🍽️ Serves: 8-10
🔪 Prep Time: 10 - 15mins
🔥 Cook time: 2-3 hours
⚖️ Net Carbs:
Gravy: 0g per serving
Pigs In Blankets: <0.3g per serving
Beef: 0g per serving
🚫 No Added Sugar or Seed OiIs
The perfect centre piece!
Just want to get cooking? Scroll down for recipe!
Now, let's shine the spotlight on the star of the show. In our household, this time of year is all about indulgence, and for us, that means one thing: rib of beef. Opt for the absolute best quality you can find (it is Christmas, after all!). Here's a nifty trick I've picked up over the years: air dry the beef in your fridge for 12-24 hours. This little hack works wonders for that sought-after maillard reaction while roasting, creating that deeply flavourful crust we all crave.
When it comes to cooking, don't be afraid to enlist the help of a probe. It truly makes a world of difference, eliminating all the guesswork. Remember, the meat continues to cook with the residual heat, so aim to remove it about 10-12 degrees before hitting your desired target. It's all about trusting the process here; that residual cooking always does its magic, tempting as it might be to push the temperature. Trust the probe.
Let's talk gravy! We've got a few tricks up our sleeves here, steering clear of flour and anything sugary while aiming for the richest flavours possible. To intensify the flavour profile, we've roasted the joint of meat on a bed of herbs and veggies. This ingenious move results in the veggies slowly caramelizing in the beef fat, crafting the perfect base for our finished sauce.
The secret to achieving that luscious, glossy sauce that gracefully coats your dish (no watery mess here!) involves a blend of bone broth (shoutout to Borough Broths for their slow-cooked, flavour-packed bone broths) and a full pack of veal jus. The veal jus is an optional touch, but let me tell you, it's what chefs swear by in their kitchens to elevate sauces to divine levels of rich umami and texture. Made from bones rich in collagen and natural gelatin, veal jus is slow cooked to extract all that savoury goodness, creating that perfect sticky mouthfeel you crave in a top-notch sauce. Add a generous splash of wine, simmer it down to perfection, and voilà! You've just created the most heavenly gravy you'll ever taste.
To round off the sauce a professional chef would add a touch of sweetness to add depth and balance out the flavour. Instead of a more traditional jelly (think black current jelly) I find that adding a touch of inulin syrup goes a long way to help balance out the flavours.
And what's a Christmas feast without pigs in blankets? This is your playground. We tend to prepare way more than needed—they're perfect as Christmas snacks, straight from the fridge or glazed with your favourite sauce (my pick is a sticky BBQ sauce!). The world is your oyster with these piggy blankets!
Now, let's talk timing. Aim to get ahead with as much prep as possible to ensure a (hopefully) calm day. I prefer prepping most of the veg to the finishing point so that the focus is mainly on cooking the meat (easier said than done, I know!), perfecting the gravy, and finishing/heating up the other elements.
Anyway, let's get back to the feast and fire up those stoves and remember to enjoy - its Christmas after all!! 🥂🎄
Don't forget the rest of the feast!
Brussels Sprouts with Crispy Pancetta & Toasted Pecans >
Ingredients
Beef & Gravy
- Three-bone rib of beef about 3.5-4kg (or your fave cut of meat)
- 5 shallots, peeled
- 4-5 carrots, peeled
- 2-3 celery sticks (you can include the leaves!)
- 2 whole garlic bulbs
- 4-6 fresh bay leaves (you can use dried)
- A bunch of fresh thyme
- A small handful of peppercorns
- 150ml red wine (whichever you prefer!)
- 650g good quality stock (we used x2 Borough Broth’s Organic Chicken Bone Broth)
- 200g veal jus (optional)
- 1 tsp inulin
- Olive oil
- Salt and black pepper
Pigs In Blankets
- 16 good quality chipolatas
- 16 rashers of streaky bacon
Let's begin!
Step 1
Preheat oven to 220C / fan 200C / gas 7).
Prepare the beef
You can season the beef the day before to give it more flavour and tenderness!
Step 2
Take the beef out of the fridge at least an hour before you want to cook it and allow to come to room temperature.
Step 3
Weigh the beef and calculate its cooking time. If you're aiming for rare, it's about 12-13 minutes per 500g. Medium-rare is around 15-16 minutes per 500g and 17-18 minutes per 500g for medium (plus 30 mins resting time!) – these are guides only as every oven is different. We like to use a probe for best results!
Step 4
Lightly pat the beef dry with a paper towel (this will help the beef to brown and get a nice crispy skin!) – this step is less important if you have air dried the beef for 12-24h in the fridge beforehand. Drizzle with a little olive oil and season generously with salt and black pepper. Rub to coat evenly and set aside.
Prepare the pigs in blankets
These can be prepared the day before and kept in the fridge
Step 5
Lay each strip of streaky bacon flat on a cutting board, then use a knife to gently stretch it out, making it thinner and more pliable before wrapping it around the sausages (this will ensure an even and crispy texture during baking!).
Step 6
Add the pigs in blanket on a tray lined with baking parchment and set aside or refrigerate until ready to bake!
Prepare the veg
Step 7
Halve the peeled shallots, cut the carrots lengthways and chop the celery into large chunks before adding them to a deep baking tray.
Step 8
Keeping the garlic bulbs whole, cut them in half widthways, and add to the tray along with the thyme, bay leaves, peppercorns and a generous drizzle of olive oil. Season with salt and black pepper and give everything a good mix up.
Cooking the beef
Step 9
Top the tray of veg with the rib of beef and roast in a super-hot oven for 20 minutes, this is to kick start the mallard reaction. Turn the oven down to 160C / fan 140C /gas 3 and cook for desired time (depending on how you like your beef, check step 2!)
Step 10
Once the beef is cooked, (don’t forget to remove 10-12 degrees below the desired temp as it continues to cook with the residual heat) remove the beef from the tray and wrap in tin foil to rest for at least 30 mins, but up to 1 hours is perfect! keep your roasted veg, that’s for your gravy in the next step!
Make the gravy
Step 11
Place the tray of cooked veg over a medium heat and pour in the red wine, deglazing by scraping the yummy bits from the bottom of the pan. Simmer until the red wine has reduced by roughly half.
Step 12
Once reduce, add the stock and the jus (if using) and stir well, incorporating all the roasted goodness into the liquid.
Step 13
Stir in the inulin and bring the gravy to a gentle simmer, allowing it to reduce and thicken. Simmer for about 15-20 minutes or until the desired consistency is reached. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Step 14
Once the gravy is rich and full of deliciousness, strain to remove the solids and transfer to your serving jug.
Serve!
Step 15
Now it’s time to serve. Slice the rested beef with your best calving knife to your liking. I like the beef a little thicker than thinly sliced, but not quite a slab – but this is down to personal taste. Serve to your loved ones, sing a Christmas carol and feel smug in knowing that you won’t be feeling the carb crash that 99% of the nation will be feeling after eating too many! Enjoy and Merry Christmas! 🎄
PS we would also love to hear how your low carb festive feast goes so do reach out and get in touch with how it all goes! 🙌
*Chef's Tip*
Steps 1-6 can be done the day before
To cook your beef to the right core temperature, we used an oven probe, but feel free to check it when it’s near the end of cooking:
Rare: 52-54°C
Medium-rare: 57-63°C
Medium: 63-68°C
Medium-well: 68-74°C
Well-done: 74°C and above
