To keep the cooked meat soft. Boiled beef - recipes

Boiled beef does not always turn out tasty and soft (the meat comes out tough, dry and absolutely tasteless). But boiled meat is considered a dietary product, and if a person needs to stick to a diet, he wants to cook delicious dishes.

Can't boiled meat be delicious? As an example, let's try to learn how to cook beef so that it is soft.

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Meat selection

First of all, you need to choose a piece of meat for cooking. Try to find the meat of a non-old animal. Old meat will remain tough when cooked and will never be soft.

It is not necessary to cook the fillet - you can choose a more economical piece: shoulder or brisket.

Cooking process

  • Prepared and washed beef is placed in boiling water - this is done so that more nutrients remain in the meat itself. The top layer of meat, when it gets into boiling water, quickly seizes and forms a protective layer.
  • Then you should slightly salt the water - this will make an additional protective layer and the juices will remain inside the meat, and it will not only be juicy, but also soft.
  • Add the spices you prefer to the meat to the water. They will give the taste and smell to the meat, making the beef incredibly fragrant and tasty, and also add softness to it.
  • The most important thing for the meat to be soft and the broth beautiful is to cook the meat over low heat. First, the meat is put in boiling water over high heat, and when the water boils again, the fire is reduced to the smallest.
  • Close the pot tightly with a lid. It takes more than two hours to cook beef. If you have meat on the bone, then cook it until it begins to move well away from the bone.
  • So that both the meat and the broth have a rich taste, after two hours add vegetables and boil for another half hour - the taste of the meat will improve: the meat will not only be soft, but also incredibly tasty.
  • You need to salt the beef in the very last minutes of cooking. You can also add some mustard.

Delicious boiled meat will turn out subject to the rules given above. You need to cook good beef so that it is tasty, juicy and soft for a long time and over low heat.

There is a constant debate about whether meat should be eaten or can be dispensed with.

Adherents of eating meat products argue that meat is simply necessary for full development and good health.

  • It is rich in iron, vitamins B1, B6, B12.
  • It contains a lot of animal protein, which is involved in metabolism, affects muscle contraction, processes in nerve cells, and even thinking depends on eating meat.

Despite the fact that in some states, for example, in India, beef is under the strictest ban, because there the cow is a sacred animal, in other countries this meat product remains the most common.

After all, it is from beef that you can cook a lot of wonderful dishes, from stuffed beef to ordinary meatballs.

But in order for the dish to turn out delicious, you need to choose the right meat, as well as approach its preparation with all responsibility.

This article will focus on cooking beef, which means that the emphasis will be on that.

How to choose beef for cooking

Beef, like any meat, is categorized. It depends on the age of the carcass, its fatness, the amount of subcutaneous fat, and the development of muscle tissue.

Separate parts of beef carcass differ in nutritional and taste qualities. Therefore, they can be of the first grade, second or third.

The best, first-class meat is the brisket, top dressing, shoulder blade, parts of the hind leg.

Meat of the first and second grade is boiled, stewed, minced meat is prepared from it.

Meat, in which there is a lot of connective tissue (neck, top dressing, flank), is boiled whole, and is also used for broth.

Beef of the third grade is tough, so it is most often used for making broth.

On the shelves of stores, beef comes already fully processed: chilled, frozen, and less often salted.

How to prepare beef for cooking

Defrosting:

  • The meat is thawed in large chunks.
  • Slow defrosting is used so that the meat juice released during the melting of ice crystals has time to be absorbed into the meat again.
  • If the meat is thawed in the positive section of the refrigerator, then it practically does not differ in taste from chilled meat.
  • Rapid thawing is carried out at room temperature. It is left on a tray, and the released juice is poured into a separate bowl. Such meat is less juicy when cooked.

Washing:

  • Beef is washed in running water, the temperature of which should not exceed 25 °.
  • Clean meat is laid out on wire racks to dry.
  • Beef is cut into large, medium or small pieces (depending on the recipe).
  • Large pieces are cut along the fibers, which allows the meat to cook faster.

How to cook beef in a pot

Boil beef in a small amount of water.

  • Water is poured into the pan (1.5 liters of water per 1 kg of meat) and brought almost to a boil.
  • Add roots (parsley, onion, carrot, celery).
  • They put meat.
  • Bring to a boil, while removing the foam.
  • The fire is reduced and the beef is boiled with a barely noticeable boil under the lid. The cooking time depends on the quality of the meat, the age of the carcass, the size of the pieces. Young meats can be ready in as little as 40 minutes, while old ones need to be cooked for up to 3 hours.
  • Salt meat at the end of cooking.
  • Readiness of beef is checked by piercing the thickest piece. If the pulp is hard or reddish juice appears at the puncture site, then continue cooking.

