How to roast meat

• The best joints of meat for roasting are the larger ones. If the meat weighs less than 1.5 kilograms you should pot roast to keep it moist and prevent it drying out.
• Make sure the meat is at room temperature, not straight from the refrigerator, and tie it into a compact shape with string if necessary so that it will cook evenly.
• Weigh the meat and place it fatty side up on an oiled rack in a roasting dish. If you intend to roast vegetables alongside the meat, and don’t want to use a rack, place it on a layer of chopped onions, celery and herbs like rosemary or parsley. These will flavour the meat and stop it sticking to the pan.
• If the meat has no fat layer, spread it with soft butter or brush it with oil and season with salt and pepper.
• Preheat the oven to 220°C and place the meat in the centre. After 20 minutes reduce the heat to 180°C and continue to roast, basting with the pan juices every 20 minutes. Put any vegetables you wish to roast – potatoes, kumara pumpkin, parsnips, cut to similar sizes – around the meat at this point and turn them over in the pan juices.
• When the meat is cooked to your liking remove the vegetables to a warm serving dish. Lift out the meat onto another warm dish, cover with tinfoil and leave to rest in a warm place for 15–20 minutes before carving. If the vegetables need more cooking, return them to the oven while the meat rests. The resting time ensures that the meat will be tender and gives you time to make the gravy and cook any green vegetables.

• Always warm the dinner plates when you are serving a roast meal

TIMES FOR ROASTING MEAT

Weigh the joint of meat and allow the number of minutes given below per 500g, then add the extra minutes to give the total roasting time.