My stew meat is tough :( help page 2

[naiadknight]

Honestly, I tend to get it going at lunchtime, come home, add veggies, get shit done around the house and eat around 7.

[CiKi90]

The stew came out great! Thanks for all the tips. I think my new fav meat is buffalo!

[Rhiannon8404]

Just saw this thread this morning...just finished putting my lamb stew meat in the crock pot. Around 4pm I'll put the veggies in and we'll eat around 6. I love slow cooker stew.

[EagleRiverDee]

Weird. My stews never take longer than 2 hours to make the meat falling apart tender. And that's in a pot on the stove.

I'd definitely invest in a slow cooker, though. They are totally worth it. It's so handy to start dinner in the morning and come home to a done meal that's tender and flavorful because everything has had time to blend.

[Rhiannon8404]

Weird. My stews never take longer than 2 hours to make the meat falling apart tender. And that's in a pot on the stove.

Well, it really depends on what you use for stew meat. Traditionally, stew meat is what is left over after other cuts of meat are trimmed. It contains a lot of connective tissue and less tender meat. The "stew meat" that comes with my whole butchered lamb or quarter cow, is just that. Tougher bits of meat, trimmings from the "nice" cuts. I think nowadays, if you go to the store and purchase a package of "stew meat", it is something nicer than that. I've even seen some recipes that call for cutting up steak to use for stew meat.

[sakura_girl]

Will my pork sirloin turn out melt-in-your-mouth tender if I leave it overnight for 10 hours?

[primal_alex]

It is really strange that it takes so much time. In about 2½ hours my stew of beef can be cut with the fork and literally melts in the mouth.
Maybe the cut you chose is much too lean, when I prepare Đuveč with lamb fillet (very lean) I have cook it in a ceramic pot in the oven for 2 hours, then let it cool down slowly overnight, for a total of at least 10 hours.

[Lynna]

I've had grassfeed stew meat come out dry and inedible after 8 hours of cooking and I've had standard grocery store stew meat come out just fine with the same amount of cooking and a similar recipe.

In that one instance, the grassfed had less fat and was also was precut and prepackaged by the butcher, I haven't made stew from grassfed since. I just figured I should try less cooking time for the grassfed or find a fattier cut cut it myself.

[eKatherine]

If you have a lot of really tough meat to cook on a regular basis, you might want to invest in a pressure cooker. That'll fix it.

[ChocoTaco369]

Sear your stew meat at a high heat first. The best way to do that is to heat a cast iron pan in a 500 degree oven for 30 minutes, then transfer it to a burner set on HIGH. Sear your meat for 30-60 seconds on high, then transfer it to a plate. Add it to your stew when appropriate.

Some soups an stews, however, may require a lesser cooking time before adding your meat. Not all stews are hearty chilis that get better the longer you cook them I guess. In that case, oven braise your meat for 3 hours around 325 degrees F in stock before adding it.