The Coo's News
Taste v Tenderness
12 November 2009
I am often asked for advice on which beef roasting joint to buy and unfortunately the answer is not that simple - well it never is is it? Beef is essentially the muscle of the animal and generally the harder working the muscle the less tender it is but it is also the most flavoursome.
So fillet, the least hard working muscle is extremely tender but arguably is not the tastiest. Topside is a hard working muscle so has a bit more bite to it but has a huge amount of flavour. So in order of tenderness from most to least tender we have:
Fillet
Sirloin
Rib
Topside
Silverside
To get the most flavoursome you can reverse that list and you wont be a million miles away! There is an added complication though with the sirloin and the rib in that you can chose to have it on the bone or off the bone depending on how confident you are on the carving. Having a joint on the bone definitely adds to the flavour though. If you need cooking times you can check out our guidelines
I hope this helps but as always if you need any further advice please do not hesitate to get in touch. By the way - my fovourite? Well it has to be sirloin and cooked rare!
Many thanks
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