How to make old beef tender. Ways to make beef softer - making marinade, stewing

Beef marinades

To make the meat soft and juicy, and also acquire a subtle or bright aroma, it is marinated. This is done in plastic or enamel containers so that the pieces do not touch open metal and their taste does not deteriorate. The beef is coated with marinade during the cooking process. Sometimes a sauce is prepared from it: flour and starch are added and placed on low heat.

For barbecue

Components:

• 3 tbsp. spoons of wine vinegar;
• 2 onions;
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds;
• 2 teaspoons salt;
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Finely chop the onion, add pepper, salt, vinegar, coriander. The chopped meat is mixed with the marinade with your hands and compacted a little. Cover the vessel with a lid and leave it in a cool place for 1 day.

For baking in the oven

Ingredients:

• lemon;
• 2 onions;
• 4 cloves of garlic;
• half a glass of water;
• 1 teaspoon salt;
• 1 teaspoon ground pepper

Lemon juice is mixed with cold water, finely chopped onion, garlic, salt and pepper are added to it. The meat is cut into pieces, poured with cool marinade and left for 3 hours.

For the steak

Components:

• 6 cloves of garlic;
• 1 onion;
• 3 tbsp. spoons of 9% vinegar;
• half a glass of olive oil;
• half a glass of soy sauce;
• 2 tbsp. spoons of mustard;
• teaspoon salt;
• teaspoon pepper;
• rosemary

All ingredients are ground in a blender until smooth. Beef steaks are poured with marinade and refrigerated for at least 3 hours.

For frying

Ingredients:

• glass of water;
• 2 onions;
• lemon;
• 2 tbsp. spoons of sugar;
• 2 tbsp. spoons of salt;
• ½ teaspoon curry;
• 1 teaspoon meat seasoning

Finely chop the onion, mash it with your hands and mix it with chopped beef, sprinkle with seasoning. Water is mixed with lemon juice, sugar and salt, poured into a bowl with meat. Mix everything well and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

How long to fry beef?

The meat is fried in pieces, in the form of steaks or chops. To do this, use a frying pan, grill, oven. Each dish has its own degree of readiness.

Steak is a piece of beef flesh 2-4 cm thick, cooked in a special frying pan with a wavy surface. It is fried for 30 seconds to 5 minutes on both sides, knowing the basic methods of frying steaks.

To check if the steak is ready, you need to press on it.

An easier way to fry beef is in 3-4 cm cubes. Cook them in a heated frying pan for 25-30 minutes.

Keep the chop on the fire until a crust appears, then turn it over and fry for 2 minutes on each side.

Classic beef and onion stew recipe

For cooking you need a frying pan with a thick bottom, preferably cast iron. It prevents the meat from drying out and burning.

The calorie content of this dish is 275 kcal. The ingredients below make 3 servings.

Components:

• 500 g beef;
• 2 onions;
• vegetable oil;
• 1 teaspoon sugar;
• a pinch of ground black pepper;
• 100 ml. drinking water;
• 1 teaspoon salt

How to cook:

Wash the beef, dry it with paper towels and cut into medium portions. Season them with salt and pepper and stir. Peel the onion, rinse it and chop it into half rings. Heat the oil in a frying pan, put the meat in it. Fry it for 10 minutes over high heat, stirring occasionally.

Add the onion to the browned pieces and mix everything together. Fry the ingredients until the onion is soft and translucent. Pour hot water into the pan, reduce the heat, cover the pan with a lid and simmer the meat for an hour.

Beef with vegetables in a frying pan

Delicious and quick recipe. For this dish, it is better to use a beef neck, then the meat will be soft. It can be served with various side dishes or on its own.


Components:

• 350 g beef;
• 1 onion;
• 1 bell pepper;
• carrots – 1 pc. or half;
• 2 fresh tomatoes;
• 1 clove of garlic;
• salt, meat seasonings,
• freshly ground black pepper;
• 3 tbsp. spoons of vegetable oil;
• 50 ml. water;
• greenery

Cut the beef into thin pieces and lightly pound with a hammer. Fry it, stirring over moderate heat until golden brown. Add onion cut into half rings or feathers to the meat.

Cut the carrots into thin slices and place in the pan. Fry it over low heat and stir for 5-7 minutes. Add bell pepper strips.

Salt the products, pour 50 ml. water and simmer the meat and vegetables under the lid for 7 minutes. Add fresh tomato slices and finely chopped garlic, stir. Simmer the dish for 4-5 minutes to maintain the shape of the tomato wedges.

Sprinkle the dish with finely chopped herbs and serve.

