topic BEEF STEW FAILURE in Recipes

BEEF STEW FAILURE

Shanus — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 15:44:57 GMT

I usually make beef stew recipes substituting meatballs for stew meat.

Yesterday tried it w/ stew meat and after 2 hrs. on low temp in oven (after dredging in flour and browning on stove), the meat was still tough.

What am I doing wrong?

Re: BEEF STEW FAILURE

dex — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 15:50:21 GMT

I usually pound with a meat tenderizer before cutting up the beef and cook low and slow for about three hours....maybe you need a longer cooking time?

Re: BEEF STEW FAILURE

Imaoldhippie — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 15:52:52 GMT

My experience is that stew meat is very, very tough. I use stew meat, brown it and then put it in my crockpot with beef broth and cook the heck out of it for several hours, or you can boil it on the stove. I generally boil the meat no less than 4 to 6 hrs. Test it to see if its getting tender and if so add the potatoes.

Re: BEEF STEW FAILURE

novamc1 — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 16:02:59 GMT

The "fail" resulted from too few hours cooking what is naturally a tough but very flavorful meat, and maybe a combination of not enough liquid to braise the meat and too low a temperature.

You can easily correct this next time with at least three hours and maybe more, depending on whether you're using a slow cooker or just your oven and what temperature you use. And you have to use the braising method, which means adding some sort of liquid, which might be beef broth or just water or other things.

Look up some recipes on the internet for beef stew---you'll find more than you need.

It takes much more than two hours to make just about any beef roast tender (except rib roasts or tenderloin which should take much less time at a high temp)

Good luck the next time!

Re: BEEF STEW FAILURE

Group 5 minus 1 — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 15:58:21 GMT

I think one needs to add something acidic like red wine, juice, or tomato sauce.

Re: BEEF STEW FAILURE

ECBG — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 15:59:50 GMT

@Shanus So sorry you had that problem. Crock pots break down tough meats with moisture and heat and do best for about 5 hours on low. A splass of wine or a little beef broth will help break the stew beef if you'd like a little richer flavor and is great with a few mushrooms added. I do put my carrots and onions at the beginning (they contribute moisture), add woreschire, a drip of soy sauce, and add the potatoes about the last two hours.

Re: BEEF STEW FAILURE

drizzellla — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 16:03:27 GMT

2 pounds beef stew meat cut into 1 1/2" cubes

2 tablespoons shortening

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 clove garlic

1 medium onion, sliced

1 or 2 bay leaves

1/2 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon pepper

dash ground allspice or cloves

6 carrots, pared and sliced

4 potatoes, pared and quartered

1 pound small onions

3 tablespoons flour

In Dutch oven, thoroughly brown meat in 2 tablespoons hot shortening, turning often. Add 2 cups hot water and next 9 ingredients. Cover, simmer for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally to keep from sticking. Remove bay leaves. Add vegetables. Cover and cook 30 to 45 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.

Slowly blend 1/3 cup cold water into the 3 tablespoons flour. Stir slowly into hot stew mixture. Cook and stir till bubbly. Cook and stir 3 minutes longer. Serve stew

This recipe always worked well for me

Re: BEEF STEW FAILURE

Doc74 — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 16:15:21 GMT

I do the same method as you. For tough meats such as pot roasts ,stews and corn beef I always use the slow cooker. Low and slow.

Re: BEEF STEW FAILURE

bmorechick — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 16:51:33 GMT

like others here, i always, always cook beef stew in slow cooker for at least 4 hours on high and additional 2 on low. i have always used london broil as my meat - i cut it into chucks before adding to the slow cooker and i DO NOT brown it before. i also add a cup of red wine and omg - the meat is so tender it just melts in your mouth - delish hope this helps!

Re: BEEF STEW FAILURE

OKPrincess — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 17:27:27 GMT

I finally quit using stew meat because I couldn't get it tenderized to my liking so I started using ground round or ground sirloin and love. I really like it.

Re: BEEF STEW FAILURE

Zhills — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 17:33:37 GMT

I often buy a chuck steak for stew. Like the flavor. Never had it not get tender enough.

Re: BEEF STEW FAILURE

RedTop — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 19:08:40 GMT

I don’t think you cooked it long enough.

Re: BEEF STEW FAILURE

Nightowlz — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 01:49:34 GMT

If you are simmering on the stove top it can take 5-6 hrs ++.

I always make it in the pressure cooker now since it takes less time.

