2 hours ago, Dave the Cook said:IIRC, the blade roast is Jacques Pepin's favorite for pot roast, and it's become one of mine, too. Braising reveals that there seem to be two types of connective tissue running down the center of the cut. Post-braise, the meat is easily separated from the tougher sinew, leaving a sticky layer of gelatinous tissue that some like and some don't. The meat is great for New Orleans-style roast beef po' boys, but, having been braised, isn't really suitable for slicing deli-style. If that's what you're after, @rotuts is giving you good advice. (Once, for a class in modernist techniques, we took out the sinew and put the roast back together with transglutaminase and SV'd it at 122°F. Then we cut it into 1-1/2" cubes, wrapped each cube with chicken skin (using more meat glue) and dropped them into 375° F oil: chicken-fried steak.)
Picture thin sliced brisket that barely holds together on good ol hamburger buns. But brisket can be too dry. Chuck is good but not easily sliced against the grain like brisket. This why i wanted to try this cut. The meat is first steeped in a very concentrated, gelatinous stock made from beef and caramelized chopped onions. Similar to french onion soup but more beefy. In my area we call this sandwiches "beef barbecue's" even though there is no bbq sauce involved. Its a PA dutch thing i guess.
Cuts like bottom and top round are too lean, chuck is okay but not eaily sliced thin against the grain. Short rib would be top notch but not at the right price point, and alot of work for such little amount of meat.
