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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

in thinking sainsburys did not explain properly re xmas beef?

179 replies

kitchensrus · 29/12/2021 22:03

I spent over £20 on a 30 days matured taste the difference beef joint for xmas day from sainsburys. My guests in their 80s had not eaten outside their home since pre covid so i wanted it to be nice and they preferred this to turkey.

There was no mention of any cooking instructions on the outer packaging. When i opened it on xmas day i found it had to be cooked in liquid and was not the roast I expected. Googling silverside i can see that all silverside is recommended to be cooked this way otherwise it is tough but i had no idea. All the silverside joints were mixed in the cabinet with rump joints as each was individually priced. I never even considered there would be a difference and as it was such an expensive joint I just presumed it was a a traditional roast. It was labelled "British beef silverside joint".

AIBU to think Sainsburys should have explained this on the packaging as surely I am not the only person who doesnt know this. I wouldnt normally have beef except for the visitors.

OP posts:

girlmom21 · 30/12/2021 08:01

Ok so you said there were no cooking instructions but then admitted they were on the underside of the label (standard) and you just hadn't looked

You bought a joint of beef you'd never bought before and over cooked it and that's Sainsburys fault?

NashvilleQueen · 30/12/2021 08:10

Next time just buy rib of beef. Expensive but the rest are so much more difficult to get right and are often tasteless.

Mamamia1010 · 30/12/2021 08:17

www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/sainsburys-30-day-matured-british-beef-slow-roasting-joint-taste-the-difference-approx-14kg-

Was this the joint op? Did you prep the joint and let it rest? There are some instructions and don't say you must cook in water

TheWatersofMarch · 30/12/2021 08:21

Let Sainsburys know. They would not want to mislead people. I don't imagine you are the only person that doesn't know some joints need wet cooking methods, whatever people here say.

NynaeveSedai · 30/12/2021 08:26

@TedMullins

awwwI’m on your side OP I had no idea about this until I read this thread. I would’ve assumed all joints of meat could be roasted the same way. But, I am a vegetarian and I’ve never cooked a roast in my life

I had no idea either but I'm vegan so why would I? The OP however clearly isn't so it's on her to Google no?

RockallMalinHebrides · 30/12/2021 08:38

@NashvilleQueen

Next time just buy rib of beef. Expensive but the rest are so much more difficult to get right and are often tasteless.

I agree - even roasted properly silverside is pretty tasteless, it needs to be cooked in liquid to add to the flavour.

Having said that rib is expensive - we have one every year and this year it was £75 - I’m fortunate that my Dad brings all the meat and I just have to cook it.

notanothertakeaway · 30/12/2021 08:45

I think you're getting a hard time on here. Too many people sneering at your budget / lack of experience

I'm sure your family appreciated the thought, even if the beef wasn't a great success

Suggest you buy the beef again and have another try, following instructions more carefully, and see how you get on

For future reference, you can book beef in a slow cooker. It's tender, but well done (not pink)

girlmom21 · 30/12/2021 08:47

Too many people sneering at your budget / lack of experience

I've bought many a decent small joint of beef from sainsburys for a fiver and they've always had cooking instructions

Ritasueandbobtoo9 · 30/12/2021 08:51

I got a lovely roasting beef joint for Morrison’s for £15 which fed 12. It was perfect.

maddening · 30/12/2021 08:51

Yabu, especially as you then ignored the instructions!

inappropriateraspberry · 30/12/2021 09:00

It did have cooking instructions on it, you just didn't bother to check beforehand. Googling it will bring up loads of ways to cook silverside, and it doesn't have to be in liquid.
You roasted it, it was tough. Could be your cooking, it could have just been a tough piece of meat. You never know until you eat it.
I do t know why you are getting so upset about it.

GoodPrincessWenceslas · 30/12/2021 09:03

I should have cooked it in liquid but my guests were expecting a roast and i felt pressure that it was their first meal out of their own home in 2 years!!

How would they have known that you had cooked it in liquid? I regularly slow cook beef in a liquid stock, it comes out delicious and I serve it in slices, exactly the same way as I would a roast. I really don't understand why you didn't just follow the instructions.

