This may be the dumbest question ever. I'm in the mood for a roast beef
dinner, the kind my mom used to make on Sundays after church when I was
little. Beef roast done in the oven, mashed potatoes and gravy, you
know... My question is, what cut of beef roast do I get? It's not a pot
roast. There's nothing stringy about it. It's a hunk of beef about the
size of a cantaloupe; usually hers came tied with string which I assume
kept it in shape. Was it a rump roast?

I can't believe I don't know this.

Scooter

Scooter wrote:
> This may be the dumbest question ever. I'm in the mood for a roast beef
> dinner, the kind my mom used to make on Sundays after church when I was
> little. Beef roast done in the oven, mashed potatoes and gravy, you
> know... My question is, what cut of beef roast do I get? It's not a pot
> roast. There's nothing stringy about it. It's a hunk of beef about the
> size of a cantaloupe; usually hers came tied with string which I assume
> kept it in shape. Was it a rump roast?
>
> I can't believe I don't know this.
>
> Scooter
-----------------
Ask your butcher for a rib roast.

Yum! Nancree

Scooter wrote:
> This may be the dumbest question ever. I'm in the mood for a roast beef
> dinner, the kind my mom used to make on Sundays after church when I was
> little. Beef roast done in the oven, mashed potatoes and gravy, you
> know... My question is, what cut of beef roast do I get? It's not a pot
> roast. There's nothing stringy about it. It's a hunk of beef about the
> size of a cantaloupe; usually hers came tied with string which I assume
> kept it in shape. Was it a rump roast?
>
> I can't believe I don't know this.
>
> Scooter
>

http://www.txbeef.org/recipes.php3?Roasts

In article .com>,
"Scooter" > wrote:

> This may be the dumbest question ever. I'm in the mood for a roast beef
> dinner, the kind my mom used to make on Sundays after church when I was
> little. Beef roast done in the oven, mashed potatoes and gravy, you
> know... My question is, what cut of beef roast do I get? It's not a pot
> roast. There's nothing stringy about it. It's a hunk of beef about the
> size of a cantaloupe; usually hers came tied with string which I assume
> kept it in shape. Was it a rump roast?
>
> I can't believe I don't know this.

We used to call them rolled roasts. Look for a roast in a tight string
hairnet sort of thing. My mom roasted them as your mom did. But my teeth
were up to the task at the time. They were sliced quite thin as I
remember. I know exactly what you're talking about, gravy, mashed
potatoes and all.
I braised the last one I cooked for four hours. It was certainly not the
same as we remember, but it was one of the finest pot roasts I've ever
made.

leo

--
<http://web0.greatbasin.net/~leo/>

Scooter said...

> This may be the dumbest question ever. I'm in the mood for a roast beef
> dinner, the kind my mom used to make on Sundays after church when I was
> little. Beef roast done in the oven, mashed potatoes and gravy, you
> know... My question is, what cut of beef roast do I get? It's not a pot
> roast. There's nothing stringy about it. It's a hunk of beef about the
> size of a cantaloupe; usually hers came tied with string which I assume
> kept it in shape. Was it a rump roast?
>
> I can't believe I don't know this.
>
> Scooter


Scooter,

Pastorio posted his recipe for me a year or so ago and it absolutely
saved my roast beefs for French dips, etc.!!! NO pot roast about it!


---------------------
Bob (this one) wrote:

For my restaurants, I did it this way: A rump roast is a solid muscle
piece and doesn't need tying. We seasoned with ground white pepper,
garlic powder and seasoning salt, and we did it generously. Heat the oven
to 250°F (not a typo), put the meat on a rack so it's up off the floor of
the pan and into the oven it goes. You can't cook by time because there
are too many variables (accuracy of the oven, the temperature of the meat
going in, the shape of the piece of meat, etc.). For rare, cook to a
center temp of 120-125°, med-rare - 130-135°, med - 140-145°. More than
that, it won't slice well and it will eat tough.

Happy meat.

Pastorio
----------------------


Enjoy,

Andy

I use the rack of a roasting pan and place it on/over a cookie sheet for
better heat circulation.

Just got back from Albertson's. It was a rump roast or nothing, so rump
roast it is. I need to find a local butcher!

3 lb rump roast. Web search says 60 minutes (20 minutes/lb) at 375F for
medium, so I'll give that a try unless I hear otherwise from this
august group. :-)

Thanks,

Scooter

Scooter wrote:
> Just got back from Albertson's. It was a rump roast or nothing, so rump
> roast it is. I need to find a local butcher!
>
> 3 lb rump roast. Web search says 60 minutes (20 minutes/lb) at 375F for
> medium, so I'll give that a try unless I hear otherwise from this
> august group. :-)
>
Well, it's a tradeoff. High temp roasting produces great color and
taste from caramelization on the exterior, but you need to watch the
meat's temp like a hawk and remove it before it reaches your ideal
degree of doneness. And high temp doesn't work well with the less
tender cuts.

Low temp works well with the less tender cuts, doesn't produce as much
color or caramelization, and is more forgiving of timing.

Most people end up in the middle temp range, 350°F to 375°F.

If I can get a USDA Choice grade rib roast I really like the results of
cooking it as hot as my oven will get. For a rump roast I plan for a
long slow cooking at 250°F. -aem

Scooter wrote:
> Just got back from Albertson's. It was a rump roast or nothing, so rump
> roast it is. I need to find a local butcher!
>
> 3 lb rump roast. Web search says 60 minutes (20 minutes/lb) at 375F for
> medium, so I'll give that a try unless I hear otherwise from this
> august group. :-)

You can't cook by time and be successful. Too many variables
- shape of meat, temperature of meat going into the oven,
accuracy of the thermostat, altitude, etc.

