Sunday, June 15, 2014

The Roast Beef of Old Oxford

Friday 6 June
We obtained from the Co-op a cut of beef labeled "topside/top rump roasting joint," which weighed about a kilo.  The cut had almost no fat and dense meat, probably similar to top round in the US, so we rubbed it with oil and pepper and salt, and popped it in the oven with the usual root vedge around it, featuring torpedo onions, carrots, and new potatoes.

The label instructed us to roast it at 375º F. for 25 minutes per half kilo and another 25 to boot, a total of 75 minutes.  Luckily we have our instant-read thermometer, which told us it was 130º inside after a single hour, and even then, it was just at the point of medium rare.  After 75 minutes it would have been like shoe leather.  Maybe next time we'll start it at 425º for 15 minutes to brown the outside, then turn it down to 375º for no more than 15 minutes per pound.
As rescued, the roast was nice and beefy, if a bit of a tough chew.  But next time, as instructed by the guide to correct behavior for Germans visiting London, we'll ask for "British Standard of Excellence" (BSE) Beef.  

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