Beef in sour cream in a frying pan

Meat prepared according to this recipe is not at all greasy.

Components:

• 600 g beef;
• 100 g. sour cream;
• 1 onion;
• salt;
• spices for meat;
• sunflower oil

Finely chop the meat. Heat the oil in a frying pan, fry the beef on both sides, stirring. Cook covered over low heat. Add onion, cut into half rings, fry it until golden brown.

Mix 100 ml. sour cream and 200 ml. boiled water. Pour this mixture over the beef pieces, add salt, pepper and other spices to your taste. Simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes.

Then you can remove the treat from the heat and serve.

Beef in a frying pan in coconut sauce

The meat in such an unusual casing turns out to be piquant. To prepare the dish, you will need coconut milk, which you can purchase in the store or squeeze the nut pulp yourself.

Components:

• 500 g beef fillet;
• 1 glass of coconut milk;
• 2 onions;
• 3 cloves of garlic;
• fresh hot pepper;
• a piece of ginger;
• 1 tbsp. spoon of vegetable oil;
• 2 sprigs of fresh lemon balm;
• ½ tbsp. spoons of brown sugar

Finely chop the onion. Peel the ginger and cut it into large pieces. Remove the seeds from the hot peppers. Place everything in a blender, including the garlic and lemon balm. Pour in coconut milk and make a smooth paste. Then pour it into a deep frying pan with oil and cook for 3 minutes.

Cut the meat into small cubes, place it in a frying pan, pour in the remaining milk and simmer until the meat is soft and the sauce thickens.

Season the dish with sugar and salt.

Beef in creamy raspberry sauce

It turns out that not only any side dishes go well with meat, but also berries. In this case, beef can be stewed, fried and smoked.

Required Products:

• 800 g meat;
• a handful of fresh or frozen raspberries;
• 1.5-2 tablespoons of lingonberry jam;
• 200 ml. cream;
• 60 g butter;
• ½ glass of red wine;
• ½ cup broth;
• salt;
• coarse black pepper

Jam can be store-bought, as long as it does not contain preservatives. Lingonberry can be replaced with cranberry.

If the meat is frozen, let it thaw gradually to retain the juices inside. Then cut it into small slices and sprinkle with pepper.

Heat the oil in a deep frying pan and place the beef pieces in it. They should be thoroughly cooked, but not burnt. Then add salt to taste.

Stir the meat slices lightly. Add jam and red wine to them, simmer for 6 minutes without closing the lid. At this time, rinse the berries with cold water and dry them, possibly on a paper towel.

Add broth and cream to the meat, stir and wait until the liquid has evaporated. If there is not enough salt, salt the beef again.

Place the berries in a bowl, mix all the ingredients and cook for 10-12 minutes.

Remove the dish from the stove and bring it to the table.

How to juicy fry beef steak

Components:

• selected beef in the form of steak, 2 pcs.;
• sunflower oil for frying;
• salt;
• pepper;
• french herbs

How to cook:

The steak does not need to be washed. Dry it with a paper towel. Sprinkle the meat with pepper and salt, as well as spices. Rub them into the steak with your hands. Treat both sides of the beef with sunflower oil. Pour oil into a cast iron frying pan and heat it up.

Place the steak in the pan and cook for 1 minute on each side. Turn it over several times until done. To do this, it is advisable to use tongs rather than a fork so that the juice does not leak out.

Beef is a finicky but versatile meat that pairs well with salty, spicy, and even sweet ingredients. I hope the recipes listed will help you prepare delicious and juicy dishes.
Also learn how to cook beef in a pot in Russian
Bon appetit!

Fried, baked or stewed meat is tough? This can be fixed! Today we will tell you how to cook meat so that it always turns out soft and juicy, and what to do if the finished dish turns out tough and tasteless.

Why did the meat turn out tough?

There may be several reasons. Most likely, you did not clean the cut well enough to remove excess films and tendons, and you cooked it in a small container at too high a temperature. Perhaps you overcooked the meat or, conversely, cooked it too little.

But the most common mistake in which meat turns out tough is its improper use. For example, for frying they take cuts that are too tough and sinewy, which are more suitable for stewing. And vice versa - for stewing and cooking, they take lean cuts (this includes).

Not all meat is equally suitable for frying and stewing. If you don’t know which cut to choose, remember this rule: the muscles from the back and lumbar parts of the carcass are the softest and most tender. These cuts are best used for frying. For example, from this part of the carcass you can. Meat taken from parts of the carcass that were involved in movement during the life of the animal is suitable for baking or stewing. These include the flesh from the hip part of the carcass and the so-called “butt”.

