Roast Beef virgin - your advice please.

[Cadbury]

We planned to do Roast beef for lunch tomorrow and bought a joint last week from asda. It is labeled as great for roasting and is a silverside joint. Now all my books (that I consulted after buying said meat) talk about silverside as a joint for boiling or salting (not what asda reckons). I'm still willing to give the roasting a go, but I'm a bit concerned that it doesn't have much fat around it - does this mean that it will get very dry? Wwhat can I use to make it less so? Do I drizzle it with oil or smear with butter? what?

Put it in a roasting tin with some water. Cover with foil and roast.

Take off foil about half an hour before roasting time is finished.

If you want to check every so often that there is still plenty of water in, then it is fine to do so.

It will only be dry if you let it dry out.

Silverside makes a lovely roast, btw

I've roasted silverside before with no problems - I think the lack of fat will affect flavour rather than dryness. Yes, rub a bit of olive oil (or any oil) on first - you could always cover it in foil for part of the roasting if you're worried about it drying out. Don't forget the horseradish sauce!

I roast silverside in a pyrex dish with the lid on, to keep moisture in.
Found this info on Waitrose website if it helps you : Silverside is a lean boneless cut of meat that comes from the hindquarters of the animal. Aberdeen Angus silverside is sold in Waitrose.
Uses: Silverside is a versatile cut and can be roasted, pot roasted or braised. A variety of ingredients can be added to silverside during the cooking time, including chopped root vegetables, fresh herbs such as rosemary, thyme or parsley or finely chopped garlic or ginger.
To store: Keep in the fridge in the original wrapping or in a covered container, below and away from cooked foods and any ready to eat food. Store until the use by date. To freeze, freeze on the day of purchase for up to 1 month. To defrost, remove from the original packaging and place on a plate or tray and cover. Defrost thoroughly in the bottom of the fridge, below and away from cooked foods and any ready to eat food, before cooking. Never re-freeze raw meat that has been frozen and then thawed. Wash work surfaces, chopping boards, utensils and hands thoroughly after touching raw meat.
To prepare: Silverside is a lean cut so to prevent it from drying out it should be barded (covered in a layer of fat) with beef dripping, olive oil or butter before roasting for best results.
To cook: Waitrose recommend beef should be thoroughly cooked. To roast silverside preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4 and adjust the shelves so that the meat will sit in the centre of the oven. Weigh the joint in order to calculate the cooking time. If you like rare beef cook the joint for 20 minutes per 450g plus 20 minutes, for a medium result cook the meat for 25 minutes per 450g plus 25 minutes and for a well done joint cook it for 30 minutes per 450g plus 30 minutes. Baste the meat regularly during cooking. To pot roast, the meat is simmered slowly at a low temperature either in the oven or on the hob with liquid for up to 3 hours (check your recipe for specific cooking instructions and timings). When cooking, ensure that the lid fits tightly to prevent the cooking liquid evaporating. Once the joint is cooked (whether roasted or pot roasted), allow it to stand for 10 minutes - this will make it easier to carve

actually, we have forgotten the horseraddish

sqonky - won't putting water in the tin effectively steam the joint rather than roast it? How much would you put in?

Don't know if it steams it or roasts it, but it's blardy nice. About an inch in the bottom, but you'll have to keep topping it up, or almost fill it and it should be ok. It really doesn't matter imo.

I wouldn't roast silverside - I think it would end up too tough. But it is good as a pot roast. Method: Brown meat in hot oil or dripping in the casserole. Remove and then lightly brown a selection of onions, carrots, root veg, celery and then remove them from pot. Pour fat away. Put meat back in centre of pot surrounded by the veg. Add hot stock (about 1/2 pint) and herbs - eg bay leaves, thyme - and pepper. Cover with foil and lid and bring to a gentle simmer, then put in centre of oven at 140 C for 3 hours (sufficient to cook a 1 kg joint). When cooked, remove meat and veg to a hot dish and thicken the cooking liquid with a butter and flour paste whisked into it. Season again - mustard and worcester sauce will add extra flavour. Slice the meat - it should be tender and delicious - and serve with veg and sauce.

Thanks for the EsterChickenBunny - very helpful.

We cook silverside sometimes and tbh, I fling it in the oven with some beef dripping on top and let it cook for about a hour and half. Put the potatoes round the edge of it too! We're having beef tomorrow, but we've got {pcc runs to the fridge to look} Well, would you believe it - its silverside!

Thanks so much. I'm not sure what sort of side it is, but it doesn't matter now since 'H' has taken himself off to the pub. But it would have been nice on your advice! Thank you!

PS anyone around North Oxford who hasn't got supper in yet is welcome to this (rather expensive) one.

Salmonella/Listeria/everything else-free house!