Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Short ribs for that bone in favor. If your going to use lean meat at least make a stock to use instead of water by using meat trimmings and bones with a Onion not pealed; just halved. Two stalks of chopped celery and water. Make as much as water you need and bring to boil then simmer as long as 8 hrs adding water as needed. I usually brown bones if used to make stock in oven wrapped in tin foil; first to brown the marrow.
You use perfectly good flank steak on stew? What a waste!
Not a waste at all. London Broil is almost always cheaper than packaged stew meat, at least in my neighborhood grocery stores, and I can control the amount of fat I leave on the meat. It is a time saver in that it is already the right thickness to cut up into chunks, and it is always tender in the stew. I have never in my decades of cooking family meals had a complaint, more like lots of compliments on my beef stew. I usually make a good size batch because the leftovers the next day or two taste even better! As everyone else has said, you can use whatever you want if it appeals to you. Why would it be a waste if everyone likes it and it all gets eaten up???
Not a waste at all. London Broil is almost always cheaper than packaged stew meat, at least in my neighborhood grocery stores, and I can control the amount of fat I leave on the meat. It is a time saver in that it is already the right thickness to cut up into chunks, and it is always tender in the stew. I have never in my decades of cooking family meals had a complaint, more like lots of compliments on my beef stew. I usually make a good size batch because the leftovers the next day or two taste even better! As everyone else has said, you can use whatever you want if it appeals to you. Why would it be a waste if everyone likes it and it all gets eaten up???
london broil is more a cooking/carving method than a particular steak
oddly enough, flank steak is the original london broil-odd because its not a thick steak- but it was cut thin against the grain after cooked
top round steak (from an inside round), and shoulder arm chuck steak (from a chuck shoulder clod)are usually called or advertised as london broils in most places today
the top round will be the leanest, the shoulder chuck steak would be the best , still some fat and some chuck flavor
flank steak, which use to be very cheap, is now quite expensive,,,
I cut the meat smaller than most here seem to. I make sure all the pieces in a stew are smaller than bite size. That includes vegetables like potatoes. I don't expect my guests to cut their stew. The actual meat I use is whatever is cheapest. Strangely, stew meat at many supermarkets costs more that roast.
The salt in my stews comes from bouillon. The meat could always use a little help with the broth. If I'm cooking low salt I will use au jus mix, which is not as salty, and use potassium chloride instead of sodium chloride.
Dredge and fry the stew meat if you are starting from scratch, but the traditional recipe for stew calls for left over meat which has already been cooked. Just don't toss raw meat into a stew. Cubed left over roast is fine with no frying.
I have always felt that thickening was optional, though a thickened stew will give the impression of being heartier. Think Dinty Moore. If you are short on ingredients, thickening will help. If you have plenty of grains and vegetables to go with the meat, it's probably not necessary. I use pearl barley sometimes to make a thicker stew.
Short ribs with the bone in if possible. The marrow in the bone makes the stew richer in taste. I have used chuck too, but I prefer the results I get using short ribs.
Now there's an idea I never thought of. You're right, they say that bones make a more flavorful "stock".
I always add a dollop of my "Better Than Bouillon" to any type of soup or stew, even chili, to make sure there is enough meaty flavor. Of course, I do brown my meat, even if I'm putting it into the crock pot.
I buy pot roast (the kind with the mesh string around it). Cut off the mesh, chop the meat into chunks, roll in flour, sprinkle with seasoning salt and garlic, then brown all sides in butter or margarine.
Add enough water to cover, 1/4 cup soya sauce, scrape the bits of meat and flour that are stuck in the bottom, blend, then cover your pot with a lid and boil on low for 3 hours, stirring and adding water if it boils down too much.
How much do butchers charge for an entire cow? My husband is on a medication that causes him to be borderline anemic so we've upped his red meat. I don't have much experience with it though. He thinks we can consume an entire cow (cut up and frozen of course) in six months. I think he's gone off the deep end! More like six years for me. The best news he has gotten in a long time is that he's slightly anemic and can up is red meat, I don't cook red meat but twice a month, now we're up to three times a week.
I went with the rib meat; they're nice and marbled. I'm going to sear it with flour, salt and pepper in olive oil, then use a little beef stock to scrape up the bottom bits. Then will toss it in a crock pot to cook with about 8 cups of beef stock (hope that's not too much), the rib meat, can of mushroom soup, two diced large potatoes, green beans, onion, onion soup mix, garlic, and mushrooms 6 to 8 hours tomorrow. Hope it turns out; thanks for the ideas.
That's a lot of beef for one person in six months. You could probably eat it all if you only ate beef for six months straight. I imagine your digestive tract wouldn't like it very much.
By the way that recipe sounds delicious, I will have to try it!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
