The traditional roast is in decline. But it’s so easy to do. Just follow Joanna Lamiri’s guidelines and make Sunday special again

Doesn’t everyone love a roast? It makes an excellent centrepiece for family and friends, and a slow, indulgent celebration meal at the end of a long week. Roast beef, pork, lamb and chicken have long been staples of the British diet. But all this is changing. As scares like BSE and e-coli have started to turn more and more of us off eating meat, roast lunch is no longer a weekly event.

In any case, how many of us would know how to handle a side of beef, a leg of lamb or a joint of pork any more? Even if we did, we’re not used to having leftovers. Gone are the days when mother turned the remnants of Sunday’s roast into cold beef sandwiches on Monday, mince on Tuesday and Shepherd’s pie on Wednesday. And as people eat out ever more frequently – particularly in pubs, where there will invariably be a traditional Sunday roast on the blackboard – eating in can become a big and sometimes daunting task.

This is a shame. Roasting meat, along with baking, is one of the easiest, most comforting and most satisfying ways to cook. And as long as you source your meat carefully – from a reputable butcher, retailer or, better still, direct from an organic producer – there should be no reason to sideline it.

It’s worth roasting a joint just for the sauces, gravies and other things that go with the meat: tongue-tingling horseradish and crisp Yorkshire pudding with the beef; tart apple sauce and crackling with the pork; and sharp mint sauce with lamb. Chicken has a whole raft of partners: stuffings, bread sauce and chipolatas are traditional; a simple green salad with a squeeze of lemon is chic and a little bit French, especially if you eat it as a separate course after the meat.

Roasting rules

• When buying meat for roasting, don’t make the mistake of thinking that leaner is better. The best roasting cuts have a good proportion of fat to add succulence and prevent the end result being dry. If you’re unsure, ask the butcher to recommend a cut that’s good for roasting. Also, now that beef on the bone is back, try to use a bone-in joint. The bone will help conduct heat and allow the meat to cook evenly, retaining as many juices as possible.
• Cook meat or chicken in an oven preheated to a high temperature (220C/425F/gas mark 7) for 10 minutes or so before turning the oven down to its normal cooking temperature. This will help form a crisp crust on the meat, browning it and sealing in the juices.
• Don’t season meat with salt before cooking, as it can draw juices out, giving a dry, tasteless result. The exception to this is pork, if you want crackling.
• You don’t need to add extra fat, as long as the meat has enough fat within it. However, to help avoid a dry dinner, you can baste the meat a few times during cooking (but not pork, because of the crackling).
• ‘Resting’ the meat is crucial. Juices rise to the surface of the meat during cooking, and if you leave your cooked joint, covered, in a warm place for about 30 minutes, these juices will sink back into the meat, giving a moist result throughout. I always use this resting time to turn the roast potatoes up and make the gravy.