef roast dinner than a rib which I find fatty.

We do a fillet on the grill. My father's used the same recipe for the last 30 years - roast a few heads of garlic, then mash with some oil to make a garlic paste. Combine rosemary, salt, pepper and pink peppercorns. Cover the fillet with the garlic paste and then the rosemary mix. Grill indirectly over medium for 30-40 minutes, let stand, slice & serve.

We use the grill year round. It leaves the oven free for everything else, too.

@changingusernamecosofthis how much is the Aldi beef if you don't mind me asking?

Buy good quality beef in early December-topside- never silverside- stick it in the freezer for 3 weeks then defrost and cook.

Hi op it's something we always steer away from as well..
Some great tips here though.

I just wanted to add in that we usually do duck , organic not gressingham and that is beautiful and feels different with a supped up orange source especially ( we do two different gravies)

Beef cooked in a slow cooker always turns out perfect

It’s around £45 for 3 ribs, this easily feeds 4 v hungry adults and 2 small children, with leftovers. The quality is fantastic. It is also seasoned so you don’t need to do much to it at all except follow the instructions.

we usually buy two and save one for Easter. I once bought a Waitrose rib of beef and it was nowhere near as nice

I've had the Aldi rib of beef before too (got it reduced on Christmas Eve!)
It was really delicious. It's always easier to get a good result from a big chunk of meat than smaller steaks imo. But the meat is good quality, preseasoned etc.
You can smear it with garlic or horseradish etc but you don't need to.
Just bung it in a hot oven & cook until your preferred pinkness.