English Roast Beef

3lb Boned and rolled sirloin of Beef
1.5oz beef dripping or unsalted butter
½ Clove of garlic
4fl.oz red wine
6fl.oz good beef stock

Preheat the oven to 220degC

Weigh the meat and calculate the roasting time allowing 15 – 25 minutes per 450g (1lb) depending on whether you like the beef very rare, medium or fairly well done. Then arrange your timetable so that the meat will complete cooking 30 minutes before you plan to serve it.

Rub the meat all over with pepper and the cut garlic. Heat a roasting pan on top of the stove, then melts the fat in it. Add the meat when the fat is very hot, brown and seal all over. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast the meat for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 190degsC and continue roasting, basting the beef occasionally.

10 minutes before the end of the roasting time, spoon 2 tablespoons of fate from the meat into a second roasting pan. Put this on the top shelf of the oven, move the meat to a lower shelf and increase the temperature to 230degC

When roasting time is up, remove the meat from the oven. Transfer the beef to a hot serving dish and put in a warm place to ‘rest’. Give the Yorkshire pudding batter a final stir and pour into the hot pan on the top shelf. Cook for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 220degC and cook for 15 minutes more until puffed up and golden.

Meanwhile add the wine and stock to the gat and juices remaining in the meat pan and stir to scrape the meaty sediment off the base. Cook over a high heat stirring occasionally until the liquids are reduced by about half. Season, pour into a gray boat and serve with the meat and pudding.