Beef top round steak

Top round is the American name for the cut usually sold as topside in the UK. Ask your butcher for a steak cut from topside if you want the closest match.

It’s lean, so avoid cooking it for too long over direct heat. For a steak about 2 cm thick, fry in a very hot pan for roughly 2–3 minutes per side for medium-rare, then rest for 5 minutes and slice across the grain.

It works well sliced thinly for a steak sandwich, beef stroganoff or a quick stir-fry. Serve with chips and peppercorn sauce for a straightforward steak supper.

Keep it covered on the bottom shelf of the fridge, below 5°C, and use it by the use-by date. Freeze it before that date if you won’t cook it in time, then defrost it in the fridge.

Topside steak is the closest UK substitute. Rump steak also works for pan-frying, though it has a little more fat and a fuller flavour.

A whole, intact steak can be served rare if its outside has been thoroughly seared; this kills bacteria on the surface. The Food Standards Agency advises cooking rolled or mechanically tenderised beef thoroughly, as bacteria can be carried inside.

Top round steak is leaner: it has 1.6 g of fat per 100 g, compared with 5.6 g in rump steak.