The Sunday roast anchors family tables across the British Isles. In England, it means beef crowned with Yorkshire pudding, and in Ireland, pork with cabbage and potatoes. It wasn’t originally a holiday meal but a weekly ritual, one built on roasted meat, bubbling gravy and the promise of leftovers for the week ahead.

Traditionally served after church, the roast earned its name from the day it was prepared. By the 18th and 19th centuries, families returned home on Sundays to the aroma of beef, lamb or pork slowly roasting in the oven. While modern restaurant pubs may offer roast dinners throughout the week, Sunday remains the ceremonial centerpiece.

That centuries-old ritual is finding new life in downtown Colorado Springs.
At The Brit Pub, which opened in late October, owner and executive chef Phil Griffin is bringing the homeyness of classic Sunday roasts front and center, with platters piled high with roasted meats, crisp potatoes and house-made sauces that taste of memory.

Griffin, who hails from Bristol, England, waxes poetic about his grandmother’s Sunday table.

“She made the classic roast beef with piping hot Yorkshire pudding, potatoes, carrots, parsnips, cabbage and gravy. And sherry. I even had my own tiny brown ceramic cup with a picture of a Rolls-Royce on it for my sherry,” he said with a satisfied grin. “Really, the meal was a way to feed large families and maybe have leftovers for sandwiches or stews later in the week. Something mothers could afford.”

Sunday roast is no fleeting trend.

Its origins trace back to medieval England, when serfs reportedly practiced archery after church on Sundays. According to legend, they roasted meat on spits over open fires upon returning home — a practical feast after a long morning out.

While Sunday roast is quintessentially English, neighboring Ireland developed its own version of the classic Sunday dinner. Pork, often in the form of boiled bacon, was paired with cabbage and potatoes.

In the 19th century, Irish immigrants settling in New York and other American cities turned to less expensive kosher corned beef, which was more readily available than pork. Over time, corned beef and cabbage evolved into America’s St. Patrick’s Day centerpiece.

“Corned beef is definitely American,” Griffin said. “For the Sunday roast here at the pub, I prepare sauces and sides that match the flavors of the meat I’m preparing. Horseradish sauce and Yorkshire pudding are always paired with beef. I make mint sauce for the lamb, applesauce with the pork and bread sauce with the chicken.”

Griffin emphasizes that it’s the sauces and sides that distinguish each roast.
“The gravies are where it’s fun to play with different seasonings and herbs,” he said. “Bread sauce is really good.”

Bread sauce, he explained, is a classic British accompaniment for poultry. Milk is gently simmered with aromatics such as star anise, onion studded with cloves, a bay leaf and peppercorns, then thickened with fresh breadcrumbs. The result is a warm, savory sauce that feels both rustic and refined.

Thanks to Griffin’s classically British training, bread sauce, like other dishes on The Brit Pub’s menu, underscores the pub’s authenticity.

Colorado Springs boasts several excellent Irish and British-influenced eateries where diners celebrate the flavors of the U.K. But The Brit Pub is drilling down on lesser-known culinary traditions like the Sunday roast, and it’s catching on.

“It is certainly something we are becoming well known for,” said Meredith Klube, co-owner and general manager. “Starting at 11 a.m. on Sundays, we are flooded with folks here specifically for the roast. Whenever I set down a plate, really a platter, there are always ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ from patrons delighted with their meals.”

Klube added, “We usually sell out in the late afternoon. Ours is definitely unique since you can choose from four different roast options: beef, lamb, pork or chicken.”

For Michael White, a London native who has called the United States home for 23 years, The Brit Pub feels like a home-away-from-home when business brings him to Colorado Springs.

“Phil is awesome,” White said of Griffin during a recent Sunday morning phone interview, one that fittingly found him tending a prime rib roast in his own oven.

Sunday rituals run deep.

“Growing up, Mum would drop Dad off at the pub at noon and pick him up when it closed around four,” White recalled. “Then she’d bring him home to roast dinner she had in the oven.”

It’s a rhythm he still associates with comfort and family.

“The Brit Pub is the closest to home I’ve found in the 23 years I’ve lived here,” he said.

When work takes him back and forth between Texas and Colorado Springs, White alternates between ordering the Sunday roast at The Brit Pub and preparing one himself: prime rib, leg of lamb or pork.

“I love a pork roast, too,” he added. “Especially the cracklings. Properly cooked cracklings are delicious.”

U.K. expats, and those of us who want to be Irish for a day, can turn to The Brit Pub for a St. Patrick’s celebration. The pub is devoting the weekend leading up to March 17 to the occasion. And if you haven’t yet experienced the ritual of a proper Sunday roast, this may be the perfect time to tuck into one, or stage your own at home with bubbling gravy, crisp potatoes and tender cabbage.

Either way, it may feel like discovering the culinary equivalent of a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Irish Roast Beef with Guinness au Jus

Yield: 8 servings

1 (2 pounds) boneless beef chuck roast

1 (12 ounce) can or bottle Irish stout beer or Guinness

1 tablespoon olive oil

½ teaspoon dried rosemary

½ teaspoon ground thyme

½ teaspoon steak seasoning

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound small round red potatoes

salt and ground black pepper to taste

Procedure:

Place roast in a roasting pan and pour stout over top. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator, 8 hours to overnight, turning once.

When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

Transfer roast to a cutting board and pat dry. Leave stout in the baking pan.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sear roast for 2 to 3 minutes per side; transfer to a plate.

Crush rosemary, thyme, steak seasoning and pepper with a mortar and pestle. Add minced garlic and stir to make a paste. Spread paste over all sides of roast. Place roast back into the roasting pan with stout and cover loosely with foil.

Bake in the preheated oven for 2 hours. Add potatoes to the roasting pan and remove the foil. Continue to bake until an instant-read thermometer measures 145 degrees for medium, about 1 hour or to desired degree of doneness.

Remove from the oven, cover with a doubled sheet of aluminum foil, and allow to rest in a warm area for 20 minutes before slicing.

While the roast is resting, pour pan juices into a pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat and simmer until juices have reduced and thickened, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Strain and serve with beef and potatoes.

Source: allrecipes.com

Yorkshire Pudding

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

3 large eggs

1 cup milk

1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted

½ teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons butter

Procedure:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Beat eggs in a medium bowl. In another bowl combine flour and salt. Alternating, stir in flour mixture and milk. Cover bowl and place in the refrigerator overnight.

Divide 1 tablespoon butter into the cups of a 6-cup popover tin. Place the tin in the preheated oven until butter has melted and is sizzling hot, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from oven and distribute cold batter evenly among each cup.

Return to the oven and bake 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake until puffed and golden, without peeking, for about 15 minutes more.

Serve immediately.

Source: allrecipes.com