How to truss beef for roasting

Trussing beef before roasting helps retain its shape while it cooks in the oven and stops the meat from spreading. This method can also be used for stuffed and rolled joints of meat to hold them together.

The trussing method works by tying a series of interlinked knots to secure the meat in place. Regular knots won’t work as you cannot achieve the same amount of tension. You will need a roll of butcher's twine for this, which you should be able to pick up from your local butcher.

In this guide, Alyn starts with a bone-in sirloin, cutting away the bones and leaving us with a lovely piece of sirloin ready for roasting. He then trusses the beef for that beautiful shape.

Begin by removing the excess fatty meat at the top of the bone (known as the chain)

Using a sharp knife, remove the meat from the bone, keeping the knife as close to the rib as possible

Remove any excess fat and sinew from the meat, as this will not break down during cooking

Thread the string underneath the meat 2cm from the end

Holding one end of the string in your hand, wrap it around your fingers then cross over and pull through the loop to create a slipknot

Tighten the knot against the beef, secure with a second knot and cut off the excess

Turn the meat around so that the top of the meat is facing away from you

Wrap the string around the front of your hand to make a loop, then thread it around the meat and position it 2cm from the first piece of string

Hold on to the end of the first piece of string and pull tight to secure

Repeat this process all the way down the meat until you reach the end

Turn the meat over and thread the string through each of the cross sections, tightly tying each one

Your meat is now ready to roast

Variations

Although there are many benefits of roasting beef in a neat, trussed form, may prefer to roast beef on the bone for its theatricality and flavour. See our guide on how to roast a rib of beef for handy tips for roasting your bone-on beef to perfection.

Serving suggestions

Once your beef is cooked, there are a plethora of choices for enhancing the flavour of the beef. Marcus Wareing serves his roast beef sirloin recipe with a rich mushroom sauce, perfect if you want a roast with a difference this Christmas.

To keep things traditional, browse our collection of Sunday roast recipes for some inspired side dishes and sauces, or our Christmas side dish recipes if you're cooking up a festive feast.