Beef Is The Roast We Love The Most

You can’t beat a bit of beef on a Sunday. Or at least that’s according to YouGov, which surveyed the great British public to find out which meat is the most popular on a roast dinner. While there’s no denying that there has to be a whole heap of roasties and lashings of gravy, it’s the meat that’s the most controversial bit of the weekly meal.

Pipping lamb, pork and even chicken to the top spot, the red meat was chosen by 33 per cent of those polled. In comparison, 27 per cent went for chicken and 20 per cent lamb, while the biggest surprise was that eight per cent would go for the veggie option, over the six per cent who preferred pork.

So, who gives a cow about the beef? Well, more men voted for beef than women and it was the over-65s who were the biggest advocates of the bovine. We don’t know how it’s being cooked, but the whole rare versus incinerated is a whole other debate.

When it comes to what to have with the meat, 89 per cent couldn’t live without roasties on a Sunday. The fluffy-on-the-inside, crunchy-on-the-outside weekend staple even beat gravy, which was seen as a must-have by 76 per cent of Sunday lunch lovers.

Unsurprisingly, Yorkshire puddings factored in the race, as 69 per cent of us don’t want a roast without one, or two or three… Once it gets into the realm of vegetables, however, it seems to be a bit of a free-for-all.

Some of us are going traditional, with broccoli, peas and carrots, while the more avant garde choices of cauliflower cheese and green beans are also popular. Many people are adding brussels sprouts, stuffing and even pigs in blankets to their Sunday roasts, despite these usually being reserved for Christmas dinner.

Maybe it’s the decadence of the younger generation, as 52 per cent of 18-24-year-olds wanted the bacon-wrapped sausages on the weekly menu, compared to just 12 per cent of the over-65s. In the take-it-or-leave-it category were mashed swede, boiled potatoes and sauces like mint or horseradish.

The thing about a Sunday dinner is that it is tied up with family and happy memories. The best roasts for most people are the ones like their parents used to make, making them feel at home and looked after.