When using stew meat, how do I make it tender?!
When using stew meat, how do I make it tender?
I have the worst luck when using stew meat. It always seems to be better suited to pulling teeth out than for chewing for enjoyment...lol
Is there something I can do to it to make it nice and tender?
When it comes to meats, I am completely hopeless. Please, any suggestions explain in detail.
Thanks!
Answers:
Try this recipe.....and make sure to sear your meat until there is a nice brown crust on the ouside which will help seal in the juices. Also, the key to tender stew is to cook for a good length of time.
INGREDIENTS
2 pounds cubed beef stew meat
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons margarine
1 onion, chopped
4 carrots, sliced
3 stalks celery, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
4 cups water
DIRECTIONS
Dredge beef cubes in flour until evenly coated.
Melt butter in saute pan and saute coated beef cubes until evenly brown.
Transfer beef to slow cooker and add onions, carrots, celery, garlic, bay leaves, salt, sugar, pepper, paprika, cloves, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce. Pour in water and stir.
Cover and cook on Low 10 to 12 hours or on High 5 to 6 hours. Serve hot!!
adding water, and letting it simmer. I usually let the water cook out on low heat and repeat that until the meat is soft to my liking
Stew meat is a tough cut. You need to cook the meat for about three hours (stew in liquid) to bring it to a tender state. This breaks down the tough fibers in the meat. When it is done, voila! tender and delicious.
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
4 scallions, washed and cut in 1/2
2 large cloves garlic
1/4 cup lime juice
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar or Mexican brown sugar
try this over night in a zip lock bag
I think that there are different kinds of meat for different used.
I also think that bioling the meat chuncks for longer would make the meat go softer.
It may also be worth cutting them pieces smaller to.
Ask someone that you know that is good at cooking, or following instructions from a cook book.
when I cook stew meat I put it in a stew pot with no water season it and then chop a small onion over it ,then I put the eye on low heat and let it cook for about one hour .Then I add my veggies and let them cook until they are tender .Try it you will be surprised how tender and juicy it will turn out .
With stew meat: Cover it and cook it in an oven with oil at a low temp about 175 degrees for about two hrs before preparing. This will help you out.
Brown the surface first in a sprayed pan or in a little oil, then cook in liquid to cover it all. The longer you cook in liquid, the more tender it will get.
Usually stew meats are the tougher cuts and need long cooking. I suggest soup, stew, chili or a all day slow cooker to come up with a tender meat. Lots of juice and long slow cooking time will take care of the toughness. Proper seasoning and other ingredients will add the flavor and character. Usually a good bread completes a great meal.
If your using it to make stew then you should first cut it into smaller pieces then they send it about 1 1/2 in squares and flour it with a black pepper and flour mix, brown it in the bottom of the pot with a little vegetable oil, then you start adding your other ingredients. Let it all simmer at least an hour the longer the better. You can also buy a meat tenderizer which is basically papaya, and that works also. Good luck
Use a crock pot -- cook for a long time over low heat. Even stew meat, which is generally tough, will be super-tender when cooked in a crock pot for a few hours.
Well this is what my grandmother did, my mum, aunt and now me. Always tender.
Brown the pieces of meat first - it's called braising. Put it in a large stove top pot. De glaze using some vege-stock or red wine and scrape off all the stuck bits. Add some carrot pieces, turnip and onion cut into 1/4's. Bring the liquid to just below the top point of your meat and veggie mix.This makes your gravy base. Add salt and pepper grounds and about 5 glugs of Worcestershire sauce.
Bring it all up to the boil. Then reduce the heat to the lowest simmer you can on your stove top and let it cook for about 3 hours. Check now and then for liquid level, you may need to add a little water.
You can tell it's cooked and tender by taking one piece and pressing it against the side of your pot. It should flake. If not, it needs a little more time, but still keep the heat really low.
Once flaky - make a mix of flour and water to thicken the juices and boil for about 5 minutes to cook the flour.
If your meat is fatty, let it sit in the fridge overnight before you do the flour mix. This lets all the fat solidify and come to the surface and it's really easy to remove it. Then just bring the stew up to the heat gently and then add the flour/water to thicken.
Hope this helps. Anymore questions, feel free to email me.
Its very simple use tomatoes. The tomatoes have a natural acidity that breaks down the meat fibers and will make a tough cut of meat like stew meat tender. Slow cooking helps,
hence the name, stews are typically a slow long cooking process that allow the flavors to marry and the firmer vegetables and meat to cook.
Stew meat, which is Chuck, is best for dishes that are stewed, like beef stew or braised, like Yankee Pot Roast. The water used. lower temperature and long cooking time work well to break down the meat's connective tissue which will increase tenderness.
Vivi and Melissa have given you good recipes. I don't like turnips so I leave them out and I add carrots cut in large pieces, mushrooms, either cut up in large slices or pieces or if they are the tiny ones I leave them whole, sometimes I add a cut-up red or yellow pepper cut (not green), add a bit of chili if you like it spicy, freshly ground pepper, then I add 1-2 bouillon cubes (beef or chicken or vegetable) depending on quantity of meat, and be careful how much salt you add because the bouillon cubes are salty.
Finally, instead of water I add a bottle of beer. This really tenderizes the meat. Simmer slowly for a few hours.