Help! Rescue my stew please!

[rewardformissingmojo]

So I made stew this afternoon. It has the chewiest meat I have ever attempted to eat.
It was lean diced steak, which I threw into slow cooker (over 4 hours ago) with veg.

Is there any way of rescuing this before DH gets home?! Please?

What liquid did you use? Use a fork to shred the meat (to prevent the need for chewing), and top up with stock or red wine (as appropriate) and move to oven from slow cooker on low heat until serving.

Leave it to cook longer. I have never had beef in the slow cooker which didn't go tender eventually but i cook mine much longer than 4 hours, usually 6 or 7 hours.

Keep it in the slow cooker. I find it needs a good 6-8 hours to get tender.

Although I normally avoid lean meat as I think it's the fat that gives it the tenderness.

Not much help now, (sorry) but this happens when the meat is too lean and slowly cooked, as its the marbling in meat that tenderises it. You can sear the meat pieces before putting in a slow cooker as that helps to seal in juices and reduce chewiness, but a good low fat alternative is to marinade in something first to tenderise. It is a myth that lean meat is tender - its only tender if cooked rapidly so that the outside sears first. I would agree that you need to shred meat and raise temperature..

I would transfer it to the oven and finish it there in a casserole dish. Slow cookers are good but stews tend to take about 6 to 8 hours to really be tender. Keep an eye on it though because it will dry out quicker in the oven. Add more water as necessary.

Thanks all, will keep cooking it in slow cooker. I just used a tin of tomatoes for liquid, but could definitely open a bottle of wine. There is no possibility of shredding with a fork, it'd need a steak knife! cheers all!

Do you have a good blender? Pull out the meat and blend, stir back in.

You've got soup

What time do you want to eat it, remember a slow cooker stew should take 6-8 or 3-4 in an oven?

I would put it in the oven with red wine, covered and low heat - unless you have a good couple of hours -?

Oh we could eat it tomorrow if it will be edible tomorrow! Have added wine and poured myself a glass and it is still in slow cooker.

Keep us posted!

It needs longer. Also cheap cuts are best in the slow cooker. 8 hours on low as a minimum. Put it back in and eat reheated tomorrow.

Needs much longer. If you want to speed things up do it in the oven or leave it for at least 6 hours in the SC.

Thankyou to all posters, it was much better a few hours later when DH came home. Wine and longer cooking time helped!

I attempted similar the other day with much more stock, and it was SO much better!