Chewy steak - advice?

fuzzgun19

Hi all,
I'm not good with cooking 'dark' meat, and it nearly always comes out chewy.

I would like to make this recipe -

http://www.itv.com/thismorning/food/brisket-and-porter-pie-neil-rankin-recipe

...but I just know the steak will end up chewy, and I want it to be tender.

The last time I tried to make a steak pie I 'browned' the beef first in a frying pan as the recipe said, then cooked it slowly, but it was still chewy.

Surely 'browning' diced steak will just cook it quickly therefore it will be chewy?

I've bought some stewing steak from a butcher, but need some help!

McpPsl

I never had success with Beef Stew until I adopted the following recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

20g Butter and/or Olive Oil
1500g Shin of Beef, diced
500g Onions, chopped
450g Carrots, chopped
40g Plain Flour
750ml Red Wine
Water
2 Stock Cubes
3 cloves Garlic

METHOD:

1. Heat the Butter and/or Olive Oil in a large pan.
2. Add the Onions, Carrots and Beef and stir until slightly browned off.
3. Add the Plain Flour and stir until everything is coated.
4. Add the Red Wine, Stock Cubes, crushed Garlic and enough water to bring the volume up to about 3 litres.
5. Put the lid on the pan a put it in a oven for about 2 hours or until tender, at 160 Deg C.

Serves 8 at 340 kcals per serving.

Hope this helps.

best wishes.

Oakdene

I made beef stew last night using brisket but I cooked mine (with potatoes, carrots, swede & parnsips) for 2 3/4 hours at 200 and the meat literally falls apart when eating.

Steve059

Cook the meat low and slow.

Cook it in beer or wine, as the alcohol should not only tenderise the meat but also make the gravy nice and rich.

fuzzgun19

Steve059 wrote: »

Cook the meat low and slow.

Cook it in beer or wine, as the alcohol should not only tenderise the meat but also make the gravy nice and rich.

Thanks, so should I not brown it?

FairyPrincessk

Browning the meat helps to caremelize the natural sugars in it which gives it a nice flavour. However, you should really only be browning the outside of it, it should still be completely raw on the inside. I generally toss mine in flour with pepper/seasonings and then brown quickly in a bit of oil. I then cook my stew 2.5-3 hours, check regularly to stir it and make sure there is enough liquid (it is fine if it thickens into gravy you just don't want lumps of meat exposed to air as they will dry out). I always try a bit around the 2.5 hour mark, if it is still a bit chewy then it goes in for longer. It really is how long you cook it!

Steve is right, beer or wine in the gravy will also help to make it tender! Pretty much anything will do.

fuzzgun19

I've just followed your tip FairyPrincessk and sprinkled with flour etc, got the pan really hot until just starting to smoke, and flashed the diced stewing steak trying to cover all areas.
Only had a slight bit of 'colour' but I didn't want to risk cooking longer and it being chewy, I then put into a slow cooker on low along with mushrooms, onion, thyme, stock, worcester, and a bit of black sheep ale.
I'll check in 2-3hrs.. hope it comes out tender.

P.s. If the gravy turns out watery, how can I thicken it without ruining?

Butterfly_Brain

Either add some bisto powder or cornflour to thicken it up. Both will need to be made up into a gloop with cold water, then add some of the hot liquid to the gloop them put into the stew and stir well

FairyPrincessk

Ooh, I hope it works, Fuzzgun! Mine often isn't evenly brown, it really is just a kiss of colour on the edges.

I haven't done it in the SC in ages, I'd follow Butterfly Brain's advice on thickening as it will definitely need it in the SC. It also may need a bit more extra time in the SC than in the oven, I can't remember as it has been so long. It should come out nice and tender and it will smell lush in the mean time! If it isn't tender when you check it at 2 hours, then I'd put it on high for the rest of the time, which is still cooler than a 180c oven. HTH.

Chris25

If I cook diced brisket in the slowcooker, I keep it in there for about 6 hours.
If i used the oven (which I don't tend to), I think I'd leave it for about 2 - 3 hours

Fuzzgun, did you heat the liquid before putting it in? i can't help thinking that if you keep it in the SC on low, for only 2 -3 hours, it's not going to be tender - sorry

FairyPrincessk

That might be your answer if you're doing it in the SC as it seems Chris has found it needs much, much longer--any chance you could either switch to the oven for tea time tonight or make it for tea time tomorrow?