Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Feast: Food to Celebrate Life, by Nigella Lawson.
Nothing gives quite the flavor a rib roast does, but I know it's hard to carve. If you get your beef from a butcher, ask him to cut the meat off the bone and then sit or tie it back on, so that you get all the flavor but can slice more easily. Otherwise, go for a boned roast, such as sirloin. For 8 - 10 people you should be fine with 7 lb. Roasting times as for the rib roast still apply.
Recipe information
Yield
Makes 8 to 10 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
You have choices about the temperature at which you roast. For rare meat you can either cook the beef at the highest possible temperature for 15 minutes and then turn it down to 350°F and cook for 15 minutes per lb (I still find it easier to calculate the cooking time of meat per lb) or at 425°F throughout for 15 minutes per lb, which is what I tend to do. Think of 15 minutes per lb as about 33 minutes for every 2lbs. I usually do 15 minutes per lb and then add on an extra 5 minutes so that those who don't like rare meat have a bit of slightly more cooked beef from the ends. Those who don't like blood don't have to get it: the rest of us gratifyingly do. If you want it medium rare, I should reckon on 20 minutes per pound or 44 minutes for every 2lbs.
Step 2
However you cook it, the thing that really matters is that you let the meat rest properly. Cover it loosely with aluminum foil and leave it for at least 15 minutes and up to 35 minutes on its board. Not that I mind even longer, actually.
