How to cook the beef

[tigerstyle]

We've got some beef for christmas, I don't know what to do with it.

Advice please:

 

[alex_123_fra]

Sous vide my friend. The only (proper) way to cook beef.

 

[One More Solo]

Practical suggestion right there.

I'd say sear it in a hot pan then throw it in the oven at around 230 degrees for 15ish minutes, tough to say as it's not obvious how thick the cut is.

 

[tigerstyle]

Yeah I had to google that, and probably not going to happen in the next 18 hours Next year maybe?

 

[#Chri5#]

Indeed - OP isn't sure what to do and somebody suggests a very precise cooking method which, if the OP gets it wrong, will give everyone a Christmas day they won't forget for a long time...

Donnald Rusell has a PDF which has some cooking suggestions for beef here

 

[alex_123_fra]

Apologies, I assumed you wanted some original ideas. Re: sous vide going wrong, you really couldn't if you tried. It is only a matter of following rough guidance on timing and results are far more consistent than ordinary methods. The only downside is you need the equipment for it and time. Certainly doable before Christmas if you have a Lakeland near you and can be bothered but agree, not for everyone.

 

[Danthus]

Just roast it, you don't need any stress on Christmas day.

 

[cypto]

Just roast it, you don't need any stress on Christmas day.

Got it in one,

Oven at 200°C gas 6 to pre-heat

Might as well cook some roast vegetables with it since they will both add to flavor and taste amazing just place the beef around them in a roasting tin.

Season it with some rock salt (nomal salt if you don't have any) and cracked black pepper and olive oil, rub this into the meat before you put it in.

Cooking time roughly 50mins for medium rare, 1 hour medium and longer for well done (although defeats the purpose of beef if you cremate it).

Take it out and put it under some tin foil and a few teatowels to rest for 15mins before serving. This takes the toughness out of the meat so it's not like chewing a belt.

 

[FrenchTart]

How thick is it at the thickest part? It may be the picture/angle but it looks quite thin to me. As such I would be a bit worried about over-cooking it if you stick it in the oven for an hour @ 200C.

Resting is fine to do after roasting but unless you cremate it a fillet cut is never going to be super tough.

 

[koolpc]

Slow and low heat if want it tender.

 

[cypto]

Assumed from the image it was good cut of beef for roasting. Then again hard to tell the thickness from the image.

Thats normally the method I use when cooking a piece of topside, although I watch it rather than stick to timings.

 

[FrenchTart]

Assumed from the image it was good cut of beef for roasting. Then again hard to tell the thickness from the image.

The angle makes it really tough to be honest. Given that it's 1kg I guess it's not super-thin but still, hard to be sure.

 

[cypto]

Then again image not helping here if it is just a fillet steak rather a chunk for roasting.

You'd be better off just seasoning salt/pepper with little olive oil and putting it on a hot griddle. Oil on the meat not the pan.
You want your griddle pan to be smoking hot before that steak even touches it.
Sealing the edges by rotating the steak around the edges onto the pan then cooking for 2min on each side (medium rare).

You can use the thumb and finger trick to guess how cooked it is. Touch your thumb and your index finger together then press the fleshy part of your palm right below the thumb with your other hand. This is similar to how steak feels as it cooks, index finger being rare. Then change fingers rare (index finger) to medium-rare (middle finger) to medium (ring finger) to well-done (little finger).

Just test the meat and compare if your not sure how cooked it is.

Then again rest for 3mins or so then serve.

 

[tigerstyle]

Apologies for the post and run fellas I've read the thread though and got some decent roasting tips now!

It is a fair chunk of meat and not a 'steak' cut, it's been squashed in the fridge a bit but measures 18CM long 12CM wide 6CM high when roughly pushed back into shape, I'll cook it from room temperature as I think that helps it cook more evenly.

The herb/salt/pepper rub sounds simple and delicious, and resting it I'd heard about, but didn't know the whole tin foil+tea towels trick so that'll keep it nice and warm.

For veggies we're doing roast potatoes traditional way (?) and seperately onions/peppers/butternut squash/carrots/parsnips with herbs+honey in perhaps a more 'exciting way'

+peas on the side

Also going to try Gammon in Coke as well! So roughly found a recipe to follow for that.
I'll come back with photos....

Merry Christmas all!

 

[Maccapacca]

Cut it into individual roasts

Sea Salt, smoked sea salt and pepper no oil.

Sear hot and roast hot for 10 minutes

Rest for 20 minutes



Temperatures and soud vous vers or whatever are a black art, total overkill use your senses.

 

[chipperhead]

I always use this guide and cook it to rare, works really well for me
http://www.cookuk.co.uk/meat/beef/roast-beef.htm

 

[Jegethy]

Take a look at this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwjeUkrxGJE

Different cut of meat but same theory. I've tried it with rump and it's absolutely gorgeous.

 

[FrenchTart]

I love sous vide but I don't think it's a great approach when you're under pressure and trying it for the first time tbh.

Cut it into individual roasts

Sea Salt, smoked sea salt and pepper no oil.

Sear hot and roast hot for 10 minutes

Rest for 20 minutes

I often disagree with maccapacca's cooking methods but this is definitely the best approach broached so far. It's pretty close to what you'd expect for this shaped cut of meat.

Temperatures and soud vous vers or whatever are a black art, total overkill use your senses.

Good sous vide is great and takes out a lot of guess work when cooking meat. It's not appropriate here but it's really awesome normally

 

[glitch]

You can use the thumb and finger trick to guess how cooked it is. Touch your thumb and your index finger together then press the fleshy part of your palm right below the thumb with your other hand. This is similar to how steak feels as it cooks, index finger being rare. Then change fingers rare (index finger) to medium-rare (middle finger) to medium (ring finger) to well-done (little finger).

You can try, but it never has worked, despite being trotted out on a regular basis by TV chefs and the like.

No two people's 'thumb tests' will feel the same and there are far too many variables (type of meat, the way it was butchered, thickness of cut, etc) for it to be anything other than an arbitrary measurement at best.

You're better off cutting into the meat to see how warm it is inside, or even better, sticking a metal skewer inside and feeling how hot that is - like you would do with checking that the thickest part of a roasting bird has cooked through.

 

[tigerstyle]

Honey + Cola roast ham (think it was pork but still yummy!)