Editor’s Note 12/28/17: Sentinel Butchery, mentioned at the bottom of this article, has since closed.
Happy Christmas Eve Eve! Are you having pot roast or roast beef this Christmas?
Probably pot roast. (Or turkey. Or ham. Or duck, a la A Christmas Story style.)
Both of our food items today are made from tough cuts of meat that are slow cooked until tender. Let’s break down the differences between pot roast and roast beef.
The main difference between pot roast and roast beef is that pot roast is cooked in liquid and roast beef is cooked dry.
Pot roast is cooked in water, wine, stock, or broth. It’s made from chuck, brisket, or round cuts. Chuck roasts are very rich and flavorful; brisket and round cuts slice neater but aren’t as tender.
Roast beef is cooked dry. You can use nearly any cut of meat: rib-eye roast, rump roast, sirloin roast, chuck roast. Or, get fancier with prime rib, strip loin, or tenderloin.
Roast beef tends to be more used for sandwiches, in which case you’ll want a cut that isn’t so tender it just falls apart. LiveStrong.com (a great website I use frequently for these type of posts) says:
“The rich marbling that makes rib roasts or strip roasts so tasty becomes a flaw when you want roast beef for sandwiches. . .Cuts from the round are perfect for sandwich beef. They have the right texture, and they’re large muscles that provide big, even slices to cover your bread. . .Pick a big bottom round roast for large slices or eye of round for neat, round slices.”
Chuck appears to be the best cut for pot roast – which comes from the front of the cow – while round is a great choice for roast beef – which comes from the back of the cow.
In conclusion, pot roast is cooked with a moist heat and is fall-apart tender; roast beef is dry cooked and can be sliced for sandwiches. Several different cuts can be used for either.
A safe option if you’re still torn on which cut for which dish, of course, would be to ask your butcher for their recommendations.
If you’re in the Albany, New York area along with me I recently wrote about Sentinel Butchery in Troy, where they specialize in utilizing entire animal carcasses.