How do you get stewing steak really tender in a curry?

[Snowisfallinghere]

I've bought a pack of stewing steak for a Massaman curry tomorrow, and I want to make sure it's tender and not a tough and chewy disappointment. I've had a few disappointments in the past!

Brown first (how long, how high heat?) or dump it into the sauce raw? How long to cook for? Hob or oven? I have a slow cooker but it's not big enough.

(I live in a country with super expensive meat so I don't want this 600g pack to be washed when it cost me about £20 )

(that was supposed to say wasted, not washed)

I usually do casserole rather than curry so hopefully method is the same but I do a quick brown off in a pan first then into the liquid and cook on a low temperature for at least 2 hours in the oven.

I make a massaman curry in my slow cooker and it isn’t browned, it goes in raw with all of the ingredients and is cooked for 8 hours on low.

Could you cook on low in the oven?

Braise first and then slow cook. But try cheaper/fatty cuts rather than expensive beef.

Cooking it is the secret, a most any meat will go tender if you give it enough time.
Just don't let it dry out.
Cook it ling and slow, 4 hours minimum in a low oven, keep testing, when the fibres fall apart it's tender.
Don't add ingredients such as carrots at the beginning as they will turn to mush by the end, add then an hour before the end.
Marinating the meat in all the spices overnight can help to tenders too.
There's really nothing to it, just time and patience.

I recently made lamb curry using neck cutlets for my husband and he said the meat fell apart.
I cut it up in to fairly large chunks and browned it in a little oil at a fairly high heat, keeping it moving in the pan until all sides were a nice colour. You aren't cooking it at this stage so it doesn't take long at all. Then i added it to the sauce i had made, brought it up to a boil then turned it right down till it was barely simmering and cooked it for around 2 hours. This was on the cooker top, not in an oven. I kept an eye on it during the 2 hours and if it looked like the curry sauce was getting too thick id add a little splash of water.

@HalfShrunkMoreToGo

I usually do casserole rather than curry so hopefully method is the same but I do a quick brown off in a pan first then into the liquid and cook on a low temperature for at least 2 hours in the oven.

Yes, this is what I do for beef curries. Or rather, what DH did the other day, let's give him credit!

He browned off the meat (needs to be at quite a high heat, the browning adds flavour) with the onions and spices in a casserole dish on the hob, then added the liquid. Then transferred it to the oven and cooked it at a low heat (140 degrees) for two hours. It was tender and delicious.

You might need a bit more liquid than you think, so check it half way through and add more if you think it's getting a little dry. You can also cook it for a bit longer if the meat isn't tender enough, as long as there's enough liquid it won't come to any harm.

Most curry recipes don't brown the meat first IME. Make the base sauce first, then add the meat, then put it in a low slow oven for several hours. Then finish with fresh ingredients and garam masala.

I pressure cook mine in the instant pot

I love a massaman curry!
I like to brown my meat on a medium-high heat and cook it in the oven low and slow.
Do you have a lidded cast iron casserole dish such as a Le Creuset? That would be perfect for cooking.

@willloman

Braise first and then slow cook. But try cheaper/fatty cuts rather than expensive beef.

Cheaper than stewing steak ?!?

I always brown meat first - improves the flavour immensely.

I sometimes use my slow cooker, but my Indian friends (don't know any Thais) pressure cook their curries, but it's probably easier to control in an oven at low temp.

I get lots of request for my mussaman recipe (gets wheeled out whenever I'm cooking for a group).
I coat the meat in the curry paste then brown it in batches, then slowly cooked in the coconut milk for 3-4 hours until it cuts with a spoon. Just cook for longer if not soft enough. And I have never had any success with Lidl's casserole beef for some reason so always go elsewhere for my mussaman beef 😂
New potatoes in, balance with fish sauce, tamarind paste & dark brown sugar when it's all cooked & sprinkle crushed peanuts 😋

I made a beef masssaman curry in the slow cooker a couple of weeks ago using this recipe: kitchenmason.com/easy-slow-cooker-beef-massaman-curry-recipe/

It was very tender and so tasty, hands down the best curry Ive made in the slow cooker for sure. The only thing I would suggest is reduce the liquid or be prepared to thicken it with cornflour at the end

I made it and it was AMAZING! I used some quantities from the BBC's Massaman recipe but made up the actual method using some of the tips on this thread.

I took @Oneearringlost suggestion of marinating the meat, I marinated it overnight in a little bit of the paste combined with a few glugs of coconut milk, some ginger and a star anise.

Then this afternoon I browned the beef quickly on a high heat along with some lime leaves, cardamom, and a cinnamon stick. Then added an onion, 4tbsps paste from a jar, and a carton of coconut milk. Simmered on the hob for about 3.5 to 4hrs. Potatoes went in 40 mins before the end. The beef was SO TENDER. Really pleased, I've made quite a few tough beef stews and curries a while back but this time I must have got something right!