How much beef is cooked and how to cook it properly?

Beef is a very healthy product. Lowers cholesterol, restores strength, increases hemoglobin. And if you know how to cook beef correctly, it produces very tasty dishes.

Every housewife knows how much time to cook beef and how to do it so that it is tasty and juicy. Only in practice, this is not always possible. Such a simple, at first glance, lesson is fraught with many secrets and small secrets. If you miss one thing, the result is far from perfect.

How to choose meat?

You need to start with the main thing - with the choice of meat.

• Problem number 1. Where to look?

Ideal if one of your friends in the village slaughter a calf or a young bull. Then you have the best product - fresh veal. If a cow is slaughtered, it’s also good if it is not too old.

If you have a familiar butcher, contact him. Well, someone, but the butchers know a lot about good meat. Maybe you are lucky and you will get fresh from the farmer in the market. Unfortunately, in stores often under the guise of "chilled meat" on sale, instead of the promised fresh farm, is thawed and brought from somewhere in distant countries.

• Problem number 2. Appearance.

Pay attention to the color: the meat should be light red or just red, not with shades of red, not burgundy or brown, not with gasoline stains. And even more so, there should not be any blackness or greenery on it. Fat veins must be only white and in no case yellow.

Places of cuts should not stick to fingers, hands after touching meat should remain dry - no mucus!

If you make a hole in a piece with your finger, it should quickly smooth out.

• Problem number 3. Which piece is right?

Not every piece of beef will make a good broth. Try to get the brisket, because it is the one that is most suitable for cooking. A very good option is a piece of meat on a sugar bone. Ribs and shanks are also suitable. Often, housewives cook beef broth from the tail.

You can weld a rump, a spatula, a tenderloin.

It’s best not to cook arable land or shank broth.

If you still bought frozen meat, defrost it gradually, first in the refrigerator, keeping all the packages on it until it becomes soft. Then free the piece from the packaging and hold it under a stream of cold water.

• Problem number 4. What to cook?

We choose either an enameled pan or a thickened bottom, you can cast iron, but so that a piece of beef fits freely in it.

Today there are modern appliances for cooking such as pressure cookers and crock-pots. They also cook meat very well. Lids under pressure will not allow aromas to disappear.

In the old days in the village freshly languished in a Russian stove in a cast-iron pot. And when she was ready, the hostess took a piece to a large dish, and the owner with a pair of forks sorted the meat. And there was nothing tastier than eating it with a slice of brown bread. And what an excellent broth you get, you will lick your fingers! So if your country house still has a Russian stove, then you are lucky.

Then we find out how much to cook beef.

How to cook?

Now decide what is more important for you - a delicious broth or juicy meat. If we cook the broth - we immerse the beef in cold water, we want to get excellent meat - we put it in boiling water. But since we want both good meat and transparent broth to use with pleasure later, we still take cold water. A piece of meat should be “covered” with water.

Do you want the broth to be transparent? Then there are 2 ways to boil meat.

• Option 1.

After a piece of meat is lowered into cold water, put the pan on the stove on the strongest fire. Now the main thing is to remove the foam in time.

Today, there are various devices, so that without the participation of a person the foam itself would gather at a certain site. But we cook the old fashioned way. We will remove the foam with a slotted spoon, a spoon with holes, an ordinary spoon or a fork.

As soon as the foam begins to rise actively, carefully remove it. This process may take several minutes. As soon as you notice that the broth has boiled, reduce the heat of the burner as much as possible (if there are 9 divisions, put it on 3) and continue to remove the foam. How much do you stand at the stove and control the foam? If you think that it is no longer there, close the lid not very tightly and wait a short time. Soon you will see that she has appeared again. Stand for a few minutes at the stove, then you can close the lid tightly and relax.

Tip

If you still missed the foam and you can’t catch the gray flakes in any way with either a spoon or a slotted spoon, you do not need to despair. You can still save. Pour a mug of cold water into the pan. Not only one - pour in two. Your task is to stop the boil. If there is too much fluid, drain a mug or two. And now do not take your eyes off the broth. Because it will begin to boil again, and again the foam will rise to the surface. And now do not blunder. Until all foam is removed, do not leave the stove.

• Option 2

Do not remove the foam, give a piece of meat for 5-7 minutes to boil over high heat, then completely drain the water with noise, rinse the meat under running cold water and put it in clean cold water for cooking again. This method is called "Second Broth", it turns out to be very tender and dietary.

How long to cook the broth?

Mistresses often ask themselves: “How much to cook beef?” The answer to this question depends on two circumstances:

• from the age of the slaughtered animal (the older it is, the longer it takes to cook the product);
• from your taste. Someone prefers to tear a piece with his teeth, then an hour of cooking is enough. Someone likes the meat to literally fall from the bone, then it will take more time.

Culinary experts say that it’s right to cook the broth on very low heat for 2-3 hours. It should languish, boiling should be barely noticeable. Otherwise, you will not get a transparent broth.

A few more points

Now you know how and how much to cook beef. There are a couple of tips from professionals on this topic.

• Properly cook meat in a single piece of 1.5–2 kg. If desired, the hostess can cut it into smaller ones, but a large piece will turn out more juicy. It is much easier to remove foam when a large piece of meat is cooked.
• Spices are a matter of taste. Classic - 30 minutes before the end of cooking, the broth is salted, a large onion is put in the pan (it can be completely not peeled, then the broth will get a bright golden hue), coarsely chopped carrots and parsley root. For an amateur, you can add black pepper, peas, garlic, lavrushka and any roots of your choice. But you can generally confine yourself only to salt.

There are lovers who, before cooking meat, first fry a piece in butter until crusted, add salt, spices, pour boiling water and start cooking. Periodically removing the foam, boil up to 3 hours on low heat. Do not want to try? It will turn out very tasty.

The meat is ready! And on the broth you can cook any soup, stew potatoes, cook delicious rice or buckwheat porridge.

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