Round primal · Beef cut guide
Top Round
Top round is a lean beef roast cut from the inner thigh of the round primal. It is the most tender of the round-primal subprimals but still leaner and chewier than any loin or rib cut. Top round is the workhorse cut for deli roast beef, slow-roasted whole beef sandwiches, and lean home roasts. In Canada it is "inside round"; in the UK it is "topside".
Anatomy and naming
What this cut actually is
The round primal is the rear leg of the steer, divided into top round (semimembranosus, inner thigh), bottom round (biceps femoris and semitendinosus, outer thigh), and eye of round (semitendinosus tip). Top round is the most uniform muscle of the three and the easiest to roast cleanly. The trade-off for that uniformity is leanness, top round has very little intramuscular fat and dries out fast past medium.
Most US top round goes into deli roast beef, sliced wafer-thin to mask the inherent chew. Whole-roasted at home it is best at medium-rare and sliced very thin against the grain; thicker slicing or higher cook temperatures expose the leanness. London broil in the US can refer to top round or flank steak depending on the region, the cooking method (high-heat broil, then thin-slice) is what defines London broil more than the cut.
Also known as
Top round roast · Top round steak · London broil (US, ambiguous) · Inside round (Canada) · Topside (UK)
Top Round sits in the round primal, highlighted in red
How to spot a good one
Visual markers
A large, single, uniform muscle with a smooth surface and no visible seams running through
Very little intramuscular marbling, this is normal for the cut
Bright cherry-red lean color, slightly darker than loin cuts
A thin fat cap on one face, often trimmed away
Tight, fine grain visible in cross-section
Cooking, on Pro
Cook top round like its grade
MeatGrader Pro gives you a cooking guide tailored to the exact cut and quality grade in front of you. Temperature, time, primary and alternative methods, resting, pairings.
A USDA Prime top round gets a different guide than a Choice top round, and an A5 BMS 9 wagyu cut gets something else again. Generic recipes do not know which one you have. Pro does.
Free with 3 analyses on signup. Pro is $1.99/month for unlimited analyses + the cooking guide.
How it grades
Grading top round
Top round carries the carcass grade assigned at the ribeye cross-section, but round-primal cuts intrinsically carry far less marbling than the rib or short loin. A Choice top round is correctly graded as Choice on the carcass even though its visible marbling is much sparser than a Choice ribeye. MeatGrader calibrates marbling expectations to the cut and reads the grade off color, grain, and fat-cap quality more than fat density.
FAQ
Common questions about top round
What people ask most about picking, cooking, and grading this cut.
Related cuts
Other cuts to know
Score any top round from a photo
Photograph your top round and see how it grades against the regional system you select.