This weekend we are diverting from our regular rotation for selecting international cuisine. I mean how could we pass up an opportunity to tour the culinary delights of Britain what with the Royal wedding and all! So, Dad agreed to push his pick off for next weekend in order for us to try a traditional British feast. 
I was fortunate enough to visit Great Britain after I graduated college and even more fortunate to have arrived the day of the Queen’s Birthday Parade (which incidentally is not celebrated on her actual birthday)! Talk about a tourist delight – to see the Royal family parading by and I had a front row view! It’s something I will never forget…unlike the food, which I really can’t recall. I’m fairly certain for the two days we spent in London, I mostly ate fish and chips washed down with local lager. That’s why for tonight’s meal I consulted Charles, who is a Briton living in France and creator of the Five Euro Food blog, and Alison who comes from Northern Ireland and is the creator of Happy Domesticity about what to expect from a traditional British meal. Both Charles and Alison said the meal had to be a traditional Sunday lunch – Roast Beef with Roasted Potatoes. Two answers, exactly the same…we knew we had our meal plan.
We began the Roast Beef with Port Merlot Pan Sauce early this afternoon by cutting away the cartilage and excess fat from the top sirloin roast. 
We then covered the roast in salt and pepper and browned it on all sides in a skillet with olive oil, rosemary and garlic. 
Next we roasted the beef for 70 minutes at 250F. Once the meat reached 110F, we increased the oven heat to 500F and roasted for 15 minutes to crisp the exterior of the beef. We then reduced the heat to 425F and continued roasting until the internal temperature reached 135F which took another 15-20 minutes. Finally we transferred the roast to a serving dish. 
I have to say, this roast looked and smelled delicious! While the roast was resting, dad began the gravy, a Port Merlot Pan Sauce from the Food Channel. He started by heating the remaining fat and juice from the roasting pan over medium-high heat. He then added the Merlot and cooked until the sauce was reduced by half. 
Next he added the beef stock and Port, again cooking until reduced to 1 cup. Finally, he added the butter and it was ready to serve.
We served tonight’s roast beef with the Port Merlot Pan Sauce, roasted potatoes, Yorkshire pudding and a British desert also suggested by our local experts, Trifle. Yum! 
This beef was the best piece of meat we’ve ever cooked and it was a success all around. The beef was crispy on the outside, pink toward the ends and nice and red toward the center. Mr. N and his best bud, Mr. L, both downed their beef much to my amazement – and without ketchup! And dad and I thoroughly enjoyed this roast. Miss A was the only dissenter in the group, but that was no surprise. She’s not big on red meat, but she did eat it so it gets 1 spoon. Mr. N gave it 2 spoons and both dad and I gave the end pink meat 3 spoons, and the red middle cuts 4 spoons. This roast was divine! (And that’s high praise from someone that’s completely not a meat and potato person.) 
Many thanks to Charles and Alison for introducing us to traditional British fare. We’ll post the other deliciousness – the potato recipe, Yorkshire pudding recipe and trifle recipe later this week. I have to say, while this meal left me stuffed and satisfied, posting these photos makes me want to go to the fridge for more! Royally good!
Print this recipe: Roast Beef with Port Merlot Pan Sauce
Eat, Play, Love 
Thanks for the recipe! I’m following it right now for our Christmas Eve dinner. Sounded like a good fit. The house smells delicious.
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Oh fabulous! I hope that you enjoyed it. 🙂 We have to revisit that recipe again soon too. Merry Christmas. 🙂
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I have never made a roast, so thanks for the detail on the temperature of the meat. Time and temperature is very important, especially to prevent food borne illness. My father-in-law is a big red meat eater and he likes it bloody red, raw. It makes me ill to see him eat it (I’m totally gagging thinking about it) So anyhow, what a lovely pic with the potatoes. I love oven potatoes, mushy on the inside and crisp on the outside. The wine looks good too! Can you cook dinner tonight at my house?
