What’s the secret to making a perfect Sunday roast? Barbora Stiess of The Devilled Egg Kitchen Academy in Bristol shared her top tips
1. Potatoes
Preheat the oven to 220ºc/gas 7 and place a tray into the oven with a large dollop of duck fat at least 10 minutes before your potatoes are ready to go in.
Peel and parboil your potatoes for 8 minutes in seasoned water.
Pour them into a colander and roughen the edges by shaking vigorously. Place them carefully into the hot tray and turn to coat them in the fat and then sprinkle with salt.
Turn the oven down to 200ºc/gas 6 and roast for 50 minutes or until golden brown.
2. Meat
Buy the best meat you can afford, it really makes all the difference.
Let the meat come up to room temperature before roasting (30 minutes).
Rub with oil, salt and herbs. Ideally brown the meat in a pan first or roast on a high heat for the first 20 minutes.
Place the meat on top of some halved red onions so it is not sitting on the bottom of the pan.
Baste half way through the cooking and let it rest for at least 20 minutes before carving.
3. Gravy
While the meat is resting, use the amazing juices in the pan to create a simple sauce thickened with 1 tbsp of flour and then flavoured with 250ml good quality beef stock.
4. Vegetables
Blanch your vegetables by placing them into salted simmering water until they are just starting to soften and then pop them into ice-cold water to stop them from cooking any further. This way they retain colour, nutrients and flavour.
You can then finish them off in the oven or fry them for service.
5. Yorkshires
Make sure your oven is hot and that the fat in the tray is smoking before pouring the batter in and do not open the oven for at least 15 minutes!
