Both topside and silverside are taken from the hind quarter of the animal, between the rump and leg. The topside muscle, being both lean and quite tender, makes an excellent roasting joint.
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.
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. Brisket, topside and silverside are good for pot roasts, and stewing and braising steak are good for stews and casseroles.
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.
As we just mentioned, silverside of beef makes for a very good roasting joint. And an affordable one at that. What's more, it's fairly easy to cook. Best pot roasted or roasted in the oven, beef silverside is complemented well by garlic and rosemary.
The topside is a large, lean cut of beef, rolled and divided into two or three boneless joints. The silverside is very similar to topside, but requires slower cooking. Used to make salt beef or corned beef.
Corned beef has a softer texture that should be fork tender if cooked correctly. Where roast beef is more like a large steak. As for taste corned beef tastes salty and briny and roast beef has a deeper beef flavor.
Chuck roast is cut from the cow's shoulder. It is a heavily exercised muscle, which gives the beef good flavor but it also makes it tough.
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.
Silverside of beef is a large, lean, boneless cut of meat with a course grained texture. It is mostly used for roasting joints, braising steaks or dice. Silverside and Topside of beef are both taken from the hind quarter of the animal, between the rump and the leg.
The Silverside is a very popular roast with the best and strongest beef flavour of the three rump roasts and is a very popular choice. It's a little drier and grainer in texture and best roasted medium to well done.
Dry roasting is usually best for roasts made from the loin and rib (tenderloin and rib-eye roasts). I also prefer to dry-roast the eye of round, bottom and top round, cross rib, mock tender from the chuck and sirloin tip roasts, even though these are less-tender cuts.
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.
Topside is a lean cut that comes from the top of the cow's rear-end. It works so well slow cooked as the long cooking times break down the meat, and it literally melts in your mouth as you eat it. What is this? Topside also cuts really nicely.
Topside: Topside of beef is a lean boneless cut from the top of the inside hind leg, also called buttock steak.
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.
The rib eye is a cut from the rib section and is the most flavorful cut of meat and typically comes with very deep marbling. Because of the deep marbling on the rib eye, it is a great cut for grilling and slow roasting.
Traditional Christmas dinner features turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, and vegetables. Other types of poultry, roast beef, or ham, are also used. Pumpkin or apple pie, raisin pudding, Christmas pudding, or fruitcake are staples for dessert.
Undercooked pot roast will be tough and chewy. 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.
Use a meat tenderizer or small mallet to break tough muscle fibers, by literally pounding the beef (you can wrap the cut in pieces of plastic wrap to keep this from getting messy). If you don't own a mallet or tenderizer, use a fork to pierce holes into the surface of the beef to help a marinade absorb more quickly.
What's the difference between corned beef and silverside? Well basically they're the same thing – just a different cut of beef. Corned beef is traditionally made using the brisket, an inexpensive cut of meat that is perfect when slow cooked. Silverside is made using topside which has slightly less fat.
Both cuts can be tough due to the muscle configuration, but with the right cooking techniques, they can be the most flavorful cuts of the whole cow. Chuck roast has a higher fat content than brisket, and most of the fat is between the muscles. Brisket's fat content is mostly limited to the exterior.
Corned beef is made from brisket, a relatively inexpensive cut of beef. The meat goes through a long curing process using large grains of rock salt, or “corns” of salt, and a brine. It's then slowly cooked, turning a tough cut of beef into one that's super tender and flavorful.