Americans Try Making British Sunday Roast Dinner for the First Time

When we tried Sunday Roast at Toby Carvery, many of our viewers told us we needed to try a proper homemade Sunday Roast, so that's what we're doing today (or at least attempting to do today). We'll be attempting to make a British Sunday Roast dinner. We'll be making a leg of lamb, roasted potatoes, carrots, parsnips, Yorkshire puddings, and gravy. There were a few things that were difficult to find, but overall we think it turned out pretty well for our first attempt. What do you think? Would you eat our roast dinner?

What essential components or dishes did we miss that you make with your Sunday Roast? What other dishes should we attempt to make next?

Shop the special items we ordered to prepare our Sunday Roast:

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Bisbee, AZ 85603
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[TheMagicGeekdom]

What essential components or dishes did we miss that you make with your Sunday Roast? What other dishes should we attempt to make next?

[debb]

My Mum used to make the most delicious roast potatoes, she never added flour though. The secret after par boiling is to shake them around in the pan with the lid on, this creates little edges that become crispy in the oven.

[Phatanz]

I'm a retired chef, from Yorkshire, I take the meat out of the roasting tray and make the gravy in the tray, scrape all the meat residue off the tray and add hot water and thicken it with a bit of gravy granules, whisk it up then strain it through a sieve. Bingo, beaut gravy. 👍 PS, people in Yorkshire sometimes eat Yorkshire puddings with strawberry jam on them as a dessert 👌

[SgtSteel]

As a Brit, this looked fantastic. I do have a couple of criticisms though. 1, you definitely should have used the juices from the lamb in the gravy 100% everytime. 2, The potatoes were cut too small and you took the time to prepare the onion but didn't serve the roasted onion which is a fantastic accompaniment for this dinner. 3. That goose fat looked weird, it's normally more like a butter but I understand it's all you could get. Great job, I would stuff my face with this. Loved the addition of mint sauce which is an absolute must with roast lamb. Fantastic first attempt. oh and no, please don't warm up the mint sauce.

[shanewaterman]

Most Brits first attempt at a Sunday roast is nowhere near that standard, so well done the pair of you! 👏

[MarlynMeehan]

I think you did brilliantly for a first attempt. Bear in mind that by the time most Brits get to the stage of making their own for the first time they have saw and/or helped parents or even grandparents do it week after week. It doesn't matter what meat you have - beef, pork, chicken, lamb. Some families stick to the same every week and others vary it depending on personal preference or just what is the best buy where they shop. You will find it much easier getting your timings right when you've done it a few times. Once again great job.

[martinscott-reed]

As a little hint, you can add some mint sauce to the gravy and have minted gravy over your lamb for the perfect combination. Use the gravy more liberally. Some greenery would give that splash of colour and an extra taste profile.
All in all though, you did cracking job.

[andygill]

I wouldn't complain about those Yorkies.😋

[itspeab]

Very brave of you opening yourself up to a million comments from us Brits who each do things a different way and have very specific views of what makes a Sunday roast! The toughest part of a roast is the timings - getting it so together at the same time. But that looked like a great first go. Would have happily devoured it!

[stevesomeone]

Seriously guys as a first attempt at a British classic you should both be very proud of yourselves ❤.
Different people will have different variations handed down from generations past.
I would quite happily eat your Sunday lunch with you both anytime 😊

[eddaines]

Firstly. I doff my hat to you. To go public with your first Sunday roast? Bravo! You are officially honorary Brits!

Some tips.

As you have seen, the roast is all about timing. Logistics. If you can bring everything to perfection at the same time, you can coordinate a military campaign and build an empire.

Secondly. This may be personal, but in my family the roast was never prepared sober. The house had to be filled with family, the gin and tonic flowing so that when the roast arrived it was already loud, familial and cosy.

The roast should be followed by board games, more wine and grandpa sleeping in front of the fire.

Repeat a few times and you will truly get it. My happiest family cosy memories involved Sunday Roast. My kids are growing up the same. Embrace it fully for it is wonderful.

And - well done. An excellent first effort!

[billygnasher]

Well done both of you, you’ve now been adopted by us Brits, proud of you. 👍 ❤ Manchester UK 🇬🇧

[kath-phlox]

You're funny.... Yes I live in the UK, not many of us here can afford a leg of lamb these days, It's a treat to most of us now.
Never discard the drippings from a roast of any kind. You roast it in a roasting TIN for starters, when cooked remove the joint and cover with foil to keep warm. The roasting tin goes on the heat and all the brown cooking residue is scraped from the sides and the bottom, I usually smash any veg in there with a masher and strain, then add flour to the residue, then you fly by the seat of your pants and make great gravy. I also have gravy granules in my cupboard ;)

[juliaroberts]

I would have put some greens on too; peas, green beans, cabbage or broccoli. Makes it look more appealing too.

[Paul_Allaker]

For a 1st attempt that wasn't a bad effort, We eat Sunday roast every Sunday through the winter months, just such great comfort food. Well done guys. 👍🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[RichardGadsden]

The trick for Yorkshires is to get the fat up to being smoking before you add the batter - and you want to choose fat with the highest smoke point available, because you need the outside of the Yorkshire to cook as fast as possible - that's how you get them crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

[ricardoscio]

Great first attempt and the lamb looked delicious. Just a few tips if I may (40 years a chef) Chop your spuds bigger, that way you get the crispy and a lot of the fluffy inside, also your carrots and parsnips need to be a little thicker, (you can also par boil these as you did with the potatoes and roast them all together). If you want to have other vegetables such as sprouts or cabbage or whatever..cook them the day before till almost perfectly cooked and then cool them quickly in iced water then refrigerate. Have a pan of boiling water and refresh the vegetables in that for 30 seconds to a minute and serve. Saves you a lot of time. Good luck with your next attempt

[RichDoes..]

Chef here, I would typically roast a joint on a bed of carrot, onion, celery (we call these aromats) cut these so they make a flat base for the joint add a half inch of water to the roasting tray, the liquid after roasting can be used as a base for the gravy.

[chriskincaid]

Do the Yorkshire puds first at hot heat. Set aside and warm them up later in the oven near serving time. This way they are more crispy. Cook everything else. Also use the meat juices for gravy with the bisto. Strain for the big bits to be removed. Great first attempt though !

[cardiffst]

And this is why we only do it once a week :-)