Rump Roast (Beef)

In many ways, the cut of meat determines how it should be cooked.  This is important with most cuts of meats.  For example it would be a huge waste of money to stew prime rib, not that you couldn't just a waste of money when a much cheaper cut of meat could be used for stewing.  Even though we pay a flat rate across all cuts of our beef bought on the hoof, I still try to cook the various cuts in the most appropriate method that will best enhance their flavour and texture.

Rump roast is cut from the bottom round or fleshy hindquarter of the animal (beef, moose, elk or venison).  It is usually boneless.  Rump roast is considered a lower-quality cut of meat.  It lacks both fat and marbling resulting in a less flavourful and tender cut of meat prone to drying out if improperly cooked. 

Rump roast can be placed on a rack for cooking to allow juices to drip to the bottom of the pan.  The juices can then be used to baste and for making gravy.  Instead of this method I placed the rump roast in a roasting pan then poured tomato stock into the bottom of the pan, seasoned the roast lightly with garlic pepper and Worcestershire sauce then topped with Spanish onion wedges.  I covered and cooked the roast at 120ºC (250ºF) about 2 hours then added carrots, red potatoes and cabbage then adjusted the heat to 175ºC (350ºF), covered and continued cooking until the outside of the roast was nicely browned. 

The tomato stock provides nice flavour while tenderizing the meat.  The vegetables also help tenderize the meat via steam created while they are cooking.  Cabbage is an underused, frugal vegetable that when cooked this way has a wonderful sweetness without smelling up the kitchen.  Rump roast should rest about 5 minutes before cutting.  This roast slices ever so nicely!  Left-overs are ideal for roast beef sandwiches the following day.

Our rump roast dinner was scrumptious!  I served it simply with the roast beef slices and roasted vegetables topped with a thin pan gravy made from the drippings.  I used a cornstarch slurry to thicken the gravy.  It gives a silkier, thinner, clearer result than a flour slurry would.    It was a feast fit for the kings!