Daniel is a really good cook. Since the early days of our marriage, he’s always helped in the kitchen — making some dishes entirely his own — and never has a dish been more Daniel’s than this roast beef. To the point that he even has a special Bluetooth thermometer to make sure it comes out perfect every time.

Now, I don’t usually call for specialist equipment — and definitely not one as expensive as a Bluetooth thermometer — but in this case, we made an exception. It costs about the same as one large 2–3 kilo roast, and it ensures that we never overcook it. So with apologies, this is a recipe that requires a single piece of expensive kit. That said, we’ve never once regretted the purchase. Here is a link to the one we use Meater..

And that is exactly why this recipe works — you can cook a piece of beef, no matter the size, and still get the perfect cold roast beef slice every time.

Serve with Homemade Parev Pesto and mustard.

Have a look at the ingredients — it’s a simple 1:1 ratio:

INGREDIENTS:

For every 1 kg of beef, you’ll need:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon flakey sea salt

So for:

• 2 kg beef → 2 tbsp olive oil + 2 tbsp flakey salt
• 3 kg beef → 3 tbsp olive oil + 3 tbsp flakey salt
• 4 kg beef → 4 tbsp olive oil + 4 tbsp flakey salt

We typically use round bola roast, but any good quality roasting cut will work.

METHOD:

1. Bring the beef to room temperature: Take the beef out of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for about 1 hour.
2. Preheat the oven to 230°C (450°F): Place the beef (we usually use round bola) into a roasting tin. Drizzle with olive oil and rub all over with flakey salt.
3. Set up your Bluetooth thermometer: Insert the Bluetooth thermometer into the very centre of the roast, making sure the tip is in the middle of the thickest part.
   Set the app to your desired internal temperature. We like ours quite pink, so we set it to 50°C (122°F).
4. Roast the beef: Roast at 230°C for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 180°C (350°F) and continue roasting until the thermometer tells you it’s reached the target temperature — this usually takes about 30 minutes more, depending on the size of the roast.
5. Cool completely: Remove from the oven and let the beef cool completely at room temperature. Then wrap it in foil and refrigerate for at least one full day, or up to two days, until the beef is very cold — this makes it much easier to slice.
6. Slice and serve: Use a very sharp knife or an electric carving knife to slice the beef into thin, neat slices.