[Sca-cooks] Chuck vs Bottom Round

[Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius]

On Mon, 2008-04-28 at 08:46 -0400, Barbara Benson wrote:

> Should I add more liquid to make sure that the round doesn't dry out?

It'll probably depend on the pans, how full they are, etc. As long as
they're covered tightly with foil, the meat's own juices and steam will
do a lot of the work. Maybe if you check your liquid levels halfway
through? Just make sure the layer of fat (if any) that generally lives
on the top of a bottom round roast, remains on top. It serves as a sort
of baster. But it seems silly to add more liquid unless you're sure
you're going to need it, especially if you're going to need to reduce it
later, anyway.

> After what Master A said about connective tissue I am thinking I
> should keep the chuck, possibly cook it separately, but then combine
> all of the juices so that the juice has a more unctuous mouth feel.

Uh oh, watch out; we're starting to sound like James Beard. It can only
lead to chubby old people engaged in urban skinny-dipping, and that
can't be a good thing... ;-)

[My son went to nursery school at an institution of lower learning that
was next door to the James Beard House, which, at the time, had only
recently been converted from the actual home of the recently-deceased
Mr. Beard to the headquarters of The James Beard Foundation. The school
put up the really high fence in the back yard, and had some pretty
entertaining stories to tell about one of America's great culinary
legends... suffice it to say he was apparently a rather broad-spectrum
sensualist...]

> I was planning on serving it to the tables as big chunks because that
> will maintain temp better, and it looks cooler. The long cooking
> method should make it tender enough that carving is not a problem. Or
> possibly I will have the servers carve it at the table.
> 
> With the above cooking method, is there anything I should watch out
> for or that will make a big difference using round?

I can't really think of anything, other than the fact that the chuck may
need a bit longer to cook than the round, but if you're cooking them
separately anyway, shouldn't be a problem. So, is the grape juice and
vinegar a substitute for red wine, or is that must and verjuice or
something?

Adamantius