Why does my chopped beef come out too tough?
Whenever I try cooking chopped beef for stews or curries, I can't seem to get it right: It always comes out too tough and tastes like dog food.
I usually get beef labeled "for stir fry" or "for stew". It comes pre-sliced, and it seems like it's pretty good quality.
I pat it with paper towels to get excess liquid off, season with salt and pepper (like one would with a steak), put it in a pan over medium high heat with oil until it turns brown. At the end of this, I try tasting and it comes out inedible.
Is there some trick to cooking beef like this - is the important thing here how long it's cooked, or the seasoning, or how lean the beef is? Or is it a combination these?
In response to comments: I live in the southern US. I buy meat from the supermarket; the quality has been very good for steaks and burger patties, but with stew beef I am somehow having this issue. I haven't tried just buying a good steak and chopping it up myself, I'm asking here about beef that is already chopped in the package.
Best Answer
As Raditz_35 mentioned in his comment you prepare the meat in different way than you want to. 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. Think paper thin. Then you fry on very high heat with high smoking point fat.
If you want to make a stew/curry you need to follow the recipe. Almost all recipes I've encountered counted the time of in hours or stated "simmer until beef is tender".
Browning the meat on pan before stewing is important part as it keep all moisture inside the meat so it' not come out dry.
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Quick Answer about "Why does my chopped beef come out too tough?"
Additionally, overcooking meat, even meat that comes from the more tender muscles, can make it tough. That's because heat causes the proteins in the meat to firm up. Overcooking also basically squeezes the moisture out of the meat, making it dry as well as tough.Why is my Diced beef always tough?
Rest your meat No matter how well you prepare and cook your meat, it will turn out dry and tough if you don't let it rest.Why is my ground beef so tough?
Overcooking and undercooking your ground beef could make it so chewy. When beef is undercooked it can be poisonous and could cause stomach upset. The two processes make it hard and chewy. However, you can soften your chewy beef by adding some broth or water.Why is my beef tough and chewy?
An undercooked steak will be a little tough since all the fat has not be converted into flavors and the juice has not started to flow, hence the steak is tough and chewy. An overcooked steak on the other hand, will be tougher and chewier since heat erodes all the fats and juices, leaving it hard.How do you fix beef that is too tough?
Simmer in liquid. Just like for burnt meat, if your meat gets tough and dry then you can simmer it in a little bit of broth for a couple minutes. Don't allow it to overcook again but just allow the liquid to penetrate the meat.How To Tenderize ANY Meat!
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