How to keep meat hot

  • Pieces of boiled beef are transferred from the pan to another bowl.
  • Pour some hot broth and close the lid.
  • Store until serving at 65°.

How to boil beef for broth

Meat of the third grade, as well as trimmings and bones, are used for cooking broth.

To make it more rich and healthy, it is cooked differently than regular meat.

  • Beef meat and bones are poured with cold water.
  • Bring to a boil. The foam is removed with a slotted spoon. They also remove floating bone fat.
  • Cook at a very low boil for 4-5 hours.
  • Salt at the end of cooking.
  • The finished broth is slightly cooled and filtered.

To get a clear broth, make a "braid".

To do this, meat trimmings are passed through a meat grinder and cold water is added in a ratio of 1: 1. Insist 2 hours. Then add salt, raw meat juice and egg white.

The “braid” is put into the broth, brought to a boil, and the foam is removed.

Put the roots and cook at a low boil for about an hour and a half.

How to cook beef in a slow cooker

Beef in a slow cooker is boiled in a whole piece or cut into pieces.

  • The meat is washed, the veins and film are removed. Put in a multicooker bowl.
  • Pour boiling water so that the liquid only slightly covers it.
  • Close the lid and set the program "Stew / Soup".
  • As soon as the water boils, remove the foam.
  • Add roots if desired.
  • Salt at the end of cooking.
  • Cook until soft. Cooking time - from 40 minutes to 2 hours - depends on the age of the slaughtered cattle, as well as the quality of the meat.

How to cook beef in the microwave

You can cook beef in the microwave if it is young.

  • Put the whole piece of meat into the pan.
  • Pour hot water to cover it.
  • Add chopped carrots, onions, parsley root, salt, pepper, bay leaf.
  • Close the lid and cook on medium power for about 20 minutes. Then the power is reduced and cooked until soft.

How to cook beef in a double boiler

So that the meat does not become dry during heat treatment in a double boiler, many housewives boil it in their own juice. To do this, a whole piece of meat is lightly salted and peppered, put in a strong bag and tied.

Lay on the bowl of a double boiler, cover with a lid and cook about an hour. But you need to make sure that there is always water in the tank. Therefore, boiling water is constantly added there.

How to cook corned beef

  • The corned beef is washed.
  • Cut if the pieces are very large.
  • Fill with water (for 1 kg of meat 2 liters of water).
  • Soak, changing the water, first after an hour, then after two, three, six, twelve hours. In this case, the water temperature should not be higher than 12 °.
  • Smaller pieces are poured with cold water in a ratio of 1: 3 and boiled until tender at a low boil.

How to cook beef meatballs

  • Beef is passed through a meat grinder and mixed with ingredients depending on the recipe.
  • Form meatballs.
  • Dip them in boiling salted water or broth.
  • Cook for 5-6 minutes.

Note to the owner

  • For first courses, use a rump, top dressing, brisket.
  • When cooking meat, the roots are placed half an hour before readiness.
  • Cook meat at a barely noticeable boil.
  • If the meat is poured with boiling water before cooking, then there will be practically no scale.
  • Boiled meat is stored in broth.
  • To get a rich and tasty broth, use older meat.
  • Salted broth is not recommended to be diluted with water. Excess salt can be removed if well-washed rice wrapped in a bag is dipped into the liquid and boiled.

Beef is one of those few foods that you should definitely include in your diet. This lean meat is rich in complete protein, iron, B vitamins and a host of useful trace elements. Saturated fats and amino acids, contained in large quantities in beef, will help you normalize the work of the heart muscle, avoid stress and always stay in good shape. In the new review, we decided to tell you in more detail how to cook beef quickly and correctly so that it retains all its beneficial properties and at the same time remains a healthy, dietary product.

The first and foremost thing that you need to pay attention to before you start cooking beef is the freshness and quality of the meat. Not only taste depends on this factor, but also the speed of cooking.

Distinctive features of beef meat are a rich dark red color and an almost complete absence of fat, although if it is still present, it should be soft and have a light cream color.

Fresh meat has a soft, tender texture and is quick and easy to cook, while aged beef will take a long time to cook and the meat will be tough and dry.

Shoulder and cut (beef from the neck) are perfect for making broths, goulash, steaks, stews and minced meat. For rich fatty soups and broths, juicy brisket is more suitable - it makes the best borscht.

