what am i supposed to do with this cut of meat?

[9ballprodigy]

hey guys, so i bought this cut of beef today. chuck roast something something. i cut it in half since it was a little over three pounds. i was hoping to sear it and braise it since the meat did not have much fat to it. but the meat still turned out dry. i guess there wasn't enough connective tissue in it. how would you use this cut of meat? i just stare at confused right now.

thanks.

[foodnfoto]

I'm surprised that a chuck roast came out dry after searing and braising. Chuck comes from the shoulder area and is usually very marbled with lots of connective tissue.
From the look you describe, it might have been a round roast which comes from the leg. This cut is usually very lean and is best roasted to medium rare, then sliced thinly on the diagonal and served with a sauce. Many cookbooks recommend round as a good pot roast (braising) cut, but this is erroneous due to the lack of fat and connective tissue that melts and adds flavor and tenderness under long, slow cooking methods.

For good information about cuts of meat and recipes to cook them I often rely on Bruce Aidell's The Complete Meat Cookbook. This book rocks!

[ldzpapa]

I too am surprised at the dryness, my only thought is that A-It wasn't seared completely, B-It wasn't allowed a day to rest(chemical changes occur during the cooling, and reheating process, or C-it wasn't braised long enough. Also are you using the liquid to reheat?

[kuan]

Yeah you may have gotten what's also called an arm roast.

[ChefTorrie]

Originally Posted by kuan

Yeah you may have gotten what's also called an arm roast.

That is what I was just thinking Kuan. You beat me to it bud.

[9ballprodigy]

arm roast huh? possible. come to think of it, i think the label said, "rib chuck roast". and also, there wasn't any marbling on the meat so i was suspicious at first as well. i hate safeway and their random arbitrary naming. of things. you know, i still can't identify a skirt steak? it's just not there. it might be labeled as something different.

bah...