Pimp my Beef

I was in Tesco recently and noticed that a “beef roasting joint” was on special offer for £8, not £8 per kilo but the (unspecified) joint was £8 in total; I think it was silverside and was about 1.8 kilos. For £8.

This triggered a bit of a challenge, I wouldn’t normally buy it, and certainly not roast it but was there anything I could do to funk it up? Well, yes – this:

• 2 big cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp cumin seed (or 2 if you like)
• 1 unwaxed orange, zested and juiced (in that order)
• Fresh or dried chilli to taste
• Salt & Pepper

Roughly chop the garlic and chuck it into a mortar, if you don’t have one then you’re reading the wrong blog. Smash it up with the cumin, some salt (not too much though) and a big lot of pepper before adding the chilli, grind it again. We’re making a paste here so don’t worry about it being too dry.

Add the orange zest and grind for the last time, once you have the paste, add the orange juice and mix well, add a little rapeseed oil if it looks too dry (but remember this is a paste, not a marinade).

Score the beef all over with a sharp knife, not too deep – a couple of millimetres at most, and place in a foodbag; pour the marinade in and leave to soak for a minimum of 8 and a maximum of 24 hours in the fridge.

And then? For best results barbecue for 7 to 10 minutes on each side and then close the BBQ lid and roast for 30/40 minutes depending on the size of the joint or griddle/sear in a pan for a similar time before chucking in a 160 degree oven for 40 minutes – though increase that if have a big joint or you like wrecking your beef by serving it anyway other than rare

Rest for a minimum of 15 minutes and serve with a roasted veg cous cous (surely you don’t need a recipe for that, email if so) and a roasted tomato and red pepper salsa to enjoy...