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Rolled Beef (Twice Put the gravy into a pan)
twice. Put the gravy into a pan, remove the fat, keep the beef covered, then put them together, and add a glass of port-wine. Take of the tape, and serve with the vegetables; or you may strain them off, and send them up cut into dice for garnish. Onions roasted, and then stewed with the gravy, are a great improvement. A tea-cupful of vinegar should be stewed with the beef.
What survives here is the finishing of a braised rolled beef: the pot liquor is degreased, fortified and served with the vegetables that cooked alongside. The measures are Victorian household measures rather than exact ones.
- A glass of portA wine glass in this period is roughly 2 to 2 1/2 fl oz, not a modern 6 oz pour. Add it to the strained gravy and let it simmer a minute or two so the alcohol cooks off; longer and the sweetness concentrates unpleasantly.
- A tea-cupful of vinegarUsually reckoned at about a quarter of a pint, so roughly 4 to 5 fl oz, though teacup measures varied. Either way it is a great deal of acid unless it is being stewed with a large joint in a lot of liquid. Malt or cider vinegar suits the dish better than distilled white.
- The tapeRolled joints were often bound with narrow cotton tape, which holds the roll without cutting into the meat, and that is what this recipe assumes. Butcher's twine does the same job; cut and remove it before carving, not after.
- Removing the fatThe instruction to pour the gravy off, skim, and keep the beef covered is the hinge of the whole passage. Chilling the strained liquid briefly lets the fat set so it lifts off cleanly, and the covered meat will not dry out or form a skin while you work.
- The roasted onionsRoast whole peeled onions until well browned and soft, then finish them in the gravy. The browning is what supplies the sweetness and colour the note promises; a raw onion dropped into the pan will not do it.
- Vegetables as garnishThe alternative given is to lift out the braising vegetables, cut them into neat dice and scatter them over the dish. Vegetables that have stewed with a joint are usually collapsed, so choose firm carrot and turnip if you intend to dice them.
- ServingA rolled and tied joint of this kind carves in neat rounds and is good cold as well as hot. The gravy is thin by design; if you want it thicker, reduce it rather than adding flour.