Recipe: Simple Roast Beef Bites
This recipe is made for a crowd, making 35 servings. The Simple Roast Beef is tender and the perfect ingredient alongside cheddar and horseradish. Despite being only a bite of food, this will feel nice and hearty with the roast beef’s meaty texture.
Time for some more food history! Roast Beef comes from the British, who love Sunday lunch beef in particular. This Sunday tradition began during King Henry VII’s reign in 1485. They even named their royal guard after meat – the ‘beefeaters’ in the 15th century. Additionally, they sang a song ‘The Roast Beef of Old England’ as a national anthem at one point, with the audience singing in theatres and is still played when Royal Navy officers sit down to eat:
When mighty Roast Beef was the Englishman’s food,
It ennobled our brains and enriched our blood.
Our soldiers were brave and our courtiers were good
Oh! The Roast Beef of old England,
And old English Roast Beef!
A great deal of beef was recommended in an English diet, and roasting a ‘noble sirloin’ of 15 pounds for Sunday lunch was recommended. This meat would then be used throughout the week for a large household as cold cuts, stews, and pies (which is the origin of deli meat!). If a family did not have large enough of a fireplace to cook the meat, a smaller roast was dropped off on the way to church at the baker’s. The baker would cook the roasts in the cooling bread ovens because they would not bake on Sundays.
Sides with the beef included Yorkshire pudding and root vegetables like turnips. Yorkshire pudding was originally cooked under the beef to catch all the drippings but later was eaten before in order to minimize the amount of beef required to feel full when beef was at a premium price. Potatoes were not added to the dish until the late 1700s when there were food shortage issues.
Although fewer today make a ‘Sunday roast’ at home, pubs and restaurants in the UK are full for the roast dinner on Sunday. People will also roast other proteins to suit today’s diet such as chicken, pork, or lamb.
Simple Roast Beef Bites
-makes 35 servings
Ingredients
1 lb. Farmers & Cooks Thinly Sliced Simple Roast Beef
8 tbsp Giardiniera Relish, drained
8 tbsp Mayonnaise
4 tbsp Horseradish (fresh if you can!)
1 pack Baby Brioche Crisps or Buttery Crackers
8 oz. spreadable Cheddar Cheese
4 tbsp chopped Chives
Prep
Mix relish and mayonnaise together.
Fold slices of beef so they are 1” thick.
Cut stacked beef to fit crackers.
Assembly
- Put a small dollop of the Giardiniera mayo on the crackers and top them with a slice of the roast beef.
- Add a small spoonful of the spreadable cheddar.
- Garnish with chives and horseradish (if fresh grated using the smallest side of a cheese grater)
Let us know how you enjoy our Simple Roast Beef and this recipe on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest! Have another great recipe? Feedback? We want to know!
References:
https://www.thespruce.com/history-of-the-british-sunday-roast-4149600
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/nov/05/english-beef-a-proud-tradition
https://www.deansplacehotel.co.uk/traditionally-british-the-history-of-the-sunday-lunch/