There are many different cuts of beef and veal. Ideal cuts for roasting are whole rump, fillet, siverside, topside, whole bolar blade, rolled roast of ribs and standing rib roast.

Choose beef which is moist-looking and deep red, with a marbling of fat through it. Veal should be creamy coloured with a pink tinge. Outer fat should be firm and white.

Preparing the meat first
Certain beef joints have thick outer layers of fat which must be trimmed before cooking. Leave a thin layer of fat to keep the meat moist.

Some meat does not have enough natural fat to keep it moist during roasting.

To compensate, you can wrap a thin layer of fat around the meat before cooking and tie it on with string.

This technique is called barding.

Meat may also be stuffed with a filling, rolled and tied before cooking.

Beef for roasting should be taken out of the refrigerator and allowed to come to room temperature before cooking.
Searing to seal in the juices

Sear the beef before roasting. To do this, coat the bottom of the roasting pan with oil and heat on top of the stove until the oil is hot but not smoking. Place the joint in the roasting pan and sear on all sides for about 5 minutes.

Calculating the cooking time
Place the joint in a preheated oven and cook at 180C.

Beef on the bone:
For rare, allow 20 minutes per 450g, plus an extra 20 minutes.

For medium, allow 25 minutes per 450g, plus 25 minutes.

For well-done, allow 30 minutes per 450g, plus 30 minutes.

Beef off the bone:
For rare, allow 15 minutes per 450g, plus 15 minutes.

For medium, allow 20 minutes per 450g, plus 20 minutes.

For well-done, allow 25 minutes per 450g, plus 25 minutes.

For veal on or off the bone, roast for 25 minutes per 450g, plus 25 minutes.