Many people think that cooking a roast is something you do for a group of four or more, but cooking a roast for two (or even one!) gives you the advantage of enjoying that classic Sunday dish that your Mom made, as well as some great leftovers for the week. I always try to buy roasts when they are on sale and freeze them so I have one when the mood strikes me. I have been successful buying roasting chickens, roast pork and roast beef of different cuts on sale in a size suitable for about 4 people, which gives that initial delicious meal, as well as creating tasty leftovers for the week.
A couple of Sundays ago, we had a lovely Prime Rib for two with Yorkshire pudding, steamed green beans, and salad. My Mom’s Yorkshire Pudding is the best, and I struggle to get mine as nice as hers. In this picture, you’ll see that I did a pretty good job! As a kid, I loved anything with gravy and as an adult, I have learned I can enjoy a roast very much without gravy, but this frigid January weather calls for some delicious warm gravy! I made the gravy from scratch using the Gravy without drippings recipe that I mentioned in an earlier post. I added my drippings at the end.
Whenever I prepare a roast, I use my Mom’s method, along with some tips I have learned along the way from reading cook books and food websites. My Mom always put pieces of garlic cloves inside the roast and made a paste with dry mustard and a little water that she spread on top of the roast. Just take your knife and make a few holes in the roast then stuff the hole with a piece of a garlic clove. Add a little water to dry mustard, whisk and spread on top. Here’s what it looks like.
I cook the roast at higher heat, about 425 degrees for approximately 20 minutes to seal in the flavour. Then I turn the heat down to about 325-350, depending on your oven, to finish the cooking. Check the weight of your roast and refer to a roasting chart to know approximately how long to cook the roast to your liking before you begin. Always, always use a meat thermometer. It allows you to monitor the cooking and be sure that you are removing the roast from the oven at the right time. We like medium rare beef, but your meat thermometer will help you achieve your desired ‘doneness’.
Although there is nothing wrong with eating the very same meal as leftovers, I always like it when the leftovers can be turned into a different dish.
So, I used the roast beef and gravy to make hot roast beef sandwiches on whole wheat bread for dinner that we ate with steamed green beans and salad. This was a favourite of mine as a kid and it was certainly a blast from the past to have this! In case you haven’t done this before, all you need to do is put the meat and gravy in a pot to heat. Place one piece of bread on the plate, top with meat and a little gravy. Place another piece of bread on top and pour gravy over the sandwich to cover.
So, while it takes a little while to cook a roast beef and make Yorkshire pudding, that was almost all the cooking I had to do all week. We had two meals of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding and two meals of hot roast beef sandwiches. Yes, that was a lot of beef in one week. We don’t usually do that, but it was delicious! Another option is to freeze the leftover meat and gravy and do the hot roast beef sandwiches another week. They will still be tasty! So, as you can see, doing some meal prep on the weekends means you have the week beat and you’ll eat healthier, satisfying and delicious meals. If you’ve got any questions, please feel free to leave a comment below. Happy cooking everyone!
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