The Perfect Sunday Roast

The kilpeck’s Sunday roasts are infamous thanks to chef Ross Williams. Here he shares his top tips for getting great results at home.

The Meat

We use rib of beef for our Sunday lunches – it’s got a higher fat content than some other roasting joints such as silverside or topside, but is absolutely packed with flavour and one rib will easily feed ten to twelve people, perfect for big lunches! Sirloin also makes for fantastic roast beef, but is that much more expensive.

If it’s pork you’re after, then a loin is perfect – it’s a relatively lean joint and with plenty of skin for crackling.  For perfect crackling, score the skin and season well with sea salt.  A good splash of water in the pan will keep the meat moist while it’s cooking and help to crisp up your crackling perfectly.

With lamb you’ve the choice of leg or shoulder. I prefer my roast lamb served pink so will go for the more expensive leg joint. Shoulder is better suited to slow cooking to render down the fat and make it more tender.

For a more unusual Sunday roast we sometimes use a haunch of venison.  Venison is a low fat, low cholesterol meat packed with rich meaty flavours.  Stud the joint with garlic and rosemary and roast for a couple of hours until cooked to medium.

Whichever joint you choose, remember to allow sufficient time for the meat to rest to make sure it’s served and its most tender and juicy – resting times will vary according the size of your joint, but 20 to 30 minutes should be enough.

The Vegetables

The best vegetables to accompany your perfect roast are always going to be those that are in season.  During the winter curly kale, brussels sprouts and purple sprouting broccoli are my choice of ‘greens’, while cauliflower cheese, roast root vegetables (parsnip, beetroot, swede, etc), and braised red cabbage all make an interesting and tasty accompaniments.

The roast potatoes

No roast dinner is complete without a big pile of hot roasters – crisp and golden on the outside, light and fluffy on the inside. The most important thing in getting them just right is choosing the right variety of potato. We use Maris Piper, but you’ll get good results with any floury potato such as King Edward and Desiree.

Peel your potatoes and cut them into two or four depending on their size.  Put them in a pan with plenty of cold water and a spoonful of salt and bring them to the boil.  Once they’ve simmered for a few minutes and are beginning to get soft on the outside, drain them in a colander and give them a good shake to ‘fluff’ them up.  Put a couple of spoonfuls of goose or duck fat into a deep roasting tray and put it on the hob to get the fat nice and hot.  Tip in the potatoes, season with a little salt, and put in a hot oven for an hour to an hour and a half, turning occasionally.

If that has got your tummy rumbling book a table on 01981 570464

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