Dried up Beef.

Dunkyboy_2

The Mrs is always complaining that she can't get her roast beef to be nice and moist/juicy. No matter what she tries it always comes out dry and tough.
She has tried getting her beef from different suppliers, she's tried cooking slowly/ fast. tried basking it every 15 mins, but alas always the same result , can some of you offer a few tips please, as we love our Beef.
We only like our beef cooked properly (well-done) ie no Blood :eek:
thankyou ..

Curry_Queen

Seal the outsides of it first on a high heat in a griddle/frying pan before putting in the oven. When it's cooked, don't stick anything sharp into it like a knife or anything or you'll lose all the juices, just leave it to rest wrapped in foil about 20 mins before carving so the meat can relax and the juices draw back into it.

What cuts of meat have you tried? Some are better for long slow cooking like silverside, brisket etc and the better roasting joints are topside, rib and sirloin.

frosty

I have a 3in1 pan,the bottom pan holds enough potatoes to serve 8 people,the next pan you can put your veg in and it will steam it,in the next pan we slice our roast beef and then we pour gravy over it,by the time the potatoes are cooked the meat just melts in your mouth, we also save gas because we only need one gas ring, this pan was well the money,we have been using it everyday for the last 15 years, it still looks like new.Everyone who comes for sunday lunch comments on how nice the meat is.

kscour

I put mine on the rack in the roasting tin and cover the bottom of tin with water before I put it in the oven - I don't know if it makes any difference but ours is always juicy (I like it "dead" as well!) If it seems to be cooking too quick I cover the top in foil but that only stops the top over cooking. And I also let it stand 15- 20 minutes before cutting it.
Best beef I've ever had is from a proper butchers or farm shop and "well hung"

scoot1on1

"We only like our beef cooked properly (well-done) ie no Blood "

This can well be the problem when meat is cooked too long it goes stringy and tough, try going here http://www.graigfarm.co.uk/cookingtimes.htm

this will tell you the time per pound of meat to cook your roast for

ie. Chicken will take 20 mins per pound and add 20 mins to end etc etc

Hope this is the end of your tough meat !!

PS Supermarket meat is best avoided (not hung long enough) go to your local butcher

competitionscafe

Dunkyboy wrote:

We only like our beef cooked properly (well-done) ie no Blood :eek:
thankyou ..

It should still be pink in the middle though (without blood) otherwise it's probably overcooked. And when you take it out the oven you should rest it for 10 or 15 minutes (cover with foil) before carving. And as said above your meat should be well hung and nicely marbled with fat. Try South Devons (breed), they give good tender meat even if you overcook it slightly...

The other alternative would be to brown the meat on the outside in hot fat in a roasting tin on the hob and then cook it for a long time, very very slowly at a low heat - this will give well cooked meat which should be tender.

Or if you are brave try Heston Blumenthal’s slow-cooked roast wing rib of beef: http://www.blogjam.com/2005/09/05/pukka-posters/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/roastwingribofbeef_74821.shtml

P.S. When I saw the title of this thread I thought it was about dried beef! (biltong or jerky - air dried spiced beef)

Curry_Queen

scoot1on1 wrote:

try going here http://www.graigfarm.co.uk/cookingtimes.htm

Hi, can I ask whether you've ever bought anything from Graig's farm or was it just sheer coincidence that you came across their cooking chart?

I came across them a week or so ago and interested in buying from them but wanted to find out if anyone had ever used them first and would recommend them

Debt_Free_Chick

Dunkyboy wrote:

The Mrs is always complaining that she can't get her roast beef to be nice and moist/juicy. No matter what she tries it always comes out dry and tough.
She has tried getting her beef from different suppliers, she's tried cooking slowly/ fast. tried basking it every 15 mins, but alas always the same result , can some of you offer a few tips please, as we love our Beef.
We only like our beef cooked properly (well-done) ie no Blood :eek:
thankyou ..

The cut, the size, the quality
Firstly, you need the right cut of beef for roasting. Frankly, you can't beat forerib of beef - this is the best and easiest joint to roast. You can get it boned, but I honestly believe that bone-in forerib is far superior.

