The salt-process linked below may help you out. -Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: How to cook a juicy tender roast beef.

Two techniques I've used for lean meat: pressure cooking, and (lately) sous vide. You can put together a sous vide setup for under $100, and you'll find it remarkably liberating. Right now I have a nice chuck roast in the sous vide cooker which I'll retrieve when MIL comes over this afternoon. My total prep time for it might have been as much as five minutes: season the roast, seal it in a plastic bag and freeze. Last night I took it out of the freezer and tossed it in the sous vide cooker. When I take it out, it will be perfectly medium rare, and the temp never got high enough to cause the muscle fibers to contract, so it will be tender and juicy.

If I sound like I'm proselytizing for the increased use of sous vide, well, I guess I am; it has revolutionized the way I cook and has freed up more time for me. You can look around the internet for home-brew type sous vide setups like mine, or if you want to Sam's Club has a sous vide setup (they call it a 'water oven') for around $350. If you're halfway handy (say, if you can wire a light switch) you can cobble together a sous vide cooker using an aquarium heater element, a temperature controller you'll be using as a thermostat, and an igloo cooler. I got all my items for under $100:

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cooking/msg011433533960.html

Another good way to have tender lean meat is pressure cooking. I've made many a pot roast using this recipe:

Pressure-Cooked Chuck Pot Roast

Chuck roast, 3 to 4 pounds
2 cups onions, 1 cup carrots and 1 cup celery, all finely chopped)
1 cup chicken broth (if you have some good quality beef broth, use it, but most commercial beef broth isn’t very good)
1 large can of mushroom stems & pieces (optional)
Black pepper
1 or 2 bay leaves (optional)

In the pressure cooker, put the chicken broth, onion, carrot, celery and mushrooms.

Trim excess fat off the outside of the chuck roast, but don’t be too aggressive--you want to leave some for flavor. If you want to, sear the chuck roast on high heat in a frying pan (that’s optional--it’ll still taste good if you don’t do that).

Scoop out roughly half of the vegetable mix and reserve. Give a generous grinding of black pepper to what remains in the cooker, and maybe throw in a bay leaf or two. Put in the pot roast. It’s okay if it comes up the side of the cooker a little bit. Grind some more black pepper on the top of the roast, then put in the rest of the vegetable mixture on top of the roast. Reattach the pressure lid and bring the cooker up to pressure on high heat. Once it gets to pressure, cut back the heat to where it’s just keeping the pressure on high.

Now, don’t do anything for a while. After some time (roughly 45 minutes for a 3 pound chuck roast, 50 or 55 minutes for a 4 pounder), turn off the heat. Don’t vent the pressure, but rather allow the pressure to come down by itself. It’ll probably take at least 15 minutes to do so. During this time, you might want to make a batch of rice or couscous or noodles to catch the juices.

Once the pressure is down, remove the lid. Remove the roast to a platter. The juices in the pot will be delicious with no other treatment, but if you wanted to get fancy and blend or strain them you could. Slice the pot roast and serve with rice and the pot juices.

For roasts leaner than chuck, you might try slicing the raw meat and allowing the liquids to bathe the surfaces during the pressure cooking. Also, cutting the meat across the grain will make it less tough.

What exactly is the problem you are having? I always do roasts in the crockpot.

I also do roasts in the crockpot, but they tend to be somewhat stringy and fall apart, they don't slice nicely although they are very tender.

I also use the pressure cooker to do items like round steak for chop suey. I can even make an old cow tender in the pressure cooker.

If I'm making pot roast or brisket, though, it goes into the cast iron dutch oven with whatever liquid and vegetables I'm using, and into a low oven for several hours, depending on the size of the roast. A thinner piece of blade roast will become tender more quickly than a big thick chunk of chuck.

Low and slow is the key. I use the cast iron to sear the meat on top of the stove, then just add everything else and stick it in the oven and go away and do other things for a while, sometimes a long while. It's low tech and doesn't require any extra equipment, but it works.

Grassfed beef does take some adjustment. When we switched from the traditional grain rations to grass fed after Dad's heart surgery it took me a couple of steers before I got it really right.

Annie

I cook most roasts, except chuck, at 500 degrees until just past rare. They are very good sliced thin with au jus.

Regarding the site Grainlady linked:

It is kind of funny, on one hand it recommends "If you don't mind the extra expense, opt for prime-rated cuts for superior marbling over choice cuts.", on the other hand, it recommends "Apply a coating of an unsaturated fat-based, heart-healthy cooking oil, such as vegetable, canola, sunflower or grapeseed oil, "

It has many very good ideas, I just have a few issues with some recommendations:

* You don't time the roast based on weight, it should be based on thickness of the meat.