If you decide to boil a frozen piece of beef, you will need to thaw it in advance and rinse it thoroughly in cold running water.

The cooking time of beef also directly depends on this stage. If you save time and want the meat to cook faster, put it in the pan not in a single piece, but in small portions. Important: cut the pieces not across the fibers, but along them - this way the beef will cook faster, and its texture will become much softer. In addition, for the best result, the meat is recommended to be lightly fried in a pan in a small amount of vegetable oil.

To cook beef, water must be boiled in advance and pour a piece of meat so that boiling water completely covers it. Be sure to leave a half-inch layer of water over the beef. Do not salt the water: this will make the meat tough. Leave this step for the end of the boil. The same goes for onions, carrots, celery and other vegetables: if you want to add them, do so 30 minutes before the end of cooking.

After you bring the beef water to a boil, remove the foam. This will have to be done several more times during the cooking process, and those who cook beef broth or soup should especially follow this. Reduce the heat to low and cover the pot with a lid. If you add a tablespoon of sunflower oil to the water, the beef will cook faster.

Don't forget to salt the meat at the end of cooking. To check its readiness, pierce the densest piece with a knife. The appearance of reddish juice or the stiffness of the beef is a clear sign that the meat has not yet been cooked to the end.

For those who want to get tender, tasty meat quickly and in a short time, we advise you to pre-marinate it. Put the meat in a bowl with finely chopped onion and drizzle with vinegar, then leave for 2 hours. After this treatment, the beef will cook much faster.

Another popular way to shorten the cooking time of beef is to rub it with mustard before boiling it. You can also add mustard directly to the pot during cooking. This will not affect the taste of meat or broth at all, but beef will be cooked in about an hour.

In a multicooker bowl, beef will cook a little faster than just in a saucepan on the stove. The cooking method is no different from the usual one: the meat must be cleaned of veins and film, put in a slow cooker and pour boiling water, then set the “Soup” or “Stew” program. Remember to remove the foam after the water in the bowl boils.

Boil the beef until soft for about an hour, and then check the degree of readiness of the meat.

The most popular "beef" recipe is, of course, the classic beetroot soup in beef broth. Read on for our step-by-step instructions on how to make this sumptuous, flavorful soup in just 1 hour.

Another legendary beef broth dish is French onion soup. A relatively short cooking time and a stunning unique taste make this dish a great option for those who want to cook not beef broth, but a real gastronomic masterpiece.

Boiled beef can also be used in diet dishes: for example, here is an easy but very tasty sandwich recipe with boiled beef and vegetables.

Beef is the meat of cattle, widely used in cooking. The common carcass is cut into several parts, which are used in the preparation of various and exquisite dishes - this is tenderloin, brisket, thigh, rib eye, rump, shank and other parts.

Based on this butchering, beef meat is divided into three categories. The first grade includes the brisket and sirloin, as well as the back; the second grade includes the shoulder part and shoulder blades; the third grade includes the hind and fore shanks.

The meat of young animals is usually called veal. It has a milder taste.

You can cook beef in various ways: stew, boil, fry, bake in the oven, smoke. A piece of meat can be ground into minced meat, from which to cook cutlets, dumplings, burgers, meat sauces for pasta. Also excellent broths, soups, borscht and cabbage soup are obtained from beef.

Beef, cooked properly, is not only quite tasty, but also healthy. It is dietary and is recommended not only for adults, but also for children.

Cooking beef the right way

To cook beef so that it becomes tasty and soft, you need:

  1. First of all, defrost a piece of meat weighing about half a kilogram and wash it thoroughly in cool running water.
  2. Cut the meat, removing large bones, tendons and removing the film from the piece.
  3. The finished piece of beef should be placed in a small saucepan, which is slightly larger than the piece itself. This method allows you to cook the meat in a small amount of water, so that the taste of the beef will be very tender.
  4. It is necessary to boil water in advance and pour boiling water over a piece of meat so that the beef is completely under water. Above a piece of meat, there should be about a centimeter more water.
  5. Put the meat in a saucepan over medium heat and cover with a lid.
  6. A few minutes before the water boils, you need to open the lid and remove the foam from the water. If you do not have time to do this in time, then it will settle in flakes to the bottom of the pan and the broth will turn out to be cloudy.
  7. After the water boils, add a teaspoon of salt to the pan and reduce the heat to a minimum.
  8. The lid of the pot must be closed again, but watch the meat so that it does not rise to the surface of the water. If this does happen, you need to turn the meat over and add a little more boiling water to the saucepan.
  9. The exact cooking time is determined based on the degree of rigidity of the meat, the size of the piece and the variety. You can check the readiness of the beef with a knife. You need to poke a piece of meat - if the knife easily enters the pulp and just as easily gets back, then the meat is ready.
  10. Approximately half an hour before readiness, a small peeled onion, a couple of black peppercorns and a few bay leaves should be added to the broth.
  11. When the meat is ready, the pot of beef must be removed from the stove, but do not remove it from the broth for about 15 minutes.
  12. Then the beef can be taken out, cut into portions and served with any sauce or side dish.

