Corned beef fail - where did I go wrong?

[anna_x]

I went to a real butcher shop of good repute, Iowa Meat Farms in San Diego, and asked for a point piece that would be cooked on low in a crock pot. I started it on high for one hour before leaving the house and then left it on medium at 10:00 a.m. It never boiled. At 6:00, the edges were stringy off so I tried to cut it. Too difficult. Back in the crockpot for another two hours. Still hard to chew. Left it in until 9:00 when I cooled it and figured I will slice it thin tomorrow. Still chewy.

It was just covered with a cup of Guinness, a couple cups of water, a Tb brown sugar, a bay leaf, some garlic, and sliced onion. Carrots and cabbage were added in late afternoon -- they were dinner!

 

[charley]

If it never boiled, maybe your crockpot is off. Are you slicing it very thin across the grain--

 

[anna_x]

I was unclear. My crock pot gets too hot on high and would have boiled the meat.

I wanted the barely-there simmer while I was gone which is medium on this pot. You do have me wondering about the temps now.
I just took a sharp knife to the meat, crossgrain, and it is still chewy. smileys/frown.gif

 

[marilynfl]

Don't you just HATE wasting a good piece of meat. It's like a crap shot with me...I never know

what result I'll get which is why I don't prepare much meat.

I hope the carrots and cabbage were good at least. Just think of it as a vegetarian St. Pat's Day.

 

[CathyZ]

Anna, sometimes corned beef is that way but......

My thought is that you should have put the crockpot on low immediately and let it go for at least 6 hours then cranked up to medium for another hour. By starting on high then going to medium maybe it "seized" the meat up.

Have you thought of making hash or corned beef "burger" patties out of your leftover corned beef?

Sometimes no matter how reputable the source, you can get a tough piece of meat. Haven't you ever paid big bucks for, say, a great-looking steak or standing rib roast only to find after it is cooked that it is tough as can be? Boy, I have! Corned beef too. Just because it is corned is not a guarantee.

 

[karennoca]

According to Cooks Country, they say corned beef needs long and slow, not boiled.

 

[anna_x]

The hour on high was just to start warming the pot. It never hit a simmer then.

 

[anna_x]

Just chopping it fine today. Next year, deli meat only!

 

[CathyZ]

Medium could do it too, Anna. You said you started high then went to medium.

What I said was to start on low and let it go many hours then raise the heat. I do understand that putting it on high just heated it up (in my slow cooker an hour more than heats it up- it brings it to a boil) but you said you went to medium and I am just offering a suggestion for next time.

 

[anna_x]

I appreciate your suggestion as I'm still figuring out meats at age 67!

I had the idea that if you don't see bubbles it was low enough.
My next attempt will be one of the baked recipes so the temperature is definite.
Thanks for your help. I always look forward to your posts!

 

[michael-in-phoenix]

I remember Cook's Illustrated testing crock pots. Most of the low end and standard...

...priced models came to the same temperature whether they were set on "low" or "high". The only difference was how long it took to get there! Go figure???

The expensive models actually maintained lower temps on "low" and higher temps on "high", something I thought they all did!

Michael

 

[karennoca]

A few months ago, and after watching the reviews on the new stove top safe models

I finally settled on The Crock Pot. It has a beautiful black insert, which I use on the cook-top to brown the meats first. I adore this thing, it is high enough that I do not get grease splatters all over my cook-top, and that saves me cleanup on two messes. It cooks beautifully on low and high plus has a keep warm feature. I gave away my other one, and have never looked back. It took me three years, of watching and waiting but it was worth it.

 

[charley]

Yes, that is the knock on the "newer" units--they get 'way too hot and

that will ruin meat that is being cooked on low and slow.
ANd while I don't use mine often, stick to my 70's Crockpot with removeable inner crock liner, and burnt orange exterior--VERY stylish then. BUT wait, there's more. The outside "cooker" can be used as a deep fryer.
But it DOES cook on low and high adequately

 

[richard-in-cincy]

Sometimes, you get a bad piece of meat...

A couple years ago I bought a ham from our butcher. We normally get REAL smoked hams or turkeys for the holidays. It had been kicked and run over by a train and was a rough piece of gristle. I bundled it up and took the remains back to them, and said, "this is not why I come here." Immediately, a new ham was put on the counter and I was sent home.