As per instructions, I made a dry spicy rub which I coated the blade roast
with and let sit in the fridge overnight. Seared the roast for a couple of
minutes on each side, then removed from heat. Fried up some onions and
celery, added a little bit of red wine, brown sugar and garlic. Put them in
a roasting pan below the roast. Cooking at 300 degrees, this was supposed
to be ready in 3 hours.

It's now been 4 hours - the roast is tough, tough, tough. Now if I kept it
in for another 3 hours or even perhaps turn the oven off and leave overnight
will it become more tender?

Elaine (whose supper plans are now meat pies).

elaine wrote:
> As per instructions, I made a dry spicy rub which I coated the blade
roast
> with and let sit in the fridge overnight. Seared the roast for a
couple of
> minutes on each side, then removed from heat. Fried up some onions
and
> celery, added a little bit of red wine, brown sugar and garlic. Put
them in
> a roasting pan below the roast. Cooking at 300 degrees, this was
supposed
> to be ready in 3 hours.
>
> It's now been 4 hours - the roast is tough, tough, tough. Now if I
kept it
> in for another 3 hours or even perhaps turn the oven off and leave
overnight
> will it become more tender?

You didn't mention whether you covered the roast (or how big the roast
is, to gauge cooking time). My experience with the tougher cuts of
meat used for pot roast, esp cuts from the shoulder, is that tightly
covering the roasting pan is essential to break down the tough fibers.
That and at least 1 cup of liquid (or even a little more), whether the
liquid is wine, stock, etc. to generate steam and have the basis of a
sauce or gravy.

You may be able to rescue your roast, altho it may taste like a big
piece of stew meat. I'd add liquid, wine or stock, until you have
about 1.5 cups, then -tightly- cover/seal the roasting pan and let it
cook for about an hour more. Test for tenderness and if still tough
cook for about an hour more. If still tough after that....I really
don't know what to suggest, except maybe turning the meat into a stew.

Mac

> wrote in message
ups.com...
>
> elaine wrote:
> > As per instructions, I made a dry spicy rub which I coated the blade
> roast
> > with and let sit in the fridge overnight. Seared the roast for a
> couple of
> > minutes on each side, then removed from heat. Fried up some onions
> and
> > celery, added a little bit of red wine, brown sugar and garlic. Put
> them in
> > a roasting pan below the roast. Cooking at 300 degrees, this was
> supposed
> > to be ready in 3 hours.
> >
> > It's now been 4 hours - the roast is tough, tough, tough. Now if I
> kept it
> > in for another 3 hours or even perhaps turn the oven off and leave
> overnight
> > will it become more tender?
>
> You didn't mention whether you covered the roast (or how big the roast
> is, to gauge cooking time). My experience with the tougher cuts of
> meat used for pot roast, esp cuts from the shoulder, is that tightly
> covering the roasting pan is essential to break down the tough fibers.
> That and at least 1 cup of liquid (or even a little more), whether the
> liquid is wine, stock, etc. to generate steam and have the basis of a
> sauce or gravy.
>
> You may be able to rescue your roast, altho it may taste like a big
> piece of stew meat. I'd add liquid, wine or stock, until you have
> about 1.5 cups, then -tightly- cover/seal the roasting pan and let it
> cook for about an hour more. Test for tenderness and if still tough
> cook for about an hour more. If still tough after that....I really
> don't know what to suggest, except maybe turning the meat into a stew.
>
> Mac

Sorry, yes I covered it tightly and there's tons of juice in there. Thanks.
E.

elaine wrote:
> As per instructions, I made a dry spicy rub which I coated the blade
roast
> with and let sit in the fridge overnight. Seared the roast for a
couple of
> minutes on each side, then removed from heat. Fried up some onions
and
> celery, added a little bit of red wine, brown sugar and garlic. Put
them in
> a roasting pan below the roast. Cooking at 300 degrees, this was
supposed
> to be ready in 3 hours.
>
> It's now been 4 hours - the roast is tough, tough, tough. Now if I
kept it
> in for another 3 hours or even perhaps turn the oven off and leave
overnight
> will it become more tender?
>
> Elaine (whose supper plans are now meat pies).


