How-To Guides

How to cook topside of beef

What is topside of beef?

Taken from the hindquarter of the cow beneath the rump, topside of beef is a cost-effective roasting joint packed with flavour. It’s a common sight at the table when it comes to a Sunday roast, but tastes equally delicious as a cold cut.

Topside of beef is generally one of the leanest cuts of beef, but Swaledale’s is a little different. Our heritage breeds of cattle have more intramuscular fat (aka marbling), which, coupled with proper dry-ageing, makes for an altogether more succulent and flavoursome roast.

How long to roast topside of beef?

To get maximum flavour from your beef, we recommend serving topside of beef medium-rare. Roasting at a very low temperature is an excellent technique, particularly for leaner cuts – many of the professional chefs we work with employ this method. Dependent on the size of your beef, this will take a minimum of three hours.

Topside can also be roasted more traditionally. As such, we’ve provided a step-by-step guide for both cooking options.

Available in six different weights to cater for all party sizes, we recommend cooking it for 15-20 minutes per 500g after an initial roast of 15 minutes at a higher temperature. A meat thermometer reading of 53-55°C is ideal.

How to cook topside of beef to perfection

Traditional roasting technique

  1. Remove the topside from the fridge and its packaging and allow to come up to room temperature.
  2. Pre-heat your oven to 200°C.
  3. Season the topside well with fine sea salt and rub all over with a little olive oil.
  4. Place the topside on an oven tray and transfer to the oven. Set a timer for 10 minutes.
  5. Reduce the heat to 145°C and then cook for a further 20 minutes per 500g (plus an extra 10 minutes for good luck!).
  6. Remove the topside from the oven and leave to rest for at least 45 minutes.
  7. Carve against the grain – the thickness of the slices is a matter of preference.

Low temperature roasting technique

This method will result in uniform cooking and a more moist result compared to traditional roasting. The use of a meat thermometer is essential.

  1. Take your topside of beef out of the refrigerator.
  2. Remove your meat from the vacuum packaging and pat dry any moisture. Allow it to come up to room temperature.
  3. Set your oven to 65°C – this is very low and, if gas, the pilot light may be sufficient. Heat a griddle pan or heavy-based frying pan until smoking hot.
  4. Rub the beef with a little olive oil and season generously with sea salt and black pepper.
  5. Sear the beef at high temperature, turning frequently until coloured all over – around 6-10 minutes should be sufficient.
  6. Depending on joint size, roasting will likely take a minimum of 3 hours. Aim for 49-51°C for rare, 53-55°C for medium-rare, 57-59°C for medium.
  7. Rest loosely covered in foil for 20–30 minutes before carving against the grain.

Top tips

  • The bigger the joint of beef, the longer the resting time should be.

Topside beef recipe

Jorge hails from the Black Mountains where he grew up surrounded by hardy, native livestock. His passion for cookery was sparked by his upbringing, but developed and intensified alongside his respect for British breeds, and zeal for nose-to-tail eating. In 2009 trained chef Jorge launched Swaledale in Haworth, and took his native-breed led whole-carcass butchery philosophy to high profile restaurateurs. Jorge is a passionate procurer and hanger of meat, and is keen to showcase the sublime taste and texture that comes from ageing, higher fat content, and an older carcass. Jorge proudly invests in native-breeds, as maintaining their market demand is crucial to their very survival. Jorge studied Creative Writing at Leeds University, and is a former Welsh athletics champion. He lives with his wife, ceramicist Amy Thomas and their 2 children, Fynn and Bea, on a remote grouse moor in West Yorkshire.