20 minutes per pound at 375F for a piece of meat this size
will bring this way above medium.

Real medium is a center temperature at 140F+/- 3 or 4
degrees. It's a warm, pink center, and the only way you can
be sure is to use a thermometer. Not a meat thermometer you
leave in the roast while it cooks. They're notoriously
inaccurate and all have the flat-out wrong degree of
doneness indications. Either a quick-read thermo or a remote
unit like a Polder - the one that Alton Brown uses on his TV
program.

Speaking for my own tastes, roasting that small a roast at
375F will give you a good crust on the outside, but will dry
the meat unnecessarily. I prefer a low-temperature roast -
225-250F in a conventional oven and 205-225 in a convection
oven. You don't get the same sort of exterior crusting, but
the trade-off is that the meat is very much more moist.
Almost no pan drippings.

Pastorio

Michael "Dog3" Lonergan wrote:
> "Scooter" writes"
>
> > This may be the dumbest question ever. I'm in the mood for a roast beef
> > dinner, the kind my mom used to make on Sundays after church when I was
> > little. Beef roast done in the oven, mashed potatoes and gravy, you
> > know... My question is, what cut of beef roast do I get? It's not a pot
> > roast. There's nothing stringy about it. It's a hunk of beef about the
> > size of a cantaloupe; usually hers came tied with string which I assume
> > kept it in shape. Was it a rump roast?
>
> It depends on the cut of beef. I *think* you are describing a top round
> roast. Maybe bottom round. It's not chuck I don't think.


Who knows, could be any one of a dozen different cuts, but I seriously
doubt it was rump. Rump is one of the least tender parts of the round
and is most typically used for pot roast. For someone not too well
versed in cooking oven roast by the dry method I'd suggest Top Round.
Naturally there are more tender cuts from other sections but they are
more expensive too. Choose a 4-5lb USDA Choice top round that is of
even thickness throughout. Tie loosely about every inch, if already
tied check that it's not tied too tightly (strings should not dig in).
If too tightly tied retie at home... if too tightly tied the juices
will be squeezed out as the roast cooks. The tying is to maintain even
thickness, not to give a roast a girlish figure.

Season liberally with fresh black pepper coarsely ground and a light
sprinkling of good quality celery salt (Penzeys is good) and rub entire
roast with vegetable oil. Place a meat thermometer into center of
roast. Place roast fat side up on a rack in a roasting pan and place
into a 375ºF preheated oven, on a lower rack so that the roast is in
the center of the oven. Immediately lower temperature to 325ºF.
Roast should be about done after cooking for 25 minutes per pound... do
not cook well done... med-rare to med is best for this cut. Before
slicing tent loosely with foil and allow roast to rest for about 1/2
hour. Slice thinly with a sharp knife.

Top Round:

http://i16.tinypic.com/40pzfcl.jpg

http://i13.tinypic.com/3zrg2o9.jpg

http://i17.tinypic.com/2lapqur.jpg

http://i16.tinypic.com/48zos2x.jpg


http://www.foodsubs.com/MeatBeefRound.html

Sheldon

Ted shuffled out of his cave and grunted these great (and sometimes not
so great) words of knowledge:
> This may be the dumbest question ever. I'm in the mood for a roast beef
> dinner, the kind my mom used to make on Sundays after church when I was
> little. Beef roast done in the oven, mashed potatoes and gravy, you
> know... My question is, what cut of beef roast do I get? It's not a pot
> roast. There's nothing stringy about it. It's a hunk of beef about the
> size of a cantaloupe; usually hers came tied with string which I assume
> kept it in shape. Was it a rump roast?
>
> I can't believe I don't know this.
>
> Scooter
>


There are a LOT of different roasts is could be.

Get yourself a rib roast and cook it at 200 degrees until the internal
temperature is 145 (rare ) or 155 (medium). Take it out of the oven,
cover it loosely with foil and let it sit for about 15 minutes, then
carve/slice away {:-)

Another alternative is to brown the roast in a pan or on the grill, then
transfer it to the oven for longer cooking at the lower temperature.

I've had good luck with searing eye of round on the Weber, with some
wood chips or chunks smoking for extra flavor. When it's nice and brown
all over, into the oven it goes, at 250 to 300 deg. 'til it reached the
desired degree of "done-ness" according to a meat thermometer. Mmmmm...
might be on the menu for Sunday dinner if the weather holds.

Bob
=======================
In article om>,
says...
> Well, it's a tradeoff. High temp roasting produces great color and
> taste from caramelization on the exterior, but you need to watch the
> meat's temp like a hawk and remove it before it reaches your ideal
> degree of doneness. And high temp doesn't work well with the less
> tender cuts.
>
> Low temp works well with the less tender cuts, doesn't produce as much
> color or caramelization, and is more forgiving of timing.
>
> Most people end up in the middle temp range, 350°F to 375°F.
>
> If I can get a USDA Choice grade rib roast I really like the results of
> cooking it as hot as my oven will get. For a rump roast I plan for a
> long slow cooking at 250°F. -aem
>

Scooter wrote:
> This may be the dumbest question ever. I'm in the mood for a roast beef
> dinner, the kind my mom used to make on Sundays after church when I was
> little. Beef roast done in the oven, mashed potatoes and gravy, you
> know... My question is, what cut of beef roast do I get? It's not a pot
> roast. There's nothing stringy about it. It's a hunk of beef about the
> size of a cantaloupe; usually hers came tied with string which I assume
> kept it in shape. Was it a rump roast?
>
> I can't believe I don't know this.
>
> Scooter
>

My grandmother always did a rump roast, but there are a number of
different beef cuts that could fit the bill.