Cooking beef roast for wife's birthday (now) - HELP!!!

[BusyBee]

Hi,
I bought a 1.5kg outside round roast to cook for my wife's birthday (today) and froze it immediately when I brought it home a week ago. I thawed it in the fridge overnight but it still was frozen today so I put it in hot water (still in it's wrapper) for about 35 mins to thaw it out (seemed to work just fine).

Anyway, I'm in the middle of cooking it but in the water there is this "scum" which looks like gray cobwebs. I've cooked roasts before (a few) and never seen this.

Does anyone know what this "scum" is and if it's safe to eat? I'm about 1.5 hours into cooking this and would like to know soon since if something is wrong I'd have to trash that and order out (or something ).

I'll try to attach a picture of it but since I'm new I don't know if the forums will permit new members to post attachments.

Thanks in advance

 

[kitchenelf]

Well, Rule #1, #2, and #3 is - Never, ever, ever, thaw something in hot water. Always use cold water. Cold water is still warmer than "frozen".

I, personally, wouldn't eat it but that's just me.

You say "in the water" but your picture shows "on the grill"

I'm confused. When was it cooking in the water? Meats and poultry will produce "scum", which is just that, scum. It should be skimmed off and thrown out. But, like I said, your picture shows "on the grill".

 

[keltin]

Hi,
I bought a 1.5kg outside round roast to cook for my wife's birthday (today) and froze it immediately when I brought it home a week ago. I thawed it in the fridge overnight but it still was frozen today so I put it in hot water (still in it's wrapper) for about 35 mins to thaw it out (seemed to work just fine).

Anyway, I'm in the middle of cooking it but in the water there is this "scum" which looks like gray cobwebs. I've cooked roasts before (a few) and never seen this.

Does anyone know what this "scum" is and if it's safe to eat? I'm about 1.5 hours into cooking this and would like to know soon since if something is wrong I'd have to trash that and order out (or something ).

I'll try to attach a picture of it but since I'm new I don't know if the forums will permit new members to post attachments.

Thanks in advance

That scum is natural, and you see it very often when boiling chicken. It’s basically blood proteins and fat. A natural part of the meat, so nothing to worry about. Since this was frozen before and then thawed for cooking, the “liquid” in the meat is a bit more mobile so this is to be expected. No worries; it’s natural.

You want to skim that off and trash it though or it will taint your sauce and dish.

 

[keltin]

Well, Rule #1, #2, and #3 is - Never, ever, ever, thaw something in hot water. Always use cold water. Cold water is still warmer than "frozen".

I, personally, wouldn't eat it but that's just me.

You say "in the water" but your picture shows "on the grill"

I'm confused. When was it cooking in the water? Meats and poultry will produce "scum", which is just that, scum. It should be skimmed off and thrown out. But, like I said, your picture shows "on the grill".

It appears to be on a meat rack inside a roaster with liquid added.

 

[BusyBee]

It's actually throughout the water but just "clung" to the rack - which is what the instructions said to use, a rack so I bought a pot that came with one :/

I suppose I put too much water in - it said "1cm of water" but it didn't state whether the bottom of the meat should be covered in 1cm of water (which is what I assumed, and did).

The rack and pot was clean (I scrubbed it well as I'm a bit of a clean freak).

Perhaps thawing it in the hot water was a factor in the "scum"? Because I've never seen this before cooking a roast (and I've always bought the same type).

Anyway, I guess I can just skim it off, correct? The roast smells good. I was just worried it had gone bad or something (even though I froze it immediately when I got home).

Thanks all for your replies

 

[Alix]

I think you will be fine, but in future, use cold water to thaw the meat. Hot water is just not terribly safe. The microwave is a viable alternative, but you run the risk of cooking corners of the meat and generally not having it work as well. Enjoy your dinner. Happy Birthday to your wife.

 

[BusyBee]

Thanks all. Dinner was great and the wife loved it so I'm happy

PS - I didn't make any gravy due to the scum stuff - I bought instant gravy

 

[Dave Hutchins]

Next time feed it to your cat they love it

 

[kitchenelf]

Next time feed it to your cat they love it

BusyBee - Dave is talking about the scum, not your roast

 

[Smylietron]

Thank goodness, that seemed like an out-of-left-field comment otherwise...

 

[GotGarlic]

Hi,
I bought a 1.5kg outside round roast to cook for my wife's birthday (today) and froze it immediately when I brought it home a week ago. I thawed it in the fridge overnight but it still was frozen today so I put it in hot water (still in it's wrapper) for about 35 mins to thaw it out (seemed to work just fine).

If it was only in the hot water for 35 minutes, that's not long enough to make it go bad. And then you put it right into a hot oven to cook, so that process should have killed any bad microbes that might have been present. So I wouldn't worry about it

 

[GotGarlic]

I suppose I put too much water in - it said "1cm of water" but it didn't state whether the bottom of the meat should be covered in 1cm of water (which is what I assumed, and did).

Usually if the food is supposed to be immersed in liquid, the recipe will state that; otherwise, added liquid should just be put in the cooking vessel in the stated amount. Also, roasting is a dry cooking method, so the food shouldn't be in liquid; cooking in liquid is braising. HTH.

 

[MamaJones]

Next year, put the roast in a crock pot and pour in a can of beer. Delicious and lots easier. Make some mashed potatoes to pour the sauce over. And yes, the scum is normal when you have liquids in contact with raw meat. The liquid thins the blood left in the meat and it drains out rather than being seared into the meat as it would if you grilled it. It's safe.