The Tradition of Sunday Lunch.

The British peoples love affair with the traditional Sunday Roast is believed to have begun way back in 15^th century Britain during the reign of King Henry VII. Every Sunday, after church, his royal guards would enjoy a ritual of freshly roasted beef, this is where the affectionate term “Beefeaters” came from!

Throughout this age almost all households, from the most wealthy to the poorest held up this tradition and it really became a symbol of religious and social importance. For the poorest of families who didn’t own fireplaces in their modest homes, they would call in at their local bakery on the way to Church, who would pop it in their ovens and have it ready in time for their lunch! Nothing was wasted with families eating the leftovers in various different forms throughout the week. For many of us we still very much hold up this tradition today and for our family the leftovers can often be better than the original meal!

We love a good Sunday Roast, be it for lunch or dinner! For us it’s usually dinner because most of us work in the business on a Sunday so family time comes when the shop closes it’s doors!

Of course the Sunday Roast is traditionally a large joint of meat, be it roast beef, lamb, pork or chicken with your roast potatoes and veg with a lovely helping of gravy! But quite often we like to mix things up and enjoy a family pizza party, with homemade pizza and everyone getting stuck in rolling out dough and concocting the best topping! Or a fabulously spicy curry night, where we serve an array of dishes on the table, family style and all dig in, helping ourselves to a bit of everything on offer!

For us it’s a fab time to all sit round and chat about the week just gone, enjoy some much needed quality family time and of course indulge in some of our fantastic meat!

If you fancy trying out the traditional Sunday lunch of roast beef, check out our guide to cooking the perfect Sunday roast!

Cooking times are for a 2kg piece of beef which should feed 8 adults amply. Of course if you choose to go smaller or larger adjust cooking times accordingly.

 

Ingredients

• 1 x 2kg joint of beef (you could use Rump, Silverside, Topside or boneless rib, whatever suits your preferences and budget)

• About 6 garlic cloves, skin on but lightly crushed with the flat edge of a knife.

• I red onion skin on but cut into ¼’s

• 1 stick of celery cut in half

• 1 carrot sliced in half vertically

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• English mustard

 

 

Method

• Pre-heat your oven to 220c

• Lay your prepared veg in a suitable roasting tray and pour in around an inch of water

• Layer on a generous covering of the mustard (don’t worry it’s not going to blow your head off! During the cooking process the heat from the mustard will mellow out and also create a delicious crust on the outside)

• Season generously with the salt and pepper and place on top of the veggies in the baking tray.

• Place in the oven for 30 minutes then turn down the temperature to 180c for a further 1 hour and 30 minutes.

• Remove from the oven and cover with foil or a clean tea towel and leave to rest for a good 30 minutes before carving. This allows the meat the relax and the lovely juices to reabsorb into the joint so you can maximise of flavour and tender texture.