Let our beef experts answer your questions!
Buying and Cooking Beef
- How long and at what temperature do I cook my roast?
- More tender cuts are best used for this cooking method such as rib roast, ribeye roast, tenderloin, tri-tip roast, sirloin roast and rump roast.
Step by Step- Preheat oven to temperature listed in the chart below.
- Season beef.
- Place roast, fat side up, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan.
- Insert a meat thermometer into thickest part of roast.
- Do not add water, do not cover.
- Cook roast in preheated oven until internal temperature reaches 8-10 degrees below desired doneness (see chart for cooking times). The temperature will continue to rise when the roast is pulled out of the oven.
- Let roast stand 15 to 20 minutes before slicing or serving.
Beef Cut Weight Oven Temp. Approx. Cooking Time Standing Rib Roast 4 to 6 lbs. 325° F 26 to 30 minutes/lb. Standing Rib Roast 6 to 8 lbs. 325° F 23 to 25 minutes/lb. Standing Rib Roast 8 to 10 lbs. 325° F 19 to 21 mintues/lb. Ribeye Roast, boneless 3 to 4 lbs. 350° F 23 to 30 minutes/lb. Ribeye Roast, boneless 4 to 6 lbs. 350° F 18 to 20 minutes/lb. Ribeye Roast, boneless 8 to 10 lbs. 350° F 13 to 15 minutes/lb. Round Tip Roast 2 1/2 to 4 lbs. 325° F 30 to 35 minutes/lb. Round Tip Roast 4 to 6 lbs. 325° F 25 to 30 minutes/lb. Round Tip Roast 8 to 10 lbs. 325° F 18 to 22 minutes/lb. Tenderloin Roast 2 to 3 lbs. 425° F 35 to 40 minutes total time Tenderloin Roast 4 to 6 lbs. 425° F 45 to 60 minutes total time Top Loin 4 to 6 lbs. 325° F 17 to 21 minutes/lb. Strip Loin Roast 6 to 8 lbs. 325° F 14 to 17 mintues/lb. Top Sirloin Roast 2 to 4 lbs. 350° F 16 to 20 minutes/lb. Top Round Roast 2 1/2 to 4 lbs. 325° F 25 to 30 minutes/lb. Top Round Roast 4 to 6 lbs. 325° F 20 to 25 minutes/lb. Top Round Roast 6 to 10 lbs. 325° F 17 to 19 minutes/lb. Tri-Tip Roast 1 1/2 to 2 lbs. 425° F 30 to 40 minutes total time Eye Round Roast 2 to 3 lbs. 325° F 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hrs. total time
- Is there another name for this steak?
- Many cuts have several different names and the meat case can be very confusing. To ease any confusion, the chart below matches traditional beef cuts with their “also known as” names.
Beef Type Steak Name Also Known As Short Loin T-Bone Steak Porterhouse Short Loin Tenderloin Steak Filet Mignon, Fillet Steak, Chateaubriand Short Loin Top Loin Steak, boneless Strip Steak, Kansas City Steak, New York Strip Steak, Ambassador Steak, Boneless Club Steak, Hotel-Style Steak, Veiny Steak Short Loin Top Loin Steak, bone-in Strip Steak, Sirloin Strip Steak, Chip CLub Steak, Club Steak, Country Club Steak, Delmonico Steak, Shell Steak Rib Ribeye Steak Beauty Steak, Delmonico Steak, Market Steak, Spencer Steak Plate Skirt Steak Fajita Meat, Inside Skirt Steak, Outside Skirt Steak, Philadelphia Steak Plate Hanger Steak Hanging Tenderloin, Butcher’s Steak Hanging Tender Flank Flank Steak Flank Steak Fillet, Jiffy Steak, London Broil Sirloin Sirloin Steak Flat-Bone Steak, Pin-Bone Steak, Round-Bone Steak, Wedge-Bone Steak Sirloin Top Sirloin Steak, boneless Sirloin Butt Steak, London Broil Sirloin Tri-Tip Steak Triangle Steak Round Round Tip Steak, thin cut Ball Tip Steak, Beef Sirloin Tip Steak, Breakfast Steak, Knuckle Steak, Sandwich Steak, Minute Steak Round Round Steak Full-Cut Round Steak Round Top Round Steak Top Round London Broil Chuck Top Blade Steak, boneless Flatiron Steak, Book Steak, Butler Steak, Lifter Steak, Petite Steak, Top Chuck Steak Boneless, Blade Steak Chuck Shoulder Steak, boneless Clod Steak, English Steak, London Broil, Shoulder Steak Half Cut Chuck Chuck Arm Steak Arm Swiss Steak, Chuck Steak for Swissing, Round Bone Steak Chuck Chuck-Eye Steak, boneless Boneless Chuck Fillet Steak, Boneless Steak, Bottom Chuck, Boneless Chuck Slices Chuck Chuck Mock Tender Steak Chuck-Eye Steak, Chuck Fillet Steak, Fish Steak, Chuck Tender Steak Chuck Chuck 7-Bone Steak Center Chuck Steak
- How do I cook a Prime Rib Roast?
