Thread: Christmas Dinner for Two - roast beast

Kajikit <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> We went to the grocery store this afternoon for provisions and I asked
> DH what he'd like for Christmas Dinner and he voted for Roast Beast. I
> was going to get a rib roast thingy but they were WAY TOO BIG (the
> smallest they had was 6lbs - and for the thirty bucks they were
> charging I could have got a whole meal!) so I got a regular bottom
> round roast instead. It looks pretty nice... lean, ungristly, and with
> a small fat layer on one side to help it stay moit. But I don't really
> have a clue how to cook it properly - we've only had roast beef once
> since we were married and I messed that one up so it was tough as shoe
> leather! Anyone care to fill me in?


http://tinyurl.com/ycymepv

Many recipes, cooking times, and different methods of cooking your bottom
round roast.

In article <[email protected]>,
Kajikit <[email protected]> wrote:

> We went to the grocery store this afternoon for provisions and I asked
> DH what he'd like for Christmas Dinner and he voted for Roast Beast. I
> was going to get a rib roast thingy but they were WAY TOO BIG (the
> smallest they had was 6lbs - and for the thirty bucks they were
> charging I could have got a whole meal!) so I got a regular bottom
> round roast instead. It looks pretty nice... lean, ungristly, and with
> a small fat layer on one side to help it stay moit. But I don't really
> have a clue how to cook it properly - we've only had roast beef once
> since we were married and I messed that one up so it was tough as shoe
> leather! Anyone care to fill me in?

A bottom round roast looks good in the display case, but tends to turn
into shoe leather if you actually try to roast it (cook with dry heat).
If you like tender and succulent, best bet is to pot roast it (moist
heat). If you are determined to roast it, sometimes marinating it helps
to tenderize it. Be sure to cut it very thinly and across the grain.
Most importantly, don't cook it past medium rare.

--
Dan Abel
Petaluma, California USA
[email protected]

In article <[email protected]>,
Kajikit <[email protected]> wrote:

> We went to the grocery store this afternoon for provisions and I asked
> DH what he'd like for Christmas Dinner and he voted for Roast Beast. I
> was going to get a rib roast thingy but they were WAY TOO BIG (the
> smallest they had was 6lbs - and for the thirty bucks they were
> charging I could have got a whole meal!) so I got a regular bottom
> round roast instead. It looks pretty nice... lean, ungristly, and with
> a small fat layer on one side to help it stay moit. But I don't really
> have a clue how to cook it properly - we've only had roast beef once
> since we were married and I messed that one up so it was tough as shoe
> leather! Anyone care to fill me in?

From http://www.seekingsources.com/cuts_of_beef.htm,
" The round includes the top round, bottom round, heel round, eye round,
and rump roast. Sometimes ground beef is made from the round as well.
Although all round cuts are tough, the top round is the tenderest,
relatively speaking. Because of this, it can be roasted. London broil
comes from the top round and can also be grilled. All of the others
however, do best made into roasts with moist heat methods. One exception
is your deli roast beef. Because it is sliced thin, producers can get
away with roasting, (dry heat), the bottom or eye round which are
cheaper than the top round. Notice that making a "roast" does not
necessarily mean that the meat will be roasted. At the risk of
belaboring the point for clarification, roasts such as pot roasts from
tough cuts, require braising. Roasts made from more tender meat are made
by actually roasting."

Sounds like pot roast to me, or roasting rare and slicing thin.


--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://web.me.com/barbschaller 12/15/2009

Melba's Jammin' wrote:

> "roast" does not necessarily mean that the meat will be roasted. At
> the risk of belaboring the point for clarification, roasts such as
> pot roasts from tough cuts, require braising. Roasts made from more
> tender meat are made by actually roasting."
>
> Sounds like pot roast to me, or roasting rare and slicing thin.

Yes, or a wine braising, as in "brasato al barolo": one can substitute an
american syrah or cabernet sauvignon for barolo. Just put enough wine in the
pan to reach halfway the thickness of the meat, some ground pepper and a
twig of rosemary, and salt only at the end.
--
Vilco
Don't think pink: drink rosè

On Mon, 21 Dec 2009 21:10:19 -0800, Dan Abel <[email protected]> wrote:

>In article <[email protected]>,
> Kajikit <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> We went to the grocery store this afternoon for provisions and I asked
>> DH what he'd like for Christmas Dinner and he voted for Roast Beast. I
>> was going to get a rib roast thingy but they were WAY TOO BIG (the
>> smallest they had was 6lbs - and for the thirty bucks they were
>> charging I could have got a whole meal!) so I got a regular bottom
>> round roast instead. It looks pretty nice... lean, ungristly, and with
>> a small fat layer on one side to help it stay moit. But I don't really
>> have a clue how to cook it properly - we've only had roast beef once
>> since we were married and I messed that one up so it was tough as shoe
>> leather! Anyone care to fill me in?
>
>A bottom round roast looks good in the display case, but tends to turn
>into shoe leather if you actually try to roast it (cook with dry heat).
>If you like tender and succulent, best bet is to pot roast it (moist
>heat). If you are determined to roast it, sometimes marinating it helps
>to tenderize it. Be sure to cut it very thinly and across the grain.
>Most importantly, don't cook it past medium rare.

