Dry Beef In Soup Question?!
Answers: I keep cooking beef vegetable soup in my crock pot. I've tried browning the chunks of beef before adding it, but they still are dry. I don't understand how chunks of beef and be dry while surrounded by moisture. I've tried everything I can think of here. Any ideas?
Try using these cuts: Beef Shanks or Ox Tail (It's just a name..it is beef). They are a "tough cut" of meat but they are perfectly suited for "braising" (cooking in liquids...low heat for 3-4hrs. Some cuts of beef are really just too lean to cook for any extended period of time. This can happen with chicken as well. If you poach a skinless chicken breast properly you get great results. However, if you boil the same skinless chicken on high heat for an extended period of time it can "dry out" too. A fat source (skin/fat) is needed, not just a soup base.
I promise you'll get the results you are looking for by using these cuts in your soup! The meat will just fall off the bone if you use them and cook them just right. At authentic Mexican restaurants, beef shanks are the #1 meat source for their delicious "Caldo de Res" soup. The Chinese prefer both cuts in their stews/soups.
This can depend on the cut of beef. Round tends to dry out once cooked to a certain point (no matter how much liquid surrounds it); Chuck does better. Any meat when over-cooked can be dry ... even in soups. The best can be ground beef or the little cubes of stew meat at the grocery if it is Chuck.
Good luck!
It depends on the cuts of beef