Roast beef can shoulder london broil the splurge-worthy centerpiece of a holiday meal or a budget-friendly weeknight dinner. There are almost as many cuts to choose from as there are ways to prepare them. Food Network star and Executive Chef for Omaha Steaks Chef David Rose says roast beef reminds him of family celebrations and the holidays — from smelling a roast in the oven all day to the delicious leftovers. What cut of meat you should use to make roast beef depends on whether you’re looking for a tender, rosy slice of meat or a melt-in-your-mouth bite that’s almost falling apart.

Cuts vary vastly in price and how they’re best prepared, so taking your budget and desired cook time into account is crucial. From cuts you may never have heard of to the best budget and splurge cuts for making delectable roast beef, learn more about the absolute best cuts of meat for roast beef. This well-marbled yet lean cut with a robust beefy flavor has been steadily gaining popularity over the years, but you may be more familiar with tri-tip as a steak than a roast. It has a unique triangular shape and is less common on the shelf at your grocery store because there are only two of these cuts per cow.

Chef Rose is a fan of using tri-tip for making roast beef because it has “great beef flavor at a fraction of the price” of many other cuts. He recommends cooking it between rare and medium temperatures, which is about 125 F to 135 F. Anything higher runs the risk of becoming dry or tough. While it can be roasted in an oven, Rose prefers to grill or smoke this cut, and he says it’s critical to ensure you slice against the grain, as cutting it incorrectly can lead to toughness. Bottom round rump is a traditional cut for making roast beef that benefits from a low-and-slow style of roasting.

This cut hails from the cow’s rear leg and, as such, is a leaner piece of meat. A four-pound bottom round rump roast will provide between eight and ten servings of meat, and it should be cooked at a lower temperature of 275 F to reach doneness between rare and medium rare or an internal temperature of about 125 to 135 F. Keep in mind the internal temperature of the roast continues to rise during resting, so keeping a close eye on the reading and pulling the meat out before it reaches your desired temperature is key. If you’re not a fan of a pink or red center in your roast beef, you may want to give chuck roast a try. While it’s not considered traditional roast beef, Chef Rose says it’s an inexpensive cut that offers great beef flavor. Chuck roast contains a large amount of connective tissue like collagen, which takes time to render but creates velvety-soft meat. It goes by several names, including chuck seven-bone pot roast and beef chuck arm.

Rose recommends braising this cut low and slow as a pot roast or in a crock pot or slow cooker, ensuring you allow the meat enough time to cook gently to prevent it from being dry or tough. Despite being braised in liquid, chuck roast still benefits from a resting period after cooking, just like its leaner, dry-roasted brethren for maximum juiciness. If you’re looking for a lean cut for roast beef on the more inexpensive side, the cylindrical eye of round roast is a delicious choice. Like all round cuts, it comes from the round primal, which is cut from the well-exercised rump and rear leg muscles.

It’s a lean choice, too, since this cut contains just 3. To make up for the intramuscular fat that this potential roast beef cut lacks, a punchy marinade or flavorful rub will help accent the lighter beef flavor characteristic of this cut. Another key to building flavor in an eye of round roast is browning all sides on the stovetop before oven-roasting it slowly at a lower temperature. How it’s cut is also important. Top round roast is another lean cut that works well for making tasty, thinly sliced roast beef. In fact, it’s the preferred cut for making the meat for a Chicago-style Italian beef sandwich. This cut of beef comes from the same beef primal section in the rump and rear legs as the bottom round and eye of round cuts.

Like other round cuts, the top round roast should be cooked low and slow and sliced across the grain. This cut of meat is best cooked to a medium-rare temperature and is regularly used to make the roast beef deli meat you’re familiar with, per Masterclass. Chef Rose says sirloin tip roast is a great and tasty budget cut with the intensely beefy flavor of a pricier tenderloin roast at a much lower cost. This inexpensive cut makes great roast beef because it contains a lot of connective tissues like collagen that create a velvety mouthfeel — without the fat. These tough tissues break down with a low and slow cooking method like braising.