Tough Meat Challenge... advice needed please

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dawnnys

Well-known member
Either I have a knack for picking out the toughest pork chops on the planet, or I am not doing something right. I bought rib chops, not center loin, but still pricey enough, and cooked them at ~250 degrees F for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Did I just pick a bad cut? The only thing I seem to be able to get falling-off-the-bone-tender is pork butt/shoulder and then there was that pig roast we smoked last summer... I watched, and ate.

Also rib eye/chuck eye steaks - grilling over high heat (to sear) turns them into something like rubber bands and pay frying them doesn't help either.

Chicken, turkey, no problem - they're juicy and tender. Help? TIA.

 
My mom's secret for tough "round steak" was long cooking...and vinegar

Sear 1 pound of "round steak" cut into playing card size pieces in Crisco, then add several onions, sliced thick, cover that with half a bottle of ketchup, same amount of water and a few tablespoon of vinegar.

Cook at least 1 hour covered, then keep cooking for another hour or so...meat will shred when pulled with a fork. Gravy will darken from scary red to deep dark thick red. Onions will almost, but not quite, dissolve.

Taste at the end for seasoning. The ketchup thickens..and it has salt in it.

Serve over mashed potatoes.

 
Cook over how high of a heat? "Scary red" - cute.

Just a simmer, I'm thinking? Thanks - sounds like Swiss steak (which I haven't made in a long time, but like it).

 
Dawn, here is the original post from the old swap with more directions, but still vague.

Posted: Nov 15, 2005 10:51 AM

Rec: Mom's Serbian Steak (or "Finding a Tender Heart in a Tough Piece Of Meat"smileys/wink.gif

Serves 6 adults easily.

3 lb of bottom round steak
3 Tbl Crisco shortening
4 large onions
1 18-oz bottle of ketchup
3 Tbl white vinegar
Water (fill the empty ketchup bottle for the first go-around...then add more as the sauce cooks down)

Cut the meat into pieces the size of a deck of cards...then cut those in half again (as you can tell, this is not going to be a very specific recipe, so just work with me here)

Melt the crisco over high heat in a heavy pan (Mom's was a heavy cast metal pan (not black iron, but almost as heavy) and brown the meat. Cut the onions into large slices and place on top of the meat. Dump the entire bottle of ketchup over them. (Yes, I realize this is sounds somewhat unappealing, but I promise, the ketchup cooks down, losing its somewhat pedestrian flavor and the sauce developes a meaty, rich taste.)

Fill the empty bottle with water and pour over the meat. Add the vinegar. Cover (leaving the lid just slightly off) and simmer slowly for 2 hours.

As the meat cooks, the water evaporates, so you have to keep supplementing it. Check every now and then, adding more water as needed. (Now, since you've never made this, I realize it sounds somewhat presumptuous to assume "as needed". What you're looking for is a thickness slightly thinner than ketchup.)

The meat ends up fork-tender--you should be able to easily pull off a piece of meat to test it. But it won't shred like pot roast. Don't skimp on the 2-hour mark. You're dealing with a tough piece of meat and it needs the time and the vinegar to tenderize it. If the meat is tender, but the sauce is too watery, just leave the lid completely off for 15-20 minutes and it will cook down.

By this time, the sauce should be a rich, brown-tinted red, the onions should be almost completely cooked down, and the kitchen should smell wonderful.

To complete this meal "a la Mom", make real mashed potatoes and Niblets canned corn. Serve with a crusty Italian bread, Tarquino's if you're in Pittsburgh. Make an indentation in the mashed potatoes and fill with the red sauce. If you're like me, you can completely skip the meat and just eat potatoes and sauce, although the meat is good too. Enjoy.

 
Rib eye should cook totally differently than "eye of chuck"

Chuck has a lot of fibers that need long slow cooking or a good long acidic marinade. Rib eye should cook in minutes over high heat - say 7 minutes total for medium (warm red) rare for an inch thick steak.

 
Oh My--I have never seen this in print--my mom made this same recipe all the time...

always paired with boiled potatoes and string beans. Delicious.

 
The butcher where I shop told me that their chuck eye steak is just the end cut of

their rib eyes - exactly the same cut of beef, just smaller and at the end. No?

Thanks... I'll have to experiment on this (long and slow vs. quick and hot).

 
Have you tried th Crock pot Sweet and Snappy Stew up in T&T. So good and different.

Can be made in the oven or stovetop too. It's one of my favorites and I think you could cook a whole roast in the goodness too.

 
Hey Marilyn, I tried your mom's recipe and loved it.

I used "top round" and it worked very good. Had it with garlic mashed potatoes and broccoli last night. I will make this again. Thanks.

 
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