How to cook a whole beef rump

Rump is often bought as steaks but when left as whole rump with its border of fat, can be roasted and even used in the slow cooker which produces a rich, bold flavour perfect for casseroles and other slow-cook dishes.

The cut

The whole beef rump is a boneless piece of beef cut from the hindquarter that covers the hip bone. It’s made up of three of the fine rump muscles that do medium to little work, resulting in a mix of textures and levels of tenderness. Full of robust flavour the rump is most succulent and meltingly tender when roasted or diced for slow cooking casseroles.

How to cook

Best cooking methods – Slow Cooking

Remove meat from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before cooking. Trim any excess fat if necessary. Brown meat all over in a frying pan to render down the fat and bring out the rich flavour of the meat. Preheat oven to 200 ºC. Place meat, fat side up, on a rack in a roasting dish cooking for a calculated time as indicated by your recipe, basting occasionally.

A general guide for rump to achieve medium cooking results is to cook at 200 ºC for 20 - 25 minutes, and 25 – 30 minutes for well done. Best results will be gained by testing with a meat thermometer. Internal temperatures for meat when cooked are: 60ºC medium-rare, 65ºC medium, 75ºC well-done. Stand the roast for 15 minutes before carving across the grain into thin slices. Reserve any meat juices for gravy or creams suggested by your recipe.

If using a slow cooker, dice the meat into cubes and coat with flour before browning in pan with a little oil. Transfer to the slow cooker; add cubed seasonal vegetables followed by the liquid (stock, water or wine etc). The general rule when using the slow cooker is 1 cup of liquid per 1 kg of meat. If using a casserole dish in the oven, more liquid can be used to almost cover the meat. Whole beef rump can be cooked on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-6 hours.