When you are cooking a beef roast you need to know which cut to choose, depending on how you want to serve it: Sliced or shredded.

The meat that comes from the front end of the carcass such as Chuck Roast, Brisket , and Arm roast shred easily and don't necessarily slice up well in to thin uniform slices. These front end cuts are best slow-cooked, or braised. When they are cooked this way they are tender, and the meat falls apart readily and comes off of the bone with no effort.

If you want to serve roast beef in slices, you'll want to cook it quicker and at a higher temperature and have several different options.

The best and premium cuts of roast are from the mid section of the carcass. Standing Rib Roast, is of course from the rib area, and is a high-end roast that is commonly used for special occasions. If it comes from a carcass that is graded USDA Prime it is known as Prime Rib.

Sirloin Tip Roasts (also known as Tri-tip Roasts) come from the area between the ribs and the hip, and lend themselves very well to slicing.

Other back end roasts that work very well for slicing come from hip and thigh, and consist of Rump Roast, Pikes Peak Roast, or Round Roast.

There are several different cut of roast that can come from the Round section: Eye of round can be quite tender, and can cook up much like whole tenderloin, and in fact is sometimes called the "poor man's tenderloin". (See our tip from 10/31/2007)

Other roasts from the round section include: Heel of Round, which is the back of the thigh, or Bottom Round Roast which is to beef what the equivalent cut of what ham is to pork.

Roast are a delicious and economical way to feed many people, and when you serve grass fed beef roasts you can feel good about all of the health benefits you are reaping.

If you like to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in the traditional way, with corned beef, boiled potatoes, and cabbage, I would suggest that you slow cook a Diamond F Brand Beef 100% grass fed and grass finished chuck roast in place of the corned beef.

Commercial corned beef is full chemicals that I personally wouldn't want to ingest. In the old days, making corned beef, in a salty brine, was a good way to preserve beef without refrigeration, but the modern day commercial product that you can buy at the grocery store is nothing like the old recipes.

It's easy to start a roast first thing in the morning and have it ready when you come home from work. You can use the slow cooked roast recipe on our Grass Fed and Healthy web site.

Of course, if you're like most people and only celebrate St. Patrick's Day with whiskey and/or beer, you can disregard this message!

Whether you celebrate Easter, Passover, Equinox, or rabbits symbolizing fertility, try a delicious and elegant meal with our herb encrusted sirloin tip roast. It's easy, delicious, and can serve a large number of people.

Our Sirloin Tip Roasts are large, between 8 and 10 pounds, and are perfect for large gatherings or celebrations. The recipe below is simple and works well with any of your favorite side dishes.

• Thaw sirloin tip roast for 2 days in refrigerator
• Rub entire roast with olive oil
• Rub entire roast with salt, pepper, rosemary, and thyme to taste
• Sear outside of roast on grill, grilling on four sides
• Place on wire rack in roasting pan in 350 degree oven
• Using meat thermometer, remove from oven when center is 130 degrees F