Saving money means learning new skills

[gemfyre]

Crossposted to cooking

Today my plan was to buy meat to restock my freezer. I found lots of lovely free range pork on markdown which made me a happy camper. Rump steak was also on special, so I'd put a tray of that in my trolley - it was about 3 steaks for $13.99/kilo.

Then I turned to the fridge opposite to find the big chunks of beef. Whole Scotch, whole rump. The whole rump was a mere $7.99/kilo. So I figured, I have a chopping board, some good knives and time, so I decided to be daring and bought some. This chunk was about 3.5 kilos.

I now have steaks, diced steak for curries and casseroles, stir-fry strips and 2 roasting portions.

I have a feeling my cuts weren't ideal. I first cut off one end and halved that for my roasting bits. I immediately discovered that there is a layer of connective tissue running through the rump, which basically separates the whole thing into two layers. I decided to use the bottom layer for strips and chunks and make steaks from the top bit.

I had some flashbacks to uni, I studied biology so I'm no stranger to dissections. Getting some of that fat and gristle off was a hell of a job though and I didn't get rid of it all. Hopefully it doesn't get too tough when I cook it. I also think some of my stir fry strips won't be that good because I was cutting every which way across the grain.

So now. I'm trying to Google for instructions for properly cutting up this chunk of cow, haven't had much luck so far, every hit I get seems to be wanting to teach me how to COOK rump, and I already know that. Anyone got any pointers? I also discovered that my Shun knives are due for a professional sharpening.

And I have a bag of fat and crud like that - any ideas for what I can do with this? I'd hate to just throw it away.

Comments

[princess-kessie.livejournal.com]

Stir fry strips *should* be cut across the grain - it makes them far more tender for the very short cooking time they get.

And any pieces that have any remaining gristle/connective tissue will be best served by a long, slow and moist cooking method - like a curry or a stew, as they just tend to melt down and become flavoursome :)

But go you for getting cheaper meat! I just came from the local supermarket after turning my nose up at rump on clearance at $18/kg. I'm not paying that for stuff that's so old they're clearing it! Ugh. And our butcher wants $29 for rump this week. Not a hope in hell of me paying that for beef!

[stefanina.livejournal.com]

I found a few links: http://www.internationalstyles.net/recipes/meat-cutting/
http://www.2020site.org/carving/beef.html
http://www.mealsforyou.com/cgi-bin/customize?meatcutsbeef.html
While they are not precisely what you were looking for, they do give some good info that will be useful in the future.
Also, talking with the store butcher will help. They are usually willing to talk if the store is not too busy.
I do not know if it is true where you are, but where I am, I can get the store butcher to cut the meat the way I want as a store courtesy.

[gemfyre.livejournal.com]

This was just a supermarket so no such luxury. I'd like to learn how to properly cut it myself though.

[stefanina.livejournal.com]

Huh. Even in large chains in my town they do some cutting on site, so have custom cutting for customers.
Here's a good explanation of beef in general from a packing company: http://www.victoriapacking.com/beefinfo.html

[nikita112010.livejournal.com]

It does seem that everybody is into this kind of stuff lately. Don’t really understand it though, but thanks for trying to explain it.Appreciate you shedding light into this matter. Keep it up

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