Roast topside of beef with roasties and gravy

Make this affordable roast dinner with a topside of beef. Coat the beef in a wonderful rub, made simply with just three ingredients: mustard, sugar and sea salt.

Make sure you check out our video in the tips section to see how this roast topside of beef is made

You can also find out more about the best cuts for roasting beef, and why not take a look at our thyme-roasted rib of beef recipe, too?

  • Serves 6
  • Hands-on time 30 min, oven time 1½-1¾ hours

See Wine Match

Nutrition

Calories
740kcals
Fat
29.2g (12.8g saturated)
Protein
65.7g
Carbohydrates
50g (2.3g sugars)
Fibre
4.7g
Salt
3.9g

delicious. tips

  1. Roast from room temperature. Take the meat out of the fridge at least 2 hours before cooking; fridge-cold meat cooks unevenly.

    Cut the potatoes in slightly varying sizes – it will give some fluffy and some crispy potatoes.

    Parboil the potatoes well. This will help to create the fluffiness that then becomes crisp – essential in a good roastie.

    Don’t add the stock to the gravy too quickly. Stir it in gradually to give the flour a chance to thicken it. Add as much of the meat’s resting juices as you can (they can make the difference between average gravy and an incredible one).

    Use good stock. Cubes don’t cut it here.

    Look for grass-fed beef. The meat will be more intensely flavoured than that of grain-fed cattle. Grass-fed beef fat has yellower fat than grain fed – any good butcher can advise you.

    Replace the mustard rub with spices and herbs: finely chopped fresh rosemary, crushed black pepper or 1 tsp smoked paprika. You can roast unpeeled garlic cloves with the potatoes, with sprigs of woody herbs, such as thyme.

    Watch how to make the roast topside of beef from start to finish here:

  2. Make the gravy in a saucepan using dripping instead of the roasting fat and chill, covered, for up to 3 days. Or freeze in a sealed container for up to 1 month. Stir through the meat juices once you’ve cooked the beef.

    Boil and flour the roasties, cool completely, then freeze on trays until solid. Bag up and freeze for up to 1 month. Tumble, frozen, into the hot dripping/oil and add an extra 10 minutes to the roasting time.

  3. Madeira is a fortified wine from Portugal, available in dry and sweet styles. Its richness works well with meat. A bottle will last for ages.

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