The Perfect Roast Dinner - Guest Post

This week, I will be away on holiday - sunning myself on a beach, so I'm leaving you in the good hands of my guest posts - See you in a week guys!

How to make the perfect roast dinner – the cheat’s way

The Sunday roast is a meal traditionally left to one member of the family. Whoever takes on this role must be able to serve up a delicious dinner every single time – no mistakes.

It’s a big task to take on; multi-tasking and coordinating have to come naturally. They have to be experts at ensuring the meat is juicy, the gravy is free from lumps, the veggies are cooked to perfection and the roast potatoes are crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

If you have a super-cook in your family and have enjoyed Sunday roasts every single week, then you’ve been spoiled. When you move out from home and attempt the task yourself, you’ll soon realise how difficult the process can be – unless you take heed of these little cheats.

Roast potatoes

Some people think that the meat is the most important part of any roast dinner but they’re wrong – it’s the potatoes! No dinner is complete without roast potatoes – not mashed, not boiled, not chips – they just have to be roasties.

Ask anyone how to make them and you’ll probably hear about par-boiling the potatoes, shaking them to rough up the edges and using goose fat. However, if you’re not a confident cook why not buy them pre-prepared and save all the hassle?  McCain roast potatoes achieve the same crispy outer shell and fluffy interior without the dangers of hot place or the gruelling cooking process.

Gravy

Without gravy, you’ve just got a plate of meat and vegetables. Somehow, it manages to bring all the ingredients on your place together, creating a delicious British classic. Getting the gravy right is difficult; it can’t have any lumps, be too runny or too thick, or be flavourless.

Again, your mum, or whoever usually cooks the dinner will have their own family secrets. It is best to make the most of the juices from the meat, but other than that, granules are a great option. If you want to inject some meatier flavours without going to the effort of making a proper stock then a teaspoon of yeast extract should do the trick.

Yorkshire puddings

Traditionally, Yorkshires are only supposed to accompany beef but they’re so delicious they usually end up on your plate every week. No doubt your family’s super-chef whips up their homemade ones in no time but if you struggle to make roast potatoes, the Yorkshire puddings are more than likely going to end in disaster. Don’t let your guests down - buy frozen ones instead, they’re just as good and some come as pre-made frozen batter so you get a more homemade appearance once cooked.

This guest post was sponsored by McCains.