Thread: Have you found . . . . ?

Have you found that using tender parts of an animal, for example rump or back steak, for a stew or curry tends to toughen the meat as opposed to tenderizing it? Whereas, using shoulder meat for these types of meals ends up with a better more tenderized meat? Can anyone account for this, i.e, why this tends to occur? I'm just trying to broaden my understanding of meat, its nature and utility. Your feedback will be much appreciated.

Angus may have some answers here RM??

Less fat? I should know that answer as the son of a former butcher

I haven't noticed that, but I've found for both stews and curries that browning the meat really well first (in a frying pan + hot oil) makes a world of difference. Also (before browning) cutting the meat into small pieces across the grain. Missing either of those steps has lead to some pretty average stews .

(Both the goat back steak I made curry from and the wallaby shin I made stew from in the last couple weeks turned out beautifully tender.)

when you slow cook meet like front shoulder or whatever it breaks down all the stringy sinew crap and basically turns it into jelly, something to do with colagin breakdown blah blah, thats why the usual tough meats turn tender when you slow cook. Not sure why tender cuts would turn tough however

Any of it toughens for a start then tenderises as it breaks down the sinu .
Couple hours reheat the next day makes any stew better i recon

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Originally Posted by Tussock

Sinew turns to gelatin. It goes from incredibly chewy to moist, gooey and delicious when slow cooked in a stew or slow cooker. In contrast meats without a lot of sinew dry out and go tough.

So slow cook the bad cuts and they become wonderful.

It all starts making a lot more sense to me now. Some of my best stews/curries have been with sinewy shoulder meat and the the outer rib flaps cuts.

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

Any of it toughens for a start then tenderises as it breaks down the sinu .
Couple hours reheat the next day makes any stew better i recon

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I think its better the 3rd day but if you can put it in the fridge a few days seems better still .

The front end of the animal does not have the musculature nor the 'work' as much as the rear.

Look at the strength and power of the rear end of these handsome guys...

Red Deer Stags Fighting - YouTube

Originally Posted by EeeBees

The front end of the animal does not have the musculature nor the 'work' as much as the rear.

Don't really agree Eeebees. The muscles that work the most in the majority of animals are jaws/cheek and the heart.

Both very tasty, but needs to be cooked for a long time.

For stews it pays to leave the meat on the bone, and cook all of it - marrow, sinew etc.

Yes ebf, I think I have that the wrong way round!!!

Very simple, tougher cuts are well....tougher because they contain crap loads of connective tissue. When you cook something low and slow in a stew or on the bbq that connective tissue breaks down and basically melts but the proteins are not hot enough to denature and clump together, resulting in water loss and tougher meat.
Cuts from the tender parts of an animal typically do not have nearly the amount of connective tissue or fat and therefore will turn into shoe leather if cooked all the way through as there is nothing but protein and water. Very little fat and connective tissue mean that if cooked for long periods the proteins will simply conjoin and therefore toughen. This isn't so with something like beef chuck as cooking at a low temperature won't allow the protein to conjoin and the fat and tissue assist in retaining moisture. Dry heat is the only way to go for lean cuts, you want as little water loss as possible otherwise things turn ugly.

Hope that helps.

Originally Posted by mattdw

I haven't noticed that, but I've found for both stews and curries that browning the meat really well first (in a frying pan + hot oil) makes a world of difference. Also (before browning) cutting the meat into small pieces across the grain. Missing either of those steps has lead to some pretty average stews .

(Both the goat back steak I made curry from and the wallaby shin I made stew from in the last couple weeks turned out beautifully tender.)

Searing the meat first does two things, the first one is why your meat remains tender.
Searing seals off the outside, greatly reducing loss of moisture. It also creates something known as the maillard reaction which is the conversion of sugars into more complex flavours...doesn't attribute to the tenderness but still groovy to know :p

rubing most meat with a healthy dose of kiwifruit juice and letting it marinate overnight or even a few hours will give you the most tender meat you can imagine.Its an acid so it breaks down a lot of the tougher tissues fast. makes for very tender meat no matter how its cooked after I find. Doesn't really alter the flavor either.