How to cook juicy meat?

Let's say you chose the right cut. Now the most difficult thing remains - to prepare it juicy, tasty and aromatic. If you fry meat for goulash or roast, the cut must be thoroughly cleaned of films and veins. Then wipe dry and only then cut into portions. The pan should already be heating up. The better its working surface is heated, the faster the meat will “grab” into the crust, thereby preserving the meat juices inside. You need to salt it at the very end! This is one of the main rules of a juicy dish. Remember: beef stew that has been pre-fried turns out much tastier.

Let's say you need to fry a cut that is not the most tender. For example, . Cut it into thin strips across the grain and marinate. Soy sauce, mustard and lemon juice are used as natural “softeners”. You need to marinate the beef for 20-40 minutes. No longer recommended.

With beef steaks everything is simpler. Better dry or wet aging. Meat with thin layers of fat is ideal for frying and baking. The fat keeps it from drying out and enhances the natural flavor of the beef. Depending on the thickness and degree of marbling, cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until medium rare. It is considered the most appropriate for steaks made from high-quality grain-fed beef.

Meat with thin layers of fat or pockets of fat is ideal for roasting. It always turns out juicy, not overcooked and very aromatic. Such cuts include, for example, prime rib roast beef. The baking temperature should not be too high (from 100 to 120 degrees). Otherwise, the meat will begin to dry out.

What to do if the finished meat turns out tough?

Finally, we come to the main question. Let's say the meat turned out tough. How to fix it? If you fried meat and it turned out tough, try stewing it in sauce. Prepare it from dry red wine or wine vinegar. Simply deglaze the pan with wine and simmer briefly to evaporate the alcohol. Pour the liquid over the meat and let it simmer. A good way to fix the situation if you were cooking and it turned out too tough.

You can soften fried meat without stewing. Just sprinkle some lemon juice on it and let it sit for a few minutes.

If you stew the meat and it is not chewy, continue to stew. Transfer the cut to a larger pan - this will improve the circulation of hot air. Add the required amount of liquid. This could be water, wine, broth or beer. You can add a shot of vodka or a little wine or apple cider vinegar if you are dealing with a very tough cut. Simmer the meat until softened.

But what to do if the baked meat turns out tough? Get out of the oven immediately! Cut the meat into slices and place in a heatproof bowl. Pour in the sauce. You can deglaze the pan it was baked on. This can be done with water, broth or wine. Pour the liquid over the meat and simmer until it is soft enough.

Beef is one of the universal types of meat, which is famous for its beneficial properties. Unlike pork, beef is not too fatty. It is rich in vitamins and iron, so it is recommended by doctors for people suffering from anemia, pregnant women and children. Many housewives do not know how to properly cook this type of meat, which is why it becomes tough. Meanwhile, there are several cooking secrets that will make it especially soft.

How to make beef tender?

Properly cooked beef has a delicate aroma and high taste. To make the product soft and juicy, it is important not only to choose the right piece of meat, but also to prepare it correctly.

Compound:

• Beef - 1 kg
• Kefir - 0.5 l
• Onions - 2 pcs.
• Kiwi - 4 pcs.
• Mineral water - 500 ml
• Mustard - 100 g
• Soy sauce - 100 ml
• Spices - to taste

Preparation:

1. You can prepare the dish in different ways.
2. Generously coat a piece of meat with mustard and leave for several hours. Afterwards, the beef can be fried, but before cooking it is recommended to rinse off the mustard. This option is ideal for cooking very tough and old beef.
3. Cut the meat into pieces across the grain. Peel the kiwi, cut it into slices, mix with the meat and leave for 15 minutes. Do not overcook the beef and kiwi, otherwise it will be too soft. After such a marinade, the meat can be fried or cooked in any other way.
4. Mix kefir with spices, place meat in the marinade and leave overnight. In the morning you can bake or fry meat. It will be tender and soft.
5. Soak the beef in mineral water for several hours. This option is suitable for medium-tough meat.

How to cook beef deliciously?

To make beef tasty, it is important to pay great attention to the right choice of meat. It shouldn't be too dark. Good meat is usually red in color, without chapping; the fat is light in color without yellowing.

Before frying, the meat must be removed from fat, films and bones. Afterwards, rinse the beef with running water and dry with a paper towel.

If you fry beef into pieces, be sure to beat each piece with a special hammer. You can marinate the meat to give it a special taste. You can use vinegar, wine, olive oil, various spices, etc. as a marinade. This dish will turn out aromatic and juicy.

When frying beef on a rasper, make sure that the coals are evenly distributed. This will allow the meat to cook evenly and avoid burning.

