Best Meat to Use in Beef Stew
You won't notice a heartier and more homey meal than a well-prepared pot of beefiness stew. The rich, thick broth with tender pieces of beef and potatoes is a perfect weeknight and repast prep option during the colder months, and it's what I whip upwardly in my dutch oven more annihilation else.
There are two great advantages of making stew: you lot can add just virtually any veggies yous desire to it, and the payoff is huge for the relatively little work y'all have to put in.
But, simplicity is not without constraints! Making some proficient decisions upfront with your stew volition brand sure it's "cook-in-your-mouth" delicious instead of "dried-and-tough" attempt-again.
Then, with that in mind, we're going to cover:
- What beefiness stew is
- The best cuts of meat for beef stew
- Best practices for choosing beef stew meat
- Pro tips on cooking beef stew
- Our favorite beef stew recipes
What is beefiness stew?
Beefiness stew is a combination of beef and vegetables stewed in its ain gravy for hours and typically served with bread.
Stew is ofttimes cooked in big batches and tends to utilise a combination of potatoes, carrots, celery, and onions, although any other veggies are fair game. It's also popular to flour and sear the beef earlier stewing and use red wine to deglaze the pot.
With beef stew, almost annihilation goes. As long as you lot make a rich, thick goop and have beef, you're set. And because beef stew is such a proficient foundation to build upon, you'll see all sorts of worldly variations, including everything from back-scratch beef stew to Korean beefiness stew.
The best cuts of meat for beefiness stew
When information technology comes to beef stew meat, the tougher and more than collagen, the better. This may seem counterintuitive, but when y'all cook a tender piece of meat like ribeye or tenderloin for an extended catamenia of time, the lack of fat makes the result dry and tough.
Collagen are the tough protein strands found more oftentimes in the most-used (and therefore muscular) parts of the steer. As you stew tough cuts of meat, all of that collagen dissolves and seeps throughout the cuts and into the stewing liquid itself. That means all of that delicious meaty flavor and gelatinous texture from the collagen permeates the stew.
It's the same reason nosotros choose briskets for smoking and BBQ — it takes time to make these cuts tender, but the result is incredible.
When going for collagen-rich cuts, this is the shortlist:
- Chuck roasts
- Circular/rump roasts (excluding center of round)
- Brisket
- Short ribs
- Oxtail
There are other collagen-rich cuts of meat, but these are the best bang for your buck with beef stew.
Chuck roasts
The nigh popular and economic cut by far are the chuck roasts. These come from the chuck primal, which is located in and around the shoulder of the steer. Because the steer uses these muscles constantly during its life, they are total of that delicious collagen, and their relatively cheap cost makes them a standout selection.
Round roasts
Coming from the rump, or round primal, round roasts are some other expert choice for beef stew. Stay away from the middle of round, since information technology doesn't take the same amount of collagen equally other round cuts because it comes from the centre (eye) of the rump, simply the bottom and superlative of circular roasts are both adept options.
Brisket
Brisket is famous for its flavor and thick, strandy texture. There are two chief cuts of the brisket: the point and the flat. The apartment has less fat and doesn't break down every bit well, so go for the betoken cut (popular for its classic pot roast strandy texture). Keep in heed that you'll get a different texture with the betoken brisket. It will be thinner strips instead of chunks.
Short ribs
Short ribs are more expensive than chuck and come from the plate key, which is on the underside of the cow. You lot're paying for bone weight here and have to selection out the bones at the stop of the stew, but the result is an incredibly meaty flavour. If you aren't in a hurry and are having what I similar to call a "slow food" solar day, and so go for this.
Oxtail
Similar to short ribs, yous become a lot of os weight hither, but the flavour of oxtail is unmatched. You'll have to pick out the bones and spend a little more fourth dimension preparing, but information technology is an amazing gustatory modality that'southward worth the endeavour.
Best practices for choosing beef stew meat
Here'south how to brand certain the stew meat you're getting is as good as it gets.
Don't skimp on quality.
The first dominion for getting the best cut of beef for beefiness stew is to commencement with the best beefiness.
This won't ever be an pick if y'all're trying to save coin, but by choosing the right beef provider, you tin can dramatically enhance the quality of your meal.
The best beef producers use 100% grass-fed beef, avoid hormones or antibiotics, and don't utilise pesticides, herbicides, or bogus fertilizers.
We were founded in 2000 in Monticello, Missouri (pop. 98) by visionary farmers, who saw that big-business concern cattle-raising practices were taking a toll on our animals and our wellness.
