Rump roast

[Andrew Fenton]

Maybe it was the friendly smile of the farmer at the market. Maybe my natural immaturity made me unable to resist the name. But for whatever reason, I bought a rump roast the other day.

Thing is, with the exception of the occasional brisket designated for barbecuing, I pretty much never buy big pieces of beef. What should I do with this piece of rump? It's from one of those hippy-dippy natural cows (grass-fed, free-range, summers spent backpacking through Europe), and I suspect that means that, like most hippies, it's not so tender. So my thoughts immediately turn to braising. But on the other hand, maybe I should just slap that rump into the oven and roast it? It is a rump roast, after all; surely they wouldn't call it that if you weren't meant to roast it, right?

And so I turn to you: the experts of eGullet. Tell me what to do with my rump!

[BarbaraY]

I rarely cook this cut but use it for Sauerbraten. I'm sure others will have good suggestions.

[Dr. Teeth]

Rump Roast is from bottom round unless I'm mistaken. That's a pretty hard working piece of muscle. I'd braise, rather than roast.

[Kerry Beal]

Pot roast would be my choice. I usually use the slow cooker.

Brown the rump well, then into the slow cooker with a bit of demi glace, a bit of wine, maybe some horseradish, tomato of some sort, what ever herbs, salt and pepper. Cook on low. Should be ready by the time you get home from work.

[HKDave]

What you've got might be one of a few different things, depending on where you are (or where your butcher is from).

Rump, in the UK (and also Aus/NZ, and also at my meat supplier in HK) is cut from between the sirloin - it starts inside what in the US would be the sirloin primal - and the silverside. It's often sold sliced across the grain into rump steaks. It can be roasted, slowly, to rare, and is best served sliced thin across the grain. The steaks are tasty but very lean which means they can't be overcooked; med-rare at the most or it'll be too chewy.

In the US, the rump primal doesn't exist any more, and a rump roast could be any one of several cuts from the round. Top (aka 'topside' or 'inside') round is the more tender area and can be slow-roasted to rare if it's from a well-marbled animal. Bottom (aka 'outside', or in the UK 'silverside') round is tougher, and is a braising cut unless you're really adept at coaxing something better out of it.

Most supermarket pre-cooked 'roast beef' is rump/round, as is a lot of carving buffet 'baron of beef'. It's a very tasty and good value roast but because it's so lean, it's not as idiot-proof as rib or loin roast, and is seen less at retail.

If you're not sure what you've got, braise it.