Beef Too Tough in Slow Cooker
There's nothing more decadent than fork tender beef that melts in our mouth. But your meat may turn out to be tough and untearable due to cheap cuts or lack of cooking skill. Nobody would want to hurt their jaws with such chewy and overcooked beef that has an unpleasant rubber-like texture. Solution? Fix Tough Meat In Slow Cooker immediately.
Now you might be wondering how to fix tough meat in slow cooker. Don't sweat it, because we got a perfect way. Without further ado, let's get started—
How To Fix Tough Meat In Slow Cooker
There are multiple methods of fixing tough meats, like a pressure cooker, slow cooker, or even by thinly slicing the beef! After giving all the methods a try, we must say the slow cooker had the best outcome in terms of flavor and taste. Here is how we do that in the slow cooker—
Add Enough Water
In order to build a liquid environment, your slow cooker requires water, and that may be beef or veggie broth, wines, or water. This does not mean that the beef must be sunk; because the pot is sealed and fluids remain trapped inside a cup or two of liquid would be adequate.
If you really want the meal to be saucy, or you make a curry, put enough stock in the crock pot to get around 1/3 of the way up on the beef. This helps it to sear, not steam, your beef. Steaming makes beef chewy and hard!
Take Your Time
Half the way through, check the pot. Don't open the lid, though. Doing so causes heat and moisture to flee, leaving your food's texture at risk.
Cook Slowly
Place your beef on the crock pot's bottom, so it's nearest to the heating element. Add your remaining components and fluids and set your appliance to "low." Prepare to cook for 6-8 hours. Breaking down the soft tissue and fats, this long slow cook produces deliciously tender and moist beef.
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How To Reuse Tough Meat?
Well, tough meat doesn't mean that it has turned to be inedible. You can convert it to thousands of delicious preparations that are easy to make and tastes delicious. Your guest won't even realize the dishes were made from overcooked meat. Curious? Let's check out some recipes—
BBQ Pulled Beef Recipe
Making pulled beef from your tough, overcooked beef is really a risk-free approach. It doesn't take that much time and the taste is mind blowing. You can use any cuts of beef for this recipe.
To start, take your overcooked chuck roast in a slow cooker and add beef stock to it. Make sure to add enough stock to submerge the piece. Set your cooker on low and cook it for 6-8 hours. Keep an eye on the cooker so that the liquid doesn't dry out.
After 6-8 hours, you will see the beef has cooked through and the meat is literally falling apart. Now take a meat shredder and shred the meat. Then again transfer it back to the slow cooker.
Now add BBQ sauce according to the quantity of your meat. Put enough sauce to coat the shredded meat. Now put it on slow for around 30 minutes. Again, be careful not to dry out the beef too much.
After 30 minutes you are done! Serve it with your favorite type of bread to make a pulled beef sandwich. Enjoy with your friends and family.
Beef Stew Recipe
Did you know your overcooked, tough beef chuck roast can be transformed into a hearty and scrumptious beef stew? It's really healthy and nutritious. You can enjoy it with mashed potatoes, or ladle it over some garlic butter tossed spaghetti. Interesting, right? Let's get into the recipe!
To start, dice your chuck roast to 1.5 inches cube, and dice up carrots to the same size. Now, heat up your pan and add finely chopped garlic, onion, and celery and saute it a little. Then add some red or white wine and let it reduce.
When they are halfway reduced, add a generous amount of tomato paste and saute it for a minute or two. Now add some tomato sauce as per the amount of your meat. Don't forget to season properly, add a bay leaf too.
When it comes to a boil, add the beef pieces to the pot. Now transfer it to your slow cooker and let it cook on low for 4 hours. Keep an eye on the cooker so that it doesn't stick to the pan. Add beef stock if the pan dries out.
After 3 hours, open the lid and add diced carrots. You can also add potatoes if you want, but only carrot is fine in case you serve it with mashed potatoes. Now keep cooking the stew for an hour.
After an hour, you will see the liquid has reduced to a gorgeous sauce. And the beef is also fork tender. Check for salt, and turn off the cooker if it's perfect indeed.
This beef stew certainly is our favorite on chilly nights. The leftovers make a really fancy beef pot pie or also an Australian meat pie. So we say this is indeed a genius kitchen hack to reuse tough and overcooked beef roast.
How To Avoid Tough Meat
Transforming tough meat into other recipes isn't always an option, especially for special occasions where everything needs to be perfect. So you need to avoid your meat getting tough and overcooked.
Now the question is how can you avoid tough meat? Well, the answer can be given in many ways. If you want to know too, read on—
Choosing The Right Cut
One of the most common mistakes in cooking beef is selecting the wrong cut. Every cut of beef is intended for different types of preparations. Like prime rib makes the juiciest roast, filet mignon makes the best steak, and tenderloin also makes the softest beef roast.
You need to set your preferences for an optimum result. For that, you certainly can ask your meat butcher to know better about your meat. They will also guide you to find the perfect cut for your recipe.
Using A Meat Thermometer
Now there's a glitch of cheap and expensive cuts of beef. Obviously, not everyone can afford expensive cuts like filet mignon. But you can still cook a delicious and juicy steak by using just an additional accessory.
A meat thermometer is certainly the best way to ensure the perfect doneness of your beef. You can poke the probe right into the meat and check for doneness. Trust me, it will be even better than a filet mignon.
Maintaining The Heat
Maintaining heat is another important thing you need to keep in mind. The heat should be neither too much nor too little when you are baking it in an oven. A 320 to 350 F temperature on your oven is indeed perfect to ensure a perfectly juicy roast.
In the case of pan searing, you will need to keep the flame on high. So you need to keep track of the time then. Also, determine the time of searing according to the thickness of the meat. Don't keep the meat on the heat for too long, or it will be tough.
In Conclusion
So we hope this post has provided enough information on how to fix tough meat in slow cooker along with some extra tips and tricks. Make sure you follow these tips the next time you're in charge of flipping the steaks. Happy cooking!
Source: https://koppliance.com/how-to-fix-tough-meat-in-slow-cooker/
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