If beef is cooked in the oven, it is recommended to set the temperature to high for the first 15 minutes. This will help create a crispy crust and retain the juices inside. Then you should reduce the temperature and periodically pour the drained juice over the meat to soften it.

It is better to first wrap beef that is cooked on a spit in oiled paper. 15 minutes before cooking, remove the paper to allow the meat to bake.

In a frying pan, this product is fried exclusively without a lid and periodically turned over. For softness, pre-marinate the beef in olive oil with lemon juice and spices, and pound with a hammer.

Preparation:

1. Cut the meat into portions and place in a deep bowl. Cut the onion into rings and add to the meat.
2. Add grape vinegar, salt, pepper and bay leaf. Mix everything well and refrigerate for 2 - 3 days. Stir the meat 2 times a day. When it is marinated, thread it onto skewers and grill it.

Shish kebab marinated in sparkling water

Compound:

• Beef - 2 kg
• Sparkling water - 2 l
• Onions - 3 pcs.
• Lemon - 3 pcs.
• Salt and pepper - to taste

Preparation:

1. Cut the beef into portions. Cut the onion into half rings. Squeeze the juice from the lemons.
2. Mix meat, onion, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a deep bowl.
3. Pour in sparkling water, stir and leave to marinate for 4 hours. The finished kebab is placed on a skewer and fried on the grill.

Beef shish kebab with pomegranate juice

Compound:

• Beef - 2 kg
• Lemon - 3 pcs.
• Pomegranate - 1 pc.
• Dry white wine - 700 ml
• Onions - 5 pcs.
• Salt and pepper - to taste
• Greens - to taste

Preparation:

1. Cut the meat into portions. Chop the onion into rings, add salt and pepper, and lemon juice.
2. Finely chop the greens and add to the onion. Mix the prepared marinade with the meat and pour in white wine.
3. The shish kebab is marinated for 7 - 8 hours.
4. Before serving, pour freshly squeezed pomegranate juice over the kebab.

What can you make from boiled beef?

Boiled beef salad

Compound:

• Beef - 250 g
• Potatoes - 3 pcs.
• Pickled cucumbers - 2 pcs.
• Eggs - 2 pcs.
• Canned green peas - 5 tbsp.
• Mayonnaise - for dressing
• Salt and pepper - to taste
• Parsley - to taste

Preparation:

1. Rinse the beef and boil without salt until fully cooked. Cool the boiled meat and cut into small cubes. Boil the potatoes in their skins, cool, peel and cut into cubes.
2. Boil the eggs hard, peel them, grate them on a coarse grater and mash them with a fork. Cut the pickled cucumbers into slices. Mix all ingredients in a salad bowl, add green peas. Salt, pepper and season with mayonnaise.
3. Sprinkle the finished salad with chopped herbs and serve.

Preparation:

1. Cook the beef until fully cooked. Finely chop the meat and onions. Add melted butter, sour cream, salt, pepper, nutmeg and eggs. Mix everything thoroughly.
2. Form cutlets from the prepared mixture, dip in egg, roll in breadcrumbs and fry in vegetable oil until cooked.

Beef is a tasty and nutritious meat that, when cooked correctly, turns out very soft and juicy. Having learned the secrets of proper cooking, you will be able to cook beef like the best chefs. Moreover, there are a huge number of original recipes with this product!

Beef is healthy and necessary for every person, but sometimes, due to the fact that the meat is tough, not every housewife will take up cooking. After all, beef is a capricious meat and does not always turn out as juicy as we would like.

How to cook soft beef - choosing the right meat

In order to start cooking, you must first select the beef. It is known that not all parts of the carcass will be soft and tasty. Some parts can only be boiled, others are best made into cutlets, some can only be fried or baked. The whole secret is in the density of connective tissue. For example, there is a lot of such tissue in the neck, there are tendons and films, it is better to make cutlets from such a product. You can boil it, as well as stew it, but you will have to spend several hours preparing it.

If you want to fry a whole beautiful piece of meat, then choose the tenderloin, as well as the upper part of the hind leg. This meat will cook surprisingly quickly. But even here there are secrets that every housewife should know about.

