The halogen oven is in fact in one way perfectly designed to cook beef because you can cook it on a rack and it needs to have air flowing around it.
When deciding how to cook roast beef in a halogen oven you have 3 choices as to the method. There are different ways you can use to cook your beef depending on what you like best and you can also add your vegetables if you want to cook it all together. these are explained below.
Cooking beef in your halogen is really easy. However beef is best cooked slowly to make it tender. So, you don’t cook it as fast as you could. Especially a larger joint as the halogen can easily cook the outside and leave the inside unfinished. Below we explain ways around this.
How to Cook Roast Beef in Your Halogen Oven
I am really funny with beef and I have to confess that for beef I mostly stir-fry or slow cook in the slow cooker as I don’t like it red on the inside and find these two methods work well for that. However, when I cook beef in the halogen I tend not to speed it up as you can with the halogen oven but prefer a slower cook for a more tender result.
My sister and I have a bit of a dispute going on as to the best methods of cooking in our halogens. I find that due to the fast cooking times and small space the halogen often cooks fast on the outside and this can mean the inside isn’t done as well on larger items like beef joints and cakes (which would work well for those that like rare beef). So I will often cover what I am cooking for at least some of the cooking time. My sister says that when she covers her food in her halogen it just doesn’t cook. I do think you lose some of the speed advantages by doing this but sometimes you need the item wrapped so it doesn’t go dry or cook too fast on the outside so it does take longer to cook.
So, while as a rule, you do not cover beef while roasting, I would cover the top of the beef or wrap it with foil sometimes (making sure it won’t float away during cooking) to cook it because as lovely as this beef looks I prefer mine cooked evenly all the way through and no red showing.
Setting Up Your Cooking Method
3 Ways To Cook Roast Beef Joints in Your Halogen
Ingredients
- Beef Joint size of choice
- Salt
- pepper
- Fat or Oil
Instructions
Method 1
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For my mind, the best way is to use the halogen as it was designed and that is to place the beef joint onto your lower tray and place something under it to catch the drips. This way your halogens air will flow around it which is what it is designed to do.
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However, you can also do the following:
Method 2
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You can use the bottom of your halogen to cook things so you can place your beef directly on the glass at the bottom and let it cook in its own juices (check with your maker I checked with the main two makers and they both said it was OK to do this). This also allows you to add vegetables and cook everything together. You may find you need to baste halfway through (remember never add cold water to your cooking or it may break the glass) and just keep an eye on the vegetables to make sure they stay moist and do not dry out.
Method 3
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You can also place your beef in a tray and then onto the bottom rack rather than directly on the rack. Again you can also add your vegetables if you want to.
All Cooking Methods
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Make sure you buy a tender joint of beef.
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Remove your beef from the fridge and bring it up to room temperature.
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Add your seasoning salt and pepper works well with beef, but you can add other seasonings of your choice if you prefer.
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Many of the top chefs rub with either oil or fats as well as adding salt and pepper. This gives the outside a nice crisp feel.
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Place your beef into your oven using one of the 3 choices above.
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Add your extension ring if you have one.
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Cover and secure your foil if you are using it. Remember to remove for the last 1/2 hour of cooking.
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Set your halogen temperature to the desired amount. You do not need to preheat it. Cook it for about 20 minutes on 200C (392) then reduce the temperature to180C (365F) for the rest of the cooking time for a medium beef joint. Add 10 minutes for well done and deduct 10 minutes for rare.
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Allow 20 minutes cooking time plus 20 minutes per 450g (1lb) of beef.
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Make sure you test the inside temperature with a meat thermometer to make sure it is cooked all the way through.
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When your beef is cooked you can rest it for 20-30 minutes or longer to allow the juices to flow through it.
Now you are ready to pop the rack back in and cook your Yorkshire puddings. You can use the halogen to cook ready made ones or make them from scratch and reduce the cooking times for your halogen.