Blade roast is chuck roast. Chuck is not a tender cut, it's best
braised... prepared as a dry oven roast will result in petrified beef.
Toss your almost ruined roast into a heavy covered pot with a can of
beer with an onion, a carrot, a few garlic cloves and a few pared spuds
quartered and braise for about 1-1/2 hours... on the stove top is
fine... may not be great but it's saved.

"elaine" > wrote in message
...
> As per instructions, I made a dry spicy rub which I coated the blade roast
> with and let sit in the fridge overnight. Seared the roast for a couple
> of
> minutes on each side, then removed from heat. Fried up some onions and
> celery, added a little bit of red wine, brown sugar and garlic. Put them
> in
> a roasting pan below the roast. Cooking at 300 degrees, this was supposed
> to be ready in 3 hours.
>
> It's now been 4 hours - the roast is tough, tough, tough. Now if I kept
> it
> in for another 3 hours or even perhaps turn the oven off and leave
> overnight
> will it become more tender?
>
> Elaine (whose supper plans are now meat pies).

Add a cup and a half of water -
cover or seal with foil - and pierce the top.
crank the oven to 350
go have a glass of wine.

Come back in an hour.

Dimitri

"Sheldon" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>
> elaine wrote:
> > As per instructions, I made a dry spicy rub which I coated the blade
> roast
> > with and let sit in the fridge overnight. Seared the roast for a
> couple of
> > minutes on each side, then removed from heat. Fried up some onions
> and
> > celery, added a little bit of red wine, brown sugar and garlic. Put
> them in
> > a roasting pan below the roast. Cooking at 300 degrees, this was
> supposed
> > to be ready in 3 hours.
> >
> > It's now been 4 hours - the roast is tough, tough, tough. Now if I
> kept it
> > in for another 3 hours or even perhaps turn the oven off and leave
> overnight
> > will it become more tender?
> >
> > Elaine (whose supper plans are now meat pies).
>
>
> Blade roast is chuck roast. Chuck is not a tender cut, it's best
> braised... prepared as a dry oven roast will result in petrified beef.
> Toss your almost ruined roast into a heavy covered pot with a can of
> beer with an onion, a carrot, a few garlic cloves and a few pared spuds
> quartered and braise for about 1-1/2 hours... on the stove top is
> fine... may not be great but it's saved.

Done! Tomorrow's supper I guess. Much thanks.

E.

Ted shuffled out of his cave and grunted these great (and sometimes not
so great) words of knowledge:

For future reference.

When cooking tough cuts of meat I put the meat on a rack in a pan, put
about 1/4" of water in the bottom of the pan, cover tightly with
aluminum foil and cook at 200 - 225 degrees for about 4 hours or until
the internal temperature is to about 145 - 150 (for med rare - medium).
Let the roast sit, loosely covered for about 15 - 20 minutes before
slicing (lets the meat finish cooking and lets everything settle out).

The low temp plus the slow cooking break down the tough connecting
fibers in the meat. I have done tough cuts like this and they have
always come out tender.

> As per instructions, I made a dry spicy rub which I coated the blade roast
> with and let sit in the fridge overnight. Seared the roast for a couple of
> minutes on each side, then removed from heat. Fried up some onions and
> celery, added a little bit of red wine, brown sugar and garlic. Put them in
> a roasting pan below the roast. Cooking at 300 degrees, this was supposed
> to be ready in 3 hours.
>
> It's now been 4 hours - the roast is tough, tough, tough. Now if I kept it
> in for another 3 hours or even perhaps turn the oven off and leave overnight
> will it become more tender?
>
> Elaine (whose supper plans are now meat pies).
>
>

On Fri 25 Feb 2005 06:20:24a, Ted Campanelli wrote in rec.food.cooking:

