Stewing steak - cooking disaster again

Food & Drink, Events and Entertainment
1
So I bought a beautiful chunk of meat, waved the magic wand with the V-Zug oven, and out it came, lightly brown on outside, nice and bloody but piping hot in the middle. Perfection. Until it came to eating time - tougher than old boots.

A closer inspection of what remains of the label it was wrapped in - speidfleisch? (hard to tell, the wine dregs messed up the label ink).

Anyways, I can only presume now that I've been slaving over a hunk of stewing steak, despite its wonderful appearance.

My question. Short of putting the whole lump through a mincer, is there any kind of cooking I can do to redeem this bit of beef? Eg: cut into cubes, into the slow cooker for 2 days with a sauce?

2

Could it be Siedfleisch?

I ́d slowcook it, my experience is that tough meat gets nice and soft in the crockpot. Never did that with already cooked meat though

3
Yes, siedfleisch it likely is. I'll try cutting the outside bit off which is cooked, the rest is raw, albeit it has been heated up. It's a couple of kilos of beef, I'm loathe to chuck it out! Thanks!

4
Put in a bit of vinegar? That softens the meat as well. In my country we have something called "draadjesvlees", yum yum

Seems to be exactly right for your piece of meat :-)

http://www.thedutchtable.com/2014/01/draadjesvlees.html

5
As you say, cut it into cubes and make a nice slow-cook beef bourgignon with it.

6
Siedfleisch - even when chunks - needs >3hrs - ideally 4hrs to be cooked to tender. Get it right and it is great.

I cooked a kilo in Guinness on Sunday - delicious.

7
OMG mouth is salivating. Parking my work for this morning to go try this right now! I'm not usually allowed in the kitchen (have the culinary prowess of a.....an idiot) so am hoping I can redeem myself before the OH finds out what I've done!

8
when we were children, we always tried to get as much between our teeth as possible good old times.

9
That's pretty much the braised beef my dear old departed mum used to cook. Comfort food absolutely.

10
I would leave the outside bit on. It, in effect, is sealed on the outside. You have a few options: On the stove in a pot with a liquid. It will make a great soup, for instance. In the oven, in a pot, also in a sauce. A curry or a stew, for instance. Lastly, if you have a pressure cooker, 45 mins-1 hour should render it completely tender. Some other tips because I do use this cut quite often:

I make stews and curries in the oven in a cast iron pot. I set the oven at about 140 degrees and then leave it in there until tender. 4-6 hours. This method is completely foolproof. The only downside is that the sauce tends not to reduce and if you want that then at the end, remove the meat and blast the sauce, or with curries, I add a handful of lentils, which suck up the sauce and which is delicious. I often use the cut to make a spicy pasta sauce: On the stove with pasta sauce, liquid and lots of chillis. Cook until the meat is tender (2 hours/ish) and the sauce has completely reduced (almost to a paste) and then add in half a tub of mascapone.

11
I can right now feel the feeling when that happened! :-)

12
Ditto on this. I always use rinds-ragout cuts of meat and they turn out beautiful in the slow cooker.

13
You seriously telling us you paid the butcher for a piece of beef that size without getting a bank loan and thought you had topside or filet of beef or something? Some mothers do 'ave 'em.

14
As you found out by trial and error it is not suitable as a roast.

Either simmer, slow cooked stew, or bake like brisket.

Denner has an perfect piece of "Fleisch zum Sieden" for the last method.

Traditional Swiss is simmered with vegetables, served as a soup with horseradish.

https://www.migrosmagazin.ch/kochen/...ch-mit-gemuese

15
Like I noted, I'm not usually allowed in the kitchen. I'd fished this lovely bit of meat out of the freezer after our last bulk buy at the butcher - for sure the OH had plans for it, but the best laid plans of mice and men.....and interfering wanna be cooks!

16
This meat, as many have mentioned before me, is usually simmered for ages.

Siedfleisch means meat= Fleisch for simmering=Sieden ( NOT boiling!!)

A typical Swiss dish would be 'Suppe mit Spatz' or 'Pot au feu', this meat turns out better if you give it the time it really needs to be done and don't speed up the process with a pressure coooker or something similar.

Here's an old NST column of mine, hope it helps

January marks a new beginning. Resolutions for the New Year have been made. If they are to be kept, is written on another page in the book of life ;-) However, money’s usually tight after having splashed out for gifts and food the previous month. So why not make a hearty soup such as a POT AU FEU. Because all of the ingredients are cheap and in season, this will give your wallet a much earned rest.

This is a mix between soup and stew.

750gr(24oz) lean beef for braising in one piece (Siedfleisch)

200gr/7oz carrots, thickly sliced

500gr/1lb potatoes, halved

1 medium onion, cut in quarters

1 medium head of celeriac, cut in quarters

1 medium head of white cabbage, cut in quarters

4 green leeks, cut in finger long pieces

2 leaves of laurel/ bay leaves

4 cloves

10 dried peppercorns

salt

Optional 4 bones with marrow (Markknochen)

In a big cooking pan with a good matching lid, bring to a boil about 11⁄2 litre (2.6 pt) of water.

Add the meat, the bay leaves, the peppercorns and the cloves. Cover and let cook for about an hour.

Spoon off the foam that has formed on the top and add the onion, leeks, celery, and white cabbage. Bring to a boil and let simmer for an additional 11⁄2 hrs.

Add the carrots and potatoes. When the potatoes are nearly done, add the bones with marrow and season to taste with salt. Remove the meat and cut it in slices. Serve this as a soup with all contents still remaining in the pot OR remove the vegetables and serve the broth first, followed by the remainder on a separate plate.

©sylv1999-2017

The Austrians have a similar famous dish of simmered beef meat, called TAFELSPITZ, which is traditionally served with horseradish and apple sauce (Apfelkren)....yumm ymm

Alternatively, another option would be SIEDLFEISCH SALAT, you simmer the meat until done, then cut into very fine batonnets and make a Vinaigrette with loads (in my case) of onions, pickled gherkins, fresh herbs. Put the meat lukewarm into the vinaigrette and let sit for at least an hour or two and you'll be rewarded with a really yummy dish!

If you want more info shoot me a PM.

Cheerio

EE

17
Good tafelspitz uses a good cut of meat - with the meat being plunged into an icebath after cooking - before slicing - adding to the pot and serving.

18
I really don't understand couples who operate under such silly rules. Your OH should be teaching you to cook and helping you to build the confidence to select and cook decent food, not keeping you in the dark. Of course that is assuming you want to learn, also...

19
You are English, right?

Maybe you should reconsider all this cooking thing.

20
Its hyperbole!

I'm not allowed in the laundry room