Stew Meat

quote:

---

Any suggestions?

---

Pressure cooker.

I put mine in a ziplock bag and use a tenderizing mallet. Makes the pieces tender after cooking for a couple hours.

I buy a whole roast and cube it up myself. I try to get consistently sized cubes so they cook at the same rate. How long are you cooking the meat? My wife cooked a cut-up chuck roast in the crock pot one time and it came out chewy. Any meat can be over cooked. I cooked a beef stew with a rump roast last week: browned the meat, cooked in a 300 degree oven for about 2.5 hours. Meat came out fork tender (but had great marbling to begin with)

quote:

---

didn't think it was worth the shelf space, may have to re-think that.

---

Amazing the stuff you can cook with one.

EDIT: I'm assuming by "pressure cooker" you're talking about a crock pot???

I was really responding to Geauxtiga.

I buy very lean stew meat at Calandro's and cook on the stove for 2 1/2 hours.

It's a Pioneer Woman recipe and it's delicious. Spicy Stewed Beef with creamy cheddar grits. I cut back on the chipotle peppers because it was too spicy. And we love spicy food.

The only way it's not tender is it has not cooked long enough regardless of the vessel. Pressure cooker is quicker than dutch oven which is quicker than crock pot but all need time.

I much prefer chuck roast for beef because it has a bit more fat than rump and stays more moist but it takes a bit longer to get tender. Cut your own and once you do whatever, bring liquid to boil then reduce to low simmer or put in 325 oven or low crockpot. My wife is the pressure cooker of the family and we all get out of the kitchen when she does but a chuck roast takes her about an hour. Mine takes about 3. She can make a pot of red beans in about 30 minutes.

what are you making?

stew = fricassee

it's not hard to tenderize the meat in a Cajun stew. just put it on med/low and keep drinking until it tenderizes.

quote:

---

Try getting a boneless chuck roast and having the butcher cut it up

---

This. Stay away from anything labeled 'stew meat.' I use boneless chuck and cut it up my self. It's really easy. You pay a little more than for 'stew meat' but it's worth it.