Top round

Also known as the upper part from cattle´s back leg, has softer and more regular structure than the lower part. Very lean, tender, juicy meat suitable for cooking and for steaks.

Top round

Czech classic dish - Beef with cream sauce

Ingredients

  • 800g meat
  • 100g bacon
  • 2 onions
  • 2 carrots
  • 1 parsley
  • ½ celery root
  • 500ml beef broth
  • A few peppercorns and allspice
  • 2 bay leaves
  • A sprig of thyme and rosemary
  • 2 tablespoons oil or lard
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon mustard
  • 25g butter and 25g flour for roux
  • 200ml whipping cream
  • Lemon, salt and pepper for flavouring

Method

  1. Clean meat off tendons, make oblique cuts and insert bacon strips inside. Tie meat with a kitchen twine. Preheat butter with oil/lard and stir-fry meat deeply on all sides, then remove.
  2. Fry diced root vegetable until brown, then add onion finely chopped and fry together for a while. Add sugar and let it caramelize. Pour vinegar, let it boil, and then add mustard and broth, stir and bring to boil.
  3. Place sauce in a roasting pan along with meat, add spices and herbs, cover and bake in a oven preheated to 180°C for 2 hours. Check occasionally, baste meat with juice and turn meat over after an hour of baking.
  4. Remove meat and spices, place the roasting pan on a hot hob. Add roux into sauce gently while constantly stirring and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour cream, flavour with lemon juice, salt and pepper, and stir sauce.
  5. Serve with bread dumplings and cranberries.

Baked top round with pancetta

Ingredients

  • 600g top round
  • 8 slices of pancetta
  • 250g cherry tomatoes on twig
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 400g potatoes
  • 4 sprigs of thyme
  • Sea salt and pepper
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil

Method

  1. Preheat an oven to 200°C. Cut meat into 2 thick slices (300g each) and then cut each slice crosswise.
  2. Salt and pepper, smear with olive oil and cover each slice in 2 slices of pancetta and 1 sprig of thyme, tie together with a kitchen twine.
  3. Slice potatoes and mix with unpeeled garlic cloves, salt, pepper and oil. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
  4. Then add meat and cherry tomatoes on twig, bake for another 20 minutes.