By returning to rotational grazing practices that are good for the planet and good for our cattle, we introduced a new generation to the unmatched taste, tenderness, and healthiness of 100% grass-fed and grass-finished beef.
If you want to see what all that quality and care tastes like, go some of our amazing stew meat shipped to your door right at present.
Don't trust "store-prepared" stew meat.
Stew meat at supermarkets is unremarkably a combination of trimmings and cuts, and that means they could have different cooking times, textures, and flavors. That's not e'er the case with specialty producers, but with lower-quality meats, you may run into some problem.
Stew meat is convenient, but if you lot want to have the all-time possible meal, it's better to choose your own cuts and so yous take absolute control and consistency.
Combine like cuts.
Just like chili, cooking stews with a combination of meats is a absurd manner to get a varied texture. The fox is to pick cuts that have like stewing times and cutting them up in similar sizes as all-time you can.
How to cook beefiness stew like a pro
Here are some tricks of the trade from our team of pro beef eaters.
Flour and sear before you stew.
Searing your beef earlier you stew is the surreptitious to rich season. Searing initiates the maillard reaction, which is when sugars in the meat caramelize and chocolate-brown. Here's how to go the perfect sear on your beefiness:
- Pat your cuts dry.
- Cut them into cubes.
- Toss them in flour and salt.
- Drop into the pan without overcrowding.
- Brown on as many sides as possible.
Stagger vegetables based on cooking time.
Calculation in carrots at the showtime of a 3-60 minutes stew will go out them practically dissolved in the gravy. For potatoes and carrots, aim for nearly half your full cooking time. For nearly other veggies, become for about 45 minutes out. The timing depends on the size of your slices and the types of veggies you're using, and then it may take some time to become just right!
Don't overcook your stew.
Overcooking means mushy veggies and drier meat. Virtually cuts only demand two-3 hours to get perfectly tender, and then keep a shut centre on information technology afterwards a few hours.
Sense of taste as you go.
Equally your beefiness and veggies stew, they volition selection up more and more of the flavor that the broth has, so taste your goop along the way to run across if it needs more salt, pepper, wine, or vinegar!
Apply your ain beef stock.
Saving beef bones and making your own stock is the secret weapon behind then many restaurants' beef stew recipes. It adds that actress bit of depth that packaged goop lacks. Catch some beef bones or salvage some from your side by side roast to take your stew to the outer limits.
The all-time beef stew recipes
Now for the tasty part. Hither are five amazing beef stew recipes to go motivated.
1. Amazeballs Beef Stew
With a name like that, how can y'all resist trying this beef stew recipe? The clever part of this "amazeballs" recipe is the addition of coconut milk. It won't overpower the flavor of the stew, and it gives it this astonishing sweetness and velvety texture.
2. Most Incredible Beef Stew
If yous want classic beef stew, and nosotros mean that in the best fashion possible, then go with this recipe from BellyFull. By using traditional veggies, worcestershire, bouillon, and beefiness broth, y'all end up with the exact flavor y'all're imagining in your head when you lot think of beefiness stew.
3. Curried Beef Stew
If you lot're looking to add a bit of Indian complexity to your stew, bank check this curried beefiness stew recipe out. Information technology uses macadamia nuts, fish sauce (sparingly!), and curry powder to take your beef stew and push button it into back-scratch land. Take hold of some fresh naan and cook up some basmati rice for the all-time results.
4. Best Always Beef Stew
Just like chili, anybody seems to remember their beef stew recipe is the best, but this recipe from Damn Delicious may be correct. Nosotros're ever a fan of a skillful wine deglaze, and this recipe calls for that along with using cremini mushrooms to give some vegetable hardiness as well. You'll love this one!
five. All American Beef Stew
Serious Eats is commonly right about most things cooking, and this beef stew recipe is no exception. If y'all enjoy nerding out nearly cooking, then this is the recipe for you. Information technology goes into scientific detail about each attribute of the stew and adds clever umami-boosts and ingredients to import some of that actress stew oomph you're looking for.
The bottom line
Over half the battle is won by the decisions you make before you lot step into the kitchen. If you buy from a beef provider who follows the most natural and healthiest raising practices and cull a cut based on the best practices mentioned in a higher place, and so you'll exist well on your way. And if you tin can't decide, go for a chuck roast!
Happy roasting!
Nathan Phelps
Nathan Phelps is a author, upstanding foodie, and outdoors-aficionado hailing from Nashville, TN. He splits his time between helping sustainable businesses find new customers and managing his e'er-increasing listing of hobbies, which include playing guitar, blistering bread, and creating lath games.
Source: https://discover.grasslandbeef.com/blog/best-meat-for-beef-stew/