Stewing Beef...How To Make Tender

Red_Doe

Lurking in my freezer are some small bags of stewing beef. I`m a lousy cook, in general, but given our extreme financial circumstances, have to make the best of this.
There are about half a dozen bags of beef, small bags, but the OH isn`t so keen on beef stew mainly because every time I make it, the beef is so tough, stringy and take ages to chew!
Can anyone give any info on how to tenderise cubes of stewing beef please? Should I beat the hell out of it with something? Or is there a foolproof way of cooking it so it becomes tender and not like hard rubber?:o

ETA..I`m snowed in still, and haven`t got a huge stock of sauces or spices so any recipes need to be very plain. Got tatties, frozen veg, cornflour, um...*thinking*...stocks (beef, lamb and veg) soy sauce, dry mustard and that`s about it.

picnic

how long are you cooking it for? the longer the meat is slowly cooked the better. do you have a slow cooker? if not put it in a cassarol dish with water and oxo and cook on low for 6+ hours... thicken the gravey with a little gravey granuals.... hope that helps..

uropachild

^^ What they said.

We buy the cheapest ever cuts of meat, but by the time they've been in our slow cooker all day they always fall apart. Lush!

pollys

I agree if you have a slow cooker meat is always tender.

Pollys x

valk_scot

Long slow cooking is the only answer. I don't particularly like slow cooked food because it all tends to taste pretty similar but whatever recipe you use, cooking it in the oven for 4 hours at gas mark 2 or 3 will make it very tender.

For beef one of my favourites is to lightly brown three or four onions cut in quarters, dredge the beef (use about a pound to a pound and a half (500-750g ) of diced stewing beef) in seasoned flour (flour with a shake of salt and pepper added) and brown in an oven proof casserole dish , add a tin of chopped tomatoes and either a tin of Guinness or 1/3 of a bottle of red wine, add some thickly sliced mushrooms, some peeled carrots cut into one inch lengths and some baby potatoes, add just enough water to almost cover the lot, bring to the boil, stir well, stick in oven at Gas mark 2 for four hours. Great one pot meal. If the lid of your casserole dish isn't a good fit put a sheet of tinfoil over the top of the dish before you put the lid on.

If you don't have spare booze use extra water plus a shot of Lea & Perrins sauce or soy sauce or an oxo cube or two. Any brown beer will work as well as Guinness or wine though. You can use chunks of parsnip or any root veg, or if you don't have any veg other than frozen leave the veg out and have frozen veg on the side. You do for preference need the onions however. If your potatoes are large cut them in half but just scrub, don't peel them or they'll go mushy in the gravy.

chivers1977

I do Beef with guiness which seems to tenderise the dodgy bits of beef that I buy into something special. I don't have a SC as I don't like them but this just goes in the oven for at least 2 hrs......

http://www.weightwatchers.co.uk/food/rcp/index.aspx?recipeid=7014622

haha SNAP Val!!

Pont

Ditto the last two posters. Adding some booze always seems to work for me.

OrkneyStar

I don't use a slow cooker but I do cook for a long time and fairly slowly after an initial boil.
Basically I brown the meat off, add to boiling water, bring to boil again, cook for a good hour on a med heat, add carrots, onions, seasoning, other raw veg, cook for another hour or so until veg soft, on a med-low heat. Leave to sit for a while to allow it all to come together. Alternatively I add cooked meat to warm stock and cook in oven for 2-3 hours on med-low, adding veg for last 3/4 hour.

Linda32

Hi, I use a little bit of red wine as well, not alot only about half a small glass to 1 or 2 oxo cubes. I brown the meat first.

Cook at gas mark 4 for 2 hours. This seems to work for me, and I'd notice if the meat was tough, I struggle with bacon rind

amibovvered

I always do stewing beef in the pressure cooker, for at least an hour before I add any veg. The meat is so tender it breaks up and everyone always asks for seconds!

:santa2:

[Deleted User]

I love my SC in fact I have two of them and wouldn't be without them.I literally just flour and brown slightly in a small frying pan then chhuck into the slow cooker with carrots onions and any root veg I have chopped up in cubes (spuds,parsnip,swede) some chopped celery from freezer and a few mushroom In fact by the time I put in the gravy made from a deseart spoon of bisto powder and two crumbled up oxo cubes there is very little room left I like to have a big vat of meat and veg and I put it on overnight ,just before I go to bed.in the morning the meat is falling apart
oh and I also love to chuck a dollop of lazy garlic in as well just for a bit extra flavour.If I am making a pie with some of the meat I will chuck some red wine in,but not more than a small glass as I prefer to drink it :):)
I love the gravy to be nice and thick and gloopy .A platful of this casserole with cramy mashed spuds and some buttered cabbage is a real tummy warmer on a cold day.I find that if I swap my meals around when its cold and have dinner at lunchtime and a light sandwich in the evening I seem to keep warmer when its cold, plus its not sitting on your tummy when your watching t.v.