Addie
Chef Extraordinaire
Addie, which one do you mean? The first or second picture?
The first one on the left.
Addie, which one do you mean? The first or second picture?
This one looks nice too & it says 'braising steak'...£8.60 a kilo...and it looks less fatty...so I wonder if it's better?
Just read online that braising is more tender and for quicker cooking, whereas stewing steak is for slow cooking. Pretty much all supermarket meat sold in packs here (other than grilling steaks) are either labelled stewing or braising so at least now I know I need to pick stewing...and look for marbling effect which indicates chuck.
It was my first attempt & even though the sauce flavour was tasty the meat had shrunk a lot into small pieces and seem fatty in places (soft jelly type fat) which i didn't like.
The difference between stewing and braising is that braising describes slow-cooking a fairly large piece of meat (generally at least 2-3 lbs.) and sometimes vegetables, while stewing is slow-cooking meat and vegetables cut into bite-size or slightly larger pieces. Tough cuts from the shoulder or rear end are suitable for this; they're tough because they are used by the animal more than tender cuts, such as those along the back.
Shoulder chuck is what I use. Of the two ends of the cut tell your butcher you want the end with the most fat. 'Low and slow' at 200 F is perfect. Any higher than 212 F and the protein strands in any meat will turn into rubber bands. Shoulder chuck has the perfect ratio of connective tissue to fat. Juicy delicious large two inch plus chunks and whole mushrooms the same size. Good for you making sure you added a good wine and not cheap 'plonk'.
I ought to have put a '/' between shoulder and chuck. It may confuse people to use the word "cow" which implies all beef comes from a "cow". When properly used the word 'cow' is used to describe a female bovine creature. Beef 'cattle' is more accurate IMO.Since all chuck comes from the shoulder of the cow, it's unnecessary and potentially confusing to call it "shoulder chuck.". That would be akin to a "leg shank."
Also you may potentially confuse people by saying "Low and slow' at 200 F is perfect. Any higher than 212 F and the protein strands in any meat will turn into rubber bands.". That suggests that actually cooking meat at a temp above 212 will ruin meat, which is absolutely false. A final internal temperature of 212 no matter what temp you cook at may be undesirable but its fine to cook meat at much higher temperatures.
I agree that a stew like BB is best made with a flavorful cut like chuck that benefits from a nice long braise. I do mine at 275.
I think 'sous vide' demonstrates there is no need to roast/cook/stew/braise any meat/protein at any higher heat than the desired finished temperature. A quick sear after the sous vide process adds to the appearance and flavor.
350-450 F oven settings turn the exterior to leather and ironically more often than not leave the meat that is actually in contact with bones deep inside a bird/haunch/roast etc. at unsafe temperatures. This isn't a 'theory' or an 'opinion', it's a cold hard scientific fact. Hence 'sous vide'.
350-450 F oven settings turn the exterior to leather and ironically more often than not leave the meat that is actually in contact with bones deep inside a bird/haunch/roast etc. at unsafe temperatures. This isn't a 'theory' or an 'opinion', it's a cold hard scientific fact. Hence 'sous vide'.