Tough Beef Is It Me Or The Meat ??

jackyann

I know what your DH means, srn. I have found this when I pot roast topside.
I watched a Rick Stein programme (can't remember which one) when he tried to cook the famous Barolo beef from Italy, a dish i gave up on after 2 attempts. basically, you slow simmer this beef with wine & veges. he said 'it's dry, and I can't seem to get it to be any other way' - which rather cheered me.

I think that, even when surrounded by moisture, the juices leach out of the beef. No matter how much gravy, wine, stock is around them, the actual meat will seem dry. Of course, if you eat small pieces in a rich sauce, it helps.
By contrast, I think that the cuts with some gristle / connective tissue can cook better. Slow cooking breaks the tissue down, and it seems to 'melt' into the meat. So I find that I prefer to cook my Xmas Eve beef bourgignonne with shin of beef rather than top rump.

I should say that I have no idea as to whether my theory holds water, and I know that a lot of people pick up on different textures as being more or less palatable. I'm just trying to look for reasons for my lifetime of observations.
Martin, what about that test kitchen? And us stalwarts will search for the best transport deals to get there!

adsk

Try slow roasting. You will need a meat thermometer.

Oven at 120C.

Roast until thermometer reads 60C pink - 70C well doneish.

None of these roasting joints will be super tender (unlike expensive joints such as rib, sirloin etc) but slow roasting stops the drying out and the thermometer ensure you get the degree of done-ness that you want.

This technique is particularly good for cold roast beef for salads/sandwiches etc

[Deleted User]

I bought some beef last Christmas, and the result was a disgusting waste of money that left me completely baffled.

Cooking time for 874g was anything between 29 mins and 93 mins depending on which chef you listen to, but after 115 mins it was still tough as old boots and leaking enough blood to turn the gravy red.

jackyann

I would say that I find a meat thermometer invaluable. Ovens can be so variable.
It feels awful when you buy an expensive piece of meat, and end up disappointed. I know many people who will not attempt a roast because of this.

I would say that lamb is the most 'forgiving' roast, and yields a nice juice for gravy. These are my rules for roasts:
start with the meat at room temperature (out of the fridge for 1-2 hours)
use a meat thermometer, set to a degree below the recommended temperature
heat your oven to 10 degrees higher than recommended, as soon as you put the meat in, turn down to 10 degrees lower.
allow half an hour to rest - cover with foil, and leave at room temp - don't be tempted to 'keep warm'.
My m-i-l, who made a much better roast than my own mum (!) had a tiny oven. she cooked the meat, took it out & covered it with foil, then turned the oven up and roasted the potatoes for an hour. The meat never suffered (so to speak!)

If it all hoes %$£! then slice as thinly as possible and make lots of gravy (Bisto if needed, with a slug of wine).

YorksLass

nik0510 wrote: »

Hello, I always buy my beef vac packed from Sainsbury's when it is on offer, I can honestly say I have never had a tough joint, I put my joint in a roasting tin put some water in the bottom and cover with tin foil, near to the finish I take the foil off, it always comes up nice and the juices/water makes lovely gravy. Hope this helps

That's exactly what I do and it always turns out well. As there's only the two of us, I cut off some cooked slices and freeze them in gravy for the weeks when we don't have a joint. Anything left of the joint makes casseroles, cottage pie, curry etc.

jackyann wrote: »

By contrast, I think that the cuts with some gristle / connective tissue can cook better. Slow cooking breaks the tissue down, and it seems to 'melt' into the meat.

I'd agree with this. Unfortunately the trend nowadays, especially with sm meat, seems to be meat trimmed of all vestiges of fat, whereas a "proper" butcher will only cut off the fat if you ask him to. And the really good ones will ask if you want an extra lump of fat to put on top of the joint.

bouicca21

My twopennyworth is that as someone suggested, "roasting joint" is likely to be silverside. It might be ok slow roasted but it's really a pot roast joint, except that like Jackieann I'd only pot roast brisket. And yes for a stew/casserole you want a cheap cut - stewing something like topside is a total waste and likely to go dry because it just isn't meant for that kind of cooking. My mum always used skirt for casseroles, I use shin but that's because I haven't seen skirt in a butchers for years.

gonebust

I always cook roasting beef hot and fast. Starting off heating the oven to 250, putting the meat in and turning oven down right away to 220. I then only give it a short cooking time, around 45 mins, then take out of the oven, wrap in foil and a tea towel and leave it to rest for at least 30 mins whilst I cook the veg

Basically I treat roasting beef as I would steak, rest for as long as you cook it for. Resting the beef allows the fibres to relax, making the meat easier to carve and more tender

I only use stewing beef for stews and casseroles. You need the higher fat content in the stewing beef to stop it drying out during the long slow cooking. The fat also adds fantastic flavour. It's not for nothing a stew is best cooked the day before, the excess fat can be easily removed when it's cold and the fat has set

Casserole beef doesn't have the fat in it to keep it moist so that's better cooked as a whole piece rather then cubed

Best meat for stewing IMO is shin bone in. Lots of flavour and meat is so tender


I also prefer my roast beef thin cut. I don't like the thick slices that are the norm nowadays. I put mine through a slicer so I can cut it as thin as I like, usually about the thickness of the ready cooked beef you can buy for sandwiches

Tipsntreats

I used to love Topside, but it is not like it used to be. Now I only buy Brisket and cook it in the slow cooker for at least 4 hrs on high. It just melts in your mouth.

Crouchman

I love the roast beef.

Eccles04

Saw this today and decided to give some help. Firstly the meat needs to be "hung" dry for long enough and 21days which one often sees is not long enough for the natural juices to do their work, I never buy less than 28 days. Secondly, it may cost more but only certain cuts will give you a tender roast, mainly they are top rump, rib and sirloin. Lastly the cooking technique has to be spot on or rare to medium rare as it is generally called but that has been well described by some others abvove.