* And if after 20 minutes of resting and the internal temperature has not come up to what you want, putting it back in the oven is not going to help. Unless you don't mind waiting to eat dinner another few hours.

My suggestions:

Google for information on roasting beef by thickness, use a good probe thermometer to check temperature. Go with a "very low & very slow " then extreme high heat method, almost like sous vide . You should be doing better the next time you roast.

dcarch

My past few roasts have been in a crockpot. I have tried salting but I have never let the meat come to room temperature after pulling from fridge. I don't know if I could use a pressure cooker - I am terrified to try one. I will try salting again and watching the temperature a little more closely. I wouldn't mind a stringy roast to use in tacos but my roasts have been resembling a very dense, tough fibrous meat. I'm guessing it will be trial and error for the next few roasts but I'll play around with the ideas given. Thanks!

The pressure cookers today have lots of safety stuff, not like your grandmother's jiggle top. They are quite safe--and useful. I'll never have a kitchen without one.

There are some websites dedicated to PC use; missvickie.com and hippressurecooking.com are quite informative.

My husband bought me one for my birthday about 10 years ago early in our marriage. I rarely read instruction manuals but had no idea what a pressure cooker was so I surprisingly read the it and as soon as I read of explosions it went back in the box and back to the store. I can't even fully inflate a balloon...
Maybe I'll watch a couple of youtube videos of people using it and reassess how intimidating it actually is. I am intrigued over how quickly and efficiently you can cook with it, that's a starting point at least.

You're not alone. I gave one for a wedding present once, and from what I understand it is still in its box, in storage.

"---and as soon as I read of explosions it went back in the box ---"

With billions in use everyday, I am not sure if there has ever been a case of pressure cooker exploding.

I think it is the wrong use of words. "Explode?" No. "Erupt ?" Yes.

Follow direction, clean the valves, and don't pressure cook food that has a tendency to foam. No more eruptions.

dcarch

This post was edited by dcarch on Mon, Mar 10, 14 at 12:01

Bumblebeez, I do that with things like Sirloin Tip and top round roasts, but like you, I don't find that brisket or chuck lend themselves well to that application

Pressure cookers, ah, we've had discussions on that here before. I agree, they don't explode but they will erupt. I've been using one for at least the past 30 years (not the same one, LOL) and have not had a single "incident", although I do know people who have burned themselves, usually by removing the lid before the pressure is completely released. Everyone I talk to has a sister whose next door neighbor's cousin's third wife's stepdaughter blew up a pressure cooker, but no one I know actually KNOWS anyone that happened to, they've only heard about it.

I use the pressure cooker for beans (don't fill it too full, they expand), and for tougher cuts. I use a pressure canner for canning, and those are two different appliances. The pressure cooker is very useful and actually very safe if directions are followed. I know some here use them to make stock in a fraction of the time it takes to simmer it on top of the stove.

I know they are intimidating, and like you, I have trouble with machines, I'd never attempt to make a sous vide cooker in spite of detailed instructions.

I think I learned to use a pressure cooker before I realized they were "dangerous", and so I'm comfortable with them, they aren't difficult or involved and there are a lot of good recipes and will definitely save you time and money in fuel consumed cooking things as they cook in much shorter periods of time.

Less dangerous than driving, actually. Or smoking.

Annie

The ones made now have safety features and backup safety features. As long as you don't drop one on your foot you'll be okay.

Annie, you are a riot.

Molly Stevens's "All About Roasting" is a fantastic book. I checked it out from our library, but may just buy it. I highly recommend reading it.

The results of pre-salting, drying, etc created the BEST roast chicken I've ever had. The link Grainlady noted looks to be the same method.

Oh, Alex, darn you for pointing out that Molly Stevens book :) -- I just looked at it on Amazon and now I figure I have to get it.

I have her 'All About Braising' book and it's fantastic. Of course, it's fitting in with my philosophy these days: I find that as I get older I'm trying less and less fancy stuff and going for more simple stuff executed well. When I was in my twenties I could make fancy crepes suzette and all sorts of other show-off pieces; now I find I'm more interested in doing basic stuff--roasting chicken, pot roasts--very well.