> Ted shuffled out of his cave and grunted these great (and sometimes not
> so great) words of knowledge:
>
> For future reference.
>
> When cooking tough cuts of meat I put the meat on a rack in a pan, put
> about 1/4" of water in the bottom of the pan, cover tightly with
> aluminum foil and cook at 200 - 225 degrees for about 4 hours or until
> the internal temperature is to about 145 - 150 (for med rare - medium).
> Let the roast sit, loosely covered for about 15 - 20 minutes before
> slicing (lets the meat finish cooking and lets everything settle out).
>
> The low temp plus the slow cooking break down the tough connecting
> fibers in the meat. I have done tough cuts like this and they have
> always come out tender.
>
>> As per instructions, I made a dry spicy rub which I coated the blade
>> roast with and let sit in the fridge overnight. Seared the roast for a
>> couple of minutes on each side, then removed from heat. Fried up some
>> onions and celery, added a little bit of red wine, brown sugar and
>> garlic. Put them in a roasting pan below the roast. Cooking at 300
>> degrees, this was supposed to be ready in 3 hours.
>>
>> It's now been 4 hours - the roast is tough, tough, tough. Now if I
>> kept it in for another 3 hours or even perhaps turn the oven off and
>> leave overnight will it become more tender?
>>
>> Elaine (whose supper plans are now meat pies).
>>
>>
>

OTOH, I have had only a couple of roasts in all my years of cooking that
completely defied tenderness.

One such roast (I believe it was a sirloin) was roasted, covered, in the
oven as a pot roast. Several hours later it was still almost too tough to
cut. We ate what we could and stored the rest. The next day, brought to
room temperature and put in a pressure cooker for an hour...still tough.
Back in the pressure cooker for another half hour...still tough. At that
point we tossed the remains.

Wayne


--
Wayne Boatwright
____________________________________________

Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
Sam Goldwyn, 1882-1974

and slice thinly across the grain.....Sharon

elaine wrote:
>
> "Sheldon" > wrote in message
> oups.com...
> >
> > elaine wrote:
> > > As per instructions, I made a dry spicy rub which I coated the blade
> > roast
> > > with and let sit in the fridge overnight. Seared the roast for a
> > couple of
> > > minutes on each side, then removed from heat. Fried up some onions
> > and
> > > celery, added a little bit of red wine, brown sugar and garlic. Put
> > them in
> > > a roasting pan below the roast. Cooking at 300 degrees, this was
> > supposed
> > > to be ready in 3 hours.
> > >
> > > It's now been 4 hours - the roast is tough, tough, tough. Now if I
> > kept it
> > > in for another 3 hours or even perhaps turn the oven off and leave
> > overnight
> > > will it become more tender?
> > >
> > > Elaine (whose supper plans are now meat pies).
> >
> >
> > Blade roast is chuck roast. Chuck is not a tender cut, it's best
> > braised... prepared as a dry oven roast will result in petrified beef.
> > Toss your almost ruined roast into a heavy covered pot with a can of
> > beer with an onion, a carrot, a few garlic cloves and a few pared spuds
> > quartered and braise for about 1-1/2 hours... on the stove top is
> > fine... may not be great but it's saved.
>
> Done! Tomorrow's supper I guess. Much thanks.
>
> E.

elaine wrote:

> As per instructions, I made a dry spicy rub which I coated the blade roast
> with and let sit in the fridge overnight. Seared the roast for a couple of
> minutes on each side, then removed from heat. Fried up some onions and
> celery, added a little bit of red wine, brown sugar and garlic. Put them in
> a roasting pan below the roast. Cooking at 300 degrees, this was supposed
> to be ready in 3 hours.
>
> It's now been 4 hours - the roast is tough, tough, tough. Now if I kept it
> in for another 3 hours or even perhaps turn the oven off and leave overnight
> will it become more tender?

Your roast is both undercooked and overcooked. Blades are chuck cuts
and are tough. They need gentle, moist cooking for a long time to
break down the connective tissue. It's overcooked compared to a
dry-roasted piece of meat that would be used for a traditional
uncovered roast. But it's undercooked for a moist-cooked or braised
piece of meat.

You need to just do more of what you've already done. Cook it longer,
maybe another couple hours. Make sure there's enough liquid - maybe an
inch or so in the bottom of the pan.

Pastorio

"elaine" > wrote in
:

> As per instructions, I made a dry spicy rub which I coated the blade
> roast with and let sit in the fridge overnight. Seared the roast
> for a couple of minutes on each side, then removed from heat. Fried
> up some onions and celery, added a little bit of red wine, brown
> sugar and garlic. Put them in a roasting pan below the roast.
> Cooking at 300 degrees, this was supposed to be ready in 3 hours.
>
> It's now been 4 hours - the roast is tough, tough, tough. Now if I
> kept it in for another 3 hours or even perhaps turn the oven off and
> leave overnight will it become more tender?
>
> Elaine (whose supper plans are now meat pies).
>
>
>

I find the crockpot the best tool for tough cuts of meat. The crockpot
and meat tenderizer (pineapple or papaya juice) are 2 very usable kitchen
options. Use those tenderizers with caution though...too many hours in
the merinade will produce liquid meat.

