What cut of beef to use for Indian curries?
I am wondering what part/cut of the animal is best to make Indian/Pakistani dishes like curries, Biryani, fry etc.
This post says Chuck steak. But wanted to get more opinions.
Which cut of beef should I use in a curry?
Edit: I come from India and I know for a fact that any meat dish (even fish sometimes) is cooked atleast for 30 mins unless pressure cooked. There are very few exceptions. The problem arises because the wide variety of cuts available in the westerm parlance is simply not used in those countries, you just go to the butcher and ask for meat. So the question is more about buying beef in the western context, where you can only buy a specific cut and what you choose might affect how the curry turns out. Also its a misconception that beef is not preferred in these countries, especially Pakistan, Bangladesh, and many parts/cultures of India(ex:southern, eastern states) etc. I updated my wording in the above question to make it more clear. Thanks!
Best Answer
Supermarkets often just quote braising or stewing steak without detailing which cut. Any of those will work. Don't bother to trim the fat, it will disappear during the cooking.
The idea is to start with the opposite end of the scale from what you would consider a good quick-fry steak. You want the 'stringy' stuff, lots of collagen, something that will improve over 4 hours or so of gentle simmering [or 10 hours in a slow cooker]. Any meat that is good for a quick fry will be like dry bullets, tough as old boots after so long at a simmer. A coarse stewing meat will be just coming to its best. Don't let it bother you that these are the cheapest cuts you can get, it's what works best for any long-cook dish. By the same token you'd use chicken thighs not breast for a long cook.
See also What is the best cut of beef to use for stews? - which comes to the same conclusions.
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Quick Answer about "What cut of beef to use for Indian curries?"
We recommend choosing a chuck steak. Chuck steak is perfect for your every curry need. It is a well-used cut that comes from the shoulder of the animal and, while lean, it has a high content of collagen, a good amount of marbling and low external fat.Is beef used in Indian curry?
Using Beef in Indian CookingThe use of beef in Indian cooking is fairly limited. And due to religious reasons there are many regions of India where it is actually illegal to eat beef.What meat can you put in a curry?
- Go for flank or chuck steak. You'll hear it referred to often as 'stewing steak' or 'braising steak' too. ...
- With chicken, you can't really go wrong. Chicken breast is the obvious choice. ...
- The best lamb cuts for curry tend to be those that most would consider low quality.
How do you tenderize beef for curry?
Yes, in curry and stew/gulash you use low quality (it's not actually low quality per se, it's just more dense and more chewy onto itself) meat. And then you STEW the meat for few hours. You try to fry it for few minutes. If you want to have a stir-fry you need to cut the meat even thinner.EASY BEEF CURRY RECIPE
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