Conference turris::cooks

    KATHY
    
     Ijust got through serving a Roast Beef dinner last month for 60
    Fire Chiefs in my area.
    
    The cut of beef I used was Serlion Tip Roasts.
    
    I figured on 8 oz per person and since at the time I wasn't sure
    on the total number of people attending I planned for 70 people
    Which figured out to 35 lbs of meat plus i added 5 lbs for shrinkage.
    
    The roast were dredged in a flour,basil,salt,pepper,and garlic powder
    mixture. then rasted at 325 degrees for 20 min. a pound.
    
    when done the roasts were allowed to stand for 30 min. before carving.
    
    The meat on the ends was well done and the roast in the middle were
    medium rare.
    
     GOOD LUCK
        JOHN.
    

    Whenever I have a roast I usually buy Face Rump or Rump....Tip roast
    is also good....I then get about three cloves of garlic and cut
    them in slivers....then with a sharp knife I stick the knife in
    the roast and stick the slivers of garlic in the slits......then
    rub all over with flour and pepper.....20 minutes per lb in a 325
    oven should do the trick....
    
    Sometimes I put a glass of burgundy wine in the pan but you can
    never let it dry out so Im always adding wine/water....
    
    Rick

    Cooking a beef roast is So Simple, the trick is really in how you
    would roast it.
    
    The better cuts of beef roasts, suggestions are Tip, Rump, and 
    Eye Round (I stick with Tip Roasts myself), should be seasoned
    to taste (I use onion salt, garlic powder and lots of black pepper)
    placed ON A RACK in a pan so that the meat doesn't touch the pan,
    and roasted at a low temp (I roast at 325  and will usually turn
    it down to 300  if I can spare the time).  Roasting this way will
    seal the outside edge and keep the inside juicy.  Suggested roasting
    time is 20 minutes per pound.
    
    The tougher cuts of beef are for "Pot Roast"ing.   I add potatoes,
    carrots, celery, and season it all with one package of onion soup
    mix dissolved in 1 cup of boiling water.   Cover and cook at 300
    for usually 4 hours (cooking this long will not ruin it as long as
    you keep it moist).  This is the roast that falls apart with a fork!
                       
    Bon Apetit!
    
    Pam (who loves to cook but it's gotta be EASY)

I like to buy EYE OF ROUND or the roast from which they make FILET MIGNON.
Yes, it is expensive, but you KNOW it's tender and I never cook beef
except for guests so that is a primary concern.  I don't remember what the
Filet roast's official name is as they sell it here as Filet roast.
Both roasts are reasonably small - so if you are cooking for a large
party, you will need two.  Trim the small end off the filet roast and save
for another purpose such as a stir fry dish.

Both roasts are very lean, so I layer thick cut bacon across the top of
the meat, after seasoning.  I roast the meat @400 degrees for 12 - 15 minutes
a pound depending on my guests preferences for rare or medium meat - I
NEVER cook well done!  Higher temp/lower cooking time works with the
smaller, more regular shaped cuts of meat - there will be a consistent
level of doneness throughout the roast, which may be a disadvantage if you
have guests with different preferences...or you can cook more than one roast
at different donesness.

The eye of round can be larger, so it may be your roast of choice for a 
larger party...and it may be trimmed with some fat left on if you want
to spit roast.  This is where the eye of round REALLY shines.  If you
have a rotisserie or spit roaster, get an eye of round and marinade in
marinade of preference for 2 days, then spit roast....HEAVENLY!

Seasoning:  Slit meat with sharp knife and imbed slivers of garlic.
	    Rub in pepper and salt to taste.  Keep it simple or you
	    lose the taste of the meat.

    WHERE can you buy decent meat?

    The quality and supply of the meat at the grocery stores around me is
    usually pretty variable. Also, a pet peeve of mine, I hate the labeling
    system for ground-whatever in this area:  "xx% lean"!!!   What ever
    happened to good 'ol "ground chuck" and "ground sirloin", etc... 
    
    Anyway, recommendations for places to buy good meat would be
    appreciated (especially in the Hudson, Marlboro, Northboro, Maynard,
    Stow, Sudbury(?) area).   (Esp. a good butcher!). 
    
    thanks,
    
    \sk

re .-1

>    			Also, a pet peeve of mine, I hate the labeling
>    system for ground-whatever in this area:  "xx% lean"!!!   What ever
>    happened to good 'ol "ground chuck" and "ground sirloin", etc... 

What happened is that the meat industry was getting very sloppy and often 
downright misleading.  At less reputable butcher shops, unusual cuts of meat 
were often called exotic things like "New York Strip" or "Delmonico".  Most 
people didn't know what these names were supposed to represent, so the stores 
used any cheap cut they could get away with.  The government stepped in and 
said the stores had to call out the cut by where they come from, and the type 
of cut, so New York Strip became Sirloin Strip Steak, and had to be a steak 
from the sirloin.  The ground beef issue was somewhat muddier yet, because it 
was easy to include beef lips and meats chunks from other remote areas of the 
animal.  At the time the law was passed, ground chuck was not required to 
include any chuck, ground sirloin was not required to have any sirloin, etc.  
More often all of the above used random scraps, and the names simply indicated 
relative fat levels.  You could still buy ground chuck at one place that was 
leaner than the ground sirloin at another.  Since the law passed, the labels 
have become more specific as to %fat added, as well as type of meat (most 
places use the generic ground beef to indicate the use of random scraps).

