What makes Beef chewy?

Question

After 14 years being vegetarian, I'm now eating meat. My sunday dinners are always spoilt by my inability to cook a joint of beef properly..it always seems chewy. Am I cooking it too long?

Rico... don't you mean 'your'? Loser

Answer 1

what you have to do is, get your joint of beef, with the least amount of fat, get a bit of tin foil, wrap it up but not tight make sure it is loose so air can get in, put 75ml of water in with the beef, cook on the lowest heat about 50C or gas mark 1-2.
cook for about 3 hours nice and slow, the lkast half an hour take the foil away, the juice in the foil use that to make your gravy, then place the joint in the roasting dish and cook on gas mark 3 for half an hour about 100C, this being a joint of beef costing between £6 and £8. leave to sit for about 20 minutes to let it relax, before carving. HOPE YOU ENJOY!!!

Answer 2

good luck, To see if the beef is cooked to your liking insert a thin skewer into the thickest part of the joint and press out some juices: the red, pink or clear colour will indicate how much the beef has cooked. When it is cooked to your liking, remove it from the oven, transfer it to a board and allow it to stand in a warm place for up to an hour, loosely covered with foil, before carving – to let all the precious juices that have bubbled up to the surface seep back into the flesh. Also, as the meat relaxes it will be easier to carve. Some of the juices will escape, though, and these should be poured into the gravy. The finishing touch is to serve the succulent beef

Answer 3

Cooking it too long. Ideal is 20 minutes to the pound plus 20 minutes, that would be medium rare. Also you need to cook it and then remove it from the pan to rest for 20 minutes covered with tin foil. Meat is a muscle and if you imagine yourself when you have been burned, your skin and muscles tighten up as a reflex action! The same goes for the meat.

While you are resting the meat you should remove all but a couple of table spoons of the fat, scrape the bottom of the pan, but not so much as to scratch it to get the nice flavourful bits up, add a little flour and fry that - I use two rings - then add some stock or wine, depending on your preference, and seasoning boiling this and stirring all the while until smooth and thickened.

This can be put in a flask or heated gravy boat to keep warm.

Another way to keep it moist, and non chew is to put it in the slow cooker, with veggies and very little liquid so it sits on the veggies and slow cooks it. For browning it can be flash fried before going into the slow cooker or baked for about 20 mins on high, after.

Welcome back to the real world!

Answer 4

It all depends upon the cut of beef you buy. If you buy topside it is generally a bit chewy even when rare. The ideal beef joint should be medium rare so that its still pink in the middle. Buy a sirloin joint next time and taste the difference. If that is too expensive then try a pre-prepared joint - all already to roast in a foil dish - these tend to be tenderised. The other alternative is to change from roasted joints to a pot roast and cook it long and slow until tender.

Answer 5

Actually it is because you are not cooking LONG enough....
(* unless it is a tenderloin or prime rib that you are cooking med rare)

Beef gets super tender the longer it goes....
I like to :
A: Put it in a slow cooker... and let sit all day..
4 hours on high or 8 on low.. If you are unsure about ammounts of seasonings... get a season packet.. ( where they have all the dry powder like sloppy joe, spaghetti sauce... etc.. foolproof and easy directions... I used one 2 weeks ago with my crock pot beef stew.. when you are in a hurry.... its a great help)

B. What Puerto Ricans call Guisdao.
Basically stewed meat. I like to use beef stew meat and boil the heck out of it... Usually the first hour or so.. with some simple seasons... When it is time to add more water.( also cooking another hour... total.... 2.5.... I add some garlic, tomato sauce, (*spanish seasons.. adobo/ sofrito/sazon) But if you do not have that is fine also... you can add some quartered potatoes the last 30 min.

With tenderloins I like to tie them , if it is long I will fold it in half... it helps keep meat together.. tenderness and such... broil or grill!
I am also including a link I found while stumbling it is a womans blog about her tenderest STEAK!!

http://steamykitchen.com/blog/2007/08/28/how-to-turn-cheap-choice-steaks-into-gucci-prime-steaks/

Answer 6

Kez,
Sprinkle with salt and leave for about 30 Min's before putting in the oven. I use a Le Cruset covered dish and I also, put a tiny drop of water in the with the meat and cook on Gas mark 5 for about and hour or two depending on size I dont use 20mins per lb or anything like that. Also leave to rest before you carve. your meat should not be chewy no longer.

Answer 7

Yes beef becoming too chewy is mostly down to cooking it for too long.
for the best results on cooking beef go to a cookery website to find out the times per pound/ounce of beef it should be cooked for.
or you could experiment cooking a rare steak and see how that compares in chewyness - rare steak isn't chewy at all unless the steak is tough, then it will be something to do with the type of beef your buying.
hope i helped you.

Answer 8

its not how you cook it. i read a book on the science of cooking and its the fibres of the meat what makes it chewy but if you slice the beef with the grain {the same way the fibres go, it should reduce it being chewy ...or use steak and a tenderisor

Answer 9

Maybe it is the muscles in the beef that makes it chewy. You can marinate the beef with raw papaya before cooking it. The enzyme, papain, in the papaya will soften the meat and make it more tender.

Answer 10

Beef Tips and Techniques: Easy How-To Cooking Tips & Advice: RecipeTips.com
... are delicious when grilled, but they will become very tough if cooked too long. ... Careful inspection of beef in the United States makes it safe to eat. ...www.recipetips.com/kitchen-tips/t--109/beef-tips-and-techniques.asp - 77k - Cached
Home Cooking, - Recipes
Long braising of oxtails makes the meat fall off the bones. ... It's well worth the time to make this beef tenderloin sauce using kirsch cherry ...homecooking.about.com/od/beefrecipes/r/index.htm - 23k - Cached
Grilling Beef: Easy How-To Cooking Tips & Advice: RecipeTips.com
... shape, which makes slicing much easier after the meat is grilled. ... are delicious when grilled, but they will become very tough if cooked too long. ...www.recipetips.com/kitchen-tips/t--366/grilling-beef.asp - 88k - Cached
Science of Meat: What Gives Meat its Flavor?
However, if marinades are left on too long, the acids can "cook" the surface, ... throughout their flesh; it isn't stored in pockets as it is in beef and pork. ...www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/meat/INT-what-makes-flavor.html - 20k - Cached