Brown the roast on all sides (not necessary but adds flavour and eye-
appeal). Make a raft/bed from celery, onions or carrots (or a combo of
all) in the crockpot. That's a trick Sheryl taught me, it keeps the meat
outa its own juices while cooking plus adds flavour the gravy. Season the
roast to your liking and put it in the crockpot, fatty side up. Put the
lid on and let it cook for 4-6 hours on high or 6-10 hours on low. Remove
roast, discard the raft and make gravy from the juices in a pot on the
stove or use as is.

Remember every time you open the lid adds about 20 minutes to the cooking
time. I defy any tough cut to defeat a crockpot.

--
No Bread Crumbs were hurt in the making of this Meal.
Type 2 Diabetic 1AC 5.6mmol or 101mg/dl
Continuing to be Manitoban

biig wrote:
> and slice thinly across the grain.....Sharon

Slicing... fergedaboudit... it's a blade roast.



> elaine wrote:
> >
> > "Sheldon" > wrote in message
> > oups.com...
> > >
> > > elaine wrote:
> > > > As per instructions, I made a dry spicy rub which I coated the
blade
> > > roast
> > > > with and let sit in the fridge overnight. Seared the roast for
a
> > > couple of
> > > > minutes on each side, then removed from heat. Fried up some
onions
> > > and
> > > > celery, added a little bit of red wine, brown sugar and garlic.
Put
> > > them in
> > > > a roasting pan below the roast. Cooking at 300 degrees, this
was
> > > supposed
> > > > to be ready in 3 hours.
> > > >
> > > > It's now been 4 hours - the roast is tough, tough, tough. Now
if I
> > > kept it
> > > > in for another 3 hours or even perhaps turn the oven off and
leave
> > > overnight
> > > > will it become more tender?
> > > >
> > > > Elaine (whose supper plans are now meat pies).
> > >
> > >
> > > Blade roast is chuck roast. Chuck is not a tender cut, it's best
> > > braised... prepared as a dry oven roast will result in petrified
beef.
> > > Toss your almost ruined roast into a heavy covered pot with a can
of
> > > beer with an onion, a carrot, a few garlic cloves and a few pared
spuds
> > > quartered and braise for about 1-1/2 hours... on the stove top is
> > > fine... may not be great but it's saved.
> >
> > Done! Tomorrow's supper I guess. Much thanks.
> >
> > E.

Sheldon wrote:

>
> Blade roast is chuck roast. Chuck is not a tender cut, it's best
> braised... prepared as a dry oven roast will result in petrified beef.
> Toss your almost ruined roast into a heavy covered pot with a can of
> beer with an onion, a carrot, a few garlic cloves and a few pared spuds
> quartered and braise for about 1-1/2 hours... on the stove top is
> fine... may not be great but it's saved.

My wife brought home a blade roast from the butcher last year. He told her
that if you did it on a rack pan with some liquid under it and tented with
foil it would be nice and tender, and that the sauce would make great
gravy. I was sceptical and it turned out to be even worse than I had
expected. I have had decent pot roast with blade, but roasting??....forget
it.

"Sheldon" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>
> biig wrote:
> > and slice thinly across the grain.....Sharon
>
> Slicing... fergedaboudit... it's a blade roast.
>

Not any more. Now it's stew and I really don't like stew much.

Oh well, better than throwing it out.

Elaine

elaine wrote:
> "Sheldon" > wrote in message
> oups.com...
> >
> > biig wrote:
> > > and slice thinly across the grain.....Sharon
> >
> > Slicing... fergedaboudit... it's a blade roast.
> >
>
> Not any more. Now it's stew and I really don't like stew much.
> Oh well, better than throwing it out.
>
> Elaine

Yup, that's what I said "it won't be great but it'll be saved".
If you aren't a fan of braised beef then you really shouldn't buy any
more chuck roasts... of course if you owned a meat grinder fresh ground
chuck makes wonderful burgers.