- The following basic recipe is for a 4 pound beef rib eye roast, also known as a prime rib roast.
Combine 2 cloves of garlic, crushed (or use crushed garlic from a jar), 1 tsp. Salt, 1 tsp. Cracked black pepper and 1 tsp. Dried rosemary leaves, crushed. Press evenly onto roast. Place on rack in shallow roasting pan. Insert meat thermometer so bulb is centered in thickest part, not resting in fat. Do not add water or cover.
Roast at 350° for 18 to 22 minutes per pound for medium rare to medium doneness. Remove roast when meat thermometer registers 135° F for medium rare, 150° F for medium. Remove roast from oven and let stand for 15 minutes before slicing or serving.
- What is a beef tri-tip roast?
- A beef tri-tip roast is a boneless cut of beef from the bottom sirloin. It is also called a triangular roast because of its shape. Tri-tip roasts weigh 1-1/2 to 2 pounds and are about two inches thick. The roast can be cooked whole or cut into steaks. The roast can be marinated for flavor, but tenderizing isn’t necessary. Roast it. Grill it. Broil it. You can’t go wrong with this cut.
- What is Texas Barbecue?
- If you had one word to describe Texas it might just be barbecue or BBQ. And Texans would probably agree that Texas BBQ is a big, juicy brisket cooked sloooowly in a smoker over wood coals. Just add some beef back ribs, sausage, beans and potato salad and you’ve got real Texas BBQ.
However, although most Texans can agree on what Texas BBQ is, we don't necessarily agree on how to prepare it, much less spell it. From dry rubs to wet mops, from woods to sauces, many Texans have their own secret recipes that make their BBQ the best.
If you’d like to try a few of our Texas BBQ recipes, go to our Recipe Book.
- What are beef quality grades?
- There are eight quality grades for beef that can be assigned by a USDA grader, but only the top three are generally used by grocery stores and restaurants: Prime, Choice and Select. Factors considered by the grader are meat color, firmness, texture, age and marbling. Marbling is responsible for the flavor and juiciness of the meat. The more marbling present in the meat the more flavorful and juicy the product. Therefore, the Prime grade, which has the most marbling, is followed by Choice and Select.
- How can I make beef jerky at home?
- Here is an easy version to start with. You'll need 1 pound beef flank or round steak, soy sauce, garlic salt and pepper. Trim all visible fat from the steak. Slice with the grain into 1/8-inch thick strips. Dip strips into soy sauce and place them on a wire rack over a shallow pan; season with garlic salt and pepper. Place in oven at 140°F to 150°F and cook for 8 to 10 hours or until dry and chewy. If using a food dehydrator, follow directions from manufacturer. Once dried, place in 325°F oven for 10 minutes to ensure food safety.
Another method is to slice and then marinate the beef for 3 to 4 hours in the following marinade: 1 tsp. Liquid smoke, 3 tsp. Soy sauce, 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce, 2 tsp. Water, 2 tsp. Salt, Coarsely ground pepper to taste, 1/4 tsp. Hot pepper sauce. Then follow the above directions for baking.
Tips:- Put beef in freezer for 15 minutes prior to preparation to make it easier to slice.
- When baking, keep oven door slightly ajar so jerky will dry and not cook.
- Store jerky in a sealed container in the refrigerator for food safety purposes.
Food Safety
- How long can I keep my meat in the refrigerator and/or freezer?
- Keep the refrigerator setting at 35°F to 40°F and the freezer at 0°F or below.
Beef Type Refrigerator (35°F to 40°F) Freezer (0°F or colder) Steaks and Roasts 3 to 4 days 6 to 12 months Ground Beef 1 to 2 days 3 to 4 months Cooked Beef (leftovers) 3 to 4 days 2 to 3 months
Beef Nutrition
- I know beef is nutritious, but what are the leanest cuts of beef?
- There are at least 29 cuts of beef that meet the government labeling guidelines for “lean” and that includes some of the most popular beef cuts like tenderloin, t-bone steak and 95% lean ground beef. When shopping for beef, a good rule of thumb is to look for the word “round” or “loin” in the name.
Beef’s leanest cuts have only one more gram of saturated fat than a skinless chicken breast and provide more nutrition and taste per serving. Just 3 ounces of cooked lean beef has:- the same amount of Zinc as 14-1/2 (3oz.) servings of salmon
- the same amount of B12 as 6-1/2 (3oz.) servings of skinless chicken breast
- the same amount of Iron as 2 3/4 cups of raw spinach
Complete listing of lean beef cuts 
About the Checkoff
- What is the music in the "Beef. It's What's For Dinner" commerical?
- Rodeo by Aaron Copland.
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