Slow Cooked Topside Roast In Oven

Tender slow-roasted beef with fail-safe flourless gravy

This tender slow-roasted beef recipe takes Sunday dinner to delicious new heights. Serve with fail-safe, flourless gravy plus all the usual trimmings for a truly impressive meal

Jan 16, 2017 8:54pm

10 hrs cooking
Serves 6

This recipe first appeared in Food magazine issue 55.

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Ingredients

1 tablespoon oil
2.5 kilogram Quality Mark topside roast (or choose a size that suits. See recipe tips for cooking time guide).
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 onion, chopped
1 cup red wine
1 1/4 cup beef stock
2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
big pinch of mixed herbs
salt to taste

Method

1

Preheat the oven to 160ºC. A large casserole or Dutch oven that can be used both on an element and in the oven is ideal for using with this recipe. Alternatively, use a frying pan for the first steps, then transfer the meat, liquid and vegetables to a lidded casserole and cover.
2

Heat the oil and brown the meat on all sides then set it aside. In the same pan, add the chopped celery, carrots and onion and cook gently until the vegetables begin to soften. Stir in the red wine, beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar and herbs.
3

Add the meat to the pan, calculate the cooking time, cover with the lid and place in the preheated oven. If you can, turn the meat once while it is cooking.
4

When the meat is cooked, remove it from the pan and cover it with foil. Let it rest for 10-15 minutes. Skim any visible fat from the surface of the liquid and transfer the cooking liquid and vegetables to a food processor or blender. Blend thoroughly then simmer gently in a pan to reheat. Season with salt to taste. Slice or shred the meat and serve with the sauce.

Notes

Topside is an inexpensive cut of meat and makes a good roast. It benefits from long, slow cooking at a low temperature, which breaks down the connective tissue and makes it tender. Pot roasting is different from regular roasting, as the meat cooks in liquid in a covered casserole. This is a good technique for cheaper cuts, as the meat stays moist during cooking and the pan juices can then be made into a terrific sauce.

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