There are many beef cuts to choose from when deciding to make roast beef for dinner. There are an even greater number of ways to prepare each cut. Today I'm making the 'top of the line' classic roast beef dinner using boneless prime rib, but below I give you a guide for all of the major cuts of beef you are likely to roast.
Roast Beef Cut Selection Guide
All of the cuts can be prepared in the oven or using the sous vide water bath technique. For the more delicate cuts that you must not serve more than medium temperature, I suggest sous vide. If you don't have a sous vide immersion cooker, than a quick browning in a skillet followed by a low-temperature cook in the oven using a meat thermometer to judge doneness will work as well. The last items on my roast beef guide are the least expensive and require a long, slow cook until very well done and fork tender, so sous vide is not appropriate for those.
- Boneless Prime Rib Roast: $$$$; warm to room temp before cooking, marbled fat and flavorful, medium rare to medium, classic perfection, sliced thick or thin, always tender
- Chateaubriand or Beef Tenderloin Roast: $$$$; warm to room temp before cooking, lean and less beefy flavor, rare to medium rare only, classic perfection, sliced thick or thin, use a finishing sauce for flavor
- Tri Tip Roast: $$$; warm to room temp before cooking, well marbled and flavorful, rare to medium rare, sliced thin
- Striploin Roast: $$$; warm to room temp before cooking, marbled fat and flavorful, medium rare, sliced thin
- Bottom Round Rump Roast: $$; warm to room temp before cooking, lean, medium rare, classic, sliced thin; alternatively braise and slow roast until well done and fork tender, for old-fashioned country round steak and gravy.
- Eye of Round Roast: $$; warm to room temp before cooking, lean, cooked to medium rare at most, sliced thin
- Picanha: $$; a newer cut in the USA, also commonly known as "Top Sirloin Cap" or "Coulotte". American butchers typically divide this piece into other cuts like the rump, round, and loin, but now you see this classic Brazilian cut sold whole. It can be well marbled if Prime beef, or less so if it's a Choice grade. Cook it as you would a Eye or Round Roast or Bottom Round above.
- Top Round Roast: $$, lean, warm to room temp before cooking, cooked low and slow to medium-rare only, sliced thin
- Chuck Roast: $, braised for a low, slow cook until well done and fork tender, served in thicker chunks. This is the cut for classic American Pot Roast.
- Sirloin Tip Roast $; braised for a low, slow cook until well done and fork tender, served in thicker chunks
- Other inexpensive cuts labeled: pot roast, arm roast, blade roast, chuck eye, cross rib roast, top blade pot roast, under blade pot roast, bottom round roast, eye round roast, and rump roast can all be used for classic American Pot Roast.
Roast Beef Temperature Guide
As in most cooking, using a quality instant read thermometer, a meat thermometer (which is left in during cooking ) or your oven's temperature probe (also kept in during cooking) is the best way to judge doneness when cooking in the oven. When roasting beef, or any other meat, there will be carry-over cooking, which means the meat temperature will continue to rise after you remove it from the oven. Because of this, I give you both the 'remove from oven' temperature and the final serving temperature. If you're using sous vide, then the water temperature sets the highest cooked temperature possible, so no testing of doneness with a thermometer is required. Simply set the sous vide water temperature at the "Serve at" temperature. When you remove from the sous vide, temperature will not rise further except around the edge if you brown the meat after sous vide.
- Rare: Remove from oven at 115-120F, Serve at 120-125F
- Medium-Rare: Remove from oven at 120-125F, Serve at 130-135F
- Medium: Remove from oven at 130-135F, Serve at 140-145F
- Medium-Well: Remove from oven at 140-145F, Serve at 150-155F
- Well-Done: Remove from oven at 150-155F, Serve at 160-165F
- Fork-Tender when slow cooked: 185F+
Classic Boneless Prime Rib Roast Beef Recipe
(sous vide method)
Before you begin: Today I'm making a 4.5 pound boneless prime rib cut, so this will rest on the counter for about an hour to warm up a little before cooking. If you have a larger or smaller cut, adjust the time accordingly.
Ingredients (serves 6-8 adults)
2 tablespoons canola oil (or other high temp oil)
1 4-5 pound boneless prime rib roast
salt and pepper
rosemary twigs
other rub or favorite seasonings
Optional Sauce
Liquids and rosemary from bag
1/2 cup beef stock
1/2 cup white or red wine
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (optional)
butter
salt and pepper
Instructions
Set a heavy skillet over high heat and warm until quite hot and a drop of water sizzles and evaporates immediately upon hitting the skillet. While the skillet warms, rub the oil over the prime rib roast. Add it to the skillet and brown on all side. Turn off the skillet and remove the roast to a work surface and season with salt and pepper generously. Add any other seasonings or a favorite rub. Do not wash skillet and use to make pan sauce if desired.
Heat water with your sous vide cooker to 130-140F degrees, depending on your preferred level of doneness. See chart above. Insure the counter under the container is protected using a heavy towel or trivet. Place the roast in a large heavy bag suitable for sous vide cooking. Add the springs of rosemary and seal the bag, removing the air. Add the roast beef to the hot water bath insuring it remains fully submerged and is not leaking. Cook for 4-5 hours. Remove from the water bath and remove the roast from the bag to a cutting board. Preserve bag contents for sauce if making. Let beef rest for 15 minutes.
Prepare a pan sauce with drippings by reheating the skillet to medium high and adding the liquids and rosemary from the sous vide bag. When hot and starting to boil, stir in the stock and wine and cook for 2-3 minutes until the sauce starts to simmer. Strain out any solids from the sauce. Wipe out the skillet with a paper towel. Return the strained sauce to the skillet set over medium heat. Stir in the optional Dijon if you are using, and cook until slightly thickened about 4-5 minutes. Stir in the butter.
Carve the beef into 8 or so slices and top with the pan sauce if you have made one. Serve with mashed potatoes and a green vegetable.
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