topside steak Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is topside steak best used for? ›

Often nicknamed the 'poor man's sirloin', topside makes for a great, thrifty roasting joint that cuts into beautifully uniform slices. It can be served lightly pink. Roasted and thinly sliced it tastes particularly delicious, and any leftovers work well in sandwiches with horseradish mayo, or in salads.

Place in the centre of the oven and roast for 20 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 160°C or 180°C without a fan(gas 4). Continue roasting for 12-15 minutes per 500g reaching a core temperature of 52°C before resting for a medium rare joint.

Due to its natural toughness, topside beef steaks are more often not tenderised or pounded using a tenderiser. Once gone through this process, you're left with a thin slice of meat! Be sure to either bake or pan-fry!

I'm beginning with topside steak, which is a very lean steak that comes from the hind quarters of the animal. I love to slice it thinly across the grain and stir fry it, or cook it as a steak and then cut into thin strips for popping in salads (like the Thai Beef Salad below) or for spiced wraps (below).

British cuts topside and silverside together are roughly equivalent to the American round cut. New Zealand cuts also use these terms (or sometimes "outside round" for silverside).

Most sandwich steaks are cut from the top rump, rump, sirloin, or even from the topside of beef.

Topside is an ideal cut for those who are looking for a very lean amount of beef. It's also very forgiving because it can be cooked slowly for a long time or quickly, even in a stir fry. However we DEFINITELY do not recommend grilling it or BBQing it.

Some cuts are tender and need to be roasted, dry. Other cuts are tougher and need to be cooked at a lower temperature, for longer, covered, and with liquid (water of boullion in the pot). These cuts will be tough if you cook them too quickly, too hot, uncovered, and without liquid.

Is topside beef tough? ›

Topside beef is ideal if you're looking for flavour packed meat on a budget as it is often cheaper compared to the likes of rib or fillet, largely due to it being slightly tougher in its texture. Don't let this put you off though as what it might miss in texture, it more than makes up for in taste.

While there are several ways to velvet, a pound of meat needs about two teaspoons of cornstarch and two teaspoons of oil, says Leung. You may also include two to three tablespoons of water. For beef, add a 1/4-teaspoon of baking soda for tenderizing. Additional seasonings are optional and vary from recipe to recipe.

Topside beef is ideal if you're looking for flavour packed meat on a budget as it is often cheaper compared to the likes of rib or fillet, largely due to it being slightly tougher in its texture. Don't let this put you off though as what it might miss in texture, it more than makes up for in taste.

While both are large, tough cuts of budget-friendly beef, the main difference that sets these two roasts apart is where on the animal they're cut from. Top round roast is cut from the rear leg and is more lean than chuck roast, which is cut from the shoulder and contains more fat.