Slow-roast rib of beef with Yorkshire puddings

Michael Craig

Sean Connolly goes back to his English roots with comfort food such as slow-roast rib of beef.

Yorkshire puddings are an edible pastry chalice that hold the luscious meaty goodness of its ever-accompanying condiment - gravy. Yorkshire myth has it that puddings were served to fill the plates of the poor but now they grace the tables of some of the best restaurants in town.

Beef

2 kgs	Beef, standing rib (Main)
1 dash	Olive oil

Yorkshire puddings

200 g	Flour
4	Eggs
450 ml	Milk
5 g	Salt
1	Duck fat, enough to full the muffin tins 1/3

Directions

Beef

1. Preheat the oven to 140C. Season the beef with salt and pepper. Place a large frying pan on a medium heat and when it is really hot, add the olive oil and carefully place the beef in the pan. Sear the meat on all sides to give a nice brown colour.
2. Transfer the beef to a roasting tray and place in the oven. Using a meat thermometer to monitor the temperature, remove the beef from the oven once it reaches an internal temperature of 54C. Allow the beef to rest in a warm place for 15 minutes.
3. While resting, the internal temperature should rise to 58-60C for medium done-ness.

Yorkshire puddings

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Whisk together the eggs, milk and salt.
2. Add half the egg mix to the flour and whisk together gently. Add the remainder of the egg mix and whisk together gently, being careful not to over work the batter.
3. Place the batter in the fridge to rest for 2 hours.
4. Fill the moulds of a muffin tray 1/3 full of duck fat and heat the tray in the oven for 4 minutes. Once the duck fat is hot, carefully pour the batter into the centre of the moulds to ? full and return to the oven.
5. Bake the puddings for around 30 minutes until they have risen and are no longer soft.
6. To serve, carve the rib roast at the table and serve with the Yorkshire puddings.