Trader Joes Fully Cooked Sirloin Roast
I love that Trader Joe’s does so much R/D work to bring new products to the public. Wandering around a store the other day, I found their 1# “Fully Cooked and Seasoned Organic Beef Sirloin Roast,” and was eager to try it.
At $8.99 for one pound, it’s a little spendy, but most things in TJ’s are, by today’s grocery standards.
Mrs. BDB justifies the stop for our grocery budget by pointing out a) the quality (we have never had something from TJ’s that we didn’t thoroughly enjoy), but b) also because the portion sizes are usually just perfect for the two of us, no fuss, no muss, no waste, and NO LEFTOVERS!
The USDA has strict standards for organic certification these days. As this package seal doesn’t say “100 % organic,” it means at least 95% of the contents are.
According to the USDA plant number on the package, this entree is produced for Trader Joe’s by Sommers Organic, an organic meat processor in suburban Chicago. You SHOULD be able to find their products at a store near you, using their locator, but since they still list Wild Oats as an outlet, this database hasn’t been updated in some time.
When you open the outer packaging, you are presented with a vacumn sealed beef roast, and a variety of cooking options, including boil-in-the-bag, roast in the oven, or microwave. Since I generally don’t like microwaved entrees (just not to my palate), I opted for the boiling method, the instructions are: 5 cups of water to a boil, put unopened bag in the water and reduce to low for 10 minutes, remove pouch from water and let rest for one minute (you should ALWAYS let beef rest after cooking, and before slicing).”
This product didn’t really appeal to us, it has that taste of previously frozen beef (kinda reminds one of cafeteria roast beef), and it wasn’t a solid piece of beef, it was a rolled roast, maybe even flank, as the tactile experience was uneven – some pieces were very tender, others really chewy.
But I was curious to try it, and did. Here’s what the finished product looks like, right from the heat, when sliced.
For more Trader Joe’s reviews, read about their Wild Mushroom Flat Bread, or Mushroom Pizza,