How To Prepare The Perfect Roast Dinner

October 24, 2019
by Hattie Roasts

    Top There’s no denying it, we all love a roast dinner. 

    But, equally, a roast dinner is possibly one of the most daunting meals to prepare. There’s the multitasking between entertaining family and checking the food, to getting the timings just right.

    That’s why we launched our brand new roast recipes. Available on the menu each week, the recipes are super easy to follow, and the result is a decadent, delicious twist on a classic. For those of you who haven’t yet tried our roast recipes, fear not, you can order this week’s recipe, roast lamb and rosemary gravy (de-licious) here!

    And while you wait in anticipation for your delivery, we’ve gathered our chefs’ top tips on how to prepare the perfect roast dinner (and a cheat sheet to nail the timings!)

    How To Prepare The Perfect Roast Dinner

    Rest your meat

    For a juicy cut of meat, the key is in the resting period, especially if you’re cooking lamb. Avoid slicing into the lamb as soon as it comes out of the oven and wait around 15 minutes instead. Leaving it to rest after cooking allows the juices to redistribute throughout the meat. Cut too soon and you’ll end up with a drier cut of meat. 

    Marinate, marinate, marinate

    Great-tasting meat is in the marinade. If you’re cooking a leg of lamb, try studding the meat with whole garlic cloves as the flavour will permeate through the meat as it cooks. 

    For inspiration, try our garlic-studded roast lamb recipe which is inspired by Chef Andre’s Dad. As a child, Andre would eat the whole garlic cloves raw as his dad was preparing them. We advise that you at least wait for them to be cooked first! 

    Don’t overlook the sides 

    What’s a great centrepiece if the sides aren’t up to scratch? Nobody likes a soggy spud, and flavourless veg is the stuff of nightmares. Try instead our honeyed chantenay carrots and apples, which, with their sweet flavour, are the perfect match with roasted pork. 

    It’s all gravy

    A good gravy can make a roast dinner sing. Make the gravy before and reheat it before you serve. It won’t affect the taste, and this way you won’t be rushing to finish everything!

    For beef, try this redcurrant gravy. Our rosemary gravy would also go great with lamb. 

    Nail your spuds 

    The classic Sunday lunch is never complete without the must-have sidekick: the perfect roasties. Chef Mimi prides herself on her ability to create the perfect balance of golden, crispy outside and soft and fluffy insides. Her talent is thanks to her mum – hailed Queen of the roast potato – who used to prepare a roast chicken with roasties every night for supper. 

    Mimi’s top tip for nailing the spuds is to make sure you parboil the roast potatoes for long enough that the edges give way a bit, this will give them more surface area to go crispy, and don’t be shy with the oil in the potato roasting tin – this will help with the crispiness too!

    Order this week’s roast

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