For budget-conscious dwelling house cooks, using stew meat in recipes is a nifty way to stretch a dollar!

From soups and stews to stew meat is cooked low and slow until fork-tender. It'due south perfect for endless recipes merely how do you know what meat is the best?

A steak and cubed stew meat on a cutting board.

What is Stew Meat?

Stew meat generally comes from the tougher, larger parts of animals like cows, elk, deer, or pigs. Beef stew meat typically comes from the large shoulder of a cow, more commonly chosen "chuck". But roast, top and lesser round, tips, and fifty-fifty steak can be used as stew meat.

When purchasing beef stew meat at the store, information technology can frequently exist a mixture of $.25 and pieces left over from cutting up larger cuts of meat into steaks and roasts.

Many dwelling house cooks prefer to utilize chuck because information technology is consistent in cooking time and texture and the results are tender and juicy!

What Kind of Meat For Beef Stew?

For beef stew, there is no better cut of meat than chuck! Purchase a thick chuck pot roast and cut it into chunks for the best tender flavor.

Chuck roast is a tougher cut of meat than sirloin or rib roast which really benefits from pressure level cooking or slow cooking making the best beef stew! Pressure level cooking or slow cooking breaks down tough fibers so the beef pieces become cook in your oral fissure tender.

Stew Meat is also a good pick for the busy and budget-witting melt. As beefiness stew meat tends to exist a mixture of bits and pieces some bits can have a different texture when stewing.

In the paradigm below, the meat on the left is chuck and has consistent texture and marbling throughout, the meat on the correct is purchase stew meat of which some is very lean. I definitely find that chuck is the best for a stew recipe.

Stew meat cubed on a cutting board

How to Cook Stew Meat

Browning in flour adds to the flavor and tenderness of stew meat.

  1. Cut pieces of stew meat into fifty-fifty-sized portions. Remove any big pieces of fat.
  2. Place them in a bowl with seasoned flour and toss to evenly coat.
  3. Saute them in a piffling oil or butter (salary grease adds actress flavor) until browned.

Tips for Browning Stew Meat

  • Utilize butter or oil to coat the pan.
  • Chocolate-brown beef in small-scale batches for best results.
  • Do not overcrowd the pan or the juices will keep the beef from forming a crust.
  • Practice not stir the beef, allow a deep chaff to form before turning.
  • Add together liquid to scrape any brown bits (deglaze the pan) and add them to your recipe. These brown bits are full of flavor.

How to Make Stew Meat Tender

Most beef stew meat comes from the tougher cuts, but that doesn't mean information technology has to plough out tough!

Low and tedious is the proper noun of the game here. Be sure to have acceptable liquid in the pot, casserole dish, crockpot, or Instant Pot and cook information technology for the required time outlined in the recipe! This will ensure the best texture and season.

If your stew meat is tough, information technology well-nigh often needs More time.

Recipes using Stew Meat

  • Crockpot Beefiness Stroganoff
  • Beefiness Tips & Gravy
  • Hungarian Casserole
  • Crockpot Beefiness Stew
  • Beef Stroganoff Soup
  • Easy Bootleg Beefiness Stew
  • Beef & Guinness Stew

Stew Meat on a cutting board with writing

Close up of Stew Meat with writing

beef Stew Meat on a cutting board with a title

before and after cutting up beef for Stew Meat

Holly is a wine and cheese lover, recipe creator, shopping enthusiast and cocky appointed foodie. Her greatest passion is creating in the kitchen and making deliciously comforting recipes for the everyday home melt!

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