Sunday Roast Beef with Yorkshire Puddings & Gravy

Ingredients

• 1.6 kg beef roasting joint (topside or sirloin)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1½ tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme (optional)
• 140 g plain flour, sifted
• 4 large eggs, beaten
• 200 ml cold milk
• 3 tbsp sunflower oil (for the tin)
• 500 ml hot beef stock
• 100 ml red wine (optional)
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 800 g Maris Piper potatoes (for roast potatoes)

Method

1. Heat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/gas 7. Pat the beef thoroughly dry — water means steam, and steam means no crust. Rub all over with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper; the joint is big, so be braver with the salt than feels comfortable. Tuck the thyme sprigs underneath if using.
2. Sit the joint in a roasting tin with space around it — don't crowd it against the sides or it'll steam rather than brown. Roast for 20 minutes at high heat to build a deep, savoury crust, then drop the oven to 160°C and roast for a further 50–60 minutes for medium-rare, or until the internal temperature hits 55–58°C. Lift onto a warm plate, cover loosely with foil and rest for a full 20 minutes — the juices need it, and the temperature carries up another 2–3°C off the heat.
3. While the beef roasts, parboil the potatoes in well-salted water — it should taste like the sea — for 8 minutes until the edges are just softening. Drain, return to the pan and toss hard with the lid on to rough up the edges; those craggy bits are what become the crunch. Tip into a very hot tray with plenty of oil in a single layer (crowding here gives you soft potatoes, not shattering ones) and roast for 40–45 minutes, turning occasionally, until deeply golden and shatteringly crisp.
4. Whisk the flour, eggs, milk and a pinch of salt to a smooth batter the texture of single cream. Rest for 20–30 minutes at room temperature — cold batter into hot oil is what gives you the climb. Put 1 tsp sunflower oil into each hole of a 12-hole muffin or pudding tin and heat the tin in the hot oven until the oil is smoking faintly. This is non-negotiable for the rise.
5. Divide the batter quickly between the hot tins — you should hear it sizzle the second it hits the oil — and bake at 220°C for 20–25 minutes without opening the door, until tall, golden and set in the centres with crisp peaks. Resist the peek; one draft of cool air and they collapse.
6. For the gravy, pour off the excess fat from the beef roasting tin, leaving the dark sticky juices and browned bits behind — that's where the flavour lives. Place the tin over a medium heat, stir in the flour and cook for a full minute until it smells nutty rather than raw. Deglaze with the red wine, if using, scraping up every browned bit from the base with a wooden spoon, then whisk in the hot beef stock and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer for 3–4 minutes until glossy and slightly thickened. Taste, season, taste again — adjust now, not at the table — then strain into a warm jug if you like it smooth.
7. Carve the rested beef thinly against the grain — it should be rosy pink inside with juices that smell richly roasted. Plate the slices of beef, sit a Yorkshire pudding alongside straight from the tin, pile the roast potatoes high, and bring the jug of hot gravy to the table to pour over the lot.