Every Sunday, around 11am, on Twitter, someone amongst the folks I follow asks for recommendations of which pub to go to for their Sunday roast. Every week, the same examples are trotted out. And, to tell you the truth, I’ve sampled them all and found many of those constantly recommended to be somewhat lacking. Then today, I spent National Yorkshire Pudding Day in a pub I’d never heard associated with great roast dinners – and had the best meat and two (ok, four) veg I’ve had in many years.
So in my first duty as Culture Vultures food editor, I have taken it upon myself to find the perfect pub roast dinner. And I’m going to need your help. Bear with me; I know it’s a big ask…
When it comes to roast dinners, we all have our own priorities, preconceptions and childhood memories, which no humble pub grub can ever hope to live up to. I’m asking you to throw all of these out of the window and adopt the following, simple but pedantic scoring system to assess your pub Sunday roasts, and share the results on this forum. With a bit of luck, we might finally reach a consensus – and the results might be surprising…
The scoring system:
The Meat – Total possible score of 20
The perfect pub roast will boast a generous portion of flavoursome, succulent meat. The rareness (rarity?) thereof should never be uniform through too much time spent under heat lamps. There shall be not too much fat; neither shall there be an entire absence of such. Slices shall be thick; texture tender. Information on the provenance of the animal is desirable but not essential.
The Gravy – Total possible score of 20
Will be lightly thickened, yet never gloopy. It will have a gently charred flavour (evidence of use of the roasting tin in gravy preparation) and may even sport some small bits of meat/veg. It shall be simply, extraordinarily meaty, with no fussy extra flavourings, and it will bear no evidence of the use of Bisto or equivalent dried gravy bases.
The Roasties – Total possible score of 20
The roasties shall reach a level of saltiness never acceptable in home cooking. They will have crispy outers and fluffy inners, and shall not issue forth oily evidence that they have been deep fat fried (a shortcut to perfect-looking roasties taken in too many establishments). Massive bonus points shall be awarded if those little crunchy bits from the bottom of the pan are included on the plate.
The Pudding – total possible score of 10 (score 0 if pudding not provided)
Shall be massive, and never be uniform (Aunt Bessie’s may be an acceptable shortcut in the home but NEVER in the pub). Will display a pleasing contrast of crispy bits and soft, doughy bits. Shall be capable of soaking up vast quantities of gravy at the end of the meal.
The Veg (Preparation) – total possible score of 10
Steamed or boiled veg shall never be soggy. They shall be fresh and juicy, never dry, with extra marks available for local and/or organic provenance, and also for preparation involving butter, herbs and/or spices.
Bonus categories:
The Veg (Choice) – total 10 bonus points available
Extra marks are available for an imaginative selection of vegetables – parsnips and cauliflower cheese shall score particularly highly.
The Ambience – total 10 bonus points available
Extra marks shall also be awarded for surroundings, for service, and for added extras. Log fires, cosy seating arrangements, additional gravy jugs, appropriate and high quality condiments will all score highly.
This gives us a total possible score of 100 (handy coincidence, that) for every roast dinner served in every pub across Leeds, Yorkshire and beyond. Have I got the scoring criteria right? How did your most recent pub roast fare according to the system? Let us know in the comments…
To get the ball rolling, here’s my review of today’s beef roast dinner at Lounge Bar & Grill in Leeds…
THE MEAT: 17
Almost perfect – tender, chunky, flavoursome. Only a stray piece of gristle stood in the way of a full twenty.
THE GRAVY: 18
Flawless in flavour, colour and moreishness. Ever so slightly too thin.
THE ROASTIES: 11
Well seasoned tasty little mites, were these, but very little in the way of crispiness. A waxy potato had been used, so these underperformed in the fluffy gravy-soaking stakes too.
THE PUDDING: 7
A beast of a pud, nicely aerated with lots of gravy mopping potential. A little overdone so not quite enough doughy bits, but a fine effort overall.
THE VEG (PREP): 6
Well cooked with a nice amount of bite, scrubbed baby carrots were a nice change from the standard baton, but they were a little gritty. Broccoli, flawless.
THE VEG (CHOICE): 6
Non-standard carrot variety plus roasted parsnips (*sounds parsnip klaxon*) earned a respectable 6 bonus points.
THE AMBIENCE: 6
The room’s a bit cavernous, but we were sitting on actual thrones which made up for it. Quality mustard, horseradish and mint sauce, and friendly service earned an extra 6 points.
TOTAL: 70/100
Overall, an excellent roast. A little work on those roasties and an extra rinse of the carrots and we’d be well up there with the best.
My personal favourite!
I never knew they did such good roasts – must be one of Leeds’ most unsung roast heroes!
I am loving this scoring method! Amazing.
Definitely agree with the meat criteria although knowing which field it came from would be a massive point scorer for me! I’ve been to one place in Lancashire where the back of the menu tells you here everything is from, meat, veg, fish – from literally walking out the door describing which way to walk!
I am intolerant to soya which is in bisto and will leave me bed bound for days, so always ask how the gravy is made. I love it when they’ve made gravies for all the different meats, definitely a winner in my books. I think extra gravy must always be available too.
The little crunchy bits from the bottom of the roastie tin – amazing. Also partial to honey roasted parsnips or sweet potato.
A proper homemade Yorkshire can be the making of a good roast, Aunt Bessie’s are never acceptable in my life. Usually one of the first things I ask a waitress/ at the bar and if the response is a perplexed look of ‘what’s wrong with frozen’ then I may I fact have to leave!!
Creamy leeks will get me a little excited along with Nanna mash (carrot, turnip, butter + mashed).
Log fires are a bonus for ambience. My only extra would be good selection of local ale for the hubby.
Your 100 point criteria may change my life. Thanx! Glad to see someone is as erm…obsessive about a roast dinner as me!