What did I do wrong?

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Bought beef for Xmas as turkey was voted off along with sprouts. It was from Asda and on special offer so maybe that tells me all I need to know but it did say 'extra matured for 28 days' and that it was a 'roasting joint' although didn't specify which cut. I dislike brown beef so I cooked it according to instructions for medium/pink in middle at 190 deg and let it rest for an hour before carving. It was tough as old boots - at least we all laughed about it.

Am cursing as M&S beef was half price and I chose not to buy it Am sure that would have been nicer. Did I do something wrong or was I just unlucky with crappy meat. And what should I do now with the rest - bin it/give to dog or cut it into small pieces for pie or curry? Opinions?

maybe the cut - curry it instead. M and S meat is not good quality anyway so don't worry about that.

if you followed cooking instructions and were unhappy - take it back!!!

If it was clothing you'd washed correctly and it shrunk you'd not think twice about returning it, would you?

If you don't want to cart it back to the store phone or email them and ask what they want you to do. They might just take your word for it and give you a refund or whatever without the hassle

I'm afraid it was probably because it was supermarket meat. I would be a but that the cut was not specified on the packaging - surely it is important to know what cut of meat you are cooking/eating.

Imo, meat from a supermarket is never going to be as good as buying from a local farm shop/butcher.

Can't take it back as I'm in Holland . I did a big shop just before Xmas whilst visiting my family. Have never bought meat from Asda before and took a bit of a chance. I did think it was a bit odd that the cut wasn't specified. Might drop them a mail anyway as I did follow the cooking instructions on the package. Even as I was cooking it I thought it would have been better as a pot-roast as there was no marbling of fat.

Oh well, you live and learn - its just a shame that this was Xmas lunch!

I think you went wrong by buying beef in Asda.

We had a lovely beef roast from Asda a few weeks back.

And I disagree that a butcher is always going to be better.........depends on where they get their meat from IME

Seriously? Is it that bad? You can't buy joints of meat very easily here unless you go to the wholesalers and then it is v expensive. Just for future reference, is there a UK supermarket which does sell decent meat (I know I should really seek out a decent butcher )

All I know of this beef is that it was Irish

Perhaps we're just lucky with our local butchers...I have never had a bad piece of meat buying from any of them. Otoh, I have found getting a joint from a supermarket is complete hit & miss, and have had far more misses than hits over the years.

Waitrose would probably be your best bet if you're going to get meat from a supermarket.

our "local" butchers sell danish bacon and chickens (big ones) for £4

I often find the amount of cooking time it says on the instructions is too long. I always go for quite a bit less and it comes rare/pink. Some ovens cooks a lot faster imo.

How long was it in the oven for and did you cover it while it was resting?

1.2 kg piece of meat, cooked it for just over an hour, then covered it with foil and towels to keep warm and rest for about 90 minutes. Oven not especially hot/fast. Will probably make a decent curry so won't be wasted but don't want to make same mistake again.

Thanks for all the advice

Sainsburys, Waitrose.

I always slow roast beef, literally completely sealed with foil over the dish lowest temperature. Often it just crumbles on carving, often can only buy cheap brisket too.

I don't ever cook it to be rare though so I can't comment on how to do that.

For a rolled joint that size, I'd seal it on the top, and then cook for 12 mins per 500g plus an extra 12 mins (so maybe 40-45 mins) and then rest for half an hour. Small joints are much harder to cook - very easy to overdo.

Don't have an Asda near us so have never bought meat there but would be suspicious of anything that said "roasting joint". If it's for a special occasion or you want to be sure what you are getting, I would get a specific cut of meat. I often buy from the supermarket but usually Waitrose, sometimes buy from the butcher but they can vary in quality too so you really need to know your local one to be guaranteed of quality. An hour sounds like a long time to let it rest?

we got our beef joint from m&s and it was lush 2kg joint for £13.50
from now on i will get the beef from m&s our butcher is shite, went in few months back and asked for 2 gammon steaks and all they sold was pre cooked vacum packed water filled reformed gammon "yummy"!!! only thing theY goOd at there is sausages.

def agree that supermarket cooking times are usually wrong but i suspect it's to cover themselves in our wonderful world of health and safety
am glad that you were able to see the funny side of it tho
IME had one beef joint from asda and never again,it was promptly whipped off our plates and became dinner for two grateful dogs!
what have you decided to do with yours?

I don't think it has anything to do with health and safety - there is no requirement to give cooking times at all. I think it is more that traditionally the English have liked their meat totally over cooked, so the instructions cater for that. I'd never use package instructions for cooking meat, and only after a fair bit of trail and error have we found that one of our cookery books gives good timings, whilst another is good for browning and resting instructions. Another one has good descriptions of cuts and what they are good for ("proper" roasts, pot roasts, stews etc).