Did anyone else have a lovely looking piece of roast beef today and it turned out like a bit of shoe leather?!
We raise beef cattle. We have what's called a cow-calf operation, and our cows eat mostly grass. We sell our yearling calves (weighing about 700-900 lbs, depending on gender and age) to feedlots, where the calves eat grain to "finish out" and get ready for slaughter. Older animals who wind up at the slaughterhouse generally get made into hamburger, not steaks and roasts.
What gets put in our freezer is generally old cows who break their pelvis after calving, or something catastrophic like that. We did have a young heifer a couple of years ago that broke her leg trying to jump a fence... and she was delicious. But mostly it's the old cows (we actually have a few that are old enough to vote), so I try to cook low and slow, with moist heat. The slowcooker is very reliable for cooking a tough roast into a nice tender piece of meat.
You can absolutely ruin a nice roast from the butcher shop, too, by cooking it too fast at too high a heat. That may be what happened to your lovely piece of beef... or maybe you just got unlucky at the market and wound up with a roast from an animal that was just plain tough from the start.
As a beef producer, I apologize for your poor experience! Hope your next piece is flavorful and tender. We try hard to produce consistent beef for the consumer.
Answers: Not today... but it happens from time to time. Tenderness in any meat animal, but particularly with larger animals like cows and sheep, is largely a function of age. Young animals are tender, old ones are not. There's also a genetic component to tenderness, according the beef industry guys who have been studying the tenderness issue over the last 5 years or so.
We raise beef cattle. We have what's called a cow-calf operation, and our cows eat mostly grass. We sell our yearling calves (weighing about 700-900 lbs, depending on gender and age) to feedlots, where the calves eat grain to "finish out" and get ready for slaughter. Older animals who wind up at the slaughterhouse generally get made into hamburger, not steaks and roasts.
What gets put in our freezer is generally old cows who break their pelvis after calving, or something catastrophic like that. We did have a young heifer a couple of years ago that broke her leg trying to jump a fence... and she was delicious. But mostly it's the old cows (we actually have a few that are old enough to vote), so I try to cook low and slow, with moist heat. The slowcooker is very reliable for cooking a tough roast into a nice tender piece of meat.
You can absolutely ruin a nice roast from the butcher shop, too, by cooking it too fast at too high a heat. That may be what happened to your lovely piece of beef... or maybe you just got unlucky at the market and wound up with a roast from an animal that was just plain tough from the start.
As a beef producer, I apologize for your poor experience! Hope your next piece is flavorful and tender. We try hard to produce consistent beef for the consumer.
no mine was lovely
i never cook a roast in the oven anymore i always cook in a crock pot and since then i do not have tough meat try it
I put it in my pressure cooker and you wouldn't believe how juicy it comes out. Plus it takes hardly any time. I have one exactly like in the link below.
My advice is to invest in one. I use it for beef stew, chicken and especially pork. Love it!
yes burned to a crisp and chewy as....who said mum's cooking is always good??
No my mom cooked mine and it was pukka!
I am jelous Carol G of your acess to even the oldies on your ranch for fresh beef.
I think even the toughest - and/or oldest cut of beef can be made flavorful if cooked long and slow in either a slow cooker or the oven.
Through much trial and error throughout my cooking years I have found that some cuts require a lot longer cooking times than others. Especially briskets or rump roasts.
Put it back in the oven or slowcooker -add some more liquid like stock, wine or even bullion cubes and water and cook it a couple of hours longer - covered.
I never cook a roast at anything over 275 degrees. I usually let it go for about 2 to 3 hours. I add beer, garlic, salt, and pepper. I f you want to you can throw in spuds, onions, carrots, or turnips if you can stand them. I can't.
The long cooking time breaks down the connective tissue and you end up with a really tender roast.
Don't do this method with Prime Rib though, That's a completely different subject.
That sounds like the story of my life....
I am sure they slaughter the old wasted cows in these parts instead of the young cattle because when you buy it, it looks quite soft but after having prepared it, the meat is as tough as boot soles....
I have resorted to cooking all beef, no matter the cut in a pressure cooker before roasting it to ensure that we can at least consume it....
Good luck.