This recipe keeps things honest: a good joint, a hot oven to start, then a steady roast and a proper rest. That’s really all a fine piece of beef asks of you. We’ll walk you through choosing your weight, the timings from rare through to well done, and the one step most people rush and shouldn’t – the resting. Get that right and you’ll carve slices that are pink, juicy and full of flavour, with a deep savoury crust on the outside. Serve it with roast potatoes done in beef dripping, a proper Yorkshire pudding and plenty of gravy made from the pan. It’s the kind of meal that doesn’t need dressing up, because the beef is already the star. Whether you’re feeding four or a full table at Christmas, this is the method we’d share with you across the counter – simple, reliable, and built around letting good meat be good meat.

Serves 4-6
Prep 15 minutes, plus 1 hour to come to room temperature
Cook about 1 hour 15 minutes, plus 30 minutes resting

Ingredients
1.5kg topside of beef (or sirloin or rib for a special occasion)
2 tbsp beef dripping or vegetable oil
1 tbsp English mustard powder (optional)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 onions, halved
A few sprigs of fresh thyme or rosemary

Method

1. Take the beef out of the fridge at least an hour before cooking so it comes up to room temperature. Pat it dry with kitchen paper.
2. Heat your oven to 240C / 220C fan / gas 9.
3. Rub the joint all over with the dripping, then season generously with salt, pepper and the mustard powder if using.
4. Sit the onion halves and herbs in a roasting tin and place the beef on top. This lifts it off the base and flavours the gravy.
5. Roast at the high heat for 20 minutes to build a crust, then turn the oven down to 180C / 160C fan / gas 4 and cook for your chosen timing (see below).
6. Timings per 500g at the lower temperature: 15 minutes for rare, 20 minutes for medium, 25 minutes for well done. For a 1.5kg joint that is roughly 45 minutes rare, 60 minutes medium or 75 minutes well done, on top of the initial 20-minute blast.
7. If you have a meat thermometer, take it from the centre: 50C for rare, 60C for medium, 70C for well done.
8. This is the important bit. Lift the beef onto a board, cover loosely with foil and let it rest for at least 30 minutes. It stays hot, and the juices settle back through the meat instead of running out onto the board.
9. Carve thinly across the grain and serve.

Butcher’s tip: Ask us to leave a thin layer of fat on top of the joint. It bastes the beef as it roasts and keeps the meat moist.