Actually I never dry-roast ANYTHING except chicken. It comes out so
much nicer with some herbs and vegetables and liquid in the pan.
--

My website - http://www.kajikitscorner.com
My cooking blog - http://kajikit.wordpress.com
My crafty blog - http://kajikit.blogspot.com

On Mon, 21 Dec 2009 23:33:27 -0500, Kajikit <[email protected]>
wrote:

>We went to the grocery store this afternoon for provisions and I asked
>DH what he'd like for Christmas Dinner and he voted for Roast Beast. I
>was going to get a rib roast thingy but they were WAY TOO BIG (the
>smallest they had was 6lbs - and for the thirty bucks they were
>charging I could have got a whole meal!) so I got a regular bottom
>round roast instead. It looks pretty nice... lean, ungristly, and with
>a small fat layer on one side to help it stay moit. But I don't really
>have a clue how to cook it properly - we've only had roast beef once
>since we were married and I messed that one up so it was tough as shoe
>leather! Anyone care to fill me in?

Bottom round is kinda okay (not good) for pot roast/stew... only top
round and eye round make a decent dry oven roast but only if cooked
rare. If you're going to be price shopping beef and want to buy
bottom round to keep on budget then you'd best invest in a decent meat
grinder... trimed of any gristle/silverskin bottom round makes a good
ground round steak, and you can cook it as rare or well done as you
choose. However bottom round even on sale runs like $1.69/lb, but by
the time all the gristle and silver skin is trimmed away (about 20%)
top round becomes a much better choice... top round is on sale very
often at $1.99/lb and top round contains very little waste if any to
trim out, it's my favorite cut for grinding; burgers, chili, meat
loaf, etc. I typically buy the top round cut as a London broil for
grinding but yesterday the Price Chopper chain had top round as roasts
at $1.99/lb, got two beautiful five pounders for my freezer, will make
excellent oven roast or pot roast. I would have left one out to cook
only I roasted that big chicken last night and I bought one of their
better grade store brand smoked spiral cut hams for Christmas.... this
is a test to see if if their "Central Market" brand is worth triple
the price of heavily saline injected (18%) Cooks brand... this cost
$3.49/lb, a 9 pounder cost $31.41... says double smoked and no saline
injected... we'll see.

I've very rarely bought bottom round, every time I got lured in by its
low sale price it was a pretty scuzzy cut, loaded with big hidden
veins of gristle, even makes a lousy pot roast... top round is USDA
Prime NY strip compared to bottom round.

On Dec 21, 11:33*pm, Kajikit <kaji...@jagcon.com> wrote:
> We went to the grocery store this afternoon for provisions and I asked
> DH what he'd like for Christmas Dinner and he voted for Roast Beast. I
> was going to get a rib roast thingy but they were WAY TOO BIG (the
> smallest they had was 6lbs - and for the thirty bucks they were
> charging I could have got a whole meal!) so I got a regular bottom
> round roast instead. It looks pretty nice... lean, ungristly, and with
> a small fat layer on one side to help it stay moit. But I don't really
> have a clue how to cook it properly - we've only had roast beef once
> since we were married and I messed that one up so it was tough as shoe
> leather! Anyone care to fill me in?

Well, it's too late now since you've already bought the bottom round,
but
next time you want roast beef, get an eye round. Here's the Cooks'
Illustrated
technique, which I've used several times and been quite pleased with.

Sorry about the line wrap, I cut-and-pasted it from their web site,
and Google
Groups is going to play havoc with it, I'm sure.

1. Sprinkle all sides of roast evenly with 4 teaspoons of kosher salt,
or 2 teaspoons of table salt.
Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate 18 to 24 hours.

2. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 225 degrees.
Pat roast dry with paper towels; rub with 2 teaspoons oil and sprinkle
all sides evenly with 2 teaspoons of pepper. Heat remaining tablespoon
oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until starting to smoke.
Sear roast until browned on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes per side.
Transfer roast to wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet. Roast until
meat-probe thermometer or instant-read thermometer inserted into
center of roast registers 115 degrees for medium-rare, 1 1/4 to 1 3/4
hours, or 125 degrees for medium, 1 3/4 to 2 1/4 hours.

