cookin beef

[anderlee]

Do you need to buy a expensive piece of beef for it to be smooth and soft after cooking or is there a special way to cook beef?? Everytime I buy supermarket brisket it becomes chewy when you eat it. Whats the the best way to avoid chewy/tough beef and get nice soft meat ???

[Kim A]

As a general rule, the more expensive the cut of beef, the shorter time it needs to be cooked for. if you want a soft stew, you need to use something like shin or skirt and cook it slowly for a long time (2-3 hours in the oven or on the hob and longer in a slow cooker - at any rate, it needs a low temeprature. if you want a soft to eat steak, then buy the best you can afford, let it come to room temperature before you cook it. then get your griddle or frying pan or grill really hot, season the sterak and slap it on. cook it for however long you think it need depending on thickness (cook it on both sides), then take it off the heat, put it on a warm plate and cover it with a bit of foil and a teeatowel for about 6 minutes to let it rest. That shuld do the trick!

[Kim A]

Sorry for spelling mistakes - i'm having a bit of trouble with my brain at the moment!

[whiffey]

Buy a slow cooker !

I had the same problem of an aversion to chewy tough beef. A slow cooker cost me �25. I cook beef, any cut, in a whole bottle of red wine with chopped carrot, swede, and turnip. If you cook it long enough it will FALL apart with tenderness.

Same result with gammon and bacon joints.

[Kleiber]

Hi, hon., - brisket is a good cut, in that it's cheap & also full of flavour. It's a bit tough, though, so you need to cook it long & slow (i.e. on a low temperature). What I do is brown it first in a bit of oil(in a frying pan or heatproof casserole dish) on the top of the hob, then, as whiffey says, put it in a casserole dish, if you haven't got a slow cooker (get one - they're brilliant!), with a good slug of red wine, abit of pepper to season & maybe some herbs. Turn your oven down to about Gas2 (160 C) & cover the casserole with a lid or tinfoil & pop it in, in the middle of the oven. Depending on the size of the joint, cook for 3 or 4 hours(keep checking & test it with a knife for tenderness). You'll know when it's done cos it'll just give way under the knife. Trial & error will get you cooking perfect beef!! K xx

[quizbabe]

When I buy Brisket I do it two ways. I put it in a pan cover with water and bring to boil then simmer until almost cooked. Then I leave overnight and the next day I put it into a roasting tin with a little of the water two oxo cubes and some onion and carrots and roast until cooked. It's delicious. The other way I cook Brisket is to put it into a roasting tin with a can of John Smith's, oxo cube and a little water and cook really slowly if it needs topping up top up with either water or beer. Half way through cooking add carrots and onions. Last weekend I boiled the meat on Saturday then Sunday wrapped it in tin foil and finished it on the BBQ. It was also delicious.

[O'Reilly]

Brisket is great if browned first then put in a casserole dish on top of browned cubed tatties, onions, carrots, parsnips and swede. Just add a bay leaf, a teaspoon of sugar and a pint of guinness. leave it cooking low for about 4 hours and you have almost the Londoners boiled beef and carrots. The brisket will fall apart when you dish it up.

[beerbelly]

Agree with Whiffey , 8 hours in a slow cooker . no liquid needed as it will create it's own , which i use for the gravy .
perfect every time !!!!!

[indianwells]

Yep, as everyone has pointed out, long and slow, long and slow. That applies for other things too!!!

[funnygirl]

Indianwells, we are talking about cooking!!!!!

[indianwells]

I know, I was talking about other meat like lamb and pork! How very dare you!!! Pfffft!!

[indianwells]

We need smileys on this forum!

[Lindt21]

a couple of you suggest cooking on LOW in the slow cooker, I have done casseroles on Low and find that it isn't quite hot enough and the veg is still quited hard even though it has been on for about 10 hours so always use auto.

I bought an 800g of brisket today to cook in the slow cooket tomorrow and was going to leave it on auto all day, will it get over cooked it will be on from 7 am to 6 pm?

[mikey4444]

Pot roast, everytime...it never fails.