Silverside substitutes

Not a substitute so much as a translation: it is the same muscle under a different name, so nothing about flavour, texture or timing changes.

Best for

pot roast, slow roasting, roast beef sliced thin, corning and salt beef, braising

Some US butchers break the same primal down slightly differently and sell pieces labelled rump roast or bottom round roast, both of which are close enough to use interchangeably. Ask for outside round if the counter staff know their cuts, since that is the closest name to the British one.

From the inside of the same hind leg, marginally more tender and more uniformly shaped, so it roasts a little more evenly and carves more neatly, but it is just as lean and just as unforgiving if overcooked.

Best for

roast beef, pot roast, thinly sliced roast beef sandwiches, braising

Because it is a touch more tender, top round is the better choice if you plan to roast the meat rare and slice it thin for sandwiches. Cook to 130F for medium-rare and no further. For a long pot roast the difference between the two is negligible.

The leanest and most tight-grained option, with a very clean beef flavour and almost no fat, so it slices beautifully thin when roasted rare and turns dry and chalky the moment it goes past medium.

Best for

rare roast beef, deli-style sliced beef, steak sandwiches, roast beef for a crowd

Only worth it if you roast it rare. Salt it a day ahead, roast at a low 225F to an internal 125F, rest, chill if you like, then slice as thinly as you can manage. Do not use it for a long braise or pot roast, because with no collagen and no fat there is nothing to gain from the extra hours.

The American default for cured beef, and noticeably fattier and richer than corned silverside, so it comes out juicier but tends to shred rather than yielding the tidy pink slices Australian and Irish cooks expect.

Best for

corned beef and cabbage, salt beef sandwiches, boiled dinner, Reubens

Simmer the same way, about 50 minutes per pound at a bare simmer until a fork slides in easily. Buy the flat cut rather than the point if you want slices, since the point is much fattier. If you want the leaner texture of true corned silverside, look for corned round or ask a deli counter for corned bottom round.

A little fattier and slightly more marbled than silverside, which makes it more forgiving in a slow oven, at the cost of a slightly less neat, less uniform slice.

Best for

pot roast, slow roasting, braising, Sunday roast

Note the transatlantic confusion: British rump is a steak from the hip, closer to what Americans call top sirloin, while American rump roast comes from the round and is much closer to silverside. If a British recipe calls for rump steak, buy top sirloin. If an American recipe calls for rump roast, silverside or bottom round is what you want.

Far more forgiving in a long braise because it is full of fat and collagen, so a pot roast made with chuck is juicier and more deeply flavoured, but it pulls apart into shreds and will not give you the clean slices a silverside pot roast produces.

Best for

pot roast, slow cooker beef, braises, shredded beef, beef stew

This is the substitution to make if your silverside pot roasts keep coming out dry, because chuck is genuinely a better cut for that job. Cook it to 200F to 205F internal, well past where you would take silverside, so the collagen fully melts. Just do not expect to carve it.