You need a decent sized joint - leftovers can always be recycled into another meal or two or three!

And you need "proper" meat. Beef should not be blood-red when you buy it, as it is at the supermarket. This is simply a sign of meat that's not been hung for long enough. Beef should be dark red, rather like the colour of dried blood. Don't fall for the supermarket trick of "aged for up to 21 days" - this is not hanging. It's been "aged" in a vac-pack bag :eek: You want meat that's been hung for at least 21 days, like this

If you really want excellent beef, you'll want to be picky about the breed too - but that's perhaps for another thread

You need fat!
The process of roasting evaporates the natural moisture in the meat - the fibres shrink and this makes the meat dry and tough. If you have a good marbling of fat, this melts and bastes the meat from the inside out, which compensates for the moisture evaporation.

You want a good marbling of fat - little fat streaks & specks all through the meat and, preferably, a good layer of fat on the outside. Don't worry about the fat - it will drain into the roasting tin and make great beef dripping It will NOT make the beef greasy.

Give it a blast
A good blast for 20 mins in a very hot oven gets the cooking process started. It takes an eternity for the heat to penetrate to the centre of the joint and a good initial blast simply gets its going. Pre-heat the oven so that the joint hits a hot oven. Pre-heat to 21-230°C/Gas 6-8 (use a thermometer).

Also, I assume you have a decent sized joint here - a joint weighing less than a couple of kilos won't stand up to 20 mins blast - but 10 mins should work. For very large joints, you can blast for up to 30 minutes.

Moderate heat
After the initial blast, you need to roast in a medium oven - not a hot one. 160°C/Gas mark 3 is ideal. And ovens generally don't calibrate exactly to the temperature on the dial. An oven thermometer or better still, a meat thermometer is helpful. For medium beef, if you have a meat thermometer, you remove the meat from the oven when the thermometer reads 60°C in the centre of the meat. 70°C for well done.

Although I do use those cooking time charts as an indication, I tend to inspect the meat now & then to see how it's doing. Different sizes, shapes and cuts of meat cook differently, so the charts are only a guide. The most reliable method for medium or well done beef is the thermometer.

Have a rest!
Resting the meat is very, very important. Remember the point about the moisture evaporating? Well, it evaporates firstly from the outside of the meat and then moisture in the middle of the meat "travels" to the outside to evaporate. Resting allows the remaining moisture which is close to the surface of the meat, to "travel" back towards the centre.

When cooked, take the meat out of the roasting tin, put it on a plate or whatever and loosely cover with tin foil. Put this to one side in a warm place for 20 minutes. Do NOT put it in a warm oven ... it needs to be warm just above room temperature.

Debt_Free_Chick

Curry_Queen wrote:

Hi, can I ask whether you've ever bought anything from Graig's farm or was it just sheer coincidence that you came across their cooking chart?

I came across them a week or so ago and interested in buying from them but wanted to find out if anyone had ever used them first and would recommend them

Not tried them, but I can highly recommend [url="http://www.wellhungmeat.com]Well"][/url]Well Hung Meat. Also organic and mail order. Try a beef box

Curry_Queen

That's an excellent synopsis DFC, well done :T

Yes, I tried some meat from Wellhung and it really was excellent! The thing that attracted me with Graig's farm is that they also do grocery produce and dairy, and have an alternative free range poultry which is slightly cheaper than organic but obviously raised to the same ethical standard, which is what concerns me more.

Jimmy's Farm is another that gets the thumbs up from me, and his prices are very good too. The only problem is that I can't get poultry (he sells Kelly poultry in the shop) by mail order as he gets his stock the day after he sends out the online deliveries, which is a shame.

Dunkyboy_2

Thanks for all these suggestions, we will be beefaholics by the time we get through all of your ideas. When you suggest sealing in the juices before putting in the oven, how do you actually do this please.
Our oven is a Fan oven and does tend to cook things too quick, so maybe we are over compensating by giving things less time to cook, or maybe we can have even less heat but increase the cooking time, it's sooo confusing.
Thanks again..