Mum's roast beef and garlic roast potatoes

For added garlicky flavour cut small slits all over the roast and insert garlic slivers into the slits. Serve with roast potatoes or small new potatoes and baby carrots. 

PREPARATION TIME: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 60 minutes
Serves 4 people

Ingredients

  • 1 kg piece rib eye/scotch fillet
  • 1 tbsp dried thyme
  • 1½ cups beef stock
  • steamed vegetables to serve
     
  • Garlic roast potatoes
  • 1 kg potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 3 cloves peeled, sliced garlic

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 200ºC. Brush beef lightly with oil and brown on all sides in a frypan. Season the beef with salt and pepper and the thyme.
  2. Place beef on a rack in a roasting dish. Roast for 40 minutes for rare, 50 minutes for medium and 60 minutes for well done.
  3. Remove beef, cover loosely with foil, and rest beef for 15 minutes before carving.
  4. While the beef is resting remove any excess fat from the roasting dish and place the dish over a medium heat. Add the stock and scrape up any meat residue. Bring to the boil and reduce by one third. Serve with the sliced beef, accompanied with the Garlic roast potatoes and vegetables.
  5. To make Garlic roast potatoes: Place the potatoes in a pan of cold water, bring to boil, boil 1 minute, drain. Spread potatoes on absorbent paper to dry. Place olive oil in a roasting dish, heat in the oven for 2 minutes, and add potatoes and garlic. Roast in the oven for 25 minutes.

Essential tips

  • Suggested roasting times per 500g for: Rib eye/scotch fillet, rump, sirloin, fillet/tenderloin, standing rib roast, rolled rib beef roast. Cook at 200ºC. Rare 15-20 min per 500g, Medium 20-25 min per 500g, Well done 25-30 min per 500g.
  • Judging your roast’s degree of doneness using a meat thermometer. The internal temperature for: Rare – 55-60ºC, Medium rare – 60-65ºC, Medium – 65-70ºC, Medium well – 70-75ºC, Well done – 75ºC.
  • You can also use tongs to test the roast’s doneness. Gently prod or squeeze the roast – rare is very soft, medium rare is soft, medium is springy but soft, medium well is firm and well done is very firm.

Rihann Koekemoer