How long to cook beef

Depending on the type of meat, the age of the animal and the size of the piece, the cooking time can vary greatly. On average, until fully cooked, the meat should be cooked for about two hours after boiling water over low heat under the lid. Also tasty and soft is beef cooked in the "stewing" mode in a slow cooker for 2.5-3 hours.

Beef is a healthy and tasty meat that requires a long heat treatment. This feature is due to its rigidity. But what to do when there is no time to cook meat for several hours? There are simple ways to get a tender, melt-in-your-mouth dish with minimal time. How to quickly cook beef? You will find the answer to the question in this article.

How to cook soft beef?

Beef meat is a valuable protein product that must be cooked correctly to make it juicy, tender and aromatic. How to quickly cook beef so that it is soft? This question is of interest to many housewives who prefer to feed their families with healthy and wholesome food.

For quick preparation of soft meat you will need: beef pulp, mineral water or mustard. It is advisable to choose the meat carcass of a young animal, consisting of a large amount of connective tissue, which has not been subjected to numerous frosts.

The meat piece must be grated with mustard and put in the refrigerator overnight. Rinse with water before cooking. The second option involves soaking in mineral water for 2-3 hours. To preserve the maximum amount of protein, as well as other useful substances, the pulp must be placed in boiling water. After such pre-treatment, cooking requires less time. Salt should be a few minutes before the end of the cooking process. Adding water during cooking is not recommended. To determine the readiness of the piece, you can pierce with a sharp knife. The clear juice flowing from it is a confirmation that the product is ready for consumption.

How to cook beef broth?

The broth is included in the diet. It is often made with beef. For this dish, you need to choose suitable pieces on the bone that have connective tissue. It is advisable not to use a frozen product, otherwise the food will turn out cloudy.

How to quickly cook beef broth? To do this, you need to take 3 liters of water, pulp on the bone, onion, carrot, parsley, spices and salt - to taste. Before cooking, the meat must be rinsed in cold water, cut into portions. For pouring, use a cool liquid, after which send the pan for half an hour in the refrigerator.

When the future broth is on the stove, it must be brought to a boil and the gas is turned on so that the further cooking process takes place thanks to a slow fire. It is convenient to remove foam and beef fat with a slotted spoon. The roots to be added to the dish must first be fried. When the broth is ready, which will happen quickly enough due to the preliminary infusion in the refrigerator, you can add the frying to it. If it is necessary that the broth liquid turn out to be transparent, after cooking is completed, it must be filtered through a fine sieve. After that, the meat part can be sent back to the broth or used as a separate dish.

How to cook beef soup?

This soup is very tasty and nutritious. To prepare it, you need to take meat with a bone. This moment is of particular importance and is one of the secrets of cooking speed. How to quickly cook beef for soup? The whole process is a lot like boiling broth. The meat must also be washed with cold water, left in the refrigerator and cooked over the highest possible heat until boiling. To make it cook faster, it must be cooked in a saucepan with a minimum capacity. The pulp will turn out tender if a piece weighing at least 2 kg is used for cooking.

Cooking should take place under a closed lid. You can leave a small gap so that at the moment of active boiling the liquid does not go over the edge. It is important that during the cooking process, the water completely covers all the meat parts. If any section is outside, it will turn out to be rigid.

You can use any cereal to fill the soup. Rice, barley, barley or buckwheat will give a good taste.

How to cook old beef?

If you come across an old piece of meat, do not throw it away. The product must be properly prepared, and then it will turn out delicious. How to quickly cook old beef? It must be placed in an acidic environment before cooking. For these purposes, it is undesirable to use vinegar. A small amount of lemon juice is ideal, which should be added to mineral water for marinade.

Another method involves marinating in salt. She rubs meat pieces that are to be cooked. But immediately before the cooking process itself, the salt must be washed off, otherwise the result of culinary experiments will be a salted product.

Now you know how to quickly cook beef meat. Using any of the proposed methods, you can get a nutritious, soft and appetizing product that does not require long cooking.