This post was edited by arley on Tue, Mar 11, 14 at 14:21

jealous of your purchase!
A farm nearby has switched recently from dairy to beef cattle. We need to find more cold storage to buy bulk. A good friend switched from beef to dairy, but we get good cheese.
But we do get 30-40 lbs of moose every year. Very lean. Some even say they can tell the difference by where they grazed.
I've tried a few methods but find the low and slow in the oven works well. Cut into large cubes. 2-4 inches. Just salt and pepper on a grid over a sheet pan. Best if i can give it some fridge drying time, 6-24 hrs. pre-heat oven to 350-375, into the oven and immediately turn down to 225, and roast for about an hour. I've also tried a larger chunk at the same time to compare. About a 5x5x8 roast. That was a local NY roast.
I've read it is not really necessary to bring to room temp. The internal temp does not change much and i don't always have the time. If the meat is prepped i can just get going and into the oven when i get home. Then use the slow roast time to start a mirepoix, in my dutch oven,finely diced carrots, celery and onions, garlic, chopped parsley, some herbs and mild spice. Like a few bay leaves.
Then broth/stock and/or a beer. Bring to a simmer and add the meat. Cover and back into the oven, temp back up to 350 for and hour, then add larger chopped veg...a toasted torn up slice of bread will make a gravy. If not a tomato, maybe half an orange or lemon for some acid. Not necessary.
I do like to use red wine or never shy about a bold spicy dry rub, but with moose or good grass fed lean meat, i want to taste it rather than cover it with rich seasonings.
I find the low and slow first roasting helps tenderize and prevent the dry stringy texture often in stews and roasts.
I go heavy on the veg. Probably 70%. Tender ones like peas or snow peas and soft beans i add towards the end of cooking. Like most roasts and stews, they get better the next day. Even more tender.

I am usually on the kitchen forum but was looking at the cooking forum for fresh ideas for meals. This thread topic struck a cord with me. My sis and BIL raise grass fed beef. My sis told me to never thaw it in the micro because it toughens it up. She also said what several others have said--low and slow.

The best crockpot roast recipe I use is to put a thawed roast in the crockpot. Cover it with 1 can of golden mushroom condensed soup (undiluted) and sprinkle beefy onion dry soup over it. Cook on low 8-12 hr depending on how large the roast is. If it doesn't come apart when poked with a fork then it needs to cook longer. This makes its own gravy and is yummy. If the roast is large I may use 2 cans of soup and cook longer. If it is small I may only use part of the dry soup for seasoning. I have put potatoes and carrots in the crockpot with the roast. It all turns out good. (This recipe came from a friend who brought this to us after our son was born many yrs ago. I have used it ever since then. Easy and good.)

Arley, I have the braising one on hold at the library as we speak!

I'm the same, I kind of skipped learning the basics and and just followed recipes. Now that I have a family to feed, easy and delicious is the name of the game. A better foundation for prep methods is what I'm working to learn.

I know this is an older thread, but I have the Roasting book here beside me that I got from the library. I'm going to order the Braising one as well.

I'm wanting to buy the Roasting one, and I'll buy the Braising one if it's as good. They're $40 in the one used bookstore that I looked at online.
I doubt they will show up in the second-hand stores, but I'm sure going to look! It's a gorgeous book and the recipes look fantastic.

Oh I am late to the party!! I actually DO know someone who exploded a pressure cooker - my Mom. Seriously, she did. It embedded cooked carrots into the kitchen ceiling. That was, oh maybe 40-45 years ago and the pressure cooker she had was quite old at the time, so I bet it didn't have much in the way of safety features. Never-the-less, she never used one again and I have not let one into my kitchen. But maybe it's time to rethink that?
Wish I'd discovered this thread before I ordered my beef. Our next-door neighbor raised a couple of head and offered to sell us part of one. I was concerned that the meat would be tough so we had every bit of it ground into hamburger. Darn! Don't know if he's ever going to raise any more, he's talking about retiring and moving south. Darn again!
Oh well, live and learn!
Edie

Jasdip - current offerings on eBay for half that price. "Good" condition which would be good enough for me. (Any cookbook I own that's in great condition, we'll, there's a reason for that!)

Hey FOAS, I found it on Amazon.ca today for $25! I also ordered her braising book as well for $25. So 2 for not much more than the price of 1 at the bookstore (E-bay was more than the $40).

I have All About Braising, and it's a very good book, but the recipes are intricate and really do have to be followed to come out right. The duck legs with the cherries is amazing, but only worth the trouble if you're doing it for special. I do a lot of braises which, really, are more like slow cooker recipes--just throw a few well considered things in a covered pan and let it cook away. They always come out well, but are simple. There's a level of complexity of flavor in the ones in the book that you'll never get going the easy way.

Have you tried the cooking bags?

oh wow Plllog, I hope I'm going to like it! I should have ordered it from the library before buying it, but I love the roasting one and assumed that the braising would be just as good. Even if I use a few recipes I think I'll still enjoy it. Duck legs wouldn't be something I would make, for sure though. :-)

Plllog have you tried the Braised Cabbage recipe? I made it last night and it's fantastic. Oh it's so good.