Budget Roast

Yesterday we bought a full rump for just $4.99 a kilo, all up it cost $28.00, at home I cut it into 4. 3 pieces are now tucked in the freezer and the other I popped in the slow cooker before leaving for work today.

Got home to a perfectly cooked roast with it's own gravy, I got the kids to prepare and cook the veggies. We ended up with a lovely meal that everyone raved about and with plenty of meat for lunches for work and school. All for around $10, great for the budget.


This recipe came from Simple Savings (see the link above).

Ingredients:
1.3kg roasting beef
2 tbsp gravy powder
1 crumbled beef stock cube (or 1 tsp stock powder)
1 cup water
2 tbsp cornflour . I used flour instead
1/2 cup red wine (optional)

Method:
Combine the gravy powder and stock with a little water and mix into a smooth
paste. Add the rest of the water and stir until smooth. Pour into slow
cooker. Place meat into slow cooker on top of liquid. Place lid on slow
cooker and turn on to 'low' setting.

Go back to bed, go to work, or find something else to do for 7 hours.

Turn the slow cooker off and pour the liquid into a big shallow container
like a roasting pan and put it in the fridge until the fat solidifies on the
top. This will take a while, so now is a good time to make the
roast/mashed potatoes/veg/etc.

Once the fat has solidified, scrape it off and bin it. Put the cornflour into
a saucepan and pour in about 1/2 cup of the meat juices, stir
into a smooth paste, then pour in the rest and stir over heat until it
thickens.

Slice the roast beef and place it into a shallow serving dish and pour the
gravy over the meat. Serve with all the other stuff you made to go with it.

I have made the gravy for the roast beef without refrigerating the liquid to
solidify the fat (usually because we were all too hungry to wait) and it has
made no appreciable difference to the taste (no greasy taste either) so if
you are really pressed for time or just can't be bothered you can skip it
altogether.