Recipes

[Shanus]

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?

[dex]

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?

[Imaoldhippie]

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.

[novamc1]

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!

[Group 5 minus 1]

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

[ECBG]

@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.

[drizzellla]

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

[Doc74]

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.

[bmorechick]

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!

[OKPrincess]

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.