Aim for a marbled piece of beef with a nice outer layer of fat. There'll be plenty of good options at your local supermarket or butcher – and remember you can always ask your local butcher for a recommendation if you're not sure. The most popular cuts for a roast are: Prime Rib Roast.
Look for Marbling
The amount of marbling plays a huge role in the tenderness, juiciness and flavor in a beef roast, whether you're choosing one for a special occasion or everyday dinner. Marbling, the little white flavor flecks within the lean beef, are key to great taste.
There should be bright, white marbling of fat throughout the meat. If you buy a bone-in roast, the bone should also appear bright white. A good cut of roast should also be dry to the touch and sweet smelling.
The best cuts of beef for roasting are the eye fillet, rib eye (on the bone or boneless fillet), sirloin or rump. When choosing your beef cut in store, look out for: A moderate covering of fat on cuts such as sirloin or rump – which will add delicious flavour and prevent the meat from drying out during cooking.
For roasts, the best cuts include rib (on the bone or boned and rolled), sirloin, top rump and fillet. For quick cooking, try fillet, entrecôte, rib eye, sirloin or rump steaks.
1) Choose the right cut
For a leaner roast, topside is an excellent choice and for a slightly fattier cut, top rump is also a good option. Both are best served rare/medium rare and are delicious served cold in sandwiches and salads.
Bottom Round Roast
The bottom round roast is a lean cut from the round primal. It's one of the best cuts for roast beef, especially when prepared low and slow for maximum tenderness and flavor.
Beef tenderloin is a great choice for your Christmas dinner because it's relatively easy to prepare. It also cooks quickly, has a nice presentation, and has no bones or fat to deal with. If you buy a beef tenderloin that is untrimmed, you're going to have some work to do.
Allow around 375g beef per person, so for four people, you need a joint around 1.5kg, for six, 2.25kg, for eight, 3kg and for 10, 3.75kg.
Often nicknamed the 'poor man's sirloin', topside makes for a great, thrifty roasting joint that cuts into beautifully uniform slices. It can be served lightly pink. Roasted and thinly sliced it tastes particularly delicious, and any leftovers work well in sandwiches with horseradish mayo, or in salads.
It's overcooked. Overcooking meat causes it to dry out, and as moisture is lost, the meat gets tougher and so harder to chew. It was cooked at too high a temperature. For soft and tender meat, it's always better to cook it low and slow than to heat it very quickly, which causes the protein in the meat to toughen.
Test your roast with a fork before you remove it from the pot. If it is done, the fork will go in easily and you'll be able to twist off a forkful of meat. It if is still firm, return the roast to the pot and continue cooking for another hour.
Considered the most tender cut of all, a filet mignon is taken from the center of the beef tenderloin. It is lean yet delivers a melt-in-your mouth, buttery succulence. Perfect for grilling, pan-searing and broiling in the oven. Available in several weights, a filet is perfect for 1 person.
Medium roast coffee is probably the most popular roasts on the market today due to its full, balanced flavor and aroma.
Light roasts tend to have more delicate yet complex flavor profiles than dark roasts. Dark roasts tend to have deep but simple flavors due to some of the initial flavors of the beans being lost or changed during the roasting process. Dark roast is sometimes described as tasting more bitter than light roast.
Know your roasts
This can cause some confusion when you're buying, but in general, roasts fall into one of four color categories — light, medium, medium-dark and dark.
Also note that the topside is best served no more than medium rare because it dries out very easily. I'll finish the roast uncovered for the last half-hour. A better bet than topside for the same price is probably bolar blade because while it can have a bit of gristle it is softer and more tender.
It consists of roasted meat, mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes and accompaniments such as Yorkshire pudding, stuffing, gravy, and condiments such as apple sauce, mint sauce, or redcurrant sauce.
Roast for 12 mins per 450g/1lb (about 55 mins for a 2kg/4lb 8oz joint) for medium-rare, or 15 mins per 450g/1lb (about 1 hr 10 mins) for medium-well.
When cooking a roast in the oven, keep it uncovered until roasted to the desired doneness. After removing from the oven, tent with foil and let stand 15 minutes before carving. This allows the juices to redistribute, preventing them from draining out during carving—and preventing dry, disappointing meat.