Roasting a Tough Cut of Meat

neuro-praxis

Hi folks. I have a round beef roast which I am planning to cook with all the trimmings one evening this week. (It's actually our replacement for Christmas dinner as due to lots of bad things all happening at once, we never got to celebrate Christmas this year!)

We don't want to have turkey and we have had lots of ham cold cuts, so we've gone for beef. However I am very inexperienced and don't really know how to roast joints. I am ok with poultry but I never get the texture of beef or lamb right.

Can you please advise me on how to slow cook this cut in order to tenderise it? I'll be home all day so can take my time. (I don't plan on stewing it - it's got to be a roast method.) Please be as specific as you can with temperatures and times as I haven't a clue. It weighs 1.3kg.

Thanks!

the beer revolu

The best advise I can give is to get another piece of meat.
Round beef is too tough to roast quickly and too lean to slow roast.
It tends to be rather cardboardy - I've never come across a good use for it.

You'd be far better off with a rib of beef roast rare (preferably on the bone).

If you insist on cooking the round roast I guarantee you will be disappointed and it will not be due to your cooking skills (unless you like dry, tasteless beef) .

Irishrossoblu

I would agree with the above response. I got a cheap cut of Beef to roast and try to see I could roast beef. The flavour, smell and appearance of the meat was perfect. But I could not cut it for love nor money. Even the dog couldnt eat it. I would get a different cut pronto.

neuro-praxis

I appreciate what you're saying but obviously I am going to roast this cut of meat, as that is what I have asked about. It cost €12 as well!

If anyone can offer advice on slow-roasting it I'd be grateful. I can marinate or baste continuously or whatever.

TequilaMockingBird

I would sear it in a hot frying pan with garlic and oil till browned.

Then put it, and the juices from the pan, in a roasting pan with half an inch of water in the bottom, wrap TIGHTLY in tin foil, and roast at about 150 for about 3 hours. It will steam rather than roast. Make gravy from the juices.

Or, if you have a slow cooker, sear and then bung it in with the water overnight on low.

neuro-praxis

I appreciate it. I might go for the long-haul option as I have a crockpot. Cheers.

tSubh Dearg

If you want to try slow roasting it I would use this method:
http://www.cookingforengineers.com/recipe/38/Prime-Rib-or-Standing-Rib-Roast if you can get a meat thermometer so much the better. However, as the recipe is for rib roast, I would baste the meat regularly through the cooking in an effort not to let it dry out.

In general though round beef is best for pot roasting with lots of liquid rather than dry roasting for which rib roast and sirloin roasts are more suitable due to their marbling.

CJhaughey

Any chance you could make a stuffing? Go heavy with the butter, it will help the meat stay moist.
Really a cut like that is best cooked with lots of fat as water and slow cooking will make it dry, dry and tender but still dry.
The only thing that wil save it is oil or fat during the cooking process.
If you don't fancy stuffing it try rubbing 2 Tbsp butter over the roast and then roasting hot and hard at 230C for 10 mins to seal it, then reduce the heat to 160 and cook for 1 to 1.5 hrs uncovered. If you wanted to make it more interesting mix the butter with some herbs/mustard/zest before you coat the roast.
let it stand for 10 mins or so covered in foil before you carve to allow the meat to relax and absorb the juices.

TequilaMockingBird

neuro-praxis wrote: »

I appreciate it. I might go for the long-haul option as I have a crockpot. Cheers.

What I do with mine is slow cook it over night, then take out in the morning, leave the juices in a jug so the fat can rise to the top and harden. Get the potatoes par-boiled and toss them in butter, oil the roasting pan, beef in the middle with the hardened fat from juices on top, chuck in the spuds and roast for an hour.

I like meat well done and tender, not to everyones taste I know, but it works for us. Don't forget the horseradish!

Dizzyblonde

Round roast is notoriously dry, so I usually boil it for 30 minutes then roast it for an hour and a half at 180C. This way it stays quite moist on the inside and has a nice roast flavour. It doesn't shrink as much either.
I make extra gravy if there's to be much left over, then slice the leftover meat and freeze it in the gravy. When you defrost and heat it it's even more moist and tender than it was on the day you cooked it.
( I'm sorry you missed out on Christmas and hope the new year is better for you )

dudara

You might consider braising it for a while, either way there needs to be a lot of moisture in the oven with it.

neuro-praxis

All great advice. Thank you.

the beer revolu

Do let us know how you get on and remember that the company is far more important than the food!

The Sweeper

As an aside, a good use for round of beef, whether it be in roast form or steak form, is flash frying it - I'm talking 30 seconds - for stir fries.

If it's on special I buy it for a dish I make with mushrooms, oyster sauce and brocolli spears - purple sprouting if I can get it, florets if I can't.

Stir fry sliced mushrooms - many as you like, mix them up if you can but this is a robust dish so don't spend a pile on delicately flavoured shrooms, you'll lose the subtle nuances! Stir fry them in butter and season liberally with black pepper. When they're starting to colour, add about two tablespoons of oyster sauce, and up to a half a pint of strong beef stock. Cook for another three or four minutes. Blanch your brocolli in boiling water for a minute, then strain and throw in on the mushrooms.

Meanwhile, slice your round steak or round roast into 2mm thick slices. In a separate, smoking wok, stir fry your round beef strips for about 45 seconds (if even) - you're litterally just taking the red off them. Let the strips rest for a minute in a bowl and then tip strips and juices from the bowl into the mushroom, brocolli and oyster sauce mix. Stir through, and serve with steamed rice and a side of stir fried greens like bok choy or spinach with a little ginger and chili.

It's tasty, and the meat is edible without being like shoe leather strips.

Minder

Brine it. Makes corned beef. Then slowly simmer it to keep it tender.

the beer revolu

Neuro, did you roast it yet?

neuro-praxis

Not yet...my husband is sick, so people keep calling around with food for us. It's in the freezer. I'll do it in the next few days.

the beer revolu

neuro-praxis wrote: »

Not yet...my husband is sick, so people keep calling around with food for us. It's in the freezer. I'll do it in the next few days.

I do hope he'll be better soon.