My Slow cooker beef is tough!!

[whatsthecraic91]

Bought a slow cooker a few years ago and I could never get to grips with it. My family all cook lovely beef in it and it turns out melt in the mouth perfect. Mine turns out the opposite 😂

I'm trying to loose weight so I got a beef recipe to try. I prepared it all last night and switched it onto low before bed. It was on low for 8 hours & this morning it again was so tough! Why does this keep happening. I'm using the same meat my sister bought.

Can someone tell me what I'm doing wrong!

You need to cook it longer to break down the collagen.

8 hours is pretty long tho!

2 suggestions:

• do you brown the meat first? I find this makes a big difference to flavour
• quality of meat. A lot of people think you can use v cheap cuts of meat in a slow cooker. To an extent, that's true - the slow cooking allows you to use cheaper cuts of meat. BUT I've found out that there can be a big difference with slightly more expensive cuts. I made a stew I make regularly with more expensive meat from a butcher I have started using, and it was amazing. It was fine before, but much nicer now.

If your using the same meat as your sister and hers is soft but yours is tough I'd assume it was the slow cooker

All slow cookers are different. It might be that you should be cooking it for longer. I've found 8 hours is fine for mine, but actually, leaving something on low for as much as 10 is better. Similarly I regularly prefer to do stews on high for 5 hours rather than the more normal 4.

But the main reason is likely to be the meat itself. Beef stewing meat, bought from a supermarket, is never good enough. It doesn't have enough fat and always comes out tough. Stewing steak from a butcher is likely to be better. I like to use shin personally.

Have you tried cooking on high for at least part of the time? That solved my chewy beef problem.

What cut of beef are you using. Some are not suitable for slow cooking and will end up tough no matter how long you cook it.

Are you removing all visible fat, as you're trying to lose weight?

A certain amount is necessary - improves the flavour as well.
I recently cooked shin of beef for 5 hours on high, it was very tender. I then turned the SC down to "keep warm" until I was ready to eat.

I find the pre-cubed beef never seems to go tender, I don’t think it’s fatty enough. Very easily goes dry. Game changer for me was buying a piece of “best braising steak” in the butchers area at Morrison’s - tons of fat marbled through it and when it cooks it just falls apart. Cheap too.

It could be the slow cooker. I used to have one that didn't cook the veg, it was always hard after several hours.
I have a different slow cooker now and never have that problem.

I agree about chopped stewing beef being tough.

I always buy a chunk of brisket and chop it up.

I'm not a fan of slow cookers tbh, I prefer doing it on 130 in the oven for 6 hours.

I always use brisket in the slow cooker and its amazing every time.

‘Casserole beef’ from the supermarket is crap.
Beef shin or Skirt is really good for a casserole/Stew.
I don’t really use my slow cooker though..... I cook it very low (about 140/150) for at least 3 hours.

Havent got a slow cooker but I cook shin beef in casseroles for about 2 1/2 hours. Is meltingly soft. Sainsburys sell packets of it, its quite cheap.

Hmm, I reckon that's where I'm going wrong, already diced

Shin of beef and brown before putting in the slow cooker. If you've got a thermometer maybe check how hot the fluid cooking liquid is an hour in just in case the cooker isn't heating properly.