Roast Beef with Yorkshire Pudding

Ingredients

1.5kg beef top sirloin roast, tied
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp. finely chopped fresh thyme
2 tbsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Yorkshire puddings:

1 1/4 cups milk
1 cup plus 2 tbsp flour
3 large eggs
1 large shallot, finely chopped

Sauce:

1/2 cup red wine
1 cup beef stock

Method

Season beef with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, mix together oil, thyme, rosemary, and garlic. Rub beef with herb mixture. Place beef in a small roasting pan, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.

Remove beef from refrigerator 2 hours before you are ready to roast; allow it to come to room temperature. Meanwhile, make the Yorkshire pudding batter: Whisk together milk, 1 cup flour, 1 teaspoon salt and eggs in a bowl. Cover, let batter sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour.


Heat oven to 260 C. Remove plastic wrap and roast beef until browned, 18–20 minutes. Reduce temperature to 120 C. Roast until a thermometer inserted into center of beef reads 120 C (for medium rare), about 25 minutes. Remove from oven, transfer to a cutting board and let rest, tented with foil, while you make the Yorkshire pudding and gravy. Pour pan drippings into bowl, leaving about 3 tablespoons in pan. Set roasting pan aside.

Raise oven temperature to 230 C. Spoon 1/2 teaspoon, reserved drippings from bowl into each cup of a non-stick muffin pan. Heat in oven for 15 minutes. Uncover batter; whisk in 1 tablespoon dripping from bowl. Remove pan from oven; pour batter evenly between cups; bake until risen and brown, about 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 175 C; bake for 10 minutes to set puddings. Remove pan from oven; set aside.


Make the gravy: Heat reserved roasting pan over medium heat. Add shallots; cook until soft, 4–6 minutes. Add wine; cook, scraping up browned bits, until reduced by half, 4–6 minutes. Whisk in remaining flour, followed by stock. Cook, whisking, until thick, about 5 minutes. Slice beef; serve with pudding and gravy. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Photo Credits: Claire Sutton