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You know it’s funny – I never made a roast until this one. Pretty much the only red meat I’ve ever cooked myself has been sausages or hamburgers. Hubby has done steaks a few times, but we just eat it so rarely. This was delicious though I have to say! And we’re always happy to cook for anyone…just can’t guarantee the results. Ha! Have a good one!
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Glad you enjoyed the roast – and the joint of meat looks positively mouthwatering! Sounds like it was done to perfection. I’m still (semi successfully) trying to recreate my grandmother’s roast potato recipe. She told me how she did them many years ago before she passed away but try as I just can’t get them as good as hers. In any case – it reminds me – I’ve been meaning to post my roast potato recipe for a while so I must do that next weekend. I’m looking forward to reading about your trifle too! 🙂
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I’ll be posting our roast potato recipe tonight – found the goose fat! Great suggestion! Ahh…grandma’s recipes. I too am still trying to perfect one of my grandma’s recipes. I’ve come close, but still not quite there yet. 😉
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That looks great!!! It is hilarious that both of us suggested the same thing! I guess it really was a traditional British meal.
It looks amazing. You did a great job. I love the stories you share in your posts, I love hearing how your kids enjoy the food. They are so lucky to be able to try food from all around the world with their mom and dad, right at their own table and to be part of the cooking and preparation.
I love your blog! I look forward to every post. Thank you for sharing.
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PS I loved her dress, it was right for a royal wedding. Her sister’s dress was gorgeous too but Kate’s was more regal. It was a lovely wedding.
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Very true! It was a very regal gown and right for a royal wedding. The whole thing was gorgeous from the procession to the balcony kiss! 😉
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Thanks Alison! And thank you for all of the suggestions – seriously this was one of my favorite meals in a long time. 🙂
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That’s a beautiful piece of meat. I love the sauce. I don’t have to weigh in on the dress right?
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Yes you do LMAO
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LOL! You know you want to….
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This roast beef really looks delicious. And the pan merlot sauce really looks wonderful as well. I don’t know too many ways to make roast beef until reading your blog today. I love Alison over at Happy Domesticity so, this whole dish sounds like a winner to me. And did you like Kate’s dress? Had to ask lol.
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I did like her dress – didn’t love it, but liked. I preferred her sister’s dress. So beautiful! 😉
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What a gorgeous presentation! Your roast beef surrounded by roast potatoes looks mouthwatering to this meat and potatoes foodie who HAS in the intervening years learned to like other things as well … even vegetables.
Kudos to you and your family for sharing the cooking and eating experience in such a novel and fun way. Even if some of the recipes are 1 spooners, I know your little ones with develop an appreciation of cooking that will last them a lifetime.
I read Alison’s blog on a regular basis so was happy to find new blogs to check out.
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Thanks so much for visiting our site and your comment. 🙂 The kids are definitely enjoying this and like you said, even if the recipes are only one spooners, at least they’re trying new things and having an experience that they’ll hopefully remember for a long time to come. This meal was definitely mouth watering. I’m already looking forward to the next time we make this one. The potatoes in particular, for me, were scrumptious! Thanks again!
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Were the potatoes Jamie Oliver’s ‘smashed potatoes’ recipe? I tried the recipe a while back but found the steps more involved than I wanted to go through for the result. I prefer to use the microwave for my pre-baking or pan-frying of potatoes.
One of my mom’s (and dad’s before he passed away) favourite recipes to enjoy at my house was cooking unpeeled (thin-skinned newer) potatoes in the microwave til tender, then cubing and pan frying with an olive oil/butter, salt, pepper and smoked or Hungarian paprika mixture just until browned. It takes about 12-15 min depending on the amount of potatoes being microwaved and the heat you’re comfortable frying at for a great meal (brunch or supper). My mom still eats her potatoes before the rest of the meal when I make them like this. 🙂
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Hmm. I’m not sure which of his recipes they were – other than that Alison posted them a week or two ago. 😉 I’m going to post our take on them tonight. They were to die for! And your potatoes sound delicious as well – I love paprika! I’ve never tried potatoes in the microwave before, but that sounds like a nice time saver! Both of my kids ate their potatoes first last night too! 😉
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