>    Anyway, recommendations for places to buy good meat would be
>    appreciated (especially in the Hudson, Marlboro, Northboro, Maynard,
>    Stow, Sudbury(?) area).   (Esp. a good butcher!). 

There is a note somewhere (try dir/title=butcher) that discusses butchers in 
the area you mention.

						     
							- JP

    I've just recently started going to the Maynard Meat Market.  It's
    right down the road from MSO, just before the Victory Market.  I
    love there meats and poultry.  Their seafood looks good, but I haven't
    tried it yet.  They will do package plans for you, where they cut
    the meat the way you want it, package in the amounts you want, and
    label.  When you get home, all you got to do is put everything in
    the freezer.  Their chicken breast, which I love, is only $1.28
    @lb and they'll bone it at no extra charge.
    
    I made an oven roast from there on Sunday and my husband loved it.
    He told me it tasted just like his mom used to make.  To me there
    is no greater compliment than that.
    
    

    Re an earlier reply......eye of the round = filet mignon?????????
    What kind of a cow is that????????
    
    About the only thing eye of the round and filet mignon have in common
    is that I think they come from the same animal.......
    
    :-)
    
    Rick

     Re: .6
     
     I hope the comment about beef lips was meant as a joke.  People
     are paranoid enough about what they eat without making things
     worse.
     
     Ground beef has never had beef lips in it.  It was traditionally
     made with 'trim' or bits of meat & fat produced by the process of
     turning a steer into a steak.   During the 70's, frozen lean beef
     (produced in New Zealand and Australia) was used when there was
     not enough trim produced to keep up with the demand for ground
     beef (I still see this in some stores in MA).  However the
     blending of this trim to make the right grade of ground beef was
     done by eye (or intuition) and periodically checked by state
     agencies.
     
     The various grades of ground beef are indeed indications of the
     fat-to-lean ratio and the names like 'ground chuck' and 'ground
     round' were never indicative of the cut of beef used to make them.
     The standards are:
     
              TYPE                  % FAT
              
          Ground Beef                30
          Ground Chuck               20
          Ground Round               15
          Extra Lean                 10
          Ground Sirloin              5

     The 80's have seen an increased use of 'boxed beef' (smaller
     sections of the steer like chucks, rounds, sirloins, etc. sealed
     in plastic and packed 2-3 to a box) over 'hanging beef' (sides,
     fore-quarter, hind-quarter attached to hooks and moved around on
     an over-head rail system).  The advantage is in being able to
     order more or less of any given kind of meat without the total
     having to add up to an integral number of beasts.  The
     disadvantage is a decrease in the amount of trim produced (and
     other parts such as soup and dog bones).  Because of this, many
     stores now buy ground beef stock which comes in boxes of 6 10lb.
     tubes which are pre-mixed and tested for fat content.  This makes
     the butcher's job easier and ensures that the consumer is getting
     a consistent product.
          

re .8
>    Re an earlier reply......eye of the round = filet mignon?????????
>    What kind of a cow is that????????

Look closer, I made the same error at first, but the earlier note does not 
imply that these are the same cut of meat at all, merely 2 alternatives for 
tender meat.

re .9

Of course I was kidding about beef lips in ground beef.  That would be like 
tossing some hot dogs into the grinder!  It's just that I think the little 
smiling faces are stupid.  I have ever since they appeared on those yellow 
buttons!

						     
							- JP

   re -1
    	Eye of Round is tender? Eye of Round and Tenderloin gotta be
    	at opposite ends of the scale. Their appearance is very
    	similiar, but don't be fooled.
    
    
    Geez, no one mentioned Top Round. For my money, this section represents
    the best value.
    
    Ken...
    

   re -1
>    	Eye of Round is tender? Eye of Round and Tenderloin gotta be
>    	at opposite ends of the scale. Their appearance is very
>    	similiar, but don't be fooled.
    
TRUST ME....I always use an eye of Round roast, tied, for my spit
roasted beef...everyone loves it.  Granted, you want to get good
quality beef (butcher shop, not supermarket plastic wrapped stuff),
and you need either a thin layer of fat on the meat, or you need
to baste really often, but the results are wonderful.     

The EYE of round is a nice cut of meat, and at my butcher shop, is
not particularly cheap (but less expensive than tenderloin).

    See note 16 for much much much much much much more on roast beast...
    
    - rick
    

    Beef Lips.  Face Rump.  Only in America.
    
    We shop at Fairway beef for big roasts, beef/pork/lamb.  Haven't
    been disappointed yet.                                          
    
    When I called up this note I thought I was going to read about how
    to select the meat.  Do you just ask for it by cut or (if you've
    a selection in front of you) do you look for certain attributes?
              
    						Don
    
    P.S. Fairway is in Worc. Ma near where 290 passes over Grafton St.

Selecting you meat:

After you've gotten a few good ones, you kinda know what to look for...I
know enough about the anatomy of a beast that I can decide what part of
the critter will service my needs best, and then pick accordingly.  Now,
if in doubt, I go to my (more expensive) reliable butcher type person
who can help me select by price and purpose.

Broad hint:  For dry roasting, you want a well marbled piece of beef,
with a nice 1/4 inch layer of fat on the outside for at least 1/2 of
the surface of the meat...or you want a cut from the "prime" areas
of the beast, as in prime rib or tenderloin (filet mignon roast).

for moist cooking (pot roast) you don't want the tenderest pieces of
meat, but the leaner, tougher, and tastier pieces.  Look for meat with
large areas without any marbling, and with a minimum of fat.  This
is a piece of meat that will withstand long cooking and not fall apart.