How to cook tender beef. Sharing secrets

To cook delicious meat, you need:

• buy young beef or veal. The meat will be soft, even visually it differs from “aged” beef. Such meat will be lighter in color, with the same light fat (very little of it) and small fibers;
• As for old beef, it is dark in color, with yellow fat. Such meat will not be suitable for frying, because it will be tough. But it will make an excellent broth, very aromatic and tasty. But it will take a very long time to cook such beef;
• To fry a piece of meat, choose the back part or meat separated from the spine;
• Learn to cut portions and small pieces across the grain so that they cook faster;
• Before you start frying, you need to thoroughly wash the piece of meat and dry it with paper towels;
• when to salt? If you are going to fry beef, then 30 minutes in advance, then you can preserve not only the juiciness, but also the original color of the beef;
• if the meat is tough, the meat must be marinated before sending it to stew or fry. Wine (dry), sour cream, lemon juice, vinegar or kefir are used as a marinade. The acid helps soften hard fibers. Salt, spices, onions and carrots must be added to such a marinade, the marinade is boiled (kefir and sour cream are an exception), and cooled to room temperature. The aging time for beef in this marinade is from 3 hours;
• It is better to beat tough pieces with a hammer so that the meat is better fried;
• the stringy part will be softened by mustard, you need to generously rub a piece of meat with mustard, leave for 2 hours, then you can bake or fry;
• beef is always fried over high heat so that the juice does not leak out, otherwise the meat will be dry;
• if baked, then only in foil to preserve juiciness.

How to cook tender beef

To cook the meat, take:

• beef – 1 kg;
• onions – 2 pcs.;
• carrot – 1 large;
• vinegar – 2 tbsp;
• garlic – 5 cloves;
• salt, bay leaf, other spices - to taste;
• tomato paste – 1.5. tbsp

Prepare beef like this:

• Rinse the piece of meat thoroughly under the tap and remove excess liquid with paper towels.
• Cut the meat into pieces, size 4 by 4 cm.
• Pour frying oil into a frying pan and heat thoroughly.
• The heat during frying should be strong - carefully lower the pieces of meat into the hot oil, fry on all sides until a golden brown crust forms.
• The meat is fried and immediately put into a thick-walled pan, pour boiling water (1 l), add vinegar. We are waiting for it to boil.
• As soon as the water boils, reduce the heat, cover the pan with a lid, and leave to simmer over low heat for 1.5 hours.
• Then add chopped vegetables and bay leaves (if you like), simmer again, adding a little hot water if necessary.
• After 20 minutes, add salt, add spices and chopped garlic, as well as tomato paste, mix. Simmer for another 10 minutes, turn off the heat.

Choice good piece of meat akin to art: you need to come to the market in the morning, find a familiar butcher, take a closer look, slowly sniff... But in a store it’s quite problematic to do all this, there’s nowhere for your soul to turn around. And you have to choose meat of suitable quality from what is available.

If you happen to come across a piece of old, stringy pork or beef, don’t despair. Certainly, juicy steak This kind of meat will not work, but excellent roast or baked meat will do. "So simple!" will tell you how to save the situation!

How to make meat tender

There are a number of helping products that can soften even the toughest sole, adding juiciness and piquant notes to the meat.

1. Onion
   Not a single meat dish is complete without onions and onion juice. You can cut the onion into half rings, finely chop it, grind it through a meat grinder or even grate it (here it is, prevention of acute respiratory infections), then mix it with meat 1:1 and leave it under pressure for a couple of hours.

   © DepositPhotos

2. Mustard
   This product is a great meat companion! Mustard (in the form of powder or liquid sauce) not only perfectly softens meat fibers, but also adds a piquant aroma and a slight spice. Simply coat a whole piece of meat with mustard or immediately cut it into the required portions, let sit for 15–20 minutes, then fry or bake.

   © DepositPhotos

3. Alcohol
   Dry wine (red or white), beer and even vodka will do. Pre-soak the meat in wine, and add vodka (about 50 g) to the roast or stew that is already being prepared. Beer is an excellent option for stewing a whole piece of pork or beef.

   There is no need to worry about alcohol in the dish: it completely evaporates as it is cooked.

   © DepositPhotos

4. Lemon, pomegranate, pineapple juice
   All these juices are excellent tenderizers, however, when using such a marinade, try not to overexpose the meat in it, so as not to end up with rubber.

   © DepositPhotos

5. Brine
   cabbage or cucumber pickle is a great option, by the way! It adds spice and there is no need to add salt to the dish.

   © DepositPhotos

6. Mineral water
   This is a proven method of softening from experienced chefs, and it is better to choose therapeutic and prophylactic mineral water, such as “Essentuki” or “Borjomi”.

   © DepositPhotos

7. Starch
   Try soaking tough meat in water with potato starch diluted in it - you will be surprised at the result! Juicy pieces with a crispy crust are guaranteed.

   © DepositPhotos

8. Kefir
   Mix the fermented milk product with your favorite aromatic spices and pour this mixture over the meat for a couple of hours.