PaulGallico · 30/12/2021 09:06

Beef is expensive - silverside and rump are cheaper cuts requiring longer, slower cooking. If you want a piece of beef that is tender on roasting you need to spend more and buy from a butcher.

TinselTroels · 30/12/2021 09:12

I did a silverside three Sundays ago. In a roasting tin with a lid, 1/2 inch or less of water, lid on, came out lovely and tender.

SunshineOnKeith · 30/12/2021 09:14

@kitchensrus

Certainly no camels back! I just wanted xmas dinner to be perfect for an elderly couple in their 80s who hadnt had a meal out of their house in 2 years. We didnt even want the beef and we had a lovely turkey and pigs in blankets but as they wanted beef I wanted it to be lovely for them too.

Obviously I blame myself for not knowing but I genuinely didnt know and wouldnt have known in hindsight. This is despite everyone on here thinking I am stupid.

I am used to labelling being excessive ie may contain nuts on nuts and cooking instructions on everything and overall time and have come to expect it on everything as i shop in supermarkets.

I think if you don't cook roasts that often and you choose to buy an unfamiliar joint, you should check. Braising joints are a thing in the same way that stewing steak shouldn't be pan-fried

Having said that, what I don't understand is why you then read the cooking instructions and totally ignored them that isn't Sainsburys fault! Surely your relatives would have preferred a lovely slow cooked braised pot roast joint than a tough dry roast?

rosiebl · 30/12/2021 09:24

£30 is a lot to pay for what is effectively stewing meat. I would complain to Sainsbury's that cooking instructions ought to be on the outside for a joint of this type.
As an aside, we got a chateaubriand for 3 people, with leftovers for £22 from Morrison's.

Getyourjinglebellsinarow · 30/12/2021 09:24

I don't know specifically that silverside needs slow cooking but the first thing I do when I buy meat is Google how best to cook it. I never just chuck something in the oven.

Hobnobswantshernameback · 30/12/2021 09:27

People like the op are the reason for "contains hot liquids " warnings on coffee cups

Baystard · 30/12/2021 09:29

I'm sorry that you're getting such a hard time here OP, I don't think you're being wholly reasonable but I don't understand why other posters spent time and energy writing such unpleasant replies.

I think your problem was being fixed in what you imaged was meant by 'roasting'. You could have cooked it in liquid as indicated and then carved it as a roast and nobody would have been any the wiser. That said, I do also roast silverside without liquid though only to medium - sliced thinly it would have been lovely.

I think Sainsburys have been a little bit unreasonable to present a joint in a box (I think you said it had two sets of packaging?) and not had the cooking instructions on the outer packaging. IMO if they've added value (for themselves) by making it appealing to those who don't just routinely buy a rib roast from the butcher, and presenting it in a nice box as a special occasion item they should have been clearer what you'd do with it.

RainbowBridge21 · 30/12/2021 09:33

I think you should have researched before buying the meat if you honestly wanted it to be super special for your guests. I do think it's your own fault for ignoring the instructions. Take the loss and learn from it. Don't try to squeeze a refund out of Sainsbury's, you don't really deserve one.

HeronLanyon · 30/12/2021 09:33

I don’t think you can ‘blame’ Sainsbury’s fir anything here.
I do think it odd that eg potatoes are all clearly labelled with what the best cooking method is for the variety but not this expensive item with what will be, for many, an unusual cooking method.

FourteenSixteenTwentyTwo · 30/12/2021 09:53

I get what you are saying, OP. I was thinking about potatoes as an example in supermarkets - the label will usually saying something like ‘King Edwards - great for roasting, baking or mash’ or something to that effect.

I don’t think it’s unreasonable to have some idea on how to cook something on the outer label so you know before you buy if that’s suitable for you.

FourteenSixteenTwentyTwo · 30/12/2021 09:54

X-post

HeronLanyon · 30/12/2021 09:56

Carbs clearly on our minds. Never a bad thing !

Bluntness100 · 30/12/2021 09:57

Op that’s one of the cheaper joints of beef you can buy. I don’t understand why you googled how to cook it and then ignored it, pretended it was for roasting and then decided it is sainsburys fault.

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