3. Turn oven off; leave roast in oven, without opening door, until
meat-probe thermometer or instant-read thermometer inserted into
center of roast registers 130 degrees for medium-rare or 140 degrees
for medium, 30 to 50 minutes longer. Transfer roast to carving board
and let rest 15 minutes. Slice meat crosswise as thinly as possible
and serve.

Kajikit wrote:
> ... I got a regular bottom
> round roast instead. It looks pretty nice... lean, ungristly, and with
> a small fat layer on one side to help it stay moit. But I don't really
> have a clue how to cook it properly - we've only had roast beef once
> since we were married and I messed that one up so it was tough as shoe
> leather! Anyone care to fill me in?

I picked up bottom round roast today and am just finishing up making
Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon with it as that is one of the cuts she
recommends for a braised dish.
I think that cut is best for pot roasts, not roasted beef roasts.

(sidenote- the house smells fabulous and I'm following the recipe to the
letter. Its a lot of technique! But the results seem to be worth it.
We'll eat it tomorrow for our family dinner before opening presents,
since I'm working the following two days straight through)

Kajikit wrote:

> We went to the grocery store this afternoon for provisions and I asked
> DH what he'd like for Christmas Dinner and he voted for Roast Beast.

So you're having roast beef as a change of pace from steak? That's like
having four-bean salad as a change of pace from three-bean salad.

Bob

On Wed, 23 Dec 2009 06:09:28 -0800, "Bob Terwilliger"
<virtualgoth@die_spammer.biz> wrote:

>Kajikit wrote:
>
>> We went to the grocery store this afternoon for provisions and I asked
>> DH what he'd like for Christmas Dinner and he voted for Roast Beast.
>
>So you're having roast beef as a change of pace from steak? That's like
>having four-bean salad as a change of pace from three-bean salad.
>
I can relate. I liked (and still like) squash so much that I didn't
even realize I was serving it 5 days a week until hubby dryly said one
day "Oh, goody... squash *again*" I was serving zucchini, butternut,
acorn, patty pan, spaghetti squash etc. etc. To me, they weren't just
"squash" because they were all so different. Poor guy. It took him
months to get fed up enough to say something. I'm better now, but I
still prefer squash.

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

On Dec 21, 8:33*pm, Kajikit <kaji...@jagcon.com> wrote:
> We went to the grocery store this afternoon for provisions and I asked
> DH what he'd like for Christmas Dinner and he voted for Roast Beast. I
> was going to get a rib roast thingy but they were WAY TOO BIG (the
> smallest they had was 6lbs - and for the thirty bucks they were
> charging I could have got a whole meal!) so I got a regular bottom
> round roast instead. It looks pretty nice... lean, ungristly, and with
> a small fat layer on one side to help it stay moit. But I don't really
> have a clue how to cook it properly - we've only had roast beef once
> since we were married and I messed that one up so it was tough as shoe
> leather! Anyone care to fill me in?
> --
>
> My website -http://www.kajikitscorner.com
> My cooking blog -http://kajikit.wordpress.com
> My crafty blog -http://kajikit.blogspot.com

I prefer Roast Monster.

On Wed, 23 Dec 2009 06:09:28 -0800, "Bob Terwilliger"
<virtualgoth@die_spammer.biz> wrote:

>Kajikit wrote:
>
>> We went to the grocery store this afternoon for provisions and I asked
>> DH what he'd like for Christmas Dinner and he voted for Roast Beast.
>
>So you're having roast beef as a change of pace from steak? That's like
>having four-bean salad as a change of pace from three-bean salad.

We very rarely eat beef in any form aside from hamburgers, so it's a
special occasion food. I would have preferred a nice pork roast but
since I vetoed the ham I wasn't going to make a fuss over his second
choice too!
--

My website - http://www.kajikitscorner.com
My cooking blog - http://kajikit.wordpress.com
My crafty blog - http://kajikit.blogspot.com

On Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:29:57 -0500, Kajikit <[email protected]>
wrote:

>On Wed, 23 Dec 2009 06:09:28 -0800, "Bob Terwilliger"
><virtualgoth@die_spammer.biz> wrote:
>
>>Kajikit wrote:
>>
>>> We went to the grocery store this afternoon for provisions and I asked
>>> DH what he'd like for Christmas Dinner and he voted for Roast Beast.
>>
>>So you're having roast beef as a change of pace from steak? That's like
>>having four-bean salad as a change of pace from three-bean salad.
>
>We very rarely eat beef in any form aside from hamburgers, so it's a
>special occasion food. I would have preferred a nice pork roast but
>since I vetoed the ham I wasn't going to make a fuss over his second
>choice too!

I guess he wanted roast pig! Did you (two) consider a pork
tenderloin?

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.