When I made it on the stove top in a stock pot I would simmer the meat in stock or broth most of the day until almost tender before I added the potatoes, carrots etc. I would simmer until the veggies are tender.

I always browned the meat first, removed from pan to brown the onions before putting the meat back in the pot with the liquid to simmer. Sometimes I would add some red wine.

Re: BEEF STEW FAILURE

Pook — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 22:47:10 GMT

I don't use regular stew meat as I have found it always tough. I use an English cut roast and cut it up and it's always melt in your mouth tender.

Re: BEEF STEW FAILURE

Kachina624 — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 23:23:38 GMT

@Shanus Two words....PRESSURE COOKER.

Re: BEEF STEW FAILURE

Shanus — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 00:02:27 GMT

@ECBG wrote:
@Shanus So sorry you had that problem. Crock pots break down tough meats with moisture and heat and do best for about 5 hours on low. A splass of wine or a little beef broth will help break the stew beef if you'd like a little richer flavor and is great with a few mushrooms added. I do put my carrots and onions at the beginning (they contribute moisture), add woreschire, a drip of soy sauce, and add the potatoes about the last two hours.

@ECBG Thanks for all the advice, but think I’ll just go back to the meatball idea w/ same veggies and seasonings. At my age, don’t want to start purchasing additional kitchen equipment....

Re: BEEF STEW FAILURE

sfnative — Sun, 21 Jan 2018 22:06:02 GMT

@Shanus

I agree with @Kachina624 , in that if you have a pressure cooker, that's the way to go and is also great in terms of energy use.

You didn't mention what else beside the meat was cooking with it. However, as a few others have mentioned, I don't purchase "stew meat" either. Purchase a more expensive cut, then when cutting pieces, make sure you're cutting across the grain of the meat.

Trimming off excess fat is in my wheelhouse, as well as adding one container of Whole Doods low sodium beef stock, with 1/2 c. red wine. Water is always added, if necessary, as cooking continues. My favorite vessel to use is my Lodge dutch oven, because I can brown the meat nicely in it, before adding everything else. "Everything else" also includes herbs of my choice in a cheesecloth bundle and vegetables (which I add later). At hour 3 (on fairly low heat on the range) I add carrots and parsnips and any other root vegetables. 45 minutes prior to serving add potatoes and 2 onions, which have been sauteed in olive oil until limp, 3 cloves minced garlic, salt, pepper and anything else like thinly sliced fennel I might want to add to change it up a bit. I usually serve sometime after hour 4 in the pot, but only after tasting, and may choose to thicken things up with a bit of an arrowroot slurry.

Re: BEEF STEW FAILURE

sunshine45 — Mon, 22 Jan 2018 02:46:37 GMT

i agree with the ladies who said 2 hours is not at all enough time for a stew. a good stew should develop for several hours.....nothing under 3 for sure. i like using a chuck roast and i cut it into large chunks. it is better and more flavorful with a little bit of fat attached to it. i like cooking it in a dutch oven or a covered roaster in the oven and put it on around 325 or 350. i always dredge the meat in flour and seasonings and sear it on the stove first. i then deglaze that pan with red wine or beer and put all of the "yummies" into the pot with the meat. add plenty of onions, some garlic, your favorite vegetables, potatoes. make a brown gravy to pour on top of it once it has cooked for a while and has created some juices.

Re: BEEF STEW FAILURE

EatWell — Mon, 22 Jan 2018 04:02:17 GMT

@Shanus wrote:
I usually make beef stew recipes substituting meatballs for stew meat.

Yesterday tried it w/ stew meat and after 2 hrs. on low temp in oven (after dredging in flour and browning on stove), the meat was still tough.

What am I doing wrong?

@Shanus

Cook it for 4-6 hours at 225 degrees.

Have you tried making bs in a pressure cooker?

Beef stew meat is usually over priced.

Buy a chuck roast and cut into cubes yourself.

Good luck.

Re: BEEF STEW FAILURE

novamc1 — Mon, 22 Jan 2018 12:23:40 GMT

@Shanus

I doubt any of the suggestions posted here in response to your original question require "purchasing new kitchen equipment".

The cut of meat (I prefer chuck roasts for stew), the length of cooking time and whether you add some liquid to the pot are what make the difference between tender and tough.

You can achieve the same results--even with stew meat-- in a slow cooker, oven or stovetop as long as you do moist